French Revolution: National Convention Phases and Terror

The National Convention: Key Phases

The New Assembly (September 1792)

The National Convention, established on September 20, 1792 (the day of the Battle of Valmy), immediately abolished the Monarchy and proclaimed the Republic.

The Girondin Convention

The government initially fell into the hands of the Girondins, who adopted a moderate position that displeased the masses. At the Convention, the Girondins faced several problems, notably confronting the radical Montagnards (the voice of the most radical elements). Many members supported either faction.

• The first major issue concerned King Louis XVI.
• The Girondins were ultimately pressured by Jacobins and popular forces to judge and condemn the King for treason.
• Louis XVI was guillotined on January 21, 1793, followed by Marie Antoinette several months later.

The execution spurred a European anti-revolutionary coalition. The situation worsened due to the peasant uprising in the Vendée Department, caused by hunger and new Parisian levies, as the sans-culottes demanded social and economic reforms due to food shortages.

The Jacobin Convention (The Terror)

In early June 1793, with the support of the sans-culottes in the streets, the Jacobins arrested and executed some Girondin members, inaugurating the Jacobin stage of the Convention—the most radical phase of the Revolution.

Radical Reforms and Control

A new Constitution was approved, establishing popular sovereignty and universal male suffrage. A revolutionary government began a policy known as the Terror, aimed at destroying internal and external enemies of the Revolution and satisfying the most radical popular sectors.

The Committee of Public Safety, controlled by Robespierre, concentrated power and took exceptional measures:

1. Arrests, speedy trials, and execution of numerous suspects accused of attitudes against the revolutionary process.
2. Introduction of social reforms benefiting the sans-culottes: redistribution of agricultural property and setting maximum prices for essential goods.

By 1794, the Republic seemed saved. However, the most radical elements demanded greater equality, while the bourgeoisie wished for an end to the Jacobin reforms.