Danton Versus Robespierre: The Quest for Revolutionary Power
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DANTON VERSUS
ROBESPIERRE:
THE QUEST FOR REVOLUTIONARY POWER
by
Aaron D.
Purcell
No relationship in the
French Revolution offers more eloquent testimony to the power of
those human and personal forces which shape or alter history than
does the struggle between George Jacques Danton and Maximilien
Francois Marie Isidore de Robespierre. The difference between the
two men was almost entirely one of temperament and opinion.
Ideologically and politically, their views had some similarities.
Both men hoped to have the Republic of their dreams based on a
system of law and civic order.
(1)
A Danton, a Robespierre,
chief products of a victorious Revolution, arrived to rule a new
France.
(2)
Their differences would split a nation apart, and
ultimately cause their own destruction. Robespierre believed in a
Republic based on virtue, philosophy, and justice, while Danton
believed in a Republic based on tradition, nobility, and domestic
peace.
Each supported what he
believed was in the best interest of the people, but the moral
restraints which Robespierre intended to impose in no way
interested Danton.
(3)
The
political confrontations between Danton and Robespierre had a
personal element that erupted with every encounter. Men such as
Danton and Robespierre could not co-exist, and the Revolution
became an opportunity for them to destroy one another.
Maximilien Robespierre
and George Danton shared both provincial origins and a
comfortable middle class background. Robespierre was born in 1758,
only a year before Danton. As their studies ended, each found the
law more appealing than the Church. By 1780, both were practicing
law: Robespierre, in his hometown of Arras, and Danton, in Paris.
(4)
Around them, however, was an uneasy nation in
turmoil searching for leaders, and by the 1790s, Danton and
Robespierre were in position to execute their ideas and enemies.
Although largely
ineffectual in the legislative work of the Revolutionary
government, Robespierre gradually became a significant force in
the Revolution. He had quietly discovered his voice and issues
before he came to Paris. By the spring of 1791, he was one of the
best known and respected politicians in France. He had been
dubbed "The Incorruptible" by his colleagues, and had
become the popular representative for many of the people.
(5)
Danton had also become
a well known lawyer and was appointed Minister of Justice on
August 11, 1792. Ironically, just a few days before Danton's
appointment, there had been an assassination attempt upon
Robespierre, which made Danton fearful for his own life.
(6)
Both men were eager for a position in the National
Convention, and, in September, their dreams came true.
The National Convention
was the ruling authority of France. It had 745 members and
consisted of numerous political factions. Elected in September
1792, the National Convention had abolished the monarchy and
declared France a Republic.
(7)
Between
September fifth and nineteenth, 1792, the electoral committees,
which had been appointed on August 26 by equal and universal vote,
elected the deputies to the National Convention. On the first day,
Robespierre, who headed the list, and was called into the
Convention with only 333 of 520 votes cast. Danton, however, on
September 6 received 638 of 700 votes. No other deputy obtained
so large a number.
(8)
After being elected to
the National Convention, both leaders fell under substantial
political and public scrutiny. One English observer, John Moore,
described Robespierre as a man with a disagreeable countenance,
possessing more fire than understanding. Moore also believed that
Robespierre concealed hatred and malignity in his heart and soul.
Danton was also described by Moore as a politician who laid
little stress on government and would have no objection to
returning the monarchy, provided the monarchy were a creature of
his own.
(9)
Another Englishman, J.
G. Millingen, described Danton, after seeing him in the National
Convention:
- The only member of the Government I
saw, whose brutality revolted me, was Danton. There was
something inexpressibly savage in his looks, and in his
stentorian voice. His course shaggy hair gave him the
appearance of a wild beast. To add to the fierceness of
his repulsive countenance, he was deeply marked with the
small-pox, and his eyes were unusually small, and
sparkling in surrounding darkness, like the famous
carbuncle.
(10)
Danton was heavily
involved with the National Convention. With his support, the
National Convention authorized the right to search every
household throughout the kingdom in order to confiscate all
property that could be useful to the government. Danton believed
the country's situation called for vigorous actions because
public danger was much greater than the people imagined.
(11)
By 1793, the Revolution
had entered the first stage of the Reign of Terror, which was
characterized by numerous executions and utter chaos. During this
period, over 18,000 persons fell to the guillotine, with 2,700
executions occurring in Paris under the power of the
Revolutionary Tribunal.
(12)
On April 6, 1793, the
National Convention created a new Committee to deal with the
escalating civil unrest. An emergency executive body, the
Committee of Public Safety was designed to provide more effective
action and greater co-operation between executive and legislative
branches of the government. At first, the Committee served as a
ministry, responsible to the Convention, which it later came to
dominate. Under critical circumstances, it was authorized to take
measures of general defense, both internal and external. With the
Committee of General Security and the Revolutionary Tribunal, the
Committee of Public Safety came to constitute the foundation of
the Terror Government.
(13)
Danton was elected to
one of the nine positions on the Committee of Public Safety. He
was the dominating personality in the body. The ends for which he
worked were the reconciliation of the parties within the
Convention and the re-establishment of peace with Europe.
(14)
Danton's aim was to restore the rule of the law.
This meant justice for everyone, clemency for enemies and the
recalling of all deposed Convention members. He believed that
these former members should be granted amnesty and subjected to
the Constitution of 1793.
(15)
Danton
hoped to arrest and stabilize the Revolution with the ultimate
intention of organizing a new constitution. Danton misjudged the
depth and fury of the revolutionary stream, believing in May 1793
that the time had come for compromise and consolidation. That was
his error, and he resigned from the Committee in July 1793,
leaving behind failed projects and the leadership of the newly
elected Robespierre.
(16)
Robespierre joined the
Committee of Public Safety on July 27, 1793. He was to remain a
member and the Committee's outstanding spokesman until his death
a year later.
(17)
This
second Committee of Public Safety had to struggle against
opposition on the right, represented by the Dantonists, and that
of the left, represented by the Hebertists.
(18)
Robespierre continued
to intensify the Terror. He established the guillotine as a
permanent feature of the Revolution and ordered mass executions
in order to cleanse France of all threats to his power.
Resting in his hometown,
Danton soon learned of his successor's victories. He was
naturally jealous of Robespierre's achievement and horrified by
the outrageous methods used to bring it about. Despite the
resources which Robespierre could command, Danton saw himself
strong enough for a political challenge. Though he had no stomach
for street battles, Danton showed real courage in the political
arena.
(19)
Danton returned to Paris, after the execution of
several factions, including the Girondins. He came back still a
giant, forcing a loud voice, but It seems that he returned too
late to stop Robespierre's dictatorship.
(20)
Although Danton
returned, his six weeks absence put him out of favor with the
Convention and out of sympathy with Robespierre and the Committee.
(21)
As a result, Danton was threatened by the Committee.
Robespierre sought to help Danton elttier because he saw that
Danton and he were not strong enough to overthrow the Committees
or because he was afraid to give too much power to Danton.
(22)
By December 1793, Robespierre seemed to be moving
toward an alliance with his former rival. However, the pro-terror
groups within the Committee of Public Safety ended the
possibility of the two leaders uniting.
(23)
Robespierre believed in
a strong French Republic, whereas Danton wanted a loose Repubic.
Robespierre summarized his views in a speech delivered to the
National Convention:
- In our country, we want to replace
egoism with morality, honor with honesty, the tyranny of
fashion with the rule of reason, insolence with self-respect,
wit with genius, show with truth, and an amiable,
frivolous and wretched people with one that is
magnanimous, strong and happy, that is to say we want to
replace all the vices and stupidities of the monarchy
with all the virtues and miracles of the Republic.
(24)
Robespierre differed
from the rest of the revolutionaries, and his role in the
Revolution was extremely important. He described making himself
into a new man by means of virtue, and offered this exemplary
being to the nation as a constant object of admIration, pity and
fear. Unlike Danton, known to abandon his heroic posture,
Robespierre never relinquished the image that he had created of
himself.
(25)
Although Danton and
Robespierre had numerous differences, the main reason for their
political disagreement was based in their differing beliefs of
continuing or ending the Terror. Danton wished to relax the
Terror. He saw no more need for wholesale use of the guillotine
when the Republican armies were victorious at home and abroad.
The creation of a vague and broad Republic, with men of all
political orientations joined together, was Danton's plan
(26)
"Blood endless blood," Danton said,
"The Wretches. They will end up by drowning the Revolution."
(27)
He was for the Terror, but a Terror more controlled,
so as to punish and frighten only the guilty.
During the Convention,
Danton had even spoken in favor of eventually ending the Terror.
Twice he had approached Robespierre, but no agreement could be
made. Robespierre denied that any innocent people had perished
and insisted that Danton's concern for suspects was proof of his
own lax principles.
(28)
Robespierre replied to
Danton's plea for an end to the Terror on Christmas Day 1793, in
his speech on the Principles of Revolutionary Government He
explained that the safety of France demanded a governmental
system endowed with great powers to repel invaders and crush
internal strife. The Revolution, according to Robespierre, is the
war of liberty against its enemies, and the constitution is the
regime of victorIous and peace-loving liberty. Robespierre
strongly believed that the Terror should be increased in
intensity, rather then diminished, in order to assure the
establishment of a permanent constitutional government.
(29)
Robespierre believed
that the safety of the nation depended upon the continuation of
the Terror. Since Robespierre's conception of the Terror was its
infallibility in all matters of justice, Danton was seriously
questioning a fundamental tenet of Robespierre's nationalist
philosophy that the "nation could do no wrong."
(30)
Robespierre's followers agreed that times were
stilt critical and that toleration would weaken Republican energy.
Danton seemed to prefer toleration and a return to pre-Revolutionary
France. Their decision that the Terror should be maintained was
simply a time judgement because both intended to end the Terror
after Revolutionary justice had been applied to ease the wounds
of the nation.
(31)
While Robespierre and
Danton were carrying out numerous executions many Americans,
British and French became disenchanted with the governmental
practices. Although the two politicians had a sense of
immortality and constant approval, Englishmen such as W. A. Miles
believed that Robespierre and Danton were just leaders as long as
they remained loyal to liberty, but they would be overthrown if
they betrayed the cause of liberty.
(32)
Even American Revolutionary leader Thomas Paine
believed there should be some method to the Terror. He did not
agree that individuals should be denounced at random without any
kind of proof. According to Paine, the Terror undermined and
destroyed all trust, not to mention all confidence and authority
that had already been created.
(33)
Many
believed that Danton and Robespierre possessed influence but
would be overthrown the moment they abused their power.
(34)
Another political
disagreement between Robespierre and Danton was the question of
what to do with the deposed monarchy and aristocracy. While the
Dantonists wanted the French royalty to return, Robespierre
declared that all kings and aristocrats were slaves rebelling
against the people. Robespierre went further to add that all
enemies of liberty should be annihilated to uphold the rights of
man.
(35)
Robespierre also
believed that the aristocracy was planning a counterrevolutionary
movement to overthrow the National Convention. With Danton's plan
to recall the noblemen, Robespierre scoffed at him and said,
"Show consideration for the Royalists. No! You should have
compassion with the innocent and the weak."
(36)
Robespierre wanted to crush royalism because it
would try to overcome the victories of the Republic.
Given their numerous
differences in personality and ideology, Robespierre and Danton
were destined to confront one another. Robespierre definitely
considered the Dantonists to be enemies of the Revolution because
they proposed a form of government not based upon virtue.
Robespierre connected the government with the welfare of France
and considered any assauit upon the government as an attack upon
the nation.
(37)
After the fall of the
left-wing Hebertists, Danton made a triumphant speech announcing
the end of the Terror. As Robespierre listened, he was convinced
that Danton was pushing for leadership in a post-Terror
government. If Robespierre did not counter-attack quickly, the
Dantonists could seize control of the National Convention and
bring an end to his Republic of Virtue.
(38)
Robespierre began to
act. He planned to convict Danton and his followers on false
charges of treason and other unpatriotic acts. During the week
preceding Danton's arrest, Robespierre cautiously moved his
agents into vacancies in the government created by previously
eliminated factions. All sides of the trap were carefully tested
so that Danton could not escape. In the solitude of his room,
Robespierre began to construct the charges that would secure
Danton's head.
(39)
These
notes were written so haphazardly that only Robespierre himself
could interpret them. He wrote phrases and ideas, rather than
clear sentences, in order to protect himself from possible
incrimination.
(40)
The
bulk of his notes deal with the supposed illegal actions of the
Dantonists.
(41)
Robespierre accused Danton of wanting to dissolve
the Convention, being unpatriotic, taking part in a conspiracy
aimed at re-establishing the monarchy, attempting to destroy the
Republican government and associating himself with rascals.
(42)
When he had finished
the charges, Robespierre handed the notes to his accomplice,
Louis Antoine Jean de Saint-Just, whose duty was to prepare the
material in such a way that Robespierre could not be held
responsible.
(43)
Armed
with Robespierre's notes, Saint-Just completed his report and
laid it before a joint meeting of the Committee of Public Safety
and Committee of General Security, on March 30. All but two
signed the warrant for arrest of Danton, and the order was
carried out the same night.
(44)
The
order reads as follows:
- Danton, and his associates, shall be
apprehended, taken up and arrested wherever they may be
found. Their names will be entered in the jail-book of
the register of the Luxembourg house of detention, where
they shall remain in prison until arraignment upon the
decree of accusations.
(45)
At 5:00 a. m. on March 31, 1794, Danton was
taken from his bed and cast in the Luxembourg prison. He was soon
joined by his followers and kept under close confinement until
their trial began.
(46)
Robespierre believed
that Danton's arrest was necessary for the safety of the nation.
The Dantonists, in Robespierre's eyes, had become false patriots
who had preferred personal and foreign interests to the welfare
of the nation.
(47)
The
arrest of Danton and his followers eliminated that last of the
factions who attempted to challenge Robespierre's increasing
power in the Committee of Public Safety.
(48)
On April 2, 1794, the
Dantonists went to trial, which lasted four stormy days. The
trial was as great a farce as the charges. Robespierre took every
precaution to assure Danton's condemnation. There were no
witnesses, because the "proof" rested largely in
Robespierre's accusations.
(49)
Robespierre had few
doubts that Danton would be found guilty of the alleged charges.
However, the charges were scarcely credible. Robespierre's belief
that Danton was involved in plots against France was impossible
to prove and hardly believable. The charges became even more
ridiculous when Robespierre accused Danton of being an enemy of
virtue and not being patriotic enough. Once again Robespierre
demonstrated his belief that anything contrary to the Republic of
Virtue was a crime against France. Robespierre's picture of
Danton was a travesty of logic and justice.
(50)
Even though Danton's
chances for acquittal were slight, he was still allowed to speak
in his own defense. One by one, Danton began to answer to Saint-Just's
charges, reducing them to a concoction of lies and gossip. He
spoke for over an hour and, before he was through, it became
apparent to the whole court, audience and participants alike,
that the charges could not possibly be sustained.
(51)
A citizen who witnessed
the trial sald that Danton made the judges, jurors and President
of the Court tremble. The President was so afraid that the crowd
might take the prisoner's side that he adjourned the session,
with the excuse that Danton must be tired. After adjournment, a
report was spread through Paris that Danton was to be acquitted,
and, on the following day, the rest of the Dantonists would be
allowed to defend their actions.
(52)
However, during the
night, a letter from the Luxembourg prison was produced.
(53)
The letter was written by Alexandre Laflotte, whose
function was to mingle and spy upon the prisoners.
(54)
It dramatically unveiled a plot that the Dantonists
planned to escape from prison, rescue other political prisoners
and re-establish the monarchy.
(55)
The
next day, with the letter in hand, Saint-Just helped to pass a
law that prevented any accused tyrant from speaking in his own
defense. Thus, the Dantonists were not allowed to further defend
themselves, and the trial became dominated by Robespierre.
Danton expressed his
indignation at the injustice and the tyranny of their trial.
Danton cried out, "We are to be condemned without a hearing!
There is no need for the jury to deliberate. We have lived long
enough to be content to slumber in the bosom of glory. Take us to
the scaffold!"
(56)
The trial showed the
terroristic methods of deceit, suspicion and fear which
Robespierre employed. In the verdict, five days later, these
charges were condensed into two. Six of the prisoners were found
guilty of a conspiracy aiming at the re-establishment of the
monarchy and the destruction of the national representation and
republican government. One was acquitted, while the other nine
were guilty of a conspiracy aiming at discrediting and debasing
the national representation and destroying by corruption the
Republican government.
(57)
When passing in front
of Robespierre's house, on the way to the guillotine, Danton rose
from his fatal seat, turned toward Robespierre's house and said,
"You will follow us shortly. Your house shall be beaten down
and sowed with salt."
(58)
Not
content with seeing his enemies pass his house, Robespierre
followed them to the place of execution.
(59)
At the foot of the
scaffold, Danton exclaimed, "Oh my wife, my well-beloved, I
shall never see thee more." And, interrupting himself, he
said, "Danton no weakness!"
(60)
His last moments were best described by an
eyewitness:
- Terrible picture! Time will never
erase it from my memory. I perfectly comprehend the
feeling which inspired Danton to utter his last words,
those terrible words, that I could not hear, but which
were repeated to me in trembling horror and admiration. 'Do
not forget, above all,' he said to the executioner, 'do
not forget to show my head to the people; it is good to
look at.'
(61)
The executioner obeyed
him and showed Danton's head on all four sides of the scaffold.
(62)
At the age of thirty-four, Danton died. For five
years Danton had been the champion of the Revolution, but the
forces of Robespierre had given Danton the image of a traitor.
(63)
Even if Robespierre's
joy was complete at the very moment when Danton's head fell, he
is said by some mechanical instinct to have put his hand to his
neck, as if to make sure that his head was on his shoulders.
Since Danton's head had fallen, Robespierre was making no mistake
in believing that his life was now, more than ever, in danger.
(64)
Within four months of
Danton's death, the Revolutionary Government had fallen apart,
and Robespierre himself had perished by the guillotine.
(65)
"Vile Robespierre!" Danton had shouted at
his trial, "you will follow me to the scaffold."
(66)
Danton's prophecy was correct. First, the Girondins
had fallen, then the Hebertists, and, after Danton, Robespierre
and all his followers were executed. The Revolution had eaten its
children and destroyed the Republic of Virtue.
Robespierre's most
serious rival was Danton. During the Revolution Danton was seen
by many as an alternative to Robespierre. Danton had been in
power two times during the Revolution. First, he was made
Minister of Justice in the interim government that succeeded the
destruction of the monarchy, and secondly, as one of the original
members of the first Committee of Public Safety. He had extensive
friendships, a considerable personal following and unimpeachable
Revolutionary credentials.
(67)
Of all the men in the
Revolution, Danton was undoubtedly the most admired by the public.
The fact that such a man as Danton could be overthrown by the
ruses and guile of Robespierre filled the National Convention
with terror. No one could perceive himself free from accusation.
(68)
.
Robespierre was a man
full of pride and cunning, and an envious and vindictive being
who surmounted obstacles and circumstances most appalling. His
steadiness and control helped him ascend to the Committee of
Public Safety, where he openly aspired to tyranny and
dictatorship.
(69)
Robespierre had always feared Danton, because he was the only
rival who angered and annoyed him. Robespierre, with the ability
or luck to preserve his own popularity, seized the moment to
destroy Danton, but in reality he destroyed himself.
(70)
Overall, the
differences between Robespierre and Danton are readily apparent.
Robespierre wanted a Republic of Virtue based on his idealistic
philosophy, while Danton wanted a Republic slightly different
from pre-Revolutionary France. The conflict brought these two
powerful leaders together and caused their downfall. Robespierre
was a man of philosophy, while Danton was a man of practicality.
The deaths of Danton, and many other patriots, were inevitable
because of the complex political struggles of late 1793 and early
1794. Perhaps had these two leaders merged their views, Danton
and Robespierre might not have met their untimely demises and
further bloodshed may have been avoided.
ENDNOTES
1
. Stanley Loomis,
Paris in the Terror: June 1793-1794
(New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1964), 263.
2
. Thomas Carlyle,
The French Revolution: A
History
(London: D. Appleton and Company, 1837; reprint, New
York: Heritage Press, 1956), 571.
3
. Loomis,
Paris in the Terror
, 264.
4
. Norman Hampson,
Danton
(New York: Holmes
& Meier Publishers, 1978), 19; and Gustaff Johannes Renier,
Robespierre
(New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1936), 7-13.
5
. David P. Jordan,
The Revolutionary Career of
Maximilien Robespierre
(New York: The Free Press, 1985), 59.
6
. J. M. Thompson,
Leaders of the French
Revolution
(1929; reprint, Oxford: Basil Blackwell & Mott,
1 963), 118.
7
. Wilfred B. Kerr,
The Reign of Terror 1793-1794
(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1927), 109.
8
. Herman Wendell,
Danton
(New Haven,
Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1935), 150.
9
. John Moore, "Political Characters," in
English
Witnesses of the French Revolution
, ed. J. M. Thompson (1938;
reprint, Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press, 1970), 206.
10
. J. G. Millingen, "Danton and Barere," in
English Witnesses of the French Revolution
, 255.
11
. Oscar Browning, ed.
The Despatches of Earl
Gower
(Cambridge University Press, 1885), 216.
12
. George Rude, "Robespierre,"
History
Today
8 (April 1956): 226.
13
. National Convention, "Decree on the
Foundation of a Committee of Public Safety," in
A
Documentary Survey of the French Revolution
, ed. John Hall
Stewart (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1951), 423-424.
14
. Geoffrey Brunn,
Saint-Just: Apostle to the
Terror
(Hamden, Connecticut: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1932;
reprint, Hamden, Connecticut: Anchor Books, 1966), 43.
15
. Joseph Dominique Garat, "Garat on Danton's
Plans," in
English Witnesses of the French Revolution
,
193.
16
. Henri Beraud,
Twelve Portraits of the French
Revolution
, trans. Madelin Boyd (Boston: Little, Brown and
Company, 1928), 45.
17
. George Rude,
Robespierre: Portrait of a
Revolutionary Democrat
(New York: The Viking Press, 1975), 38.
18
. Alphonse Aulard,
The French Revolution: a
Political History 1789-1804
, trans. Bernard Miall (New York:
Charles Scribner and Sons, 1910), 144.
19
. Robert Christophe,
Danton
, trans. Peter
Green (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1967),
388-398.
20
. Hilaire Belloc,
Robespierre
(New York: G. P.
Putnam's Sons, 1928), 300.
21
. Thompson,
Leaders
, 128.
22
. Norman Hampson,
The Life and Opinions of
Maximilien Robespierre
(London: Gerald Duckworth, 1974), 254.
23
. Maximiien Robespierre, "Robespierre's Values:
Extract From a Speech of 5 February 1794," in
The French
Revolution: The Fall of the Ancien Regime to the Thermidorian
Reaction 1785-1795
, Documents of Modern History Series, ed.
John Hardman (New York: St. Martins Press, 1982), 211.
24
. Anne Sa'adah,
The Shaping of Liberal Politics
in Revolutionary France: A Comparative Perspective
(Princeton,
New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1990), 184.
25
. Carol Blum,
Rousseau and the Republic of Virtue:
The Language of Politics in the French Revolution
(Ithica,
New York: Cornell University Press, 1986), 151 -152.
26
. Robert Roswell Palmer,
Twelve Who Ruled: The
Year of the Terror in the French Revolution
(1941; reprint,
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989), 257.
27
. Jean Matrat,
Robespierre: or the Tyranny of the
Majority
, trans. Alan Kendall (New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1971), 231.
28
. John Fisher,
Six Summers In Paris: 1789-1794
(New York: Harper and Row, 1966), 182-183.
29
. Maximilien Robespierre, "The Principles of
Revolutionary Government," in
Revolution and Terror in
France 1789-1795
, ed. D. G. Wright (New York: Longman Inc.,
1992), 137.
30
. James Michael Eagan,
Maximilien Robespierre:
Nationalistic Dictator
(Morningside Heights, New York:
Columbia University Press, 1938), 139.
31
. Eugene Newton Curtis,
Saint-Just: Colleague of
Robespierre
(Morningside Heights, New York: Columbia
University Press, 1935), 218.
32
. Charles Popham Miles, ed.
The Correspondence of
William Augustus Miles of the French Revolution 1789-1817
(New
York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1890), 165.
33
. Thomas Paine, 'A Letter to Danton," in
English
Witnesses of the French Revolution
, 238.
34
. Miles,
Correspondence
, 156.
35
. Maximilien Robespierre, "Declaration of
Rights," in
A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution
,
433-434.
36
. lbid., "Report on the Principles of Political
Morality," in
Speeches of Maximilien Robespierre
,
Voices of Revolt Series vol. 1, Maximilien Robespierre (New York:
International Publishers, 1927), 75-79.
37
. Eagan,
Robespierre: Dictator
, 133.
38
. Matrat,
Robespierre
, 245.
39
. Loomis,
Paris in the Terror
, 299.
40
. Maximilien Robespierre, "Les Notes de
Robespierre; Contre les Dantonists," in
Robespierre
Terroriste
, Albert Mathiez (Paris: La Renaissance du Livre,
1921), 84-118.
41
. J. M. Thompson,
Robespierre
(Oxford: Basil
Blackwell and Mott Ltd., 1939), 464-468.
42
. Jules Claretie, ed. "Decree of Accusation
Against the Dantonists," in
Camille Desmoulins and His
Wife: Passages from the History of the Dantonists
, trans.
Cashel Hoey (London: Smith and Elder, 1976), 425.
43
. Loomis
Paris in the Terror
300.
44
. Thompson,
Robespierre
, 470.
45
. Jules Claretie, ed. "The Order for the Arrest
of the Dantonists," in
Camille Desmoulins and his Wife:
Passages from the History of the Dantonists
434-435.
46
. George Duruv, ed.
Memoirs of Barras: Member of
the Directorate
vol. 1, trans. C. E. Rouche (New York: Harper
and Brothers Franklin Square, 1895), 179-181.
47
. Eagan,
Robespierre: Dictator
, 140.
48
. John Black Sirich,
The Revolutionary Committees
in the Departments of France. 1793-1794
(Cambridge,
Massachusetts.: Harvard University, 1943), 184.
49
. Kerr,
Reign of Terror
361.
50
. Loomis,
Paris in the Terror
, 311-312.
51
. Brunn,
Saint-Just
, 105-106.
52
. Beraud,
Twelve Portraits
. 54.
53
. Loomis,
Paris in the Terror
, 314.
54
. Wendell,
Danton
, 325.
55
. Convention Nationale, "Le Moniteur Universal,"
in
Reimpression de L'Ancien Moniteur
, ed. Henri Plon (Paris,
1870), 104.
56
. George Jacques Danton, "Danton's Defense
before the Revolutionary Tribunal," in
Speeches of George
Jacques Danton
, Voices of Revolt Vol. 5, ed. Andre Fribourg (New
York: International Publishers, 1928), 92.
57
. J. M. Thompson,
The French Revolution
(New
York: Oxford University Press, 1945), 505.
58
. Duruv,
Memoirs of Barras
, 184.
59
. Ibid., 185.
60
. Carlyle,
The French Revolution
. 574.
61
. Jules Claretie, ed. "Danton's Death (Related
by an Eye-Witness)," in
Camille Desmoulins and His Wife:
Passages from the History of the Dantonists
437.
62
. Jules Michelet,
Histoire de Ia Revolution
francaise
, trans. Keith Botsford (Wynnewood, Pennsylvania:
Kolokol Press, 1973), 258.
63
. Louis Madeline,
Danton
, trans. Lady Mary
Boyd (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1921), 382-363.
64
. Duruv,
Memoirs of Barras
. 185.
65
. Rude, "Robespierre," 226.
66
. Maurice Hutt, "George-Jacques Danton; 1759-1794,"
History Today
9(July 1959): 481.
67
. Jordan,
Revolutionary Career
, 55.
68
. Loomis,
Paris in the Terror
. 305-306.
69
. Joseph duc d'Orante Fouche,
The Memoirs of
Joseph Fouche. Duke of Oranto. Minister of the General Police of
France
, comp. A. de Beauchamp (London: H. S. Nicholas, 1896),
14-15.
70
. E. L. Higgins,
The French Revolution: As Told
By Contemporaries
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside
Press, 1938), 338.
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