The excessively violent period of the French Revolution under the rule of Robespierre is called what?

• A. The Great Terror
• B. Reign of Terror
• C. Thermidorian Reaction
• D. Reign of Virtue

Answer: (B)

The main concept being tested is recognizing the name of the violent phase of the French Revolution under Robespierre. This period is known as the Reign of Terror. During these years the revolutionary government, especially the Committee of Public Safety, wielded extraordinary powers to root out real and suspected enemies. The Law of Suspects allowed arrests on broad grounds, and revolutionary tribunals conducted rapid trials that led to many executions by the guillotine. The aim was to defend the revolution and unify the nation against counterrevolutionary threats, but the methods fostered widespread fear and repression. The Terror effectively ends with Robespierre’s fall in the Thermidorian Reaction around 1794, after which power shifts and harsher measures are rolled back.

As for the other terms, Reign of Virtue refers to Robespierre’s moralizing rhetoric rather than the period’s name. The Thermidorian Reaction describes the backlash and the end of the Terror, not the period itself. Some historians do use the term Great Terror, but the most widely used and accepted label for the violent phase is the Reign of Terror.