Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fervently campaigned for the voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard. Additionally, he advocated the right to petition, the right to bear arms in self-defence, and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.
A radical Jacobin leader, Robespierre was elected as a deputy to the National Convention in September 1792, and in July 1793, he was appointed a member of the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre faced growing disillusionment with other revolutionaries which led him to argue for the harsh measures of the Reign of Terror. Increasingly, members of the Convention turned against him, and accusations of excesses came to a head on 9 Thermidor. Robespierre was arrested with around 90 othersnotably Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, Georges Couthon, and Augustin Robespierreand was executed without trial.
A deeply divisive figure during his lifetime, Robespierre's views and policies continue to evoke controversy. His legacy has been heavily influenced by his actual and perceived participation in repression of the Revolution's opponents, but he is notable for his progressive views for the time. Academic and popular discourse continues to engage in debates surrounding his legacy and reputation, particularly his ideas of virtue in regard to the revolution and its violence.
Early life
Maximilien de Robespierre was baptised on 6 May 1758 in Arras, Artois (modern day Hauts-de-France). His father, François Maximilien Barthélémy de Robespierre, a lawyer, married Jacqueline Marguerite Carrault, the daughter of a brewer, in January 1758. Maximilien, the eldest of four children, was born four months later. His siblings were Charlotte Robespierre, Henriette Robespierre, and Augustin Robespierre.
Robespierre's mother died on 16 July 1764, after delivering a stillborn son at age 29. Charlotte's memoirs indicate that she believed that the death of their mother had a major effect on her brother. About three years after the death of his wife, their father left the children in Arras. Maximilien and his brother were raised by their maternal grandparents and his sisters were raised by their unmarried paternal aunts.
Demonstrating literacy at an early age, Maximilien commenced his education at the Arras College when he was eight. In October 1769, recommended by the bishop , he secured a scholarship at the prestigious Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris. Among his peers were Camille Desmoulins and Stanislas Fréron. During his schooling, he developed a profound admiration for the Roman Republic and the rhetorical skills of Cicero, Cato and Lucius Junius Brutus. In 1776 he earned the first prize for rhetoric.
His appreciation for the classics inspired him to aspire to Roman virtues, particularly the embodiment of Rousseau's citizen-soldier. Robespierre was drawn to the concepts of the influential philosophe regarding political reforms expounded in his work, The Social Contract. Aligning with Rousseau, he considered the general will of the people as the foundation of political legitimacy. While some claim that Robespierre coincidentally met Rousseau before the latter's death, others argue that this account was apocryphal.
Formative years, 1780–1789
During his three-year study of law at the Sorbonne, Robespierre distinguished himself academically, culminating in his graduation in July 1780, where he received a special prize of 600 for his exceptional academic achievements and exemplary conduct. Admitted to the bar, he was appointed as one of the five judges in the local criminal court in March 1782. However, Robespierre soon resigned, due to his ethical discomfort in adjudicating capital cases, stemming from his opposition to the death penalty.
Robespierre was elected to the literary Academy of Arras in November 1783. The following year, the Academy of Metz honoured him with a medal for his essay pondering collective punishment, thus establishing him as a literary figure. (Pierre Louis de Lacretelle and Robespierre shared the prize.)
In 1786 Robespierre passionately addressed inequality before the law, criticising the indignities faced by illegitimate or natural children, and later denouncing practices like lettres de cachet (imprisonment without a trial) and the marginalisation of women in academic circles. Robespierre's social circle expanded to include influential figures such as the lawyer Martial Herman, the officer and engineer Lazare Carnot and the teacher Joseph Fouché, all of whom would hold significance in his later endeavours. His role as the secretary of the Academy of Arras connected him with François-Noël Babeuf, a revolutionary land surveyor in the region.
In August 1788, King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General to convene on 1 May 1789. Robespierre advocated in his Address to the Nation of Artois that following the customary mode of election by the members of the provincial estates would fail to adequately represent the people of France in the new Estates-General. In his electoral district, Arras, Robespierre began to assert his influence in politics through his Notice to the Residents of the Countryside in 1789, targeting local authorities and garnering the support of rural electors. On 26 April 1789, Robespierre secured his place as one of 16 deputies representing French Flanders in the Estates-General.
1789 On 6 June, Robespierre delivered his introductory speech in the Estates General, targeting the hierarchical structure of the church. His impassioned oratory prompted observers to comment, "This young man is as yet inexperienced; unaware of when to cease, but possesses an eloquence that sets him apart from the rest."Souvenirs de Mirabeau, p. 49. By 13 June, Robespierre aligned with deputies, who later proclaimed themselves the National Assembly, asserting representation for 96% of the nation.Hibbert, C. (1980) The French Revolution, p. 55 On 13 July, the National Assembly proposed reinstating the "bourgeois militia" in Paris to quell the unrest. The following day, the populace demanded weapons and stormed both the Hôtel des Invalides and the Bastille. The local militia transitioned into the National Guard,Florence Devenne, « La garde Nationale; création et évolution (1789-août 1792) », Annales historiques de la Révolution française. N°283, 1990. p. 50 a move that distanced the most impoverished citizens from active involvement. During an altercation with Lally-Tollendal who advocated law and order, Robespierre reminded the citizens of their "recent defense of liberty", which paradoxically restricted their access to it.Robespierre: Erinnerungen, p. 88
In October, alongside Louvet, Robespierre supported Maillard following the Women's March on Versailles. On 22 October, while the Constituent Assembly debated property requirements for voting and eligibility for public office, Robespierre was among the few deputies who opposed them. Through December and January Robespierre notably drew attention to marginalised groups, particularly Protestants, Jews, people of African descent, domestic servants, and actors. A frequent orator in the Assembly, Robespierre championed the ideals in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, but his views rarely garnered majority support among fellow deputies.
Despite his commitment to democratic principles, Robespierre did not adopt the change of dress influenced by the Revolution; instead he persistently donned knee-breeches and retained a meticulously groomed appearance with a curled, perfumed, and powdered wig tied in a queue in line with the old-fashioned style of the 18th century. Some accounts described him as "nervous, timid, and suspicious".
Following the forcible relocation of the King and National Constituent Assembly from Versailles to Paris, Robespierre lived at 30 Rue de Saintonge in Le Marais, a district with relatively wealthy inhabitants. He shared an apartment on the third floor with Pierre Villiers who was his secretary for several months. Robespierre associated with the new Society of the Friends of the Constitution, commonly known as the Jacobin Club. Among these 1,200 men, Robespierre found a sympathetic audience. Equality before the law was the keystone of the Jacobin ideology. Beginning in October and continuing through January he made several speeches in response to proposals for property qualifications for voting and officeholding under the proposed constitution. This was a position he vigorously opposed, arguing in a speech on 22 October the position that he derived from Rousseau: ... sovereignty resides in the people, in all the individuals of the people. Each individual therefore has the right to participate in making the law which governs him and in the administration of the public good which is his own. If not, it is not true that all men are equal in rights, that every man is a citizen.
1790 During the continuing debate on suffrage, Robespierre ended his speech of 25 January 1790 with a demand that "all Frenchmen must be admissible to all public positions without any other distinction than that of virtues and talents." On 31 March 1790 he was elected as president of the Jacobin Club. Robespierre supported the cooperation of all the National Guards in a general federation on 11 May. On 19 June he was elected secretary of the National Assembly. In July Robespierre demanded "fraternal equality" in salaries.William J. Murray (1986) The right-wing press in the French Revolution 1789–792 Royal Historical Society Studies in History 44, p. 107 Before the end of the year, he was seen as one of the leaders of the small body of the extreme left of the Assembly, known as "the thirty voices".
On 5 December Robespierre delivered another speech on the National Guard. "To be armed for personal defence is the right of every man, to be armed to defend freedom and the existence of the common fatherland is the right of every citizen."The Strange History of the Right to Bear Arms in the French Revolution by Noah Shusterman, p. 9 Robespierre also coined the famous motto by adding the word fraternity on the flags of the National Guard.
1791
In 1791, Robespierre gave 328 speeches, almost one a day. On 28 January, in the Assembly, he spoke on the organisation of the National Guard,Walter, G. (1961) Robespierre à la tribune, pp. 220, 223. In: Robespierre, vol. II. L'œuvre, part IV. Gallimard. On 27 and 28 April, Robespierre opposed plans to reorganise it and to restrict its membership to active citizens.Walter, G. (1961) "Robespierre à la tribune", pp. 234, 235. In: Robespierre, vol. II. L'œuvre, part IV. Gallimard. He demanded that it should be reconstituted on a democratic basis, with an end to military decorations and an equal number of officers and soldiers in courts martial. He argued that the National Guard had to become the instrument of defending liberty rather than a threat to it.
In the same month Robespierre published a pamphlet in which he argued the case for universal manhood suffrage. On 15 May, the Constituent Assembly declared full and equal citizenship for all free people of colour. In the debate Robespierre said: "I feel that I am here to defend the rights of men; I cannot consent to any amendment and I ask that the principle be adopted in its entirety." He descended from the rostrum in the middle of the repeated applause of the left and of all the galleries.