French Revolution: The Republic

On Sept. 21, 1792, the Convention held its first meeting. It immediately abolished the monarchy, set up the republic, and proceeded to try the king for treason. His conviction and execution (Jan., 1793) reinforced royalist resistance, notably in the Vendée, and, abroad, contributed to the forming of a wider coalition against France. The Convention undertook the foreign wars with vigor but was itself torn by the power struggle between the Girondists and the Mountain (Jacobins and extreme left). The Girondists were purged in June, 1793. A democratic constitution was approved by 1.8 million voters in a plebiscite, but it never came into force.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Effects of the Revolution
• The Directory and the Coming of Napoleon
• The Reign of Terror
• The Republic
• The Revolution of 1792
• Factionalism and War
• The Revolution of 1789
• The Estates-General and the National Assembly
• Origins of the Revolution
• Bibliography

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