The new French government faced a lot of conflict and threats after the revolution. For instance, there were internal disagreements about how to rule the country as well as external threats of counterrevolution. To confront these crises, the government created the Committee of Public Safety in April of 1793.

This Committee had a wide-reaching role. It supervised the armed forces to ensure they were prepared to fight against foreign threats and domestic conflict. The Committee was also responsible for overseeing the work of government ministers. Initially, the leader of the Committee, Georges Danton, took a moderate approach to his role and attempted to deal with crises relatively peacefully. But his approach was not effective, and eventually more radical men took over, including Maximilien Robespierre.

It did not take long for the Committee’s power to transform into a dictatorship of sorts. The Committee oversaw the Reign of Terror, a period of about eleven months in which tens of thousands of people who were suspected to be enemies of the new government were executed by guillotine. Anyone who was viewed as a threat to the Committee’s leadership was killed without question—including Danton, because he opposed such a violent approach. Thus, while the Committee was created to address crises, it only increased tensions and chaos throughout the country.