Politics
REVOLUTION DEVOURS ITS OWN—LE VIEUX CORDELIER
Despite the consolidation of power in the hands of the Committee of Public Safety and the creation of Revolutionary Tribunals across France to eliminate traitors to the Republic, the Convention continued to worry about conspiracies even among its political allies.
THE VENDÉE—DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTERREVOLUTION
The first groups of "brigands" formed in the west in mid–1792, in response most immediately to the call to all citizens to volunteer for the army.
MOBILIZATION FOR WAR (5 JULY 1792)
Although a small minority in the Legislative Assembly when it convened in September 1791, the Girondins succeeded in passing a resolution in favor of war with "the King of Bohemia and Hungary," meaning the Habsburg Empire in April 1792.
A GIRONDIN VIEW: ROLAND CALLS ON THE KING TO DECLARE WAR
In the spring of 1792, the Legislative Assembly—particularly its Executive Committee, dominated by Girondins—took a more aggressive attitude toward Austria, repeatedly arguing that France needed to act first to ward off invasion and thereby not only preserve but advance the Revolution by spreadin
THE ASSEMBLY COMPLAINS TO THE KING ABOUT THE ÉMIGRÉS
Having received news of the alliance of Prussia and Austria with émigré French nobles against the Revolution, the Legislative Assembly considered itself threatened by invasion.
EXECUTION OF THE QUEEN (16 OCTOBER 1793)
At the conclusion of her trial, the Queen was found guilty and sentenced to death. The newspaper of record, the Moniteur, reports the Queen’s response to the verdict and her execution the next morning with a good deal of sympathy and respect.
THE QUEEN’S DEFENSE (14 OCTOBER 1793)
Seven months after the execution of the King, shortly after the declaration of "Revolutionary Government," the Convention turned to the rest of the royal family.
THE QUEEN AT THE OPERA (JULY 1792)
Since the seventeenth century, French monarchs had been great patrons of the theater and opera, which they regularly attended in Versailles and Paris. Such performances had been occasions to appear before their subjects, aristocratic and common, and to receive public acclaim.
DESMOULINS ATTACKS THE QUEEN (JUNE 1791)
This article appeared in the newspaper Revolutions of France and Brabant, under the headline: "Horrible maneuvers of the Austrians at the Tuileries Palace to bring civil war to France . .
EXECUTION OF THE KING (21 JANUARY 1793)
After voting unanimously to find the King guilty, the deputies held a separate vote on his punishment. By a single vote, Louis was sentenced to death, "within twenty–four hours." Thus, on 21 January 1793, Louis Capet, formerly King of France was beheaded by the guillotine.