Thermidorian Reaction

The Thermidorian Reaction was the 1794 overthrow of Maximilien Robespierre and the political shift that dismantled the Jacobin government and ended the Reign of Terror in France.

9 Thermidor: The ninth day of Thermidor Year II, when Robespierre and his allies were arrested in Paris. The coup began with the Convention’s arrest of Robespierre on 9 Thermidor.
French Revolution: The political and social upheaval that transformed France from 1789 to 1799. Thermidor was a turning point within the Revolution, not its end.
French Directory: The French republican government established in 1795 and replaced by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The Directory institutionalized the post-Terror republic created by Thermidorian politics.
Jacobins: A political club and revolutionary movement associated with radical republicanism in France. Thermidor dismantled Jacobin dominance without immediately ending republican government.
Maximilien Robespierre: A leading Jacobin revolutionary who became a central figure in the Committee of Public Safety. His arrest and execution marked the coup’s decisive break with the Terror’s leadership.
Reign of Terror: A period of revolutionary repression and mass executions in France, chiefly from 1793 to 1794. The reaction arose from opposition to the Terror and brought its central phase to a close.
White Terror: A wave of reprisals against Jacobins and former revolutionaries in France after the fall of Robespierre. The end of state terror was followed by violence against people associated with it.
Girondins: A revolutionary faction in the National Convention, defeated by the Montagnards in 1793. Their earlier downfall contrasts with the reversal of radical power in Thermidor.
Committee of Public Safety: The executive committee that directed France’s wartime government during the Revolution. Thermidorian deputies curtailed the committee’s authority after Robespierre’s fall.
Committee of General Security: A revolutionary committee responsible for internal security and policing in France. Rivalry with the Committee of Public Safety shaped the power struggle before Thermidor.

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