The French Revolution: The Rise And Fall Of France's Radical Republic

The French Revolution led to the end of the monarchical system which had governed France and eventually the country was declared a Republic. After the execution of Louis XVI a debate ensued over how best to govern and stabilize the newly minted Republic. It was clear to the revolutionary leaders that creating a balance of power and enforcing the revolution’s principles of ‘liberty, fraternity and equality’ were pivotal to France’s reconstruction. Eventually, power was given to a twelve-member committee of Public Safety (CPS). The Committee of Public Safety, as it became known, constituted what historians call France’s Radical Republic. The policies initially set forth by the Radical Republic attempted to fulfill the principles of ‘liberty, fraternity and equality’ by ensuring that citizen rights were upheld and that those who were wealthy could not exploit the poor. However, over time many of those invested in the revolution such as Maximilien Robespierre believed that a period of state sanctioned terror was necessary to enact these policies/laws. In doing so, these men believed that striking fear and disposing of all those who did not completely support their revolutionary ideas …show more content…
This law made it so that no merchant could sell certain materials above a specified price and if they did, they would be subject to a fine. It also put a wage cap on Frances citizens. These laws were meant to last until the end of 1994 and the reason for restricting the liberties of its citizens was to try and create more equality among them. If the gap between the rich and the poor was narrowed and all citizens had access to necessary materials then they would be more inclined to be supportive of the revolutionary cause. The plan for the leaders of the Republic was to grant citizens these liberties once its citizens became in their eyes, more