Similarities Between Jefferson And Robespierre

The French Revolution was a historical event in France that occurred from 1789 to 17959. It was a time when the people of France fought to overthrow the monarchy and achieve a republic. During this time, France went through massive social and political changes that were influenced by Enlightenment ideals. Thomas Jefferson was a founding father and the chief writer of the Declaration of Independence. He was elected the second vice president in 1791 and soon after the French revolution had ended, he became the third president of the United States. Maximilien Robespierre was the leader of the Committee of Public Safety in France, there was a time when he governed France as a dictator, where his rule became known as The Reign of Terror.

Robespierre wanted France to ultimately achieve a republic, but he believed in order for that to happen the county would have to first resort to despotism. This was made evident through his words, “It has been said that terror is the principle of despotic government. Yes, let the despot govern by terror his brutalized subjects" (Robespierre). During the time of the revolution, when the Committee of Public Safety came into power, he assumed the role of the despot who would help France achieve a republic. Through his perspective the violence he was using as a despot was benefitting France and putting it in a position to achieve an ideal government. He was aware that the people of France associated some of his views with despotism and he saw this as a positive thing; the association of violence with despotism would lead the country back to a republic. Robespierre ultimately believed it was necessary to use despotism for the short term in France in order to later attain a republic for the long term. On the contrary, Jefferson didn't think the country needed to resort to despotism, in his eyes if the country did resort to despotism, it had failed. Jefferson saw how the Jacobins submitted to the Feuillants desires,because the Feuillants supported a limited constitutional monarchy they weren't in favor of executing the king, but more so trying to limit his power. The Jacobins agreed at first but soon realized that this was not the route to take if they wanted to get a republic. Jefferson saw that allowing the king to have even a little power would eventually lead the country back to despotism. This was made evident when he said, “The Jacobins..tried the experiment of retaining their hereditary Executive. The experiment failed completely, and would have brought on the reestablishment of despotism”(Jefferson). By associating despotism with failure, he was making his