By using the the Committee of Public Safety, the French government was keeping tabs on all of their citizens under the impression that they were protecting them against the Revolution (Document E). The start of the Committee of Public Safety was as watch committees set up in every neighborhood as a means of sniffing out foreign counter revolutionaries. Soon afterwards, the Committee of Public Safety was formed to protect the French population from enemies inside and outside France. It pretty soon became clear that the true purpose of the Committee was to be able spy and keep an eye on all citizens. No one was safe from suspicion. If any person were to even whisper a word against the government, they were rushed to a prison or to be executed. Over 20,000 people were executed by the guillotine alone during the Reign of Terror. The chance of all of those people being rebellious and keeping back progress is highly unlikely even taking in the fact that they may have not been very supportive of the Revolution