Schama

On divisions within the Church

It was in the Church, more than any other group
in France, that the separation between rich and
poor was most bitterly articulated.
Fenwick and Anderson
On the declaration of the National Assembly
The decision marked the beginnings of the real
revolution and it was largely as a result of the
indecision of ouis !"I
Soboul
Regarding the Flight to Varennes
From this moment the #ing appeared as the most
dangerous foe to the mass of the people$ the Flight
to "arennes had finally torn off the mask and
revealed him in his true colours.
Stewart
On the September assacres
%they must be understood in light of
circumstances. They were occasioned by fear and
hysteria. To the average Frenchman they doubtless
seemed a regrettable but unavoidable necessity.
Schama
On the September assacres
% a good case% might be made for seeing the
&eptember 'assacres as an event which% e(posed
a central truth of the French )evolution* its
dependence on organised killing to accomplish
political ends. For however virtuous the principles
of kingless France were supposed to be, their
power to compel allegiance depended, from the
very beginning, on the spectacle of death.
!efebvre
On the "error
In reality the government lost control of the
repression.
ike administration, it was decentralised by the
emergency.
Furet
On the "error
In other words, it ruled through far, making the
threat of death hang over all servants of the state
and citi+ens alike.
c#hee
On the "error
The central purpose of the Terror was to institute
the emergency and draconian measures necessary
at a time of military crisis.
$orrall
On the "error
The Terror should be viewed as an outgrowth of
the siege mentality that gripped ,aris in -ear II%.
.s a response to pressure from the sans/culottes for
total solutions to total problems% and as a
reaction to the e(igency of war, rebellion and
counter revolution% The machinery of the Terror
was fashioned in an atmosphere of patriotic