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* Anthony Mann's ''Reign of Terror'' (or ''The Black Book''), played by Richard Basehart.

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* Anthony Mann's ''Reign of Terror'' (or ''The Black Book''), played by Richard Basehart.Creator/RichardBasehart.
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During his arrest, he ended up shot himself in the jaw, either in [[BungledSuicide a failed attempt at suicide]] or by someone who came to arrest him. When he was brought to the scaffold, the bandage holding his shattered jaw was removed, reducing him to a madman who shrieked in agony in his final moments.

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During his arrest, he ended up shot himself in the jaw, either in [[BungledSuicide a failed attempt at suicide]] or by someone who came to arrest him. When he was brought to the scaffold, the bandage holding his shattered jaw was removed, reducing him to a madman who shrieked in agony in his final moments.
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During his arrest, he shot himself in the jaw [[BungledSuicide possibly in a failed attempt at suicide]]. When he was brought to the scaffold, the bandage holding his shattered jaw was removed, reducing him to a madman who shrieked in agony in his final moments.


The events of his downfall (occurring on 9 Thermidor of the French Revolutionary Calendar) has since become proverbial as FullCircleRevolution. While it marked the end of the radical and violent phase, it also ended the reform and progressive initiatives undertaken in the same period (which included price ceilings, widespread government participation, meritocracy and the abolition of slavery). The largest mass execution in the Revolution happened the day after Robespierre's death, when 77 loyalists were guillotined in a single day.

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During his arrest, he ended up shot himself in the jaw jaw, either in [[BungledSuicide possibly in a failed attempt at suicide]]. suicide]] or by someone who came to arrest him. When he was brought to the scaffold, the bandage holding his shattered jaw was removed, reducing him to a madman who shrieked in agony in his final moments.


moments.

The events of his downfall (occurring on 9 Thermidor of the French Revolutionary Calendar) has since become proverbial as FullCircleRevolution. While it marked the end of the radical and violent phase, it also ended the reform and progressive initiatives undertaken in the same period (which included price ceilings, widespread government participation, meritocracy and the abolition of slavery). The largest mass guillotine execution in the Revolution happened the day after Robespierre's death, when 77 loyalists were guillotined beheaded in a single day.









* ''[[Film/Napoleon2023 Napoleon]]'' (2023) features him twice in early scenes, first when he justifies UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette's execution, then when the Terror is overthrown.

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* ''[[Film/Napoleon2023 Napoleon]]'' ''Film/{{Napoleon|2023}}'' (2023) features him twice in early scenes, first when he justifies UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette's execution, then when his faction is overthrown (he shoots himself in the Terror is overthrown.jaw while attempting suicide). He's played by Creator/SamTroughton.
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* ''[[Film/Napoleon2023 Napoleon]]'' (2023) features him twice in early scenes, first when he justifies UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette's execution, then when the Terror is overthrown.
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-->''"[[RunningGag You could make a reli--]] '''[[RunningGagged no, don't]]'''"''

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-->''"[[RunningGag You could make a reli--]] reli]]-- '''[[RunningGagged no, don't]]'''"''
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-->''"[[MemeticMutation You could make a reli--]] '''no, don't'''"''

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-->''"[[MemeticMutation -->''"[[RunningGag You could make a reli--]] '''no, don't'''"'''''[[RunningGagged no, don't]]'''"''
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* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In most works, especially adaptations of Literature/TheScarletPimpernel, which being that it's set during the Terror features him as the GreaterScopeVillain. 20th Century films on the Revolution especially after the 30s (''The Black Book'', ''Danton'') tend to conflate Robespierre with fascist and communist dictatorships. The latter is understandable since the Soviet Union did look up to him and the Jacobins, though in the case of the former, it must be repeated that Robespierre was fairly anti-racist, whatever his other flaws.[[note]]Actual fascists incidentally loathed UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution in general and Jacobinism and Robespierre by extension. Marechal Petain spent much of his time in power trying to reverse the Revolution and its iconography, while LaResistance featured two Maquis units named after Robespierre.[[/note]] Creator/NeilGaiman has him as the villain in one issue of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', but interestingly he also acknowledged that Robespierre could just as easily have been the protagonist of the issue. "I could have written something about how Robespierre was a great man too, but that wasn't the tale that I was telling; I needed a story in which he wasn't."

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* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In most works, especially adaptations of Literature/TheScarletPimpernel, which being that it's set during the Terror features him as the GreaterScopeVillain. 20th Century films on the Revolution especially after the 30s (''The Black Book'', ''Danton'') ''Film/{{Danton}}'') tend to conflate Robespierre with fascist and communist dictatorships. The latter is understandable since the Soviet Union did look up to him and the Jacobins, though in the case of the former, it must be repeated that Robespierre was fairly anti-racist, whatever his other flaws.[[note]]Actual fascists incidentally loathed UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution in general and Jacobinism and Robespierre by extension. Marechal Petain spent much of his time in power trying to reverse the Revolution and its iconography, while LaResistance featured two Maquis units named after Robespierre.[[/note]] Creator/NeilGaiman has him as the villain in one issue of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', but interestingly he also acknowledged that Robespierre could just as easily have been the protagonist of the issue. "I could have written something about how Robespierre was a great man too, but that wasn't the tale that I was telling; I needed a story in which he wasn't."



** Andrzej Wajda's ''Danton'' portrays Robespierre as a Stalin-like despot who demands that Creator/JacquesLouisDavid remove pictures of political opponents from paintings. Others portray Robespierre personally ejecting Mirabeau from the Pantheon after learning of the latter's corruption. In either case, Robespierre effected no such policy of ''[[{{Unperson}} damnatio memoriae]]'', and in the case of the latter, Mirabeau was removed from the Pantheon ''after'' Robespierre's downfall.

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** Andrzej Wajda's ''Danton'' ''Film/{{Danton}}'' portrays Robespierre as a Stalin-like despot who demands that Creator/JacquesLouisDavid remove pictures of political opponents from paintings. Others portray Robespierre personally ejecting Mirabeau from the Pantheon after learning of the latter's corruption. In either case, Robespierre effected no such policy of ''[[{{Unperson}} damnatio memoriae]]'', and in the case of the latter, Mirabeau was removed from the Pantheon ''after'' Robespierre's downfall.
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* ''Film/{{Napoleon}}''

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* ''Film/{{Napoleon}}''''[[Film/Napoleon1927 Napoléon]]'' (1927)



* ''La Revolution Francaise''

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* ''La Revolution Francaise''Francaise'' (1989)
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A highly controversial person, Robespierre became in the 19th and early 20th Century the personification of the KnightTemplar radical for whom UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, combining personal probity (he was called "The Incorruptible" and it wasn't ironic in any way) with a vindictive, self-righteous streak. He became in Lord Acton's words, ''the most hateful character in the forefront of history since [[Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli Machiavelli]] reduced to a code the wickedness of public men.'' Later critics argue that Robespierre set a precedent for the likes of UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin and one of his most recent biographies is entitled "[[PureIsNotGood Fatal Purity]]." Other critics have questioned this reading and argue that his life and actions was subject to a smear campaign in the vein of UsefulNotes/RichardIII, making him the TheScapegoat for revolutionary excesses. There are groups of historians and organizations who hope to rehabilitate his reputation to a more balanced level. The vast majority of fictional depictions, however, subject him to a HistoricalVillainUpgrade.

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A highly controversial person, Robespierre became in the 19th and the early [[The20thCentury 20th Century Century]] the personification of the KnightTemplar radical for whom UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, combining personal probity (he was called "The Incorruptible" and it wasn't ironic in any way) with a vindictive, self-righteous streak. He became in Lord Acton's words, ''the most hateful character in the forefront of history since [[Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli Machiavelli]] reduced to a code the wickedness of public men.'' Later critics argue that Robespierre set a precedent for the likes of UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin and one of his most recent biographies is entitled "[[PureIsNotGood Fatal Purity]]." Other critics have questioned this reading and argue that his life and actions was subject to a smear campaign in the vein of UsefulNotes/RichardIII, making him the TheScapegoat for revolutionary excesses. There are groups of historians and organizations who hope to rehabilitate his reputation to a more balanced level. The vast majority of fictional depictions, however, subject him to a HistoricalVillainUpgrade.
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In the aftermath, Thermidorians gave him and other radicals (which had formerly included themselves) a HistoricalVillainUpgrade as a "bloodthirsty dictator" that endures to this day. Already in the post-revolutionary era, later observers, from Cambaceres to Napoleon, (including the ones who turned on him such as Barere and Billaud-Varenne) questioned this narrative and noted how his reputation and influence was greatly exaggerated. Others such as Gracchus Babeuf, a Hebertist who had initially welcomed the "death of the tyrant", lamented how PoorCommunicationKills, noting, "To awaken Robespierre is to awaken democracy itself."

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In the aftermath, Thermidorians gave him and other radicals (which had formerly included themselves) a HistoricalVillainUpgrade as a "bloodthirsty dictator" that endures to this day. Already in the post-revolutionary era, later observers, from Cambaceres to Napoleon, UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, (including the ones who turned on him such as Barere and Billaud-Varenne) questioned this narrative and noted how his reputation and influence was greatly exaggerated. Others such as Gracchus Babeuf, a Hebertist who had initially welcomed the "death of the tyrant", lamented how PoorCommunicationKills, noting, "To awaken Robespierre is to awaken democracy itself."
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-->''"[[MemeticMutation You could make a reli--]]'''no, don't'''"''

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-->''"[[MemeticMutation You could make a reli--]]'''no, reli--]] '''no, don't'''"''
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-->''"[[MemeticMutation You could make a religion out o--]]'''no, don't'''"''

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-->''"[[MemeticMutation You could make a religion out o--]]'''no, reli--]]'''no, don't'''"''

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All of this led to a schism and fall-out with erstwhile Jacobin allies such as Hebert and even personal friends like Danton and Desmoulins. He sent all of these men to the guillotine, though, in the case of Danton, he tried desperately to avoid such an action. His downfall was the result of the fact that he had alienated virtually all his former allies -- moderates, extremists, the National Convention, even the radical Paris Sections. The events of his downfall (occurring on 9 Thermidor of the French Revolutionary Calendar) has since become proverbial as FullCircleRevolution. While it marked the end of the radical and violent phase, it also ended the reform and progressive initiatives undertaken in the same period (which included price ceilings, widespread government participation, meritocracy and the abolition of slavery). The largest mass execution in the Revolution happened the day after Robespierre's death, when 77 loyalists were guillotined in a single day.

to:

All of this led to a schism and fall-out with erstwhile Jacobin allies such as Hebert and even personal friends like Danton and Desmoulins. He sent all of these men to the guillotine, though, in the case of Danton, he tried desperately to avoid such an action. His downfall was the result of resulted from the fact that he had alienated virtually all his former allies -- moderates, extremists, the National Convention, and even the radical Paris Sections. In trying to "defend" the revolution, he effectively made himself into the enemy everyone rallied ''against''.

During his arrest, he shot himself in the jaw [[BungledSuicide possibly in a failed attempt at suicide]]. When he was brought to the scaffold, the bandage holding his shattered jaw was removed, reducing him to a madman who shrieked in agony in his final moments.


The events of his downfall (occurring on 9 Thermidor of the French Revolutionary Calendar) has since become proverbial as FullCircleRevolution. While it marked the end of the radical and violent phase, it also ended the reform and progressive initiatives undertaken in the same period (which included price ceilings, widespread government participation, meritocracy and the abolition of slavery). The largest mass execution in the Revolution happened the day after Robespierre's death, when 77 loyalists were guillotined in a single day.
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Name-dropped in "The Palace of Versailles"...

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* Name-dropped in Music/AlStewart's "The Palace of Versailles", basically about the French Revolution:
-->"We burned out all their mansions / In the name of Robespierre"
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* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial ''The Reign of Terror''.

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* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial ''The "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E8TheReignOfTerror The Reign of Terror''.Terror]]".
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* Mentioned in ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', though he is a historical figure at the time the series takes place, and is revealed to be an ancestor of the Holmes brothers, Sherringford Holmes.

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* Mentioned in ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', though he is a historical figure at the time the series takes place, and place. He is revealed to not only be an ancestor of the Holmes brothers, Sherringford Holmes.Holmes, [[spoiler: but also a British spy who deliberately orchestrated the Reign of Terror in order to become a GreaterScopeVillain that both sides would willingly join forces to defeat]]
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* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', "Thermidor"

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* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'', "Thermidor"
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* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In most works, especially adaptations of Literature/TheScarletPimpernel, which being that it's set during the Terror features him as the GreaterScopeVillain. 20th Century films on the Revolution especially after the 30s (''The Black Book'', ''Danton'') tend to conflate Robespierre with fascist and communist dictatorships. The latter is understandable since the Soviet Union did look up to him and the Jacobins, though in the case of the former, it must be repeated that Robespierre was fairly anti-racist, whatever his other flaws.[[note]]Actual fascists incidentally loathed UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution in general and Jacobinism and Robespierre by extension. Marechal Petain spent much of his time in power trying to reverse the Revolution and its iconography, while LaResistance featured two Maquis units named after Robespierre.[[/note]] Creator/NeilGaiman has him as the villain in one issue of ''Comic/TheSandman'', but interestingly he also acknowledged that Robespierre could just as easily have been the protagonist. "I could have written something about how Robespierre was a great man too, but that wasn't the tale that I was telling; I needed a story in which he wasn't."

to:

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In most works, especially adaptations of Literature/TheScarletPimpernel, which being that it's set during the Terror features him as the GreaterScopeVillain. 20th Century films on the Revolution especially after the 30s (''The Black Book'', ''Danton'') tend to conflate Robespierre with fascist and communist dictatorships. The latter is understandable since the Soviet Union did look up to him and the Jacobins, though in the case of the former, it must be repeated that Robespierre was fairly anti-racist, whatever his other flaws.[[note]]Actual fascists incidentally loathed UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution in general and Jacobinism and Robespierre by extension. Marechal Petain spent much of his time in power trying to reverse the Revolution and its iconography, while LaResistance featured two Maquis units named after Robespierre.[[/note]] Creator/NeilGaiman has him as the villain in one issue of ''Comic/TheSandman'', ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', but interestingly he also acknowledged that Robespierre could just as easily have been the protagonist.protagonist of the issue. "I could have written something about how Robespierre was a great man too, but that wasn't the tale that I was telling; I needed a story in which he wasn't."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In most works, especially adaptations of Literature/TheScarletPimpernel, which being that it's set during the Terror features him as the GreaterScopeVillain. 20th Century films on the Revolution especially after the 30s (''The Black Book'', ''Danton'') tend to conflate Robespierre with fascist and communist dictatorships. The latter is understandable since the Soviet Union did look up to him and the Jacobins, though in the case of the former, it must be repeated that Robespierre was fairly anti-racist, whatever his other flaws.[[note]]Actual fascists incidentally loathed UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution in general and Jacobinism and Robespierre by extension. Marechal Petain spent much of his time in power trying to reverse the Revolution and its iconography, while LaResistance featured two Maquis units named after Robespierre.[[/note]]

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* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In most works, especially adaptations of Literature/TheScarletPimpernel, which being that it's set during the Terror features him as the GreaterScopeVillain. 20th Century films on the Revolution especially after the 30s (''The Black Book'', ''Danton'') tend to conflate Robespierre with fascist and communist dictatorships. The latter is understandable since the Soviet Union did look up to him and the Jacobins, though in the case of the former, it must be repeated that Robespierre was fairly anti-racist, whatever his other flaws.[[note]]Actual fascists incidentally loathed UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution in general and Jacobinism and Robespierre by extension. Marechal Petain spent much of his time in power trying to reverse the Revolution and its iconography, while LaResistance featured two Maquis units named after Robespierre.[[/note]][[/note]] Creator/NeilGaiman has him as the villain in one issue of ''Comic/TheSandman'', but interestingly he also acknowledged that Robespierre could just as easily have been the protagonist. "I could have written something about how Robespierre was a great man too, but that wasn't the tale that I was telling; I needed a story in which he wasn't."
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* Referenced in the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' film "Porky Pig's Feat" as Daffy Duck punches the hotel Manager's calling card into paper dolls:
-->"You've had your coffee ration for this week, Robespierre!"
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* TrademarkedFavoriteFood: Robespierre famously loved oranges, a fact which shows up in various fictional portrayals (often as an example of his supposed hypocrisy -- the "man of the people'' enjoying luxury fruit while Parisians barely scraped by).

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* TrademarkedFavoriteFood: TrademarkFavoriteFood: Robespierre famously loved oranges, a fact which shows up in various fictional portrayals (often as an example of his supposed hypocrisy -- the "man of the people'' enjoying luxury fruit while Parisians barely scraped by).
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* TrademarkedFavoriteFood: Robespierre famously loved oranges, a fact which shows up in various fictional portrayals (often as an example of his supposed hypocrisy -- the "man of the people'' enjoying luxury fruit while Parisians barely scraped by).
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* ''Film/{{Danton}}'' (1983)

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* ''Film/{{Danton}}'' (1983)(1983), played by Wojciech Pszoniak.
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* ''Danton'' (1983)

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* ''Danton'' ''Film/{{Danton}}'' (1983)

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* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot''

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* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot''Mentioned in ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', though he is a historical figure at the time the series takes place, and is revealed to be an ancestor of the Holmes brothers, Sherringford Holmes.
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* ''[[Manga/{{Innocent}} Innocent Rogue]]''
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When UsefulNotes/LouisXVI convened the meeting of the Estates-General, Robespierre became one of the many young deputies who found a career in political office open to them for the first time. Before the Estates-General was called, Robespierre was a rising young attorney in the provincial town of Arras -- intelligent and well-respected. Originally appointed a judge in a local criminal court, Robespierre actually resigned because of his principled opposition to the death penalty, and if that sounds like a bit of ironic foreshadowing, well, congratulations on reading ahead.

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When UsefulNotes/LouisXVI convened the meeting of the Estates-General, Robespierre became one of the many young deputies who found a career in political office open to them for the first time. Before the Estates-General was called, Robespierre was a rising rising, well-respected young attorney in the provincial town of Arras -- intelligent and well-respected.Arras. Originally appointed a judge in a local criminal court, Robespierre actually resigned because of his principled opposition to the death penalty, and if that sounds like a bit of ironic foreshadowing, well, congratulations on reading ahead.

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When UsefulNotes/LouisXVI convened the meeting of the Estates-General, Robespierre (a scholarship boy and rising attorney who had taken "pro-bono cases") became one of the many young deputies who found a career in political office open to them for the first time. Later he was among the signatories of the Tennis Court Oath. In the National Assembly, Robespierre became notable for criticizing limited suffrage and for condemning a constitutional defense of slavery. He became popular among Parisian Radicals for advocating universal male suffrage, rights for minorities (Jews, Protestants, Blacks), abolition of slavery and the death penalty. He also attained prominence in the newly formed Jacobin Club and played a major role in taking the nominally bi-partisan club to a radical direction after the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champ_de_Mars_Massacre Champ de Mars massacre]].

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When UsefulNotes/LouisXVI convened the meeting of the Estates-General, Robespierre (a scholarship boy and rising attorney who had taken "pro-bono cases") became one of the many young deputies who found a career in political office open to them for the first time.time. Before the Estates-General was called, Robespierre was a rising young attorney in the provincial town of Arras -- intelligent and well-respected. Originally appointed a judge in a local criminal court, Robespierre actually resigned because of his principled opposition to the death penalty, and if that sounds like a bit of ironic foreshadowing, well, congratulations on reading ahead.

At the Estates-General, Robespierre, while not initially a very important figure, pretty much always stood on the left, and he gained some renown for his firm sense of rectitude and principal.
Later he was among the signatories of the Tennis Court Oath. In the National Assembly, Robespierre became notable for criticizing limited suffrage and for condemning a constitutional defense of slavery. He became popular among Parisian Radicals for advocating universal male suffrage, rights for minorities (Jews, Protestants, Blacks), abolition of slavery and the death penalty. He also attained prominence in the newly formed Jacobin Club and played a major role in taking the nominally bi-partisan club to a radical direction after the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champ_de_Mars_Massacre Champ de Mars massacre]].

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