ROLE OF VIOLENCE/TERROR IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
This research paper discusses the role of violence and its
more malignant manifestation, organized and systematic terror,
during the French Revolution. In the early stages of the
Revolution, sporadic acts of violence occurred, sometimes
spontaneously, generally in response to specific events. They
were used by groups interested in obtaining power and/or in
pushing the Revolution to one extreme or the other. Later, the
use of terror began to be employed systematically to deal with
the enemies, real and imagined, internal and external, of the
Revolution, and eventually to silence all organized opposition. Additionally, the creation of extreme fear throughout the country was used by political terrorist groups such as the Jacobins to promote the utopian ideal. Furthermore, other revolutionary goals were pursued through intimidation, and instilling fear within the public. Terror fed on itself and acquired a grotesque momentum of its own until it finally ran its course, devouring many of its most extreme proponents and leading to counter revolution. Unwise political judgments and mistakes by various leaders facilitated the expansion of violence and terror being inflicted upon the innocent. However, its root causes lay in the sudden collapse of the ancien régime, which was weaker
than it appeared, and the lack of any moderating tradition and institutions, which could have mediated conflict and prevented political polarization and the breakdown of order.
During the first two and a half years of the Revolution,
violence largely took the form of sporadic and largely
spontaneous mob violence. It played an important role in
preventing the reimposition of royal authority and in 889
consolidating the power of the Constituent Assembly. While
some of its excesses temporarily strengthened the power of moderate Constitutionalists, it eventu...