Violence And The French Revolution

The French Revolution was a time of great violence and terror which extended beyond the borders of France. From the start of the Revolution in 1789 to the collapse of the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte, France was divided between those for the Revolution and those against it. The main division between these groups was the type of leadership they desired-either the moderate rule of Louis XIV or the iron-fisted reign of Napoleon. This struggle for leadership caused this revolution to be one of the bloodiest in history. The violence which accompanied this revolution was for the ideals of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.” These ideals were desired by the majority of the French, however, many leaders unknowingly worked in the wrong direction. The …show more content…
In 1789, The Committee of Public Safety found it necessary to dechristianize France in order to push for a society influenced more by science. Despite 95% of the population of France at the time being Catholic, Robespierre decided to enact the following regulations. These regulations stated that the Church was required to give up all of their land, destroy all religious paraphernalia and stop the celebration of religious holidays. Since close to all of France was religiously affiliated, stripping the people 's freedom of religion was an attack on their basic liberties. The blindness of the Committee of Public Safety towards their people 's view on religion was showing how they actually go against the liberty their people were working towards. Another instance of the Committee of Public Safety unintentionally wronging the rights of the people was the passing of the Jourdan law. This policy made single and childless men liable for military service if they were between the ages of 20 and 25. This interrupted a man 's personal life by taking him from his family and putting him in life-threatening situations. Men deserved the right to live where they desired and not have a general telling them how to live their lives. Being forced into the military may be protecting the freedom of those back in France but it inhibited the rights of the enacting …show more content…
The third estate of France, or the mob, played a crucial role in fighting for revolution. The mob’s greatest contribution to the Revolution was the Storming of the Bastille which went against the equality which the public was fighting towards. The purpose of the Storming of the bastille was for the mob to show their relevance to the Revolution and to strip some of the king’s power. While the mob was trying to take some power for themselves, they were attacking the king and the nobles because of their status. The social discrimination which the mob was trying so hard to battle ended up killing many of the guards of the Bastille just because of their boss’s status. Another barrier between classes during the revolution was between slaves and citizens. Despite the abolishment of slavery in 1794, the French still treated former slaves with disrespect and inequality. Prior to the release of slaves, blacks were less frequently beaten by their owners because the owner did not wish to damage their “property.” When blacks transitioned to servanthood, owners felt no shame in beating servants or letting them go to look for another job. While with slavery no one would ever let a slave go because it meant giving away a piece of one 's property. During the Revolution blacks were treated in ways worse than when they were in slavery because whites now knew they were no longer owned by anybody. By