of Terror. During the Reign of Terror, more than 30,000 people were executed, mainly for opposing Robespierre’s views. Late in 1794, Robespierre was put to death and a new leader was looked for; this of course turned out to be Napoleon. With many conquered lands under his belt by 1798, Napoleon had a huge following and planned a coup d’etat. On November 18, 1799, Napoleon became the First Consul of France, or in his mind the dictator. Napoleon then crowned himself Emperor in 1804 and conquered many countries including Austria, Prussia, and Russia in 1805,06, and 07 respectively. Such a strong ruler is bound to fall eventually, this happened in 1815 with his death. Even with the many improvements to the country of France in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, some still believe that the French Revolution was not worth it’s human costs. Detailed below are two opposing viewpoints on the topic.Peter Krapotkin, a revolutionary Russian prince, argues that the French Revolution paved the way for expansion and democratic growth. Krapotkin’s first argument is that the French monarchy before the Revolution deprived the lower class citizens of food and necessities. There was a shortage of food at the time, and the prices were too high for the lower class to afford. The monarchy also taxed the lower class, which made it even harder for them to afford the food that they needed. During the revolution, Krapotkin says that “For the first time in centuries the peasant ate his fill…” His next arguments were his most influential in his decision. Krapotkin states that both serfdom and absolutism were abolished in France during the Revolution. He believes that, “These two achievements represent the principle work of the nineteenth century…” Krapotkin states that no longer will people have to live under strict rule, whether it be from a lord or an absolute monarch. The t...
