by the popularDanton and the merciless Marat, the Paris Commune discarded the oldconstitution and called for a National Convention to begin work on a new,revised version. The National Convention, divided by the moderate Girondins and theradical Jacobins, was the place where the future of the country was to beeventually determined. It was the premise of the Jacobins that they shoulderadicate the "enemy within" and secure the destiny of the revolutionthrough the destruction of counter-revolutionary forces. They believed thatby weeding out those who opposed the revolution, they could achieve theirgoals quickly and efficiently. The Girondins were not so quick to agreewith the Jacobins, and so political deadlock begin to form in theConvention. It was not until after the September massacres, when 1200prisoners were executed without trials, that Robespierre and his followerswere able to justify their premise. They condemned the actions of theunruly mobs that caused the deaths of innocent Frenchmen and demanded thatthe Monarchy be abolished in order to eliminate as many of the royalistsand monarchists that still remained. It was Marat with his want 100,000heads to fall" speeches that convinced the masses that those who were notin favour of the revolution had to be dealt with immediately or therevolution would never succeed. Once the Monarchy was abolished and France was declared a republic,Robespierre and the Jacobins proceeded to demand the execution of the lastsymbol of the old regime: Louis Capet. The Girondins begged for a stay ofexecution for the fallen King (in the name of constitutional Justice), butthe moderate forces were overwhelmed by the people's support for theradicals and the fate of Louis remained unchanged. His death signified thebeginning of a time when nationalism and radicalism would dominate therevolution. On March 10th, the Revolutionary Tribunal was created in orderto prosecute the enemies of the revolution. Marat be...
