Explain The Contributing Factors Behind Robespierre's Ideological Leanings

It is primarily important to understand the contributing factors behind Robespierre’s ideological leanings, as they indicate the motives behind practically all of his political decisions. It is widely known that as a young man, Robespierre took a keen interest in the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who was then considered to be a radical philosopher. Rousseau preached that “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slave than they are.”. This reveals the principal concept that Robespierre would cherish for the entirety of his life; he was, in essence, a disciple of Rousseau, whom he viewed as the ultimate champion of the oppressed. Robespierre would later state uncannily similar principles …show more content…
The Terror was not simply the moment at which the French government unleashed its violence against its own people. The Terror, as it was seen during the Revolution itself, was rather a way by which one chose to think; it was, in essence, a rejection of monarchy and a willingness to proclaim full separation from the former rulers of the nation. This notion was perceived as an effort to intimidate the upper classes to enforce a new ideological era, not simply to employ physical violence against suspicious individuals. When Robespierre famously proclaimed that virtue and terror needed to be combined during the French Revolution, his message was not intended to be a justification of outright cruelty, but instead a compelling commentary on precisely how intimidation needed be used to threaten the royalist ideology. Indeed, while this was the valid historical use of the term, many abused its connotations and took it upon themselves to officiate a barbarous corporeal war against the French Republic’s supposed