'Fonder la République'. The French National Convention and the revolutionary government (1793-94)

The article discusses the leading role played by the French National Convention in the process of nation-building, especially through the study of the main legislation adopted by the revolutionary government that was established during Year II of the French Republic. This article focuses on the acts and measures that led to the creation of a revolutionary government characterized by a strong 'confusion of powers', with the National Convention invested with both legislative and executive powers. More specifically, attention is paid to the Committee of Public Safety. This was established as a committee of the National Convention and, as a consequence of the influence of the most important political leaders of the Revolution - such as George Danton (1759-94), Maximilien Robespierre (1758-94) and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just (1767-94) - it ended up becoming the key institution in the intricate constitutional framework that was established to save France and the Revolution from domestic and external enemies. In this line of research, this article first of all outlines the premises that led to the creation of the revolutionary government. Secondly, it outlines the main political events that made it possible to introduce important legislation, such as the so-called Code of 14 Frimaire. This law accorded extensive powers to the Committee of Public Safety, thereby eventually facilitating the establishment of the Reign of Terror, until the Thermidorian Reaction brought both the Reign of Terror and the revolutionary government to an end. © 2014 International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions/Commission Internationale pour l'Histoire des Assemblées d' États.