Title: What was the significance of Maximilien Robespierre in the French Revolution? - eNotes.com
Headings: What was the significance of Maximilien Robespierre in the French Revolution?
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What was the significance of Maximilien Robespierre in the French Revolution?
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Content: He used his immense power to root out and destroy anyone he thought might be a threat to the Revolution, using the most ruthless methods available. Violence and bloodshed had always been part and parcel of the Revolution from day one, but under The Terror it became a regular feature of public life. So long as France was besieged by hostile foreign powers who wanted to restore the French monarchy, then terror could in some ways be justified as a necessary measure to protect the nation from traitors and saboteurs. But once the tide began to turn in favor of the French Revolutionary Army, which chalked up a remarkable string of victories on the battlefield, then it became much harder for Robespierre and the other radical Jacobins to justify their increasingly repressive policies. Inevitably, Robespierre, intoxicated with power, overreached himself. By threatening to extend The Terror, he frightened many of those politicians who'd previously kept their heads down to side with his most bitter enemies. The ensuing coalition made its move, and Robespierre, along with many of his comrades, ended up suffering the same fate to which he'd consigned thousands of innocent people: death by guillotine. Approved by eNotes Editorial Team
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Robespierre was the architect of the Reign of Terror in France. His name is often associated with the French Revolution.