2H France in Revolution, 1774–1815 (A-level only) – The emergence and spread of the Terror, September 1792–1795 — AQA A-Level History
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2H France in Revolution, 1774–1815 (A-level only) – The emergence and spread of the Terror, September 1792–1795 explained
The National Convention established the French Republic in September 1792, immediately facing severe problems including war with the First Coalition, economic inflation from devalued assignats, and bitter factionalism between Girondins and Jacobins.
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Early policies aimed to secure the revolution, such as secularising civil registers. The most critical issue was the debate leading to the execution of the King. The discovery of the armoire de fer proved Louis XVI's counter-revolutionary plotting. While Girondins proposed an appeal to the people to decide his fate, Jacobins like Robespierre argued that the King must die so the Republic could live. Louis was tried, found guilty of treason, and executed in January 1793, irrevocably dividing the nation.
Internal and external war: the spread of war; the rising in the Vendée; attempts to establish wartime control; Robespierre; the fall of the Girondins and the Federalist revolt
In 1793, France faced severe crises of internal and external war. The spread of war against the First Coalition brought defeats and conscription demands, which triggered the rising in the Vendée, a massive royalist and Catholic rebellion. The Convention made attempts to establish wartime control by creating the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre emerged as a dominant figure, advocating centralisation to save the Republic. Blamed for military failures and opposing sans-culottes demands, moderate deputies suffered the fall of the Girondins in June 1793 after a popular uprising. This purge directly sparked the Federalist revolt in provincial cities like Lyon, where local leaders rebelled against the radicalised, Paris-dominated Jacobin government, intensifying the civil war.
The progress of the war: the levée en masse and the coming of the Terror
Early defeats in the Revolutionary Wars and the defection of General Dumouriez in 1793 created intense paranoia in Paris. To combat the First Coalition, the National Convention decreed the levée en masse in August 1793. This unprecedented policy conscripted unmarried men aged 18 to 25, mobilising the entire nation's resources for the war effort. Enforcing this massive state intervention required strict internal control to requisition supplies and suppress counter-revolutionary uprisings, such as the rebellion in the Vendée. The existential threat of the war and the logistical demands of the levée en masse directly precipitated the coming of the Terror, as the government adopted extreme measures to ensure national survival.
The spread of the Terror: executions; the influence of Robespierre and the sans culottes; the role of the CPS; Robespierre's fall and the collapse of the Terror
The Terror spread rapidly as the Committee of Public Safety (CPS), guided by Maximilien Robespierre, centralised power. Driven by the radical demands of the Parisian sans-culottes, the National Convention passed the Law of Suspects, which the CPS enforced. This led to widespread executions by guillotine. Robespierre justified this violence as necessary for civic virtue. However, the Great Terror of 1794 alienated his supporters. The execution of Danton, coupled with the Law of 22 Prairial accelerating trials, created pervasive fear within the Convention. This culminated in the coup of Thermidor; Robespierre's fall and execution dismantled the CPS's dictatorial apparatus, triggering the rapid collapse of the Terror.
Your focus
- Describe the immediate political and economic problems facing the newly established Republic.
- Explain the early policies implemented by the National Convention.
- Analyse the factional debates and key events that led to the execution of Louis XVI.
Show all 12 objectives
- Explain the causes and impact of the rising in the Vendée and the spread of external war.
- Evaluate the attempts to establish wartime control and the rising influence of Robespierre.
- Analyse the sequence of events linking the fall of the Girondins to the outbreak of the Federalist revolt.
- Describe the military situation facing France in early 1793.
- Explain the terms and broader societal impact of the levée en masse.
- Analyse the causal relationship between the progress of the war and the onset of the Terror.
- Detail the mechanisms and scale of executions during the spread of the Terror.
- Evaluate the symbiotic but ultimately fractured relationship between the CPS, Robespierre, and the sans-culottes.
- Explain the sequence of events leading to the coup of Thermidor and the subsequent dismantling of the Terror's apparatus.
2H France in Revolution, 1774–1815 (A-level only) – The emergence and spread of the Terror, September 1792–1795 exam tips
Marking Points
- Identify the political and economic problems facing the new Republic, including war and inflation.
- Evaluate the policies implemented by the National Convention to consolidate republican control.
- Analyse the arguments presented by the Girondins and Jacobins during the debate over the King's fate.
- Assess the impact of the armoire de fer discovery on the trial and execution of Louis XVI.
- Explain how the spread of external war and conscription levies provoked the rising in the Vendée.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the institutions created to establish wartime control, such as the Committee of Public Safety.
- Analyse the role of Robespierre in centralising power and responding to internal and external threats.
- Assess the causes of the fall of the Girondins and how their purge triggered the Federalist revolt.
- Explain the military context of 1793, including the threat posed by the First Coalition and internal rebellions.
- Define the levée en masse as a policy of total war that mobilised human and material resources, not just a military draft.
- Analyse the link between military crisis and political radicalisation, showing how fear of defeat justified emergency powers.
- Evaluate how the logistical demands of supplying a massive conscript army necessitated coercive economic and political measures, leading to the Terror.
- Analyse the role of the Committee of Public Safety (CPS) as the executive engine of the Terror, centralising authority.
- Evaluate the ideological and political influence of Robespierre in justifying state violence through the concept of 'virtue'.
- Assess the pressure exerted by the sans-culottes on the Convention and the CPS to implement radical economic and punitive measures.
- Explain the causes of the Thermidorian Reaction, focusing on how the Law of 22 Prairial and the execution of political factions led to Robespierre's downfall.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Use the debate over the King's execution to illustrate the growing ideological divide between the Girondins and the Montagnards.
- 💡Link the economic problems, such as the depreciation of the assignat, to the growing radicalisation of the sans-culottes.
- 💡When discussing policies, mention specific early republican reforms rather than just focusing on the Terror.
- 💡Connect the external military crises directly to the radicalisation of internal politics and the creation of emergency wartime controls.
- 💡Use the fall of the Girondins to demonstrate the growing power of the Parisian sans-culottes over the National Convention.
- 💡Contrast the motivations behind the Vendée uprising and the Federalist revolt to show the complex nature of internal opposition.
- 💡Use the levée en masse as a primary example when arguing that external threats drove internal radicalisation.
- 💡Connect the demands of the war effort to the economic grievances of the sans-culottes to build a multi-causal argument for the Terror.
- 💡Assess the extent to which the Terror was a pragmatic response to military necessity versus an ideological purge.
- 💡Contrast the ideological motivations of Robespierre with the pragmatic, survival-driven actions of the CPS and the Convention.
- 💡Use specific legislation, such as the Law of Suspects and the Law of 22 Prairial, to demonstrate how the machinery of the Terror escalated.
- 💡When discussing the collapse of the Terror, evaluate whether it was driven more by the removal of external military threats or by internal political self-preservation.
Common Mistakes
- Error: Claiming the Girondins wanted to save the King's life unconditionally. Correction: The Girondins generally accepted his guilt but favoured an 'appel au peuple' (appeal to the people) or a reprieve, rather than outright acquittal.
- Error: Confusing the National Assembly with the National Convention. Correction: Ensure you specify the National Convention as the body that established the Republic and tried the King.
- Error: Stating the Republic was established after the King's execution. Correction: The Republic was declared in September 1792, months before Louis XVI was executed in January 1793.
- Error: Confusing the rising in the Vendée with the Federalist revolt. Correction: The Vendée was a royalist, Catholic peasant uprising against conscription, whereas the Federalist revolt was a provincial republican protest against the Jacobin purge of the Girondins.
- Error: Assuming Robespierre was a dictator from the start of the Republic. Correction: Robespierre's power grew gradually through his influence in the Jacobin Club and his later appointment to the Committee of Public Safety in July 1793.
- Error: Stating the Federalist revolt was an attempt to restore the monarchy. Correction: The Federalist rebels were primarily republicans who opposed the centralisation of power in Paris and the influence of the sans-culottes.
- Mistake: Confusing the levée en masse with earlier, smaller-scale conscription efforts. Correction: Specify that the August 1793 levée en masse was a unique decree of total national mobilisation, distinct from the February 1793 levy of 300,000 men.
- Mistake: Treating the war and the Terror as unconnected events. Correction: Explicitly link the military crisis and the need to enforce the levée en masse to the centralisation of power and the implementation of the Terror.
- Mistake: Assuming the levée en masse only affected soldiers. Correction: Emphasise that it mobilised the entire population, including women making tents and children making lint, representing the birth of total war.
- Mistake: Claiming Robespierre was a dictator who single-handedly orchestrated the Terror. Correction: Explain that Robespierre was one of twelve members of the CPS and relied on the support of the sans-culottes and the Convention until Thermidor.
- Mistake: Viewing the sans-culottes merely as a mindless mob. Correction: Recognise the sans-culottes as a distinct political force with specific economic grievances and ideological goals that actively shaped CPS policy.
- Mistake: Assuming the Terror ended immediately and peacefully upon Robespierre's death. Correction: Note that while the institutional Terror collapsed, it was followed by the violent White Terror against former Jacobins.