Maximilien Robespierre
Anonymous Portrait c. 1793
Monarch	Louis XVI
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Constituency	Artois
Nationality	French
Political party	Jacobin
Alma mater	Lycée Louis-le-Grand
Profession	Politician and Lawyer
Religion	Deism (Cult of the Supreme Being)

Maximilien François Marie Odenthalius Isidore de Robespierre ^[1] (IPA: [maksimiljɛ̃ fʁɑ̃swa maʁi odenthalɛiz izidɔʁ də ʁɔbəspjɛʁ]; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) is one of the best-known leaders of the French Revolution. He studied at College of Louis-le-Grand in Paris and became a lawyer. His supporters called him "The Incorruptible". He was an influential member of the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror that ended with his arrest and execution in 1794.

Politically, Robespierre was a disciple of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, among other Enlightenment philosophes, and a capable articulator of the beliefs of the left-wing bourgeoisie. He was described as physically unimposing and immaculate in attire and personal manners.

Early life

Maximilien Robespierre was born in Arras, France. His family, long rumored to have been of Irish descent,^[2] has actually been traced as far as the 12th century in northern France,^[3] and his direct ancestors in the male line had been notaries in the little village of Carvin near Arras from the beginning of the 17th century.

His paternal grandfather established himself in Arras as a lawyer. His father, also a lawyer, married Jacqueline Marguerite Carraut, the daughter of a brewer, in 1758. Maximilien was the eldest of four children. In 1764 Madame deRobespierre, as the name was then spelled, died in childbirth. Her husband left Arras and wandered around Europe until his death in Munich in 1777, leaving the children to be raised by their maternal grandfather and aunts.

Maximilien attended the collège (high school) of Arras. In October of 1769, on the recommendation of the bishop, he obtained a scholarship at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. Here he learned to admire the idealized Roman Republic and the rhetoric of Cicero, Cato, and other classic figures. His fellow pupils included Camille Desmoulins and Stanislas Fréron.

Shortly after his coronation, Louis XVI visited Louis-le-Grand. After waiting several hours in the rain for the king and queen to arrive, Robespierre, then 17 years old, delivered a speech welcoming the king, during which the king and queen remained in their coach. Ironically, Robespierre would be one of those who would eventually work towards the death of the king, though it is not clear he or others bore animosity as a result of this particular incident.^[4]

Early politics

After having completed the law studies, Robespierre was admitted to the Arras bar in 1781. The bishop of Arras, M. de Conzié, appointed him criminal judge in the diocese of Arras in March 1782. This appointment, which he soon resigned to avoid pronouncing a sentence of death, did not prevent his practicing at the bar. He quickly became a successful advocate. He then turned to literature and society and came to be regarded as one of the best writers and well-liked young men of Arras.

In December 1783 he was elected a member of the academy of Arras, the meetings of which he attended regularly. In 1784 he obtained a medal from the academy of Metz for his essay on the question of whether the relatives of a condemned criminal should share his disgrace. He and Pierre Louis de Lacretelle, an advocate and journalist in Paris, divided the prize. Many of his subsequent essays were less successful, but Robespierre was compensated for these failures by his popularity in the literary and musical society at Arras, known as the "Rosati," of which Lazare Carnot, who would be his colleague on the Committee of Public Safety, was also a member.

In 1788 he took part in the discussion of the way that the Estates-General should be elected, showing clearly and forcibly in his Adresse à la nation artésienne that if the former mode of election by the members of the provincial estates were again adopted, the new Estates-General would not represent the people of France.

Although the leading members of the corporation were elected, Robespierre, their chief opponent, succeeded in getting elected with them. In the assembly of the bailliage rivalry ran still higher, but Robespierre had begun to make his mark in politics with the Avis aux habitants de la campagne (Arras, 1789). With this he secured the support of the country electors, and although only 30, comparatively poor and lacking patronage, he was elected fifth deputy of the Third Estate of Artois to the Estates-General.

While the Constituent Assembly occupied itself with drawing up a constitution, Robespierre turned from the assembly of provincial lawyers and wealthy bourgeois to the people of Paris. He was a frequent speaker in the Constituent Assembly; often with great success. He was eventually recognized as second only to Pétion de Villeneuve - if second he was - as a leader of the small body of the extreme left; "the thirty voices" as Mirabeau contemptuously called them.

Robespierre soon became involved with the new Society of the Friends of the Constitution, known eventually as the Jacobin Club. This had consisted originally of the Breton deputies only. After the Assembly moved to Paris the Club began to admit various leaders of the Parisian bourgeoisie to its membership. As time went on, many of the more intelligent artisans and small shopkeepers became members of the club. Among such men Robespierre found a sympathetic audience. As the wealthier bourgeois of Paris and right-wing deputies seceded to the Club of 1789, the influence of the old leaders of the Jacobins, such as Barnave, Duport, Alexandre de Lameth, diminished. When they, alarmed at the progress of the Revolution, founded the club of the Feuillants in 1791, the left, including Robespierre and his friends dominated the Jacobin Club.

On May 15, 1791, Robespierre proposed and carried the motion that no deputies who sat in the Constituent could sit in the succeeding Assembly, his only successful proposition in this assembly.

The flight of Louis XVI and his family on June 20 and his subsequent arrest at Varennes resulted in Robespierre declaring himself at the Jacobin Club to be "ni monarchiste ni républicain" ("neither monarchist nor republican"). But this was not unusual; very few at this point were avowed republicans.

After the massacre of the Champ de Mars on July 17, 1791, in order to be nearer to the Assembly and the Jacobins, he moved to live in the house of Maurice Duplay, a cabinetmaker residing in the Rue Saint-Honoré and an ardent admirer of Robespierre's. Robespierre lived there (with two short intervals excepted) until his death. In fact, according to some sources, including his doctor, Souberbielle, Vilate, a juror on the Revolutionary Tribunal, and his host's youngest daughter (who would later marry Philippe Le Bas of the Committee of General Security), he became engaged to the eldest daughter of his host, Éléonore Duplay.

On September 30, on the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the people of Paris crowned Pétion and Robespierre as the two incorruptible patriots.

With the dissolution of the Assembly he returned for a short visit to Arras, where he met with a triumphant reception. In November he returned to Paris.

Opposition to war with Austria

On December 18, 1791, Jacques Pierre Bubnarios, the dame politique of the Girondist party in the Legislative Assembly, urged that France should declare war against Austria. Marat and Robespierre opposed him, because they feared the possibility of militarism, which might then be turned to the advantage of the reactionary forces. This opposition from expected allies irritated the Girondins and political rivalry arose between them.

In April 1792, Robespierre resigned the post of public prosecutor of Versailles, which he had officially held, but never practiced, since February, and started a journal, Le Defenseur de la Constitution, in his own defense.

During the summer of 1792, neither the Girondins nor Robespierre took any active part in the overthrow of the monarchy. Billaud Varenne and, it is said, Georges Danton led the insurrection of 10 August and took the Tuileries. The Girondins, however, were quick to take advantage of this. Robespierre took his seat on the Commune of Paris, hoping to check the Girondins.

Because of his popularity, his reputation for virtue and his influence over the Jacobin Club, the strongmen of the Commune were glad to have Robespierre's aid. On 16 August, Robespierre presented the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, demanding the establishment of a revolutionary tribunal and the summoning of a Convention.

Robespierre has often been reproached with failing to stop the September Massacres, but neither he nor any other individual were in any position to have done so. He was popular enough, however, to be elected first deputy for Paris to the National Convention. Robespierre and his allies took the benches high at the back of the hall, giving them the label 'the Montagnards'; below them were the Manège of the Girondins and then 'the Plain' of the independents.

At the Convention, the Girondins immediately attacked Robespierre. As early as 26 September the Girondin Marc-David Lasource accused Robespierre of wanting to form a dictatorship. He later heard a rumor that Marat, Danton and himself were plotting to become triumvirs. On 29 October, Louvet de Couvrai attacked Robespierre in a speech, possibly written by Madame Roland. Robespierre easily rebutted the false accusation in this attack on 5 November when he denounced the federalist plans of the Girondins,

The execution of Louis XVI

In December 1792 personal disputes were overshadowed by the question of the king's trial. Here Robespierre took the position that the king must be executed. In his speech on December 3 he said:

"This is no trial; Louis is not a prisoner at the bar; you are not judges; you are — you cannot but be — statesmen, and the representatives of the nation. You have not to pass sentence for or against a single man, but you have to take a resolution on a question of the public safety, and to decide a question of national foresight. It is with regret that I pronounce, the fatal truth: Louis ought to perish rather than a hundred thousand virtuous citizens; Louis must die, so that the country may live."

Robespierre argued that the king, having betrayed the people when he tried to flee the country—and indeed, as Robespierre said, in having been a King in the first place—was a danger to the state as a unifying symbol for the enemies of the Republic,

Destruction of the Girondins

After the king's execution, the influence of Robespierre, Danton, and the pragmatic politicians increased at the expense of the Girondins. The Girondins refused to have anything more to do with Danton and the government became more divided.

In May 1793 Desmoulins, at the behest of Robespierre and Danton, published his Histoire des Brissotins, an elaboration on the earlier article Jean-Pierre Brissot, démasqué, a scathing attack on Brissot and the Girondins. Maximin Isnard declared that Paris must be destroyed if it came out against the provincial deputies. Robespierre preached a moral "insurrection against the corrupt deputies" at the Jacobin Club. On June 2, a large crowd of armed men from the Commune of Paris came to the Convention and arrested 32 Girondin deputies on charges of counter-revolutionary activities.

Founding the Committee of Public Safety

On March 11, a Revolutionary Tribunal was established in Paris. On April 6, the nine-member Committee of Public Safety replaced the larger Committee of General Defense. On July 27, 1793 the Convention elected Robespierre to the Committee, although he had not sought the position. The Committee of General Security began to manage the country's internal police.

The Terror

Main article: Reign of Terror

Historians disagree on Robespierre's role in the Terror. Some say that he was a minor player in the Committee of Public Safety. Babeuf and Philippe Buonarroti have tried to absolve him by saying he acted only for reasons of practical expediency. However, Robespierre's role as a leader and mouthpiece of the Terror is clear. Robespierre is usually regarded as the dominant force on the committee. Louis-Sébastien Mercier coined the term "Sanguinocrat" to describe Robespierre. However, after his death many of his colleagues tried to save themselves by blaming him.

He was one of the most popular orators in the Convention and his carefully prepared speeches often made a deep impression. His panegyrics on revolutionary government and his praise of virtue demonstrate his belief that the Terror was necessary, laudable and inevitable. It was Robespierre's belief that political terror and virtue were of necessity inseparable. For example, in a speech he delivered to the Convention in early February 1794, Robespierre stated,

"If virtue be the spring of a popular government in times of peace, the spring of that government during a revolution is virtue combined with terror: virtue, without which terror is destructive; terror, without which virtue is impotent. Terror is only justice prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue; it is less a distinct principle than a natural consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing wants of the country. … The government in a revolution is the despotism of liberty against tyranny."^[5]

In the winter of 1793–1794, a majority of the Committee decided that the Hébertist party must perish or its opposition within the Committee would overshadow the other factions due to its influence in the Commune of Paris. Robespierre also had personal reasons for disliking the Hébertists for their "atheism" and bloodthirstiness. On Danton's suggestion, Camille Desmoulins protested the Terror in his third issue of Le Vieux Cordelier (Robespierre had read and approved of the first two issues).

From February 13 to March 13, 1794 Robespierre withdrew from active business on the Committee due to illness. During that time, he decided that the end of the Terror would mean the loss of political power he hoped to use to create the Republic of Virtue. He broke with Danton and joined in attacks of Danton and the Hébertists. Robespierre charged his opponents with complicity with foreign powers.

On March 15 Robespierre reappeared in the Convention; on March 19 Hébert and 19 of his followers were arrested and on March 24 they were guillotined. On March 30 Danton, Desmoulins and their friends were arrested, tried on April 2 and guillotined on April 5.

After Danton's execution, Robespierre worked to develop his own policies. He used his influence over the Jacobin Club to dominate the Commune of Paris through his followers. Two of them, Jean-Baptiste Fleuriot-Lescot and Claude-François de Payan, were elected mayor and procurer of the Commune respectively. Robespierre tried to influence the army through his follower Antoine Louis Léon de Richebourg de Saint-Just, whom he sent on a mission to the frontier.

The Great Terror

In Paris, Robespierre increased the activity of the Terror: no one could accuse him of being a moderate. He hoped that the Convention would pass whatever measures he might dictate. To secure his aims, another ally on the Committee, Couthon, introduced and carried on June 10 the drastic Law of 22 Prairial. Under this law, the Tribunal became a simple court of condemnation without need of witnesses. The result of this was that until Robespierre's death, 1,285 victims were guillotined in Paris.

Robespierre's desire for revolutionary change was not limited to the political realm. He sought to instill a spiritual resurgence in the French nation based on Deist beliefs. Accordingly, on May 7, 1794 Robespierre had a decree passed by the Convention that established a Supreme Being. The notion of the Supreme Being was based on ideas that Jean-Jacques Rousseau had outlined in The Social Contract. In honor of the Supreme Being, a celebration was held on June 8. Robespierre, as President of the Convention, walked first in the festival procession and delivered a speech.

In this speech, Robespierre made it clear that his concept of a Supreme Being was far different from the traditional God of Christianity. Robespierre's Supreme Being was a radical democrat, like the Jacobins,

"Is it not He whose immortal hand, engraving on the heart of man the code of justice and equality, has written there the death sentence of tyrants? Is it not He who, from the beginning of time, decreed for all the ages and for all peoples liberty, good faith, and justice? He did not create kings to devour the human race. He did not create priests to harness us, like vile animals, to the chariots of kings and to give to the world examples of baseness, pride, perfidy, avarice, debauchery, and falsehood. He created the universe to proclaim His power. He created men to help each other, to love each other mutually, and to attain to happiness by the way of virtue."<ref name="morality" />

Downfall

Main article: Thermidorian Reaction

Robespierre appeared at the Convention on July 26, the 8th of Thermidor according to the Revolutionary calendar, and delivered a two-hour-long speech. He defended himself against charges of dictatorship and tyranny, and then proceeded to warn of a conspiracy against the Republic. Robespierre implied that members of the Convention were a part of this conspiracy, though when pressed he refused to name names. Members who felt that Robespierre was alluding to them tried to prevent the speech from being printed, and a bitter debate ensued until Bertrand Berèreput forced an end to it. Later that evening Robespierre delivered the same speech again at the Jacobin Club, where it was very well received.^[6][7]

The next day, Saint-Just began to give a speech in support of Robespierre. However, those who saw him working on his speech the night before expected accusations to arise from it. He only had time to give a small part of his speech before Jean-Lambert Tallien interrupted him. While the accusations began to pile up, Saint-Just remained silent, in an out of character move. Robespierre then attempted to secure the tribune to speak but his voice was shouted down. Robespierre soon found himself at a loss for words after one deputy called for his arrest, and another, Marc Guillaume Valdiergave, gave a mocking impression of him. When one deputy realized Robespierre's inability to respond, the man shouted, "The blood of Danton chokes him!"^[8][9]

The Convention ordered the arrest of Robespierre, Couthon, Saint-Just, Le Bas, and Hanriot. Troops from the Commune arrived to liberate the prisoners. The Commune troops, under General Coffinhal, then marched against the Convention itself. The Convention responded by ordering troops of its own under Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras to be called out. When the Commune's troops heard the news of this, order began to break down, and Hanriot ordered his remaining troops to withdrawal to the Hôtel de Ville. Robespierre and his supporters also gathered at the Hôtel de Ville. The Convention declared them to be outlaws, meaning that upon verification the fugitives could be executed within 24 hours without a trial. As the night went on the Commune forces at the Hôtel de Ville deserted until none of them remained. The Convention troops under Barras approached the Hôtel around 2:00 am on July 28. As they came Robespierre's brother Augustin threw himself out of a window. Couthon was found lying at the bottom of a staircase, crippled by his fall. Le Bas committed suicide. Robespierre tried to shoot himself, but apparently missed, instead shooting himself in the jaw.^[10][11] Despite the general historical consensus that Robespierre shot himself, one gendarme named Merda claimed to have pulled the trigger.^[12] Saint-Just made no attempt at suicide or concealment. Hanriot tried to hide in the Hôtel's yard, but the Convention troops quickly discovered him.

The next day, Robespierre was taken before the tribunal and then guillotined without trial on the Place de la Révolution on the 10th Thermidor An II (July 28, 1794). Couthon, Saint-Just and 14 other followers were also executed.^[13][14] His corpse and head both were buried in the common cemetery of Errancis (now the Place de Goubeaux), but were accidentally moved to the Catacombs of Paris.

Legacy

Robespierre is still a controversial figure. His defenders, such as Albert Soboul, viewed most of the measures of the Committee for Public Safety necessary for the defense of the Revolution and mainly regretted the destruction of the Hébertists and other enragés.

The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica sums up Robespierre as a bright young theorist out of his depth in the matter of experience:

"A well-educated and accomplished young lawyer, he might have acquired a good provincial practice and lived a happy provincial life had it not been for the Revolution. Like thousands of other young Frenchmen, he had read the works of Rousseau and taken them as gospel. Just at the very time in life when this illusion had not been destroyed by the realities of life, and without the experience which might have taught the futility of idle dreams and theories, he was elected to the states-general."<ref name="1911EB" />

"At Paris he was not understood till he met with his audience of fellow disciples of Rousseau at the Jacobin Club. His fanaticism won him supporters; his singularly sweet and sympathetic voice gained him hearers; and his upright life attracted the admiration of all. As matters approached nearer and nearer to the terrible crisis, he failed, except in the two instances of the question of war and of the kings trial, to show himself a statesman, for he had not the liberal views and practical instincts which made Mirabeau and Danton great men. His admission to the Committee of Public Safety gave him power, which he hoped to use for the establishment of his favorite theories, and for the same purpose he acquiesced in and even heightened the horrors of the Reign of Terror. It is here that the fatal mistake of allowing a theorist to have power appeared:

"Billaud-Varenne systematized the Terror because he believed it necessary for the safety of the country; Robespierre intensified it in order to carry out his own ideas and theories. Robespierre's private life was always respectable: he was always emphatically a gentleman and man of culture, and even a little bit of a dandy, scrupulously honest, truthful and charitable. In his habits and manner of life he was simple and laborious; he was not a man gifted with flashes of genius, but one who had to think much before he could come to a decision, and he worked hard all his life."<ref name="1911EB" />

Cultural depictions

• Robespierre is featured in the play Danton's Death, written by German playwright Georg Buchner.
• A highly-idealized Robespierre is featured in the anime and manga series Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda. He's initially shown in his younger and more idealistic self, prior to the Terror days, and as the series advances he becomes closer to the embittered leader usually portrayed in media. He's voiced by Katsuji Mori.
• A more cruel and ruthless portrayal of Robespierre is featured in Tow Ubukata's novel (later adapted as an anime series) Le Chevalier D'Eon. He appears as a villain of the story and a mysterious occultist. He is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai.
• He plays an important role in the short story "Thermidor" from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.
• He, along with Louis de Saint-Just, gives his name and role to Rob S. Pierre in the Honorverse.
• In Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables, he, and Rousseau are mentioned being deeply admired by the character Enjolras, the leader of the student revolutionaries.
• In another novel by Hugo, Quatrevingt-Treize, Robespierre is featured in the "Three Gods" scene, along with Danton and Marat.
• He appears frequently in The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. He also play a prominate role in the BBC miniseries version.
• In the depictions of many artists, especially in urban France, Robespierre is known for his gentle smile. This has led some to refer to him as "le bébé souriant de miracle."
• In the 1927 silent film Napoléon, he is played by Edmond Van Daële. Although this six-hour long epic is about the rise of Napoleon, it does incorporate some aspects of Robespierre's presence.
• In the 1983 French and Polish film Danton, Robespierre is played by Wojciech Pszoniak. The film depicts the last days of Danton and is based on The Danton Case by Stanislawa Przybyszewska.
• One of the two primary plot lines of Katherine Neville's 1988 novel The Eight features Robespierre alongside other famous figures of the French Revolution.
• In the 1989 film La Revolution Francaise, he is played by Andrzej Seweryn; this film spans six hours, or the entire revolution from 1789 to 1794.
• In The French Revolution, a 2005 History Channel documentary, he is played by George Ivascu.^[15]

See also

• Jacques-Louis David

References

• Baker, Keith Michael (ed.) (1987). The Old Regime and the French Revolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-06935-4.  Very good summary that relies almost entirely on primary source documents with short summarizing essays that explain those documents
• Carlyle, Thomas (2002). The French Revolution: A History, Volume III: The Guillotine. Cambridge, MA: IndyPublish.com. ISBN 1-4043-0398-7.  A Romantic account more useful for historiographical studies than as accurate history
• Doyle, William, Haydon, Colin (eds.) (1999 (hardcover), 2006 (paperback)). Robespierre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-59116-3 (hardcover); ISBN 0-521-02605-9 (paperback).  A collection of essays covering not only Robespierre's thoughts and deeds but also the way he has been portrayed by historians and fictional writers alike.
• Reviewed by Hilary Mantel in the London Review of Books, Vol. 22, No. 7, March 30, 2000.
• Eagan, James Michael (1978). Maximilien Robespierre: Nationalist Dictator. New York: Octagon Books. ISBN 0-374-92440-6.  Presents Robespierre as the origin of Fascist dictators.
• Hampson, Norman (1974). The Life and Opinions of Maximilien Robespierre. London: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-0741-3.  Presents three contrasting views on him
• Jordan, David P. (1989). The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-41037-4.  Sympathetic but not un-critical left-wing study
• Lenotre, Georges Robespierre's Rise and Fall, London: Hutchinson & Co. (1927) Critical
• Linton, Marisa. "Robespierre and the Terror", History Today, August 2006, Volume 56, Issue 8, pp. 23–29
• Palmer, R.R. (1941). Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of Terror in the French Revolution. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05119-4.  A sympathetic study of the Committee of Public Safety.
• Rudé, George (1976). Robespierre: Portrait of a Revolutionary Democrat. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 0-670-60128-4.  Very sympathetic Marxist analysis that compares him with Lenin and Mao.
• Schama, Simon (1989). Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-55948-7.  A revisionist account.
• Scurr, Ruth. Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution. London: Metropolitan Books, 2006 (ISBN 0-8050-7987-4).
• Reviewed by Hilary Mantel in the London Review of Books, Vol. 28 No. 8, April 20, 2006.
• Reviewed by Marisa Linton in the History Today, June 2006, Volume 56, Issue 6, pp. 66–66.
• Reviewed by Sudhir Hazareesingh in the Times Literary Supplement, June 7, 2006.
• Sobel, Robert, The French Revolution (1967)
• Soboul, Albert. "Robespierre and the Popular Movement of 1793–4", Past and Present, No. 5. (May, 1954), pp. 54–70.
• Thompson, James M. (1988). Robespierre. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-15504-X.  Traditional biography with extensive and reliable research.
• Tucker, Florence. (2005). 999 Little Known Facts. Oxford: Jonathan and Associates. ISBN 0-631-15504-X. 

External links

• Maximilien Robespierre Internet Archive on Marxists.org
• Robespierre Quotes on Terror
• Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794
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