Question

What was the name of the phase in the French Revolution when the guillotine was frequently used?

A. the Reign of Blood
B. the Reign of Fire
C. the Reign of Terror
D. the Reign of the Republic

Answer 1

Answer: C. The Reign of Terror

Further detail/context:

The Committee of Public Safety sought to bring order to France and insure that all citizens were loyal to the Revolution. Led by Maximilien Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety imposed "The Terror" in 1793-94, a program which intimidated citizens into loyalty to the republic. An enormous number of citizens were executed by guillotine simply on suspicion of disloyalty or lack of full support of the Revolution's goals.

Consider also how the Revolution got to that point: The old order (or ancien regime) had demanded loyalty to an absolute monarchy. In ending that political model and creating a new republic based on the rights of individuals as citizens, the hope was that greater liberty and fraternity would exist in the nation. However, the new order found it necessary to enforce loyalty to the Republic and its ideas. That meant a more radical phase that demanded absolute loyalty to the new path of the nation. That was when the "Reign of Terror" was imposed. So the new order became as radically absolute in its loyalty demands as the old order had been in its traditional expectations.

Answer 2

The term “The Reign of Terror” refers to a period of time during the French Revolution that marked a frequent use of guillotine in mass and public executions, of those who were then considered to be enemies of the revolution. The death toll shows about 17,000 executions by quillotine during that period. The Terror ends on July 28, 1974 with the Thermidorian Reaction and the execution of several instigators of what is considered the most radical and violent phase of the French revolution.