Sans-culottes and the collapse of the constitutional experiment; the September massacres and elections to the national Convention
Radical working-class Parisians called sans-culottes helped destroy France's first attempt at constitutional monarchy in 1792. Their street violence, including the September Massacres, forced elections to a new governing body called the National Convention.
Real World
The September Massacres of 1792 — in which crowds killed around 1,200 prisoners feared to be counter-revolutionary traitors — show how wartime panic and political radicalism combined, echoing later episodes of revolutionary terror such as the Red Terror in early Soviet Russia.
Exam Focus
Avoid describing the September Massacres as simply 'mob violence'; examiners reward analysis of the political context — fear of invasion and perceived internal treachery — that made them happen.
Essay Framework
Use PEEL to structure every paragraph. Tap each step for guidance and an example.
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