Jacobin more prominent in leading France, the period when war was declared on Austria and Prussia, the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic created. In May 1793, the leaders of the Mountain faction led by Maximilien Robespierre succeeded in sidelining the Girondin faction and controlled the government until July 1794. Their time in government was characterized by high levels of political violence and for this reason the period of the Jacobin/Mountain government is also commonly referred to as the Reign of Terror. In October 1793, 21 prominent Girondins were guillotined. The Mountain-dominated government executed 17,000 opponents nationwide, purportedly to suppress the
Reign of Terror terror: Some historians argue that such terror was a necessary reaction to the circumstances. Others suggest there were additional causes, including ideological and emotional. Enlightenment thought emphasized the importance of rational thinking and began challenging legal and moral foundations of society, providing the leaders of the Terror with new ideas about the role and structure of government. Rousseau's Social Contract argued that each person was born with rights, and they would come together to form a government that would then protect those rights. Under the social contract, the government was required to act for the general will, which represented the