Robespierre fervently campaigned for the voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard. His legacy has been heavily influenced by his actual or perceived participation in repression of the Revolution's opponents, but is notable for his progressive views for the time. As one of the prominent members of the Paris Commune , Robespierre was elected as a deputy to the National Convention in early September He joined The Mountain , a radical left-wing faction.
However, he faced criticism for purportedly trying to establish either a triumvirate or a dictatorship. This call led to the armed Insurrection of 31 May — 2 June On 27 July, he was appointed a member of the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre faced growing disillusionment among others due in part to the politically-motivated violence advocated by The Mountain. Increasingly, members of the Convention turned against him, and accusations piled up on 9 Thermidor.
Robespierre was arrested and taken to a prison. Approximately 90 individuals, including Robespierre, were executed without trial in the following days, marking the onset of the Thermidorian Reaction. A figure deeply divisive during his lifetime, Robespierre's views and policies continue to evoke controversy. Maximilien de Robespierre was baptised on 6 May in Arras , Artois. Maximilien, the eldest of four children, was born four months later.
The death of his mother is, thanks to Charlotte's memoirs, believed to have had a major effect on the young Robespierre.
Around , for unknown reasons, his father left the children. Demonstrating literacy at an early age, Maximilien commenced his education at the Arras College when he was only eight. During his schooling, he developed a profound admiration for the Roman Republic and the rhetoric skills of Cicero , Cato and Lucius Junius Brutus.
