The French Revolution implies that there was a period of time with a unified ideals and actions. In reality, it is a group of phases that were all loosely fighting for the idea of liberty and equality. However, we do know that at one point these phases took a turn for the radical; they derailed the train of thought and aimed straight for the brick wall.
The question is at what point did the Revolution fall into the river. The Revolution began to fail at the beginning of the radical stage. The National Assembly was leaning towards more extreme courses of actions and ideas. What was considered harsh and unneeded during the beginning of the Revolution was common practice. All of this was setting the stage for the Reign of Terror. When the National Convention established the Committee of Public Safety, they created a platform for Robespierre to implement terror. From that point onward, execution by guillotine became common for enemies of the state and Robespierre.
In my opinion, the train of the revolution came derailed before the Reign of Terror because that period of time set up the government and political field for this terror.
The Reign of Terror is a very important period of the Revolution. As Kaitlyn explained in class with her very deep and complete thought, the important revolutionaries' thoughts caused the terror to be a needed action. The National Convention, more specifically the Committee of Public Safety, believed that they were going to have issues with the ex-king's supporters. They were worried that the republic would be in danger which lead them to force Republican ideas on everyone and have radical reforms. This in turn caused the people to question their government and revolt. Completing the circle, the revolutionaries had their fear realized. This lead to the execution of hundreds of people in the Reign of Terror.
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