Robespierre and The Reign of Terror

The Reign of Terror was a period of violence that occurred a couple of months after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution."

Max took control of the government and tried to erase any trace of the old monarchy. Kings, queens, and jacks were removed from playing cards and replaced with the faces of revolutionaries. The calendar was drastically changed. The months were re-named and sundays were removed because the new radicals thought religion was old fashioned. All of the churches in Paris were closed. Max ruled France like a dictator. This rule was called the Reign of Terror , because many people were executed by the government.

People got tired of Max cutting everyone's head off. People who worked in the government did not feel safe, they thought their head might be the next to go. So a conspiracy was organized against Robespierre. He was arrested and his head was cut off. France settled down with a government that had a legislative body and an executive body of five men called the Directory.