I.

Introduction

Georges Danton (1759-1794), French lawyer, radical but pragmatic leader of the French Revolution, whose willingness to compromise was rejected by rival factions.

Georges Jacques Danton was born in the small town of Arcis-sur-Aube, near Troyes, in the Champagne region of France. His father was a lawyer, and Danton followed him into the profession. He studied at Troyes, and later at Reims. Danton was able to buy the prestigious office of advocate in the Conseil de Roi (with both judicial and legislative responsibilities) in 1784, and married the daughter of a rich café owner.

II.

A Revolutionary Leader

Nothing seemed to indicate that Danton, who had found himself a comfortable position within the ancien régime, would become a fervent supporter of the French Revolution. However, in July 1789, he joined the insurrection in Paris and became known as an effective orator. He enrolled in the garde bourgeoise (civic guard) in his district of Paris (called the Cordeliers, after a local monastery), and later became district president. In May 1790 he founded a political club, the Club de Cordeliers, which became one of the centres of radical opinion in Paris. His charisma and skill as a speaker soon helped him to build a personal following.

After the flight to Varennes (when Louis XVI attempted to escape from France with his family) and the massacre of rioters at the Champ de Mars (in June-July 1791), the ensuing repression of political clubs and Danton’s own sympathy for the idea of a constitutional monarchy forced him to seek refuge in Great Britain. Returning to France in the autumn he re-established himself as a lawyer (which guaranteed him a decent income) and involved himself more and more with politics. At the end of 1791 he returned to Paris and was elected second assistant to the public prosecutor of the Paris commune. This appointment was politically important, confirming him as a rising figure in the Cordeliers and Jacobin clubs.

III.

Leader of the Revolution

After the fall of the monarchy on August 10, 1792, Danton reached the height of his political influence. As minister for justice and a member of the provisional executive council, he was effectively the commanding figure in the revolutionary government. He underlined his authority by vigorously rallying support against the Prussian invasion of France (see French Revolutionary Wars) and unleashing terror against all suspected counter-revolutionaries. He earned a reputation as one of the most uncompromising leaders of the Revolution for his role in the September Massacres, which he declined to prevent, and of which he was alleged to be the instigator. Yet he also affirmed his utter devotion to the freedom of thought and expression.

In September, Danton was elected as a member of the National Convention, obliging him to give up his ministerial position. He became the object of particular disdain from the Girondins, the political grouping that controlled the leadership of the Revolution, which accused him of financial misdealings. This helped propel Danton towards the left-wing Montagnards, though he never took an extremist line, apart from on the issue of national defence. In spite of his relative moderation, he voted both for the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793 and participated in the creation of the revolutionary tribunal in March. He joined the Committee of Public Safety, the executive arm of the French Republic, the following month.

Danton came under criticism for his failure to stem the growth of counter-revolutionary activity, and he was blamed for the defection of General Dumouriez to the Austrians after the Battle of Neerwinden in March 1793. His Jacobin allies reproached him for his image as a bon viveur with an eye on opportunities to enrich himself—characteristics that went against the grain of their sense of revolutionary virtue. In July he lost his place on the Committee of Public Safety, to be eclipsed by Robespierre as the central figure in the Revolution.

IV.

Opposing the Terror

Danton’s fall revealed the divisions among the Jacobins. The hostility of the left wing of the Jacobins to Danton was based on suspicions that he was favourable to the creation of a bourgeois republic, even a constitutional monarchy. This was opposed by the likes of Robespierre, Babeuf, and Saint-Just, who propounded the ideal of an egalitarian republic. Even so, in the autumn of 1793, Robespierre came to Danton’s defence when rumours persisted that he would face accusations of corruption.

However, there was one question that would bring the two men up against each other: the Terror. Danton supported an uncompromising policy that would preserve the achievements of the Revolution. In this spirit he had announced on joining the Committee of Public Safety: “It is necessary that every day an aristocrat, a scoundrel, pays his dues with his head.” However, he stood against what he regarded as the needless shedding of blood, and from autumn 1793 he set himself against the leaders of the Terror and the radical groups, the Enragés and the Hébertistes (supporters of the journalist Jacques-René Hébert). He also opposed the policy of dechristianization. His opinions, expressed by the journalist Camille Desmoulins in the pages of newspaper, the Vieux Cordelier (Old Cordelier), marked him as the leader of the “indulgentes”, the opponents of Robespierre and the Terror.

V.

Danton’s Fall

The rupture between the Dantonists and the Jacobins was complete by the end of 1793, the period during which Robespierre was attempting to steer his government between the extremists and the indulgentes. This strategy weakened Danton’s position, and he was particularly compromised by his association with the Convention member Fabre d’Églantine, who was implicated in the corrupt liquidation of the French East India Company. On March 30, 1794, 14 days after the execution of the Hébertistes, Danton was arrested with Desmoulins as an enemy of the republic. He was condemned to death and guillotined on April 5. His final words, directed at the executioner, have become famous: “Don’t forget to show the people my head: it’s worth it.”

VI.

Danton in History

Danton and his contribution to the French Revolution have been rich subjects of debate for historians. Opinions differ sharply. For some, Danton was a venal opportunist, a flawed idol, a traitor to the Revolution. An alternative view characterizes Danton as the hero of the liberal bourgeoisie, a pragmatic patriot. In the light of recent work on the French Revolution, Danton emerges as a man of conciliation, interested in money but also devoted to the achievements of the Revolution.