Interpreting the Terror - Circumstance or ideology?

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject History Europe - Other Countries - Modern Times, Absolutism, Industrialization, grade: B, University of Auckland (History), course: History 324 - Old Regime and Revolution in France, 15 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The Terror of the French Revoltion has devided the world of scholars right from thebeginning. It is a crucial issue which was often connected with emotions and politicalattitudes, when it was approached. Many questions rose when relating the violence and theTerror with the genuine ideology of the French Revolution. Was it a part of it right from thebeginning? Or shall we see the Terror as an accident incompatible to democracy and theorigins of the French Revolution? This essay attempts to depict the reasons for the terrorwith the aim to be able to judge the Terror. To judge means to be able to distinguish betweendifferent sorts of Terror and to place the judgement into the scholarly discourse. Thedepiction will leave out the description of developments but rather pick certain events andbreaks to show why and how Terror was used. Furthermore the essay will leave out the endof the `Great Terror` as well as the `White Terror`.