Maximilien Robespierre was there an American patriot who compared?

Question

It seems the Robespierre started out OK, a lawyer with what seemed high moral values. Could he be likened to say James Madison (not a lawyer I know) in the beginning? What changed him?

Why do you think that the French Revolution turned on itself, whereas the American Revolution did not?

Were the Founding Fathers that virtuous or were other factors at play?

PS--I'm 44 and this is not my homework.:-) My son and I just watched a special on the History channel on the French Revolution and we found ourselves really interested in comparing the 2 events as one rather inspired the other and they happened in roughly the same time period.

Thanks for your answers!

I realize that Robspierre was brutal at the end---not at all like Madison. But in the beginning of his life and career he seemed studious and earnest, idealistic and that was why I referenced Madison as a potential comparitive. Great answers so far!

Answer 1

You pose a very interesting question.

To answer your main question directly; no, there was no American patriot who could be done the disservice of being compared to Robespierre. (Certainly not James Madison!) To be honest, Thomas Paine, (author of the wildly popular pro-Revolution “Common Sense”), does come to mind. But that’s only because both were militant atheists and each were true believers in their respective revolutions beyond any of their contemporaries. But Paine never approached Robespierre’s hate-mongering and open-avocation of brutal violence towards whole swaths of the civilian population. Incidentally, Paine was imprisoned and almost executed in the “Reign of Terror”. He had traveled to France to help support the French Revolution but things turned uglier than he ever would have dreamed possible.

He wouldn’t be the only one. Early on John Adams and Tomas Jefferson would split over the nature of the French Revolution. Adams was disturbed by it from the start, Jefferson embraced it as the fruits of America’s own struggle. Many years later, (after years of silence after a falling out over this very subject, not to mention a bitter 1800 election campaign), Jefferson would write to Adams, admitting that Adams was all right about the French Revolution and he, (Jefferson), was all wrong.

“Why do you think that the French Revolution turned on itself, whereas the American Revolution did not?” There were several factors in play. To be sure, there were those in colonial society that did want a Revolution in 1776 that would have closely resembled the later French version.

One was exactly what you spoke of, the virtue of the Founding Fathers. If you can get past the fact that many of them owned slaves, then you will find yourself liking more than a few of the Framers. Let’s take George Washington for one.

George Washington was a Man of Honor, for his time and all times. He wasn’t a Christian but he did keep a copy of “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation”, written by the Roman Catholic Jesuit Order. Washington’s nature as a military commander was not one that would inspire impulsive, gratuitous acts of violence. And in battle, he was a very brave, determined soldier but was never a vicious one.

Also, remember what the French were revolting for. People were dying in the streets from a lack of food. The common man was oppressed by the Crown and the Church. French society was not well. Contrast that with the American colonists. The English way of life was good for most people in America. People simply didn’t want to pay taxes to the Parliament in London. Forget about the representation bit. The colonists didn’t want to pay taxes because England didn’t do anything for them. They still wanted to be English; they just didn’t want to have to pay a “membership fee”.

On a similar point, in America you didn’t have a population of about 5% nobility or so, running around in gold and diamonds, with about 90% of the population being dirty peasants living in the gutter. You did have the rich and poor in America of course, but it America, it was different. First of all, as I alluded to before, most of the poor weren’t dying in the streets. But even more importantly, things weren’t as stratified. George Washington had the formal education equivalent to a high school dropout, yet he found success as a military officer and would eventually marry the richest woman in the 13 colonies. Benjamin Franklin left behind a rather comfortable upbringing, (not rich though, more middle-class), started a newspaper business from the ground up and became fabulously wealthy though his own effort. Even those who were born into sizable amounts of money and lived as wealthy men their whole lives, they weren’t “effete” or “stuck-up”. John Adams had a farm, his cousin Sam had a brewery. Thus the excellent beer named after him today. That’s a hell of a distinction to end on, notice it? The Americans get beer named after them, the French nobility would get cognac named after them.

Answer 2

If you want to do some reading there is an excellent new study of the American Revolution writen by historian Eric G. Nellis that you might have a look at.

Answer 3

No, there is no one at all who was anywhere close in the brutality and killing that Robespierre engaged in. He was, as a government official, beyond compare in almost all western countries.