HIST 3030 - Module Two Session Five - Essay- Reign of Terror - World History Since 1500 PDF

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Module Two Session Five: Essay- Reign of Terror

The Reign of Terror was caused by a variety of reasons. The revolution in France left the country in unrest, which made the Reign of Terror possible. Their King, Louis XVI, had been beheaded, so they were without a unified leader. The killing of their king came as a shock and further isolated the country. France not only became isolated, but they also ended up at war with virtually everyone. The situation of France was not good. They became vulnerable to bad leaders, which essentially caused the Reign of Terror to occur. Once they got through the tough battle for revolution, they didn’t have a strong plan on how to rebuild the country. This lack of a good plan allowed the country to be placed in the wrong hands. They found themselves in the midst of the civil war that further tore their country apart and left them up to attack. They didn’t have clear expectations or plans to get through the postrevolutionary years, which caused them to have further hardship. The large amount internal and external wars that came as the result of their recent revolution caused the Reign of Terror. There was so much conflict going on around them that it even further violence was able to make it’s way in through this reign. It was not an inevitable outcome of the revolution, it was a violation of its principles. The Reign of Terror was filled with quasi-judicial executions and murders. An inevitable outcome of the revolution is not a nation filled with violence and more hardship than it experienced during the war. These leaders took advantage of the situation and violated the principles of the country. They had just come out of a time of war, so to me the natural thing seems to be a time of peace and recover. Instead, the violence continued as many more lives were taken through murders and executions. This era started with a Committee of Public Safety to help save the revolution, which at first seems like an inevitable outcome and a necessary group. The problem arose when they took advantage of this power and assumed quasi-dictatorial power. When the took advantage of this committee's powers, they violated the principles of a worthwhile and helpful committee to get their own goals accomplished. This was a violation because yet another group took complete control of the country. They put all males into the war, turned the economy towards war production, and price controls were put into place. The revolution was started to fix the politics and government in their country, even though they conflicted on some ideas they were looking for a republican government. Some of the problems that they had fought so hard against, reappeared during the Reign of Terror. I don’t think this was a natural progression because some of the ideals

that were against reappeared during this time. Another reason that it seems like a violation of principles is they dispensed of the legal due process. This group was not held accountable for their actions, instead they felt they were morally justified. Since they believed they were being moral by eradicating the aristocrats and monarchical corruption, they were able to skate under the law and the normal processes. They tried to justify their acts because they violated the principles. The Reign of Terror claimed as many as 40,000 victims. This sheer number of victims shows that this was a violation of processes and not an inevitable outcome. The end of this reign shows that it wasn’t a natural progression because at its end there was a reaction that removed all the leaders of the Reign of terror and soon after peace could be seen and the economy was being put back together. If the Reign of Terror was inevitable it would have worked to accomplish some of these goals, instead of creating more violence and problems that shows that they were fighting against the natural system. The Reign of Terror was a violation of principles and did a lot of harm to the country....