The Committee of Public Safety, a powerful group within the National Convention, consisted of twelve men. Their main task was to follow through on the promises of the Revolution and to protect the new French Republic from enemies at home.




Under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, members of the committee came to believe that the proper role of the new government was to encourage "virtue" in its citizens. Virtue was equated with civic pride, identity, and participation. The committee passed a new constitution designed to guide the French to a new level of democracy. The constitution offered voting rights to all adult males and pledged jobs, education, and property rights. It also established a military draft.

On June 8, 1794, Robespierre staged a massive public festival in Paris to honor the "Supreme Being," and establish a new state religion with no priests. The theatrical event drew a crowd of 500,000 people. In one dramatic moment, Robespierre torched a papier-mâché statue representing atheism. When the statue had burned, it revealed a new statue of the goddess of reason, standing firm.

What was the Reign of Terror?
Robespierre insisted that the Committee of Public Safety keep a tight grip on society due to the threat of invasion from foreign armies and the threat of revolts in the provinces. Within months of taking control, the committee had passed the Law of Suspects to protect the country from counterrevolutionaries, especially those living outside Paris. Anyone opposing the acts of the revolutionary government would be considered suspect, and most suspects were killed. Thus began the Reign of Terror.

In June 1794 (the same month in which the festival of the Supreme Being was held), the committee expanded the definition of "public enemy," reduced the evidence needed to convict a suspect, and announced a prohibition on any punishment but death for those found guilty. The committee was empowered to crush any and all resistance to its version of the revolution. The young Louis de Saint-Just, a member of the Committee, and Robespierre believed that since there was only one truth, differences of opinion could not be accepted. Soon, former colleagues and faithful supporters of the republic were being executed. Although the precise figures are not known, tens of thousands were probably killed during the Reign of Terror.

Georges Danton, a former leader of the Committee of Public Safety, and the man who condemned Louis XVI to die, was considered a threat to Robespierre's control. He was executed in the spring of 1794. Under pressure and sensing rising resentment from the people, the committee began to fracture. When Robespierre prepared a list of traitors within the committee, his opponents finally spoke out against him. A day later, on July 28, 1794, Robespierre's and Saint-Just's heads lay in a bloody basket, guillotined without trial. With their executions, the Reign of Terror and the most idealistic goals for the Revolution were laid to rest.

Credits: Girondists © Corbis; Seal of the Committee of Public Safety. Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris/Photo © Giraudon/Art Resource, New York; Portrait of Robespierre. Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France. Photo © SEF/Art Resource, New York; Portrait of Saint Just, Pierre-Paul Prud'hon. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France. Photo © Snark/Art Resource, New York.

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