Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MA

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

History

Committee Chair

Matthew Vester, PhD

Committee Co-Chair

Brooke Durham, PhD

Committee Member

Brooke Durham, PhD

Committee Member

James Siekmeier, PhD

Abstract

This thesis explores ideas and practices in the French penal system during the Revolutionary era, especially during the Reign of Terror, considering the experiences of Revolutionary leaders and the executioner of Paris during the Revolution. It argues that while in some ways Revolutionary leaders used Enlightenment penal laws to justify their actions during the Reign of Terror, in other ways the Reign of Terror was a departure from Enlightenment penal reform laws. The main Enlightenment penal reformer which this thesis uses is Cesare Beccaria because he was influential in France and during the French Revolution in helping to create early penal laws. The findings demonstrate that the Revolutionary leaders may have considered the Reign of Terror justifiable based on the writings of Cesare Beccaria and events like the War of the First Coalition, the execution of Louis XVI, and the riots of September 1793. It made them believe that there were traitors from both the exterior and the interior of France who wanted to end the Revolution.

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