Cold Open

It’s July 28th, 1794, in Paris, France, five years after the French Revolution began.

One of the largest crowds the city has ever seen gathers at one of the city’s public squares. Less than two years ago on this very spot, King Louis XVI was executed. Now, the spectators hang from every window and line every rooftop to see the death of another tyrant.

As a carriage approaches, they get a glimpse of the mutilated and bloody Maximilien Robespierre, and the crowd explodes in fury. He is the man they have all been waiting for.

Robespierre helped lead the charge in the execution of the King. The revolutionary statesman looked on gleefully as they took the head off Queen Marie Antionette. He oversaw thousands of executions against suspected enemies of the revolution, a period of state-sanctioned violence known as the Reign of Terror. But now he finds himself facing the same fate.

Inside the carriage, Robespierre lays limp, nearly unconscious from pain. He has been badly beaten, and his face is wrapped with a blood-stained bandage. It’s the only thing holding his jaw in place.

With each bump along the cobblestone streets, the searing pain makes Robespierre regret his earlier attempt to take his own life by gunshot. He missed and only blew out the side of his mouth, an injury that makes this trip to the guillotine all the more torturous.

Robespierre is only shaken out of his lethargy by the crowd’s jeers. One woman calls him a “monster spewed from Hell.” She gloats that his death will bring her joy. Robespierre looks sadly into her eyes. He had only ever wanted the best for France. But rather than celebrating him as her hero, this woman curses him “for all of the wives and mothers of France.” Robespierre hangs his head in sorrow.

When his cart reaches the foot of the scaffold, the statesman is dragged up the stairs and dropped by the guillotine to await his turn.

One by one, Robespierre watches as they behead his closest allies, including his own brother. 

He shuts his eyes and tries not to watch, but Robespierre helplessly shudders with each drop of the blade… until, finally, it's Robespierre's turn. He gasps in pain as the executioner rips off the bandage from his face. He feels his jaw hanging loosely to one side as blood pours from his wound. His head is pushed into the guillotine, and his last sight is that of the people of France, who celebrate as the blade falls.

In 1789, social and political inequalities in France reached a boiling point. Popular anger at the excesses of King Louis XVI and the taxes funding his lavish lifestyle led France to revolution. With the removal of the King from the throne in 1792, the people began to draft a Constitution for a new French Republic.

Much like the Revolution itself, Maximilien Robespierre started with the noblest of intentions. He joined other political radicals in defending the ideals of the revolution. He spoke out about the enlightenment ideals of liberty, equality, and the right to resist oppression. He helped to instill those ideals through shaping the laws of the New Republic, while vigorously defending the revolution against factions who sought to undo it. But Robespierre was corrupted by the taste of power, leading him to launch a bloody Reign of Terror that ultimately ends with his own execution on July 28th, 1794.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is July 28th, 1794: The Execution of Maximilien Robespierre.

Act One: A Man of the People 

It’s December 3rd, 1792 in Paris, France, at the trial of deposed King Louis XVI. It’s less than 2 years before Maximilien Robespierre’s own execution, and he is on his feet, calling for the death of the king.

High up in the bleachers, Robespierre stands with other radical, populists, crying out for justice. The French Monarchy has been officially abolished, and now as a member of France’s new legislative body, known as the National Convention, Robespierre will help decide the fate of the former King.

For weeks the convention has been hotly debating the issue.

And at the podium below is Jacques Pierre Brissot, a member of the more moderate faction, the Girondins. Brissot is calling for the King’s life to be spared. He recommends that the former monarch be placed under house arrest, where he can be kept hostage and used as a bargaining chip against foreign powers if need be. He expresses fear that the king’s death might spur a royalist rebellion.

The other Girondins at the Convention agree. But Robespierre does not. He and the others high in the bleachers, collectively referred to as “The Mountain,” make their feelings about leniency known. The Montagnards, or Mountaineers, have earned their reputation through passionate heckling from the top rows of the Convention, and today they are characteristically vocal.

Brissot continues, trying to ignore them. But when he calls for a national referendum so the citizens can decide the king's fate, Robespierre and the other Montagnards have had enough. They want the king to suffer, and they make their dissent loud and clear. The Convention falls into disarray. The Girondins and the Montagnards are at each other’s throats. The First Republic has just been born, and it's stumbling in its first step.

So, Robespierre takes the floor himself. He has never been the loudest of the speakers, but he is a man of eloquence. And the room hangs on his every word.

Since the start of the Revolution, Robespierre has made a name for himself delivering over 100 speeches at the Jacobin Club, the main political society in Paris. Robespierre has proven to be a passionate man with radical ideas. He's always been an outspoken proponent of Democracy, equality, and universal suffrage. And in many ways, he's also been a voice against violence, avidly speaking out against slavery, unnecessary wars in Europe, and the use of capital punishment.

So when Robespierre calls for the execution of the King, he has everyone’s attention. He explains - the death penalty should only be used when it's vital to public safety. Otherwise, different, more humane means should be used to stop a criminal from causing further harm. But in the case of the King, when his very existence risks inciting civil war, an exception must be made. He exclaims that “Louis XVI must die so the nation can live.”

Though some of the moderate Girondins are still unwilling to vote for execution, Robespierre’s speech wins over enough of the Convention to render the monarch a death sentence. And a month later, King Louis XVI is executed.

But the beheading of the king exposes another wound: an irreparable fracture between the Girondins and the Montagnards. The chasm widens with the fear of invasion by foreign powers, rising inflation, and a growing food shortage. All this, and the National Convention still needs to agree upon a new constitution.

In the Spring of 1793, Robespierre makes his frustrations known at the Jacobin Club. He is outspoken against Jacques Brissot and his Girondin followers. Eventually, a circular is sent to all Jacobin clubs across France, demanding the expulsion of any Girondin member who defended the King by speaking against his execution.

The Girondins respond by arresting the Jacobin Club’s president, Jean-Paul Marat. But the move backfires against the Girondins. The public is outraged. Marat is quickly acquitted and released. But, mere weeks later, when a Girondin plot to overthrow the National Convention is discovered, Robespierre calls on the masses “to rise in insurrection.” In an inflammatory speech at the Jacobin Club, Robespierre challenges the people to arrest 22 of the Girondins leaders, including Jacques Brissot, for crimes “against the sovereign people." Robespierre’s call is answered.

On the morning of June 2nd, over 80,000 armed Parisians surround the National Convention. As the Girondins, now besieged, sit helpless, Robespierre delivers a fiery speech denouncing them as the enemy of the people and of the nation, and calling for the National Convention to indict the Girondin leaders. Robespierre’s speech, accompanied by the sound of the vigilante mob at the doors, wins the day. A decree is voted on and passed. Brissot and the other Girondin leaders are placed under arrest. And the insurrection is over.

Robespierre will emerge from this conflict a hero. And it will be clear that the people are on his side. And with the Girondin opposition gone, Robespierre will find himself in a new position of power, one he will soon wield to create his vision of a New France.

Act Two: A Man of Power

It’s September 5th, 1793, in Paris, France.

Inside a meeting of the National Convention, Maximilien Robespierre is feeling the pressures of leadership. Again, the people are rioting. This time, they’re protesting the continuing rise in the price of grain. They have gathered once more outside the Convention and are banging on the doors. Robespierre must make a decision and quickly.

He is not unsympathetic to the public's plight; he also shares their frustrations with the inaction of the Legislative body. But Robespierre’s political passion has changed considerably since the last time the people were calling for blood. With the opposition of the Girondins gone, Robespierre has been named both President of the Jacobin Club and the National Convention itself. He has also been appointed to the Committee of Public Safety, a body charged with protecting the new republic from enemies - both foreign - and domestic. And Robespierre intends to use his new power to enact some much-needed change.

Answering the cries of the demonstrators outside the Convention, Robespierre calls for the establishment of maximum food prices. He also proposes the government form a revolutionary army to enforce those price caps and go after grain hoarders. But his primary reason for calling for a militia is to protect the aims of the revolution. For Robespierre, that includes the arrest of agitators who might disrupt the work of the Convention. He declares that they should use the "weight and willpower" of people loyal to the republic to oppress those willing to turn "political gatherings into gladiatorial arenas." Then, when the vote for raising the army passes, Robespierre declares that "terror is the order of the day."

Though the demonstrators’ demands about food prices are met, Robespierre uses his newly established militia to round up those responsible for the uprising. In the Committee of Public Safety, Robespierre targets those he considers enemies of the new republic. He passes a decree suspending all constitutional and individual rights, justifying his actions by calling terror a necessary virtue to secure peace for the nation.

A few weeks later, former Queen Marie Antionette and others associated with the former crown are tried and executed. Then, Robespierre turns his ire to the imprisoned Girondins who voted against the execution of the king. Though he holds trials for these men, their outcomes are all but certain. They are not allowed lawyers, nor can they present evidence of their innocence. They are not even allowed to testify for themselves. When their inevitable guilty verdicts are read, one of the Girondins stabs himself with a dagger and bleeds out on the courtroom floor. The following day, their leader Jaques Brissot and the other Girondins sing the revolutionary battle song that has become France’s national anthem as, one by one, they are all executed by guillotine.

But Robespierre doesn’t stop there.

By the end of 1793, two new factions opposing him grow in prominence - The Dantonists, led by moderate George Danton, who calls for an end to the Reign of Terror - and the Hebertists, led by Jacques Hébert, who believe the Terror has not gone far enough. Both men are openly critical of Robespierre. In return, Robespierre declares Hebert’s views to be far too radical and threatening to the Convention. Of Danton, he says he is a false patriot, holding personal and foreign interests above that of the welfare of the nation. Both men and their followers are arrested and executed by the spring.

But rather than ease France’s unrest, the bloodshed of Robespierre’s Reign of Terror exacerbates it, attracting more and more critics. And as spring turns to summer, a disturbing arrival at Robespierre’s home makes the discontent of the public known.

On May 22nd, 1794, a young woman named Cecile Renault knocks on Robespierre’s door. She carries with her a parcel, a basket, and a bundle of clothing under her arm. She demands to see the statesman. And when guards ask why, she simply says that a public man ought to receive those who wish to see him. The guards allow her to enter but tell her she must wait before she can meet with Robespierre. After several hours, she grows impatient. And when she grows belligerent, she’s searched. Hidden in her bundle are two knives, with which she intended to assassinate Robespierre. As she’s arrested, she says she merely wanted to see "what a tyrant looks like."

But Cecile Renault will not be alone in her frustrations. The chorus of those calling the leader a dictator will grow daily. But Robespierre will answer Cecile’s assassination attempt and the accusations of tyranny by doubling down. A few weeks later, he will push through a law suspending a suspect’s right to a public trial. And using this legislation as an acquittal, in just over a month, over 1,400 enemies of the Revolution and of Robespierre will be guillotined. But as the public executions increase, so too will opposition to Robespierre, with a group of men plotting his downfall.

Act Three: A Man of Tyranny

It’s July 26th, 1794, at the National Convention, where Maximilien Robespierre is giving another unbearable speech defending himself against the cries of being a dictator.

Like almost every member of the Convention, Laurant LeCointre squirms in his seat. Laurant hasn’t slept in several nights. The erratic behavior of Robespierre is becoming worrisome. And lately, he has been irritable, looking worn, and has been noticeably absent from Committee meetings. Just weeks ago, Laurant had to attend the ceremony of the Cult of the Supreme Being, an artificial religion created by Robespierre, in which he installed himself as its highest leader. Now, Robespierre is rambling like a maniac, directing his ire toward any perceived challenge to his power.

Laurant knows anyone could be put on the chopping block next, even himself. He shakes his head at the thought. And decides enough is enough. Something must be done to depose the tyrannical Robespierre.

Laurant cautiously reaches out to others in the Convention who also fear Robespierre’s unchecked tyranny. He’s surprised to find so many eager to conspire with him. It seems Robespierre has succeeded in uniting all the disparate political factions, but only against him and his tyranny. But overthrowing the leader is challenging. Robespierre has been granted ultimate power. He controls the authorities, the Jacobin Club, and the army. Laurant and the others know that their only power lies in the Convention itself. Only through a united decree can they hope to depose Robespierre.

The following day, on July 27th, the trap is set. When Robespierre takes the floor, the Montagnards from high in the pews begin shouting "Down with the tyrant! Arrest him!" When Robespierre turns to others in the Convention for support, asking that they arrest the Montagnards, no one moves. Robespierre is answered with silence. Then, a decree is presented to instead arrest Robespierre and his accomplices. Laurant and the others all vote in favor. It passes unanimously.

Using Robespierre's law against him, The National Convention will find him and his allies guilty of various charges, including conspiracy against the Republic. As Troops of the National Convention arrive and attack the hotel where Robespierre tries to hide out, the defeated leader will attempt, but fail, to take his own life. Upon entering, the troops will seize Robespierre and his closest allies. And the following day, after France’s Reign of Terror saw over 16,000 executed by guillotine, the months of bloodshed will finally come to an end with Robespierre’s own execution on July 28th, 1794.

Outro

Next on History Daily. July 31st, 1975. Jimmy Hoffa, one of the most influential American labor leaders of the 20th century, is reported missing and never seen again.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Erik Archilla.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.