1. Radical Revolution and
Reaction
Ch. 18, Sec 2

2. The move to radicalism
• Paris Commune- political group who attacked and
took over the legislative assembly.
• The called themselves the sans-culottes (“without
breeches”)
• Leader- Georges Danton
• Jean-Paul Marat- published a journal called Friend
of the People
• Called a National Convention

4. The fate of the king
• National Convention agreed to abolish the monarchy
and establish a republic
• Split into two factions over the fate of the king
• Girondins- areas outside the cities- wanted to keep the
king alive
• Mountain- radicals in the city of Paris- wanted to kill
the king
• Both members of the Jacobin club- network of
political groups
• The mountain won and the king was beheaded in
1793

5. Crises and response
• Austria, Prussia, Spain,
Portugal, Britain, and the Dutch
Republic were all mad because
of the execution of King Louis
XVI
• National Convention gave
powers to a special committee-
the Committee of Public Safety
• Lead first by Georges Danton,
then by Maximilien Robespierre

6. The reign of terror
• Almost 40,000 people were
killed
• People who opposed the
sans-culottes were killed
• These people included King
Louis XVI, Marie
Antoinette, and Olympe de
Gouges

7. Crushing rebellion
• Revolutionary armies brought rebellious cities back
under control of the National Convention
• Lyon- 1,800 citizens killed
• Nantes- sunk in barges in the river
• People of all classes were killed
• The killing was only seen as temporary. Once the
war was over, the “Republic of Virtue” would follow.

8. The republic of virtue
• “Good Citizens”
• Slavery abolished
• Attempted economic controls
• De-christianization
• Saint removed from street names
• Churches closed
• Priests encouraged to marry
• Notre Dame re-named “Temple of Reason”
• New Calendar

9. A nation in arms
• External forces threatened
France
• Raised a huge army- over
one million!
• Successfully defended
France and conquered the
Austrian Netherlands!

10. End of Terror
• Robespierre became obsessed with ridding France
of all its enemies
• National Convention voted to condemn him-
guillotined in 1794
• Jacobins lost power
• More moderate leaders took control
• Reign of Terror came to an end

11. The Directory
• New Constitution created
• Legislative Assembly with two
houses
• Five directors elected as the
executive committee- The
Directory
• Era of corruption
• Economic problems
• 1799- Napoleon Bonaparte lead
a coup d’etat and seized power