Les discours de la terreur à l'époque révolutionnaire (1776-1798): Etude comparative sur une notion ambiguë

This article offers a new interpretation of the discourse of terror during the French Revolution and as such takes part in the major debate on this topic. Recent interpretations have called into question the proclamation by the Convention of "terror as the order of the day" of September 5, 1793. However, the expression was used many times afterward, so that it has been passed down to posterity as characterizing the entire Jacobin period. The aim here is to explore the deployment of the notion of terror before and during this period, together with the varied meanings given this term, not only in France but also in the United States and in Holland, in the hope of a better understanding of the revolutionary process.