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An CCXXXIV
Jacobins
The Jacobin Club was originally little more than a debating society, but it gained great importance during the Reign of Terror. Its name was derived from its meeting place, the former monastery of Saint-Jacques. Members of the Paris club were often also deputies of the National Convention. Robespierre used the club to enforce his political ideas and to pursue his enemies. Expulsion from the Jacobins often led to arrest and execution. Shortly after Robespierre’s death, the Jacobin Club was closed by the Thermidorians. At the end of the Directory, the Jacobins experienced a brief revival. Its members sought to outdo one another in revolutionary rhetoric. But it remained mere words. They offered no resistance when the club was permanently closed in 1799. The term Jacobin is also often used to refer to the supporters of Robespierre.
JK
1789 - 1799
- April 30, 1789 · Deputies of the Estates-General found the Club breton in Versailles.
- October 1789 · The club moves to Paris and chooses the former Jacobin convent on the Rue Saint-Honoré as its meeting place. The name Jacobin Club becomes established.
- 1790 · Across France, Jacobin clubs are formed and network with one another.
- July 1791 · After the king’s flight, the moderate Feuillants split off. The Jacobin Club becomes more radical.
- August 10, 1792 · The Jacobins play a decisive role in the overthrow of the king. The club’s political importance grows. Many deputies of the Convention, such as Robespierre, use their influence there. The Jacobins support the Terror.
- November 12, 1794 · After the fall of Robespierre, the Jacobin Club is closed.
- 1799 · In the summer, the Club du Manège becomes a meeting place for the so-called Neo-Jacobins. In the autumn, the club is dissolved on the orders of Joseph Fouché, the Directory’s minister of police.
Quotes
The Jacobins have rendered great services to the fatherland, and they are called upon to render it still greater ones.
Couthon, President of the National Convention, 22 December 1793
So, what’s new at the Jacobins?
Cynical question by Saint-Just to Collot and Billaud as they returned, on the night of 8–9 Thermidor, from the Jacobin Club to the Committee of Public Safety — Billaud and Collot had been insulted there and threatened with execution.
The cry 'Down with the Jacobins!' is the same as 'Long live the king!'
Garrau, deputy in the Council of Five Hundred, 14 September 1799.
Le Moniteur
Quartidi, 4 Nivôse, l'an 2 de la République Française une et indivisible
(December 24, 1793)
Seal of the Jacobin Club
External links
