4: The Government of the Convention
The Activity of the Clubs During the Convention
The "numerous little provincial clubs" had dominated the assembly, and through them dominated all of France. They organized riots and "armed bands recruited from the scum of the populace" to ensure that the legislators were well intimidated and, when necessary, to use violence in support of their agendas.
The Commune was one such club that had greater influence in Paris, by virtue of its size and proximity to the halls of parliament. IT commanded 48 committees of "national guards" which were little more than gangs of bandits whose primary interest was plunder, and who entertained themselves with killing and general mayhem. One particular example was Chalandon, who had previously been a cobbler, whose division of guards engaged in pillage and execution to such an extent as to "almost depopulated" entire neighborhoods in his territory.
In essence, the convention "was made prisoner in its own sanctuary by a handful of mercenaries."
The Government of France During the Convention: The Terror
The first act of the convention was to abolish royalty and proclaim France a republic. It seemed convinced that this simple proclamation would transform the nation.
Its manner in the outset was relatively moderate, and it was largely controlled by the Girondists and elected leadership primarily from this body. The Montaignards initially held little sway. In particular, Robespierre, who later became the absolute master of the convention, received only six motes for the presidency.
However, the Girondists were largely gentlemen, who had previously been supportive of and supported by the monarchy, and were fearful of being associated with the overthrown regime. It was this fear that enabled the Montaignards, a minority at the time, to pressure them into demanding a trial of Louis XVI - they did not dare defend him.
This was the first victory in what was, in fact, a civil ware that led to the triumph of the Montaignards and the expulsion of the Girondists from the convention. It was not by any means a bloodless conflict - as there were massacres in the village in which old men, women, and children were butchered and buildings and fields burned. Somewhere between half a million and a million civilians were thus slaughtered.
The size of the committee was also a factor - with over seven hundred representatives it was impossible to discuss anything of significance. So the convention created small committees to decide practical matters and prepare laws that the assembly usually approved "with its eyes closed." And by controlling these smaller committees, the Montaignards gained tremendous sway in the resolutions of the convention.
Terror was the chief means of government during the convention. As soon as the Montaignards took power, it organized riots and executions, resolutions to declare entire towns to be traitors and insurgents. What it could not accomplish through legal means, it undertook to do anyway, indifferent to and sometimes in defiance of the convention.
While enthusiastically supported by the Montaignards, the convention was universally reviled by the population of France. One Swedish diplomat later remarked that France was :governed by the will of cruel and imbecile scoundrels ... since the beginning of her new liberty."
The End of the Convention and the Beginnings of the Directory
le Bon mentions some of the events during the last months of the convention, particularly in its use of the military to suppress rioters, before the convention declared that its mission was terminated and ceded power to a new government, composed of two houses - but which more importantly would require a quorum and a two-thirds majority to carry any motion, thereby preventing any small faction from gaining significant control.
Of the various principles that might be derived from the history of the convention, perhaps them most significant is the effectiveness of violence in dominating men's minds. The convention struggled perpetually against riots, insurrections, and conspiracies, yet failed to serve the cause for which it was formed and was far more bloody and draconian than the monarchy it deposed.
And this reflects the nature of the psychology of crowds, and its power to overwhelm the intellect and common sense of any member of a group, but instead reduce all to the basest and most short-sighted of motives.