Formation
Formed in Versailles by deputies from Brittany during the Estates-General of 1789, the earliest meetings were secretive and few records remain regarding their content. Soon, other members from the rest of France joined, swelling their ranks. Mirabeau controlled their earliest incarnations, joined by Abbe Sieyes, Abbe Gregoire, Charles Lameth, Antoine Barnave, duc d'Aiguillon and Maximilien Robespierre.
Following the March on Versailles in October of 1789, the club relocated with the rest of the National Constituent Assembly to Paris where it rented a refectory of a monastery. The Rue St. Honore housed the Jacobins, the French name for the Dominicans. This name was given to the club by its enemies as a form of ridicule. In 1791, the club officially adopted the name.
Expanding its presence in Paris, the Jacobin Club became synonymous with radicalized oratory. The stance of the organization became one of republicanism, education, universal suffrage and the separation of church and state. The club officially established its platform at this time. The club would discuss the questions put forth by the National Assembly, work for the establishment of a constitution that followed the Rights of Man and correspond with other societies similar to itself. Along with the platform, rules of order were established, bringing to power a president, secretaries, a treasurer and various committees to work on issues of the club. Soon, the Jacobins had a network of branches located throughout France.
The Terror
After a period of moderation, the club became increasingly radicalized by left-wing rhetoric. After the kings dethronement and subsequent beheading, many of the more conservative elements in the society left to form the Feuillants Club. This left Maximilien Robespierre as the central figure in the Jacobin Club.
Initially, the party was a minority in the National Convention. The society was known as “the Mountain,” because its membership sat in the higher seats in the convention hall. They established a position against the war with Austria and an expansion of the Revolution at home.
During the spring of 1793, a Parisian mob instituted a coup on the Convention, bringing the Jacobin Club to power. Led by Robespierre, the Convention was purged of elements disloyal to the Revolution. The Committee of Public Safety instituted a program known as the Reign of Terror, in which those thought to be counter-revolutionaries were executed. Robespierre believed these purges would create a Republic of Virtue. However, during the final purge on 9 Thermidor, Robespierre himself was executed. The remaining Jacobins lost power in the Convention and were disolved in 1794.
The Jacobins attempted to reform in 1799. They lashed out against the Directory and supported Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'etat, which brought the dictator to power. The new club was soon eradicated, leaving the Jacobins to their place in history.
Sources:
Simon Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (Vintage Books, 1990)
Peter McPhee, The French Revolution 1789-1799 (Oxford University Press, 2002)
David Andress, French Society in Revolution 1789-1799 (Manchester University Press, 1999)
Hugh Gough, The Terror in the French Revolution (Palgrave Macmillan, 1998)
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