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Establishing the French Revolutionary Government: Reign of Terror to Directory

Explore how the French Revolution abolished the monarchy, established a republic, and transitioned through the Reign of Terror to the corruption of the Directory period.

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Establishing the French Revolutionary Government: Reign of Terror to Directory

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  1. Chapter 9, Section 2. How did the French set up their Revolutionary Government?

  2. Its first major step was to abolish the monarchy and to establish a republic. The National Convention was called to draft a new constitution, and it also served as the ruling body of France.

  3. The National Convention’s leaders felt that King Louis XVI needed to be executed to ensure he was not a rallying point for opponents of the republic.

  4. The National Convention gave broad powers to a special committee of 12 known as the Committee of Public Safety, dominated by the radical Jacobin Maximilien Robespierre. To defend France from domestic threats, the Committee adopted policies that became known as the Reign of Terror.

  5. The Convention also pursued a policy of de-Christianization. Its members believed that the religion encouraged superstition, rather than the use of reason. Clergy and nobles made up about 15 percent of the victims, while the rest were from the Third Estate.

  6. Most men, however, believed that women should not participate in either politics or the military. In 1793, two women founded the Society for Revolutionary Republican Women in Paris. Most members were working-class women who were ready to defend the republic.

  7. The French built the largest army ever seen in Europe, and it pushed the invaders back across the Rhine. It even conquered the Austrian Netherlands. The new French army was created by a people’s government. Its wars were now people’s wars.

  8. The death of Robespierre brought the Reign of Terror to a halt. The National Convention reduced the power of the Committee of Public Safety. Churches were allowed to reopen. The Constitution of 1795 was created.

  9. Members of both houses were chosen by electors, or qualified voters. Only those who owned or rented property worth a certain amount could be electors. The Constitution of 1795 set up a lower house, the Council of 500, that drafted laws… and an upper house of 250, the Council of Elders, that accepted or rejected proposed laws.

  10. Under the new constitution, the executive was a committee of five called the Directory, chosen by the Council of Elders. The Directory, which lasted from 1795 to 1799, became known mainly for corruption.

  11. Coup d’etat: a sudden overthrow of the government.

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