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123-502: The Enragés were not a unified party, but rather a set of individuals who worked for their own objectives, and evidence of cooperation between them is inconclusive. The leaders did not view themselves as part of a cohesive movement, with Roux even calling for Varlet's arrest at one point. The notion of the Enragés as a cohesive group was perpetuated by the Jacobins , as they lumped their critics to

246-503: A National Convention . Varlet was elected as a deputy in the new Convention. Even as a member of this representative government, though, Varlet mistrusted representation and favored direct universal suffrage which could bind representatives and recall elected legislators. He sought to prevent the wealthy from expanding their profits at the expense of the poor and called for the nationalization of all profits obtained through monopoly and hoarding . In 1790, Théophile Leclerc joined

369-709: A presumption of innocence . Execution of Louis XVI Louis XVI , former King of France since the abolition of the monarchy , was publicly executed on 21 January 1793 during the French Revolution at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. At his trial four days prior, the National Convention had convicted the former king of high treason in a near-unanimous vote; while no one voted "not guilty", several deputies abstained. Ultimately, they condemned him to death by

492-625: A royauté pentarchique . But public opinion was now preponderantly moderate or royalist, and the club was violently attacked in the press and in the streets. The suspicions of the government were aroused; it had to change its meeting-place from the Tuileries to the church of the Jacobins (Temple of Peace) in the Rue du Bac, and in August it was suppressed, after barely a month's existence. Its members avenged themselves on

615-573: A simple majority . The execution by guillotine was performed by Charles-Henri Sanson , then High Executioner of the French First Republic and previously royal executioner under Louis. Often viewed as a turning point in both French and European history, the execution inspired various reactions around the world. To some, Louis' death at the hands of his former subjects symbolized the end of an unbroken thousand-year period of monarchy in France and

738-574: A Jacobin, strongly pleaded against war with Prussia and Austria – but in the Jacobin Club, not in the Assembly where he was not seated. Disdainfully, Robespierre addressed those Jacobin war promoters as 'the faction from the Gironde'; some, not all of them, were indeed from department Gironde . The Jacobins finally rid itself of Feuillants in its midst; the number of clubs increased considerably, convening became

861-567: A group around Robespierre – after September 1792 called ' Montagnards ' or 'Montagne', in English 'the Mountain' – and the Girondins. These groups never had any official status, nor official memberships. The Mountain was not even very homogenous in their political views: what united them was their aversion to the Girondins. The Legislative Assembly , governing France from October 1791 until September 1792,

984-519: A nationwide fad. In March 1792, in retaliation for their opposition to war with Austria the Feuillant ministers were forced out by the Girondins. The Assembly in April 1792 finally decided for war, thus following the ' Girondin ' line on it, but Robespierre's place among the Jacobins had now become much more prominent. From then on, a polarization process started among the members of the Jacobin Club, between

1107-685: A nickname originally given to French Dominicans because their first house in Paris was in the Rue Saint-Jacques . Once in Paris, the club soon extended its membership to others besides deputies. All citizens were allowed to enter, and even foreigners were welcomed: the English writer Arthur Young joined the club in this manner on 18 January 1790. Jacobin Club meetings soon became a place for radical and rousing oratory that pushed for republicanism, widespread education, universal suffrage , separation of church and state, and other reforms. On 8 February 1790,

1230-449: A number of requests, notably asking for an additional period of three days before his execution and a final visit from his family. The deputies accepted the latter but refused to postpone the execution. Louis was served his last dinner at around 7 p.m. After meeting with his confessor, the Irish priest Henry Essex Edgeworth , at around 8 p.m. Louis received the former royal family at his room. He

1353-681: A peasant proprietor from Tuel-en-Montgermont, in Brittany, whose rough common sense was admired as the oracle of popular wisdom, and whose countryman's waistcoat and plaited hair were later on to become the model for the Jacobin fashion. The Jacobin Club supported the monarchy up until the very Eve of the Republic (20 September 1792) . They did not support the petition of 17 July 1791 for the king's dethronement , but instead published their own petition calling for replacement of King Louis XVI . The departure of

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1476-473: A position of more equal formal rights, centralization, and moderate authoritarianism . It can be used to denote supporters of a role of the state in the transformation of society. It is, in particular, used as a self-identification by proponents of a state education system that strongly promotes and inculcates civic values. It is more controversially used by or for proponents of a strong nation-state capable of resisting undesirable foreign interference. When

1599-514: A price accessible to all". He also called for strict punishments against actors engaged in speculation and monopoly . He demanded the National Convention take severe action to repress counterrevolutionary activity, promising to "show them [enemies] those immortal pikes that overthrew the Bastille ". Lastly, he accused the National Convention of ruining the finances of the state and encouraged

1722-416: A regular correspondence. By 10 August 1790 there were already one hundred and fifty-two affiliated clubs; the attempts at counter-revolution led to a great increase of their number in the spring of 1791, and by the close of the year the Jacobins had a network of branches all over France. At the peak there were at least 7,000 chapters throughout France, with a membership estimated at a half-million or more. It

1845-402: A treasurer, and committees elected to superintend elections and presentations, the correspondence, and the administration of the club. Any member who by word or action showed that his principles were contrary to the constitution and the rights of man was to be expelled. By the 7th article the club decided to admit as associates similar societies in other parts of France and to maintain with them

1968-413: A trial, he may be absolved, and innocent. What am I saying? He is presumed to be so until he is judged. But if Louis is absolved, if he may be presumed innocent, what becomes of the revolution? If Louis is innocent, all the defenders of liberty become slanderers. In arguing for a judgment by the elected Convention without trial, Robespierre supported the recommendations of Jean-Baptiste Mailhe , who headed

2091-564: A way to suppress the Vendée insurrection and the Federalist revolts , and to deter recurrences. In July 1794, the National Convention pushed the administration of Robespierre and his allies out of power and had Robespierre and 21 associates executed . In November 1794, the Jacobin Club closed. In the years and decades after the revolution, the term Jacobin was used in an extended sense to denote political positions perceived as similar to those of

2214-409: Is as yet cemented only by laws; a king whose name attracts the scourge of war upon a troubled nation; neither prison nor exile can render his existence inconsequential to public happiness; this cruel exception to the ordinary laws avowed by justice can be imputed only to the nature of his crimes. With regret, I pronounce this fatal truth: Louis must die so that the nation may live. All the deputies from

2337-648: The Salle du Manège of the Tuileries , and was thus known as the Club du Manège . It was patronized by Barras , and some two hundred and fifty members of the two councils of the legislature were enrolled as members, including many notable ex-Jacobins. It published a newspaper called the Journal des Libres , proclaimed the apotheosis of Robespierre and Babeuf , and attacked the Directory as

2460-620: The Abbé Grégoire , Charles Lameth , Alexandre Lameth , Artois deputy Robespierre , the duc d'Aiguillon , and La Revellière-Lépeaux . At this time meetings occurred in secret, and few traces remain concerning what took place or where the meetings convened. By the March on Versailles in October 1789, the club, still entirely composed of deputies, reverted to being a provincial caucus for National Constituent Assembly deputies from Brittany. The club

2583-572: The Civil Constitution of the Clergy , to which he swore an oath on 16 January 1791. Roux famously claimed, I am ready to give every last drop of my blood to a Revolution that has already altered the fate of the human race by making men equal among themselves as they are all for all eternity before God. Roux saw violence as a key to the French Revolution’s success. In fact, when King Louis XVI

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2706-649: The Committee of Public Safety and, through it, the National Convention, which was not only a legislature but also took upon itself executive and judicial functions. The Jacobins as a political force were seen as "less selfish, more patriotic, and more sympathetic to the Paris Populace." The Jacobin Club developed into a bureau for French republicanism and revolution , rejecting its original laissez-faire economic policy and economic liberal approach in favour of economic interventionism . In power, they completed

2829-653: The Estates General of 1789 in France convened in May–June 1789 at the Palace of Versailles , the Jacobin club, originating as the Club Breton , comprised exclusively a group of Breton representatives attending those Estates General. Deputies from other regions throughout France soon joined. Early members included the dominating comte de Mirabeau , Parisian deputy Abbé Sieyès , Dauphiné deputy Antoine Barnave , Jérôme Pétion ,

2952-668: The French First Republic . In May 1793, the leaders of the Mountain faction, led by Maximilien Robespierre , succeeded in sidelining the Girondin faction and controlled the government until July 1794. Their time in government featured high levels of political violence, and for this reason the period of the Jacobin/Mountain government is identified as the Reign of Terror. In October 1793, 21 prominent Girondins were guillotined . The Mountain-dominated government executed 17,000 opponents nationwide as

3075-572: The Jacobin Club ( Club des Jacobins ) or simply the Jacobins ( / ˈ dʒ æ k ə b ɪ n / ; French: [ʒakɔbɛ̃] ), was the most influential political club during the French Revolution of 1789. The period of its political ascendancy includes the Reign of Terror , during which well over 10,000 people were put on trial and executed in France, many for political crimes. Initially founded in 1789 by anti-royalist deputies from Brittany ,

3198-744: The Situationists , these Enragés emerged as one of the leading groups in the May 1968 French protests . Jacobin Former Former The Society of the Friends of the Constitution ( French : Société des amis de la Constitution ), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality ( Société des Jacobins, amis de la liberté et de l'égalité ) after 1792 and commonly known as

3321-570: The Thermidorian Reaction . The Jacobins became targets of Thermidorian and anti-Jacobin papers, with Jacobins lamenting counterrevolutionary pamphlets "poisoning public opinion". The Jacobins disavowed the support they gave Robespierre on 9 Thermidor, yet supported an unpopular return to the Terror. Meanwhile, the society's finances fell into disarray and membership dipped to 600. Further, they were linked to ongoing trials of prominent members of

3444-462: The abolition of feudalism in France that had been formally decided 4 August 1789 but had been held in check by a clause requiring compensation for the abrogation of the feudal privileges. Robespierre entered the political arena at the very beginning of the Revolution, having been elected to represent Artois at the Estates General . Robespierre was viewed as the quintessential political force of

3567-524: The 83 departments against the politicians and Parisians, mainly Montagnards, that had seized power over the Republic. The government in Paris called such revolts 'federalist' which was not accurate: most did not strive for regional autonomy but for a different central government. In October 1793, 21 former Girondin Convention deputies were sentenced to death for supporting an insurrection in Caen . In March 1794,

3690-455: The Assembly were not to be impartial judges but rather statesmen with responsibility for ensuring public safety: Louis was a king, and our republic is established; the critical question concerning you must be decided by these words alone. Louis was dethroned by his crimes; Louis denounced the French people as rebels; he appealed to chains, to the armies of tyrants who are his brothers; the victory of

3813-840: The Citizen. As commented in Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's 1762 book The Social Contract , "Citizenship is the expression of a sublime reciprocity between individual and General will ." This view of citizenship and the General Will, once empowered, could simultaneously embrace the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and adopt the French Constitution of 1793 , then immediately suspend that constitution and all ordinary legality and institute Revolutionary Tribunals that did not grant

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3936-695: The Committee in May, Robespierre entered it in July, Collot d'Herbois in September and Billaud-Varenne also around September 1793. Robespierre for his steadfast adherence to and defence of his views received the nickname and reputation of l'Incorruptible (The Incorruptible or The Unassailable). Several deposed Girondin-Jacobin Convention deputies, among them Jean-Marie Roland , Brissot , Pétion, Louvet , Buzot and Guadet , left Paris to help organize revolts in more than 60 of

4059-533: The Convention and, indeed, contributed to the demise of the moderate Girondins, who were widely seen as having fought to spare the king. Those who adhered to the ideologies presented in the Manifesto of the Enragés wished to emphasize to the National Convention that tyranny was not just the product of monarchy, and that injustice and oppression did not end with the execution of the king . In their view, oppression existed whenever one stratum of society sought to monopolize

4182-661: The Convention. She might have killed her if Jean-Paul Marat had not intervened. To the left of the Montagnards and Hébertists , the Enragés were undermined by Montagnard leader Maximilien Robespierre and Hébertist leader Jacques Hébert , both of whom implemented some of their proposals in order to appeal to the same sans-culottes the Enragés sought to win over. Their ideas were taken up and developed by Gracchus Babeuf and his associates. Another group styling itself as Enragés emerged in France in 1968 among students at Nanterre University . Inspired by, and closely allied with,

4305-568: The Directory by supporting Napoleon Bonaparte. The Jacobin movement encouraged sentiments of patriotism and liberty amongst the populace. The movement's contemporaries, such as the King Louis XVI , located the effectiveness of the revolutionary movement not "in the force and 1789 bayonets of soldiers, guns, cannons and shells but by the marks of political power". Ultimately, the Jacobins were to control several key political bodies, in particular

4428-561: The Jacobin Movement, thrusting ever deeper the dagger of liberty within the despotism of the Monarchy. As a disciple of Rousseau, Robespierre's political views were rooted in Rousseau's notion of the social contract , which promoted "the rights of man". Robespierre particularly favored the rights of the broader population to eat, for example, over the rights of individual merchants. "I denounce

4551-430: The Jacobin movement was the Reign of Terror overseen by the Committee of Public Safety, who were given executive powers to purify and unify the Republic. The Committee instituted requisitioning , rationing , and conscription to consolidate new citizen armies. They instituted the Terror as a means of combating those they perceived as enemies within: Robespierre declared, "the first maxim of your policy ought to be to lead

4674-471: The Jacobins use of mass movements , direct democracy and left-wing populism . The Jacobin philosophy of a complete dismantling of an old system, with completely radical and new structures, is historically seen as one of the most revolutionary and important movements throughout modern history. The cultural influence of the Jacobin movement during the French Revolution revolved around the creation of

4797-690: The King "bore all this with a composure and a firmness which has surprised us all. I remained strongly convinced that he derived this firmness from the principles of the religion by which he seemed penetrated and persuaded as no other man." In his Causeries , Alexandre Dumas refers to a meeting circa 1830 with Henri Sanson, eldest son of Charles-Henri Sanson, who had also been present at the execution.      "Now then, you were saying you wanted something, Monsieur Dumas?"      "You know how much playwrights need accurate information, Monsieur Sanson. The moment may come for me to put Louis XVI on

4920-459: The King's sentence; the session continued for 24 hours. Robespierre worked fervently to ensure the king's execution. The Jacobins successfully defeated the Girondins' final appeal for clemency. On 20 January half of the deputies voted for immediate death. After voting for Louis' execution, the Convention sent a delegation to announce the verdict to the former king at the Temple Prison. Louis made

5043-639: The Montagnard Hébert and some followers were sentenced to death; in April the Montagnard Danton and 13 of his followers were sentenced to death; in both cases after insinuation by Robespierre in the Convention that those "internal enemies" were promoting 'the triumph of tyranny'. Meanwhile, the Montagnard-dominated government resorted also to harsh measures to repress what they considered counter-revolution, conspiracy and " enemies of freedom " in

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5166-515: The Montagnards at 120. The remaining 480 of the 750 deputies of the convention were called ' the Plain ' (French: la Plaine) and managed to keep some speed in the debates while Girondins and Montagnards were mainly occupied with nagging the opposite side. Most Ministries were manned by friends or allies of the Girondins, but while the Girondins were stronger than the Montagnards outside Paris, inside Paris

5289-623: The Montagnards at the Hôtel de Ville and the Jacobin Club itself where members had been gathering every Saturday evening. Robespierre and 21 associates including the Jacobin Saint-Just and the Montagnard Couthon were sentenced to death by the National Convention and guillotined . Probably because of the high level of repressive violence – but also to discredit Robespierre and associates as solely responsible for it – historians have taken up

5412-463: The Montagnards were much more popular, implying that the public galleries of the convention were always loudly cheering for Montagnards, while jeering at Girondins speaking. On 6 April 1793, the convention established the Comité de salut public (Committee of Public Prosperity, also translated as Committee of Public Safety) as sort of executive government of nine, later twelve members, always accountable to

5535-409: The Mountain were asked to attend the meeting on 3 December. Most Montagnards favoured judgment and execution, while the Girondins were more divided concerning how to proceed, with some arguing for royal inviolability, others for clemency, and others advocating lesser punishment or banishment. The next day on 4 December the Convention decreed all the royalist writings illegal. 26 December was the day of

5658-464: The Nation!", Long live the Republic!", and "Long live Liberty!", and gun salutes were fired while a few danced the farandole . Edgeworth, Louis' Irish confessor, wrote in his memoirs: The path leading to the scaffold was extremely rough and difficult to pass; the King was obliged to lean on my arm, and from the slowness with which he proceeded, I feared for a moment that his courage might fail; but what

5781-442: The National Convention and the sans-culottes . They illuminated the internal and external war waged by the sans-culottes . They complained that the National Convention ordered men to fight on the battlefield without providing for the widows and orphans remaining in France. They emphasized the unavailability of basic necessities, particularly bread. In his Manifesto of the Enragés , Jacques Roux colorfully expressed this sentiment to

5904-503: The National Convention of protecting the merchant elite's interests at the expense of the sans-culottes. Further attempts of the Enragés to communicate their position were denied by the National Convention. Determined to be heard, they responded with revolt. They plundered the homes and businesses of the merchant elite, employing direct action to meet their needs. The Enragés were noted for using both legal and extralegal means to achieve their ends. The Enragés were composed of members within

6027-549: The National Convention, asking, Is it necessary that the widows of those who died for the cause of freedom pay, at the price of gold, for the cotton they need to wipe away their tears, for the milk and the honey that serves for their children? They accused the merchant aristocracy of withholding access to goods and supplies to intentionally drive up prices. Roux demanded that the National Convention impose capital punishment upon unethical merchants who used speculation , monopolies and hoarding to increase their personal profits at

6150-537: The National Convention. Initially, it counted no Girondins and only one or two Montagnards, but gradually the influence of Montagnards in the Committee grew. Early April 1793, Minister of War Pache said to the National Convention that the 22 leaders of the Girondins should be banned. Later that month, the Girondin Guadet accused the Montagnard Marat of 'preaching plunder and murder' and trying 'to destroy

6273-504: The Place de la Révolution at around 10:15 a.m., stopping in front of a scaffold installed between the Champs-Élysées and a pedestal, where a statue of his grandfather, Louis XV , once stood until it was toppled in 1792. The scaffold was placed in an empty space surrounded by guns and fédérés , with the people being kept at a distance. 20,000 men were deployed to guard the area. Louis exited

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6396-401: The Revolution held a short memorial service at the church. One of them, Damoureau, stated in evidence: Arriving at the cemetery, I called for silence. A detachment of Gendarmes showed us the body. It was clothed in a white vest and grey silk breeches with matching stockings. We chanted Vespers and the service for the dead. In pursuance of an executive order, the body lying in its open coffin

6519-513: The Terror involved in atrocities in Nantes , especially Jean-Baptiste Carrier . Organized gangs formed, the jeunesse doree or Muscadins , who harassed and attacked Jacobin members, even assailing the Jacobin Club hall in Paris. On 21 Brumaire, the Convention refused to support enforcement of protection of the club. The Committee of General Security decided to close the Jacobins' meeting hall late that night, resulting in it being padlocked at four in

6642-402: The actress Claire Lacombe , another individual associated with the Enragés, founded the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women . This group was outraged by high costs of living, lack of necessities and awful living conditions. Lacombe was known for violent rhetoric and action. On 26 May 1793, Lacombe nearly beat to death a Girondin woman, Théroigne de Méricourt , with a whip on the benches of

6765-485: The armed force, which was extremely obedient. Louis Capet wanted to speak of commiseration to the people, but I prevented him so the king could receive his execution. Speaking to Victor Hugo in 1840, a man called Leboucher, who had arrived in Paris from Bourges in December 1792 and was present at the execution of Louis XVI, recalled vividly: Here are some unknown details. The executioners numbered four; two only performed

6888-414: The assassins of the people to you and you respond, 'let them act as they will.' In such a system, all is against society; all favors the grain merchants." Robespierre famously elaborated this conception in his speech on 2 December 1792: "What is the first goal of society? To maintain the imprescribable rights of man. What is the first of these rights? The right to exist." The ultimate political vehicle for

7011-425: The carriage and was received by the executioner Charles-Henri Sanson, and then took off his frock coat and cravat . After initially refusing to permit Sanson and his assistants to bind his hands together, the former king was ultimately convinced by Edgeworth, and his own handkerchief was used instead of rope. The executioner's men then cut his hair and opened his shirt's collar. Accompanied by drum rolls, Louis climbed

7134-411: The club grew into a nationwide republican movement with a membership estimated at a half million or more. The Jacobin Club was heterogeneous and included both prominent parliamentary factions of the early 1790s: The Mountain and the Girondins . In 1792–93, the Girondins were more prominent in leading France when they declared war on Austria and on Prussia , overthrew King Louis XVI , and set up

7257-457: The commission reporting on legal aspects of Louis's trial or judgment. Unlike some Girondins ( Pétion ), Robespierre specifically opposed judgment by primary assemblies or a referendum, believing that this could cause a civil war. While he called for a trial of Queen Marie Antoinette and the imprisonment of Louis-Charles , the Dauphin of France , Robespierre advocated that the King be executed despite his opposition to capital punishment: Yes,

7380-406: The conservative members of the Jacobin Club to form their own Feuillants Club in July 1791 to some extent radicalized the Jacobin Club. Late 1791, a group of Jacobins in the Legislative Assembly advocated war with Prussia and Austria. Most prominent among them was Brissot , other members were Pierre Vergniaud , Fauchet , Maximin Isnard , Jean-Marie Roland . Maximilien Robespierre , also

7503-405: The crimes laid to my charge; I Pardon those who have occasioned my death; and I pray to God that the blood you are going to shed may never be visited on France." The executioner Charles-Henri Sanson responded to the story by offering his own version of events in a letter dated 20 February 1793. The account of Sanson states: Arriving at the foot of the guillotine, Louis XVI looked for a moment at

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7626-401: The day's events by the Paris Commune . After dressing with Cléry's aid, the former king was joined by Edgeworth at approximately 6. a.m.. He heard his last Mass, served by Cléry, and received Viaticum . The Mass requisites were provided by special direction of the authorities. On Edgeworth's advice, Louis avoided a last farewell scene with his family. At 7 a.m. he confided his last wishes to

7749-402: The death penalty is, in general, a crime, unjustifiable by the indestructible principles of nature, except in cases protecting the safety of individuals or the society altogether. Ordinary misdemeanours have never threatened public safety because society may always protect itself by other means, making those culpable powerless to harm it. But for a king dethroned in the bosom of a revolution, which

7872-463: The deposed king would not be taken in a tumbrel . He seated himself in it with the priest, with two militiamen sitting opposite them. The carriage left the Temple at approximately 9 a.m. to the sound of drums and trumpets. For more than an hour the carriage made its way through Paris, escorted by about 200 mounted gendarmes . The city had 80,000 men-at-arms ( National Guardsmen , fédérés , and riflemen) occupying intersections, squares and posted along

7995-412: The discovery of a secret cache of 726 documents consisting of Louis's communications with bankers and ministers. With the question of the King's fate now occupying public discourse, Robespierre delivered a speech that would define the rhetoric and course of Louis's trial. Robespierre argued that the dethroned king could now function only as a threat to liberty and national peace and that the members of

8118-405: The discussions from the balconies. The rather high subscription of the Jacobin Club confined its membership to well-off men. The Jacobins claimed to speak on behalf of the people but were themselves not of 'the people': contemporaries saw the Jacobins as a club of the bourgeoisie . As far as the central society in Paris was concerned, it was composed almost entirely of professional men (such as

8241-402: The dominant voice in the Jacobin Club. Since late 1791, the Girondins became opponents of Robespierre, taking their place on the right side of the session room of the convention. By this time, they stopped visiting the Jacobin Club. Those parliamentary groups, Montagnards and Girondins, never had any official status, but historians estimate the Girondins in the Convention at 150 men strong,

8364-428: The drummer Pierrard. The executioners fastened Louis to the guillotine's bench ( bascule ), positioning his neck beneath the device's yoke ( lunette ) to hold it in place. At 10:22 a.m., the device was activated and the blade swiftly decapitated him. One of Sanson's assistants grabbed his severed head out of the receptacle into which it fell and exhibited it to the cheering crowd. Some of the spectators shouted "Long live

8487-462: The drums, trussed to a plank, still struggling, and receiving the heavy blade so badly that the cut does not go through his neck, but through the back of his head and his jaw, horribly? The body of Louis XVI was immediately transported to the old Church of the Madeleine (demolished in 1799), since the legislation in force forbade burial of his remains beside those of his father, the Dauphin Louis de France , at Sens . Two vicars who had sworn fealty to

8610-446: The exclusive use of the assignat to stabilize finances. The Enragés formed in response to the Jacobins 's reluctance to restrain the capitalist bourgeois . Many Parisians feared that the National Convention protected merchants and shopkeepers at the expense of the sans-culottes , the lower-class working peoples. The Enragés, though not a cohesive body, offered these working poor a platform to express their dissent. Their dissent

8733-411: The execution; the third stayed at the foot of the ladder, and the fourth was on the wagon which was to convey the King's body to the Madeleine Cemetery and which was waiting a few feet from the scaffold. The executioners wore breeches, coats in the French style as the Revolution had modified it, and three-cornered hats with enormous tri-colour cockades. They executed the King with their hats on, and it

8856-457: The expense of the poor. The Enragés labeled price gouging as counter-revolutionary and treasonous. This sentiment also extended to those who sympathized with the recently executed King Louis XVI . They felt that those who sympathized with the monarchy would also sympathize with those who hoarded goods. It is not surprising that many within the Enragés actively worked against the Girondin faction of

8979-481: The first battalion of Morbihan volunteers, remaining a member until February 1792. He gained recognition in Paris through a speech to the Jacobins attacking Louis XVI. After moving to Lyon , he joined the Central Club and married Pauline Léon , a revolutionary woman . He approved of radical violence like the other Enragés, calling for the execution of expelled Girondins after the 2 June insurrection . In 1793,

9102-483: The foot of the scaffold we decided to tie his hands, but less because we feared that he might defend himself than because we thought he might by an involuntary movement spoil his execution or make it more painful. So one assistant waited with a rope, while another said to him 'It is necessary to tie your hands'. On hearing these unexpected words, at the unexpected sight of that rope, Louis XVI made an involuntary gesture of repulsion. 'Never!' he cried, 'never!' and pushed back

9225-448: The galleries and around the convention would finally lead the country to anarchy and civil war, and he threatened on 25 May: "If anything should befall to the representatives of the nation, I declare, in the name of France, that all of Paris will be obliterated". The next day, Robespierre said in the Jacobin Club that the people should "rise up against the corrupted deputies" in the convention. On 27 May, both Girondins and Montagnards accused

9348-487: The good fortune of the French." The blade fell. It was 10:22 am. One of the assistants of Sanson showed the head of Louis XVI to the people, whereupon a huge cry of "Vive la Nation! Vive la République!" arose and an artillery salute rang out which reached the ears of the imprisoned Royal family. In his letter, published along with its French mistakes in the Thermomètre of Thursday, 21 February 1793, Sanson emphasises that

9471-666: The governments of Europe throughout the 1800s. This complex and complete revolution in political, societal and cultural structure, caused in part by the Jacobins, had lasting impact throughout Europe, with such societal revolutions throughout the 1800s culminating in the Revolutions of 1848 . Jacobin populism and complete structural destruction of the old order led to an increasingly revolutionary spirit throughout Europe and such changes would contribute to new political foundations. Leftist organizations would take different elements from Jacobin's core foundation. Anarchists took influence from

9594-490: The group around Robespierre dominating French politics in June 1793–July 1794 was often designated as 'Jacobins'. Many of these Montagnards (and Jacobins) entered, or were already, in the de facto executive government of France, the Committee of Public Prosperity (or Public Safety) : Barère was in it since April 1793 until at least October 1793, Danton served there from April until July 1793, Couthon and Saint-Just had entered

9717-534: The guillotine fell, an anonymous Freemason leaped on the scaffolding, plunged his hand into the blood, splashed drips of it onto the crown, and shouted, " Jacques de Molay , tu es vengé! " (usually translated as, "Jacques de Molay, thou art avenged"). De Molay (died 1314), the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar , had reportedly cursed Louis' ancestor Philip the Fair , after the latter had sentenced him to burn at

9840-617: The guillotine] went to the Temple . There we announced to the tyrant [Louis] that the hour of execution had arrived. He asked to be alone for a few minutes with his confessor. He wanted to give us a package to turn over to you [the Paris Commune]; we made the observation that we were only charged with taking him to the scaffold. He answered: “This is proper.” He turned the package over to one of our colleagues, asked that we look after his family, and asked that Cléry, his valet-de-chambre, be that of

9963-461: The habit to roughly label the period June 1793–July 1794 as ' Reign of Terror '. Later and modern scholars explain that high level of repressive violence occurred at a time when France was menaced by civil war and by a coalition of foreign hostile powers, requiring the discipline of the Terror to mold France into a united Republic capable of resisting this double peril. With the execution of Robespierre and other leading Montagnards and Jacobins, began

10086-486: The historical Jacobins and the Mountain in the National Convention . It was popular among conservative publicists as a pejorative to deride progressive politics , and among Anglophone progressives likewise as a pejorative denoting the violent excesses of the revolution, whereas they associated its positive features and principles with the Girondins . In Britain, the term faintly echoed negative connotations of Jacobitism ,

10209-400: The instruments of his execution and asked Sanson why the drums had stopped beating. He came forward to speak, but there were shouts to the executioners to get on with their work. As he was strapped down, he exclaimed "My people, I die innocent!" Then, turning towards his executioners, Louis XVI declared "Gentlemen, I am innocent of everything of which I am accused. I hope that my blood may cement

10332-473: The last hearing of the King. On 28 December, Robespierre was asked to repeat his speech on the fate of the king in the Jacobin club. On 14 January 1793, the King was unanimously voted guilty of conspiracy and attacks upon public safety. Never before the Convention was like a court. On 15 January the call for a referendum was defeated by 424 votes to 287, which Robespierre led. On 16 January, voting began to determine

10455-488: The lawyer Robespierre ) and well-to-do bourgeoisie (like the brewer Santerre ). From the start, however, other elements were also present. Besides the teenage son of the Duc d'Orléans , Louis Philippe , a future king of France, aristocrats such as the duc d'Aiguillon, the prince de Broglie , and the vicomte de Noailles , and the bourgeoisie formed the mass of the members. The club further included people like "père" Michel Gérard,

10578-518: The left into one group. In 1793, Jacques Roux delivered a speech at the National Convention known as the Manifesto of the Enragés that represented the essential demands of the group. He asserted that freedom and equality had thus far been "vain phantoms", because the rich had profited from the French Revolution at the expense of the poor. To remedy this, he proposed measures for price controls , arguing, "Those goods necessary to all should be delivered at

10701-459: The left side on the highest seats of the session room: therefore that group around and led by Robespierre was called The Mountain (French: la Montagne , les Montagnards ). Some historians prefer to identify a parliamentary group around Robespierre as Jacobins, which can be confusing because not all Montagnards were Jacobin and their primal enemies, the Girondins, were originally also Jacobins. By September 1792, Robespierre indeed had also become

10824-480: The majority of resources while simultaneously preventing others from gaining access to those same resources. In their view, the pursuit of resources was acceptable, but the act of limiting access to resources was punishable by death. The Enragés called on the National Convention to restrict commerce, so that it might not "consist of ruining, rendering hopeless, or starving citizens". While the Enragés occasionally worked within political structures, their primary objective

10947-418: The man holding the rope. The other three assistants, believing that a struggle was imminent, dashed forward. That is the explanation of the moment of confusion interpreted after their fashion by the historians. It was then that my father approached and said, in the most respectful tone of voice imaginable, 'With a handkerchief, Sire'. At the word 'Sire', which he had not heard for so long, Louis XVI winced, and at

11070-614: The monarchy on 21 September 1792, and the subsequent foundation of the French Republic , left the fate of the former king open to debate. A commission was established to examine the evidence against him while the Convention's Legislation Committee considered legal aspects of any future trial. On 13 November, Maximilien Robespierre stated in the Convention that a Constitution which Louis himself had violated, and which declared his inviolability, could not now be used in his defence. On 20 November, opinion turned sharply against Louis following

11193-483: The morning. The next meeting day, 22 Brumaire (12 November 1794), without debate the National Convention passed a decree permanently closing the Jacobin Club by a nearly unanimous vote. Within a year 93% of the Jacobin clubs were closed throughout the country. An attempt to reorganize Jacobin adherents was the foundation of the Réunion d'amis de l'égalité et de la liberté , in July 1799, which had its headquarters in

11316-489: The movement in the National Convention. Revolutionary proto-feminists held vital positions within the Enragés, including Claire Lacombe and Pauline Léon . The proto-feminists of the French Revolution are now credited with inspiring feminist movements in the 19th century . Jacques Roux , a Roman Catholic priest, was a leader of the Enragés. Roux supported the common people (i.e., the sans-culottes ) and republicanism . He participated in peasant movements and endorsed

11439-589: The next several years. Nine months after Louis' death, his wife Marie Antoinette , formerly queen of France, met her own death at the guillotine at the same location in Paris. Following the attack on the Tuileries Palace during the insurrection of 10 August 1792 , King Louis XVI was imprisoned at the Temple Prison in Paris, along with his wife Marie Antoinette, their two children and his younger sister Élisabeth . The Convention's unanimous decision to abolish

11562-787: The other party of propagating civil war. On 2 June 1793, the convention was besieged in its Tuileries Palace by a crowd of around 80,000 armed soldiers, clamorously on the hand of the Montagnards. In a chaotic session a decree was adopted that day by the convention, expelling 22 leading Girondins from the convention, including Lanjuinais , Isnard and Fauchet. Around June 1793, Maximilien Robespierre and some of his associates (Montagnards) gained greater power in France. Many of them, like Robespierre himself, were Jacobin: Fouché , Collot d'Herbois , Billaud-Varenne , Marat , Danton , Saint-Just . Three other powerful Montagnards were not known as Jacobin: Barère , Hébert and Couthon . In 'culture wars' and history writing after 1793 however,

11685-547: The people by reason and the people's enemies by terror." The meeting place of the Fraternal Society of Patriots of Both Sexes was an old library room of the convent which hosted the Jacobins, and it was suggested that the Fraternal Society grew out of the regular occupants of a special gallery allotted to women at the Jacobin Club. Georges Valois , founder of the first non-Italian fascist party Faisceau , claimed

11808-420: The people established that Louis alone was a rebel; Louis cannot, therefore, be judged; he already is judged. He is condemned, or the republic cannot be absolved. To propose to have a trial of Louis XVI, in whatever manner one may, is to retrogress to royal despotism and constitutionality; it is a counter-revolutionary idea because it places the revolution itself in litigation. In effect, if Louis may still be given

11931-535: The political foundation of almost all leftist schools of thought including anarchism , communism and socialism . The Paris Commune was seen as the revolutionary successor to the Jacobins. The undercurrent of radical and populist tendencies espoused and enacted by the Jacobins would create a complete cultural and societal shock within the traditional and conservative governments of Europe, leading to new political ideas of society emerging. Jacobin rhetoric would lead to increasing secularization and skepticism towards

12054-522: The priest: his royal seal was to go to his son and his wedding ring to his wife. At around 8 a.m. the commander of the National Guard, Antoine Joseph Santerre , arrived at the Temple. Louis received a final blessing from Edgeworth, presented his last will  [ fr ] to a municipal official and handed himself over to Santerre. Louis entered a green carriage awaiting in the second court. The mayor of Paris, Nicolas Chambon , had ensured that

12177-476: The pro-Catholic, monarchist, rarely insurrectional political movement that faded out decades earlier tied to deposed King James II of England and his descendants. The term Jacobin reached obsolescence and supersedence before the Russian Revolution , when the terms (Radical) Marxism , anarchism , socialism , and communism had overtaken it. In modern France, the term Jacobin generally denotes

12300-427: The provinces outside Paris, resulting in 17,000 death sentences between September 1793 and July 1794 in all of France. In late June 1794, three colleagues on the Committee of Public Prosperity/Safety – Billaud-Varenne, Collot d'Herbois and Carnot – called Robespierre a dictator. On 10 Thermidor, Year II (28 July 1794), at some time in the evening, Louis Legendre was sent out with troops to arrest leading members of

12423-451: The queen; hurriedly he then said: “my wife.” In addition, he asked that his former servants at Versailles not be forgotten. He said to Santerre: “Let us go.” He crossed one courtyard on foot and climbed into a carriage in the second. On the way the most profound silence reigned. Nothing of note happened. We went up to the office of the Marine to prepare the official report of the execution. Capet

12546-444: The roots of fascism stemmed from the Jacobin movement. This is disputed as the Jacobin's were socially and politically liberal , against conservatism, and advocated for republicanism . The Jacobin movement is considered to be left-wing . The political rhetoric and populist ideas espoused by the Jacobins would lead to the development of the modern leftist movements throughout the 19th and 20th century, with Jacobinism being

12669-492: The same moment his confessor had addressed a few words to him from the carriage, said 'So be it, then, that too, my God!' and held out his hands." His son Henri Sanson was appointed Executioner of Paris from April 1793, and executed Marie Antoinette. Jacques Roux , a radical Enragé and member of the Paris Commune , was assigned to write a report on Louis' death. In his report, he wrote: We [those assigned to lead Louis to

12792-411: The society became formally constituted on this broader basis by the adoption of the rules drawn up by Barnave , which were issued with the signature of the duc d'Aiguillon, the president. The club's objectives were defined as such: At the same time the rules of order of election were settled, and the constitution of the club determined. There was to be a president, elected every month, four secretaries,

12915-425: The sovereignty of the people'. A majority of the Convention agreed to put Marat on trial, but the court of justice quickly acquitted Marat. This apparent victory of the Montagnards intensified their antipathies of the Girondins, and more proposals were vented to get rid of the Girondins. On both 18 and 25 May 1793, the acting president of the convention, Isnard, a Girondin, warned that the disturbances and disorder on

13038-402: The stage. How much truth is there in the story of the wrestling bout between him and your father's assistants at the foot of the scaffold?"      "Oh, I can tell you that, Monsieur, I was there."      "I know, that's why it is you I'm asking."      "Well listen. The King had been driven to the scaffold in his own carriage and his hands were free. At

13161-536: The stairs of the scaffold and joined Sanson and his four assistants on the platform. After walking to the edge of the scaffold, Louis signaled to the drummers to stop and proclaimed his innocence to the crowd and expressed his concern for the future of France. He would have continued but a drum roll was ordered by Santerre, and the resulting noise made his final words difficult to understand. The order has also been attributed to others, including Santerre's aide-de-camp Dugazon , maréchal de camp Beaufranchet d'Ayat , and

13284-539: The stake based on false confessions. The story spread widely and the phrase remains in use today to indicate "the triumph of reason and logic over religious superstition". The area where Louis XVI and later (16 October 1793) Marie Antoinette were buried, in the cemetery of the Church of the Madeleine, is today the "Square Louis XVI" greenspace, containing the classically self-effacing Expiatory Chapel completed in 1826 during

13407-452: The streets, as well as cannons placed at strategic locations. Parisians came in large numbers to witness the execution, both on the route and at the site of the guillotine. In the neighbourhood of the present-day rue de Cléry , the Baron de Batz , a supporter of the former royal family who had financed the flight to Varennes , had summoned 300 royalists to enable the former king's escape. Louis

13530-447: The true beginning of democracy within the nation, although Louis would not be the last king of France. Others (even some who had supported major political reform) condemned the execution as an act of senseless bloodshed and saw it as a sign that France had devolved into a state of violent, amoral chaos. Louis' death emboldened revolutionaries throughout the country, who continued to alter French political and social structure radically over

13653-454: Was achieving social and economic reform. They were a direct action group, attempting to meet the immediate needs of the working poor. Jean-François Varlet , though a man, understood the enormous influence women possessed, particularly within the French Revolution. Varlet formed the Enragés by provoking and motivating working poor women and organizing them into a semi-cohesive mobile unit. The Enragés often appointed women as speakers to represent

13776-423: Was changed to Société des Jacobins, amis de la liberté et de l'égalité (Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality). In the newly elected National Convention , governing France as of 21 September 1792, Maximilien Robespierre made his comeback in the center of French power. Together with his 25-year-old protégé Louis Antoine de Saint-Just , Marat , Danton and other associates they took places on

13899-421: Was dominated by men like Brissot, Isnard and Roland: Girondins. But after June 1792, Girondins visited less and less the Jacobin Club, where Robespierre, their fierce opponent, grew more and more dominant. On 21 September 1792, after the fall of the monarchy the title assumed by the Jacobin Club after the promulgation of the constitution of 1791 ( Société des amis de la constitution séants aux Jacobins à Paris )

14022-573: Was executed in January 1793, it was Roux who led him to the scaffold. Jean Varlet , another leader of the Enragés, played a leading role in the fall of the monarchy . When King Louis XVI attempted to flee Paris , Varlet circulated petitions in the National Assembly and spoke against the king. On 10 August 1792 , the Legislative Assembly suspended the king and called for the election of

14145-457: Was my astonishment, when arrived at the last step, I felt that he suddenly let go my arm, and I saw him cross with a firm foot the breadth of the whole scaffold; silence, by his look alone, fifteen or twenty drums that were placed opposite to me; and in a voice so loud, that it must have been heard at the Pont Tournant, I heard him pronounce distinctly these memorable words: "I die innocent of all

14268-409: Was never out of our sight up till the guillotine. He arrived at 10 hours 10 minutes; it took him three minutes to get out of the carriage. He wanted to speak to the people but Santerre wouldn’t allow it. His head fell. The citizens dipped their pikes and their handkerchiefs in his blood. Santerre is then quoted as saying: We have just given you an exact account of what occurred. I have only praise for

14391-574: Was often conveyed through riots, public demonstrations and passionate oratory. Jacques Roux and Jean-Francois Varlet emboldened the Parisian working poor to approach the Jacobin Club on 22 February 1793 and persuade them to place price controls on necessary goods . The Enragés appointed two women to represent the movement and their agenda to the National Convention. However, the Convention refused to grant them an audience. This provoked outrage and criticism throughout Paris, and some went as far as to accuse

14514-845: Was re-founded in November 1789 as the Société de la Révolution , inspired in part by a letter sent from the Revolution Society of London to the Assembly congratulating the French on regaining their liberty. To accommodate growing membership, the group rented for its meetings the refectory of the Dominican monastery of the “Jacobins” in the Rue Saint-Honoré , adjacent to the seat of the Assembly. They changed their name to Société des amis de la Constitution in late January, though by this time, their opponents had already concisely dubbed them "Jacobins",

14637-519: Was this widespread yet highly centralized organization that gave to the Jacobin Club great power. By early 1791, clubs like the Jacobins, the Club des Cordeliers and the Cercle Social were increasingly dominating French political life. Numbers of men were members of two or more of such clubs. Women were not accepted as members of the Jacobin Club (nor of most other clubs), but they were allowed to follow

14760-594: Was thrown onto a bed of quicklime at the bottom of the pit and covered by one of earth, the whole being firmly and thoroughly tamped down. Louis XVI's head was placed at his feet. On 21 January 1815, during the First Bourbon Restoration , Louis XVI and his wife's remains were re-buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis where in 1816 his brother, King Louis XVIII , had a funerary monument erected by Edme Gaulle . A popular but apocryphal legend holds that as soon as

14883-487: Was to be hidden in a house in the rue de Cléry belonging to the Count of Marsan. The Baron leaped forward calling "Follow me, my friends, let us save the King!", but his associates had been denounced and only a few had been able to turn up. Three of them were killed, but de Batz managed to escape. The convoy continued on its way along the boulevards and the rue de la Révolution (now rue Royale ). Louis' carriage arrived at

15006-415: Was visited by Marie Antoinette, their children Marie-Thérèse and Louis-Charles, and his sister Élisabeth. At around 11 p.m., Louis' family left the Temple and the former king again met with his confessor. He went to sleep at half past midnight. Louis was awakened by his valet Jean-Baptiste Cléry at around 5 a.m., and was greeted by a host of people including Jacques Roux , who was appointed to report on

15129-437: Was without taking his hat off that Samson, [ sic ] seizing by the hair the severed head of Louis XVI., showed it to the people, and for a few moments let the blood from it trickle upon the scaffold. In Le nouveau Paris , Mercier describes the execution of Louis XVI in these words: ... is this really the same man that I see being jostled by four assistant executioners, forcibly undressed, his voice drowned out by

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