The issues caused by the Reign of Terror that the Constitution of 1795 (Constitution of the Year III) and the Directory attempted to address include the extreme political instability, widespread fear, economic turmoil, loss of civil liberties, and social division.
Issues from the Reign of Terror:
- Massive arrests and executions led to fear and insecurity among the population, including many innocent people and members of the Third Estate (commoners) who were victims of the violence and repression.
- Economic disruption caused scarcity of goods, inflation, destruction of property, and loss of trading activity, worsening the living conditions.
- Political extremism and authoritarian rule under the Committee of Public Safety created mistrust and internal conflict.
- Suppression of civil rights such as fair trials and freedom of the press caused backlash and demand for more moderate governance.
- Social divisions were deepened by targeting of nobles, priests, and other groups perceived as enemies of the revolution.
How the Constitution of 1795 addressed these issues:
- It established a more moderate, liberal government structure to replace the radical Convention, aiming to prevent concentration of power like under Robespierre.
- It created a bicameral legislature and an executive Directory to balance power and avoid dictatorship or revolutionary terror.
- It guaranteed certain civil liberties and reduced political repression compared to the Terror period.
- It sought to restore stability and order while maintaining republican principles.
How the Directory addressed these issues:
- The Directory ended the mass executions and excessive political terror, aiming to restore calm and economic recovery.
- It took measures to stabilize finances through debt management and taxation reforms.
- It imposed political control by censoring radical groups and maintaining security to prevent counter-revolutionary uprisings, albeit with less severity than before.
- It tried to suppress violent extremism from both royalists and Jacobins, facing opposition from both sides.
- Religious repression was eased somewhat but continued in a more controlled way to avoid another crisis.
Thus, both the Constitution of 1795 and the Directory were designed to mitigate the chaos, fear, economic hardship, and loss of rights caused by the Reign of Terror by creating a more moderate, stable political order with checks on power and reduced violence.
