Lectures on the French RevolutionActon, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron
History
Lectures on the French Revolution
Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron
France -- History -- Revolution, 1789-1799
These were the great measures, undertaken and accomplished by the men
who accepted the leadership of Robespierre, in the first weeks of his
government. We come to those by which he consolidated his power.
At the beginning of September, the Committee was increased by the
admission of Billaud-Varennes, and of Collot d'Herbois, of whom one
afterwards overthrew Danton, and the other, Robespierre. The
appointment of Collot was a concession to Hebert. The same party were
persuaded that the hands of government were weak, and ought to be
strengthened against its enemies. Danton himself said that every day
one aristocrat, one villain, ought to pay for his crimes with his
head. Two measures were at once devised which were well calculated to
achieve that object. September 5, the Revolutionary Tribunal was
remodelled, and instead of one Revolutionary Tribunal, there were
four. And on September 17 the Law of Suspects was passed, enabling
local authorities to arrest whom they pleased, and to detain him in
prison even when acquitted. In Paris, where there had been 1877
prisoners on September 13, there were 2975 on October 20. On September
25, the mismanagement of the Vendean War, where even the Mentz
garrison had been defeated, led to a sharp debate in the Convention.
It was carried away by the attack of the Dantonists; but Robespierre
snatched a victory, and obtained a unanimous vote of confidence. From
that date to the 26th of July 1794, we count the days of his
established reign, and the Convention makes way for the Committee of
Public Safety, which becomes a Provisional government.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account