The Reign of Terror: Was It Justified?

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The Reign of Terror: Was it Justified? By Bailey Mutschler The French Revolution was relatively long and solutions did not come quickly. Overtime, feuds between political parties got to an all-time high. Soon, enemies of the revolution were to be executed on guillotines, civil war broke out, and enemy forces began to penetrate France’s walls. This period of time is called the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror was not justified because it was not what the people of France wanted, the government was not giving rights or actions they promised, and both sides of the fight were put in serious danger. One reason the Reign of Terror was not justified was that it is not what the people of France wanted. Particularly in the Vendee region rebels fought against laws. The laws they fought against were laws against Christianity. People in this region wanted to maintain their religion but this was not an option because the government took it away from them (Document C). More rebels joined in the fight and soon enough in some areas the rebels almost wiped out government officials. The rebels even killed some of the government (Document D). Many people throughout the Reign of Terror were killed by a guillotine. This affects not only them but their family and friends too. Life is the biggest thing anyone has to lose whether it’s yourself or a loved one. 20,000-40,000 people died from the guillotine alone. (Document F) This loss adds to the evidence that people of France did not want the Reign of Terror, therefore it is not justified. The people of France perhaps would have been more okay with the Reign of Terror if it did not contradict France’s ideas of rights and actions. Originally it seemed that France was doing the right thing to hire spies in neighborhoods. However, the original idea of things being safer for citizens was soon shot down. No one was safe from
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