Reign Of Terror Dbq Analysis

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Around 30,000 people were killed by guillotine during the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror was in France during 1783-1784. It was lead by Maximilien De Robespierre. The main purpose was to eliminate all enemies of France. There were both internal—those who were from France who opposed a republican government— and external— those who were Prussian or Austrian. There are three reasons the reign of terror was not justified. One being the internal threats were not extreme enough to be considered a threat. The second reason is external threats; The only reason Prussia and Austria were even at war with France is because france declared war on them. The third reason being the guillotine was an unreasonable means of killing someone. Guillotines are a machine used to behead people typically in front of a crowd. Therefore the French government did not have a good reason to conduct such a violent campaign against the citizens.

The internal threats were French citizens that opposed a republican government. Document E states “The committee soon employed a shadowy network of informers and spies…..A …show more content…
Document B informs the reader “France declared war on Austria. Joined by the Prussians, Austrians responded by invading France.” In Consequence of France declaring war on Austria, France lost Longwy and Verdun. Document also mentioned “Austria was also concerned for the safety of Louis XVI’s wife Queen Marie Antoinette, who was a daughter in the Austrian royal family.” This quote illustrates that Austrian did not just invade because they were threatened, but also for their concern of Marie Antoinette’s safety furthermore was not all in Austria’s own self interest. Although Prussia and Austria took Longwy and Verdun from france it was only in response of France declaring war and Antoinette’s safety. Thus France did not have a reasonable explanation for murdering external threats in the way that they
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