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Answer-3 Mod France

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Answer-3 Mod France

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Third Estate.

Less numerous but far more active were the Left-Wing deputies of
the Jacobin Club. Their strength was about 140000.

The Jacobins had their supporters in the electoral assembly and reflected two
distinct political tendencies. The extreme radicals formed the nucleus of the future
republican party. They were more powerful in the clubs than in the assembly. The
dominating group of the left-wing deputies consisted of the followers of Brissot,
known as Brissotins in the Legislative Assembly, they came to be known as
Girondins under the National Convention because several of their best-known
representatives came from the department of Gironde. The Girondins were
staunch advocates of war against Austria and the allies from where the threat of
counter-revolution came. They believed that the war would forge national unity.
The Girondins (former Brissotins) were led by Vergniaud, Brissot and Guadet.
Though they were not in the majority, they often controlled the balance of voting
and supplied most of the ministers.

The political struggle between the Girondins and Montagnards tore apart the
Convention and lasted till the former were expelled by the invasion of the Parisian
crowd. There is a difference of opinion on the nature of this struggle - whether it
was based on personal rivalries and lust for power or a reflection of social and
economic class struggle. Some writers regard Girondins as a coherent party while
others see the idea of the Girondin party as a result of Montagnard propaganda.
Even Montagnards were also well organized whose tactics had often been
concerted in the Jacobin clubs, of which they gained complete control. The
Montagnards adopted policies geared to the needs of the masses and did not
hesitate in seeking popular support and adopting policies satisfying popular
demands. The misconduct of foreign war and the daunting economic troubles
within France such as the falling value of the assignat (revolutionary paper
money) and the insoluble food problem weakened the position of the Girondins.
Instead, they concentrated on the counter-revolution and laws against the emigres.
The decisive blow to the Girondins came from the radically inclined militant
groups from Paris (sans-culottes) who invaded the Convention and brought
Montagnards to power on 2 June 1793. So, it was the combined force of
Montagnards (numerically small) and sans-culottes that brought about the coup.

The Jacobins created a provisional revolutionary government in October 1793


leading to a virtual dictatorship and Terror. This government reflects an
inextricable binding up of democratic and tyrannical trends. The various excesses
of the Terror caused a reaction against the Jacobin Republic. when historians refer
to ‘the Terror’ they generally mean the period when the Jacobins dominated the
government. This period lasted from June 1793 to the end of July 1794. There
were three principal reasons for the Jacobin Terror. The first was the strength of

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