Question

Which leader was convicted by the court in July 1794, arrested and sent to the guillotine (beheaded)?
A.Louis XVI
B.Maximilien Robespierre
C.Rosseau
D.Napoleon Bonaparte

Answer 1

Hint:The leader of Jacobin club was convicted by the Court in July 1794. This was because of his strict policy of control and punishment. He used to imprison, punish and execute all those he saw as enemies of the Republic. His policies made him unpopular, even among his supporters.

Complete answer:
Robespierre was the architect of the French Revolution’s reign of terror. In the year of 1758, 1789 was elected to be a representative of the Arras commoners in the Estates General. He became a prominent member of the revolutionary body when the lower clergy and commoners declared the National Assembly. In April 1790, he presided over the political club of Jacobins. He called for King Louis XVI to be put on trial for treason, and gained many supporters and enemies at the same time.
In 1792, he was elected to the insurrectionary Commune of Paris and then to head the Paris delegation to the new National Convention. He also argued in favor of Louis XVI’s execution and encouraged the people to rise up in insurrection over the issues of food shortage and military defeats.
On July 27, 1793, Robespierre was elected to the Committee of Public Safety which imposed the reign of terror in September. 300,000 suspected enemies of the Revolution were arrested, about 10,000 died in prison, and 17,000 were officially executed (many by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution).
In 1794, Robespierre was almost unanimously elected president of the National Convention and he passed a law which dismantled a suspect’s right to public trial and to legal assistance. Soon, him and allies were placed under arrest.
On July 28, Robespierre and 21 others were guillotined without a trial in the Place de la Revolution. This marked the end of the reign of terror as crowds cheered upon his execution.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note:As true aftermath followed, prisoners were released and the Committee of Public Safety lost its authority. The French Revolution became less radical and bourgeois values, corruption, and military failure returned once again. In 1799, a military coup by Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the directory. Napoleon then wielded his powers from 1804 onwards as the French Emperor.