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Danton, Georges JacquesDanton, Georges Jacques (1759-94), French lawyer, r adical

but pragmatic leader of the French Revolution, whose

willingness to compromise was rejected by rival factions.

Born in the small town of Arcis on October 28, 1759, Danton

received a good education and became a lawyer. Moving to

Paris, he started on the road to success by a happy marriage

that brought him a wealthy father-in-law. He obtained a large

loan to buy a prestigious legal position and settled down to a

pleasant life. When the French Revolution began in 1789, he

entered local politics with enthusiasm, leading the CordelierClub, a spearhead of Parisian radicalism. His speeches were

often violent, but his actions were usually cautious. Generous,

friendly, and ideologically flexible, Danton was also widely

suspected of taking bribes from Royalists in 1791.

Elected to a minor city post late that year, he achieved real

prom inence only with t he fall of the m onarchy in August 1792.

As a m inister in the provisional governm ent, he demanded andinspired t he "audacity" that alone would save revolutionary

France from its enemies. Elected to the National Convention,

he was im m ediately att acked by t he moderate deputies known

as the Girondins, who considered him a dangerous radical and

rival. Danton t ried to conciliate these opponents, but his

efforts were rebuffed; the conflict was resolved by t he downfall

of the Girondins in June 1793. Danton, meanwhile, served on

the Com m itt ee of Public Safety, t he executive organ of the

French Republic, but his attempt to end France's war with the

European monarchies by diplomacy failed dismally. Eventually,

his ally, Maximilien Robespierre, emerged as the central figure

of the com mit tee.

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By 1794 the Republic's leadership was torn apart by new

factional conflicts and by charges of corruption and treason.

Again, Danton sought com prom ise among t he factions, but his

own sym pathy was clearly with those seeking t o ease therepression and t error ( "indulgents"). His position was

undermined, however, by t he corrupt ion and intr igue of his

friends. Reluctantly, Robespierre concluded that the

government's unity could be maintained only by removing

both t he extrem e radicals and the " indulgents," including

Danton. I n a t rial before the Revolutionary Tribunal, Danton

lost both h is life and his reputation, going t o the guillotine on

April 5, 1794. To some historians he was a realist who was

never misled by ideological fervor. Others see him, as

Robespierre did, as an opportunist who threatened the

Revolution's integrit y.

Contributed By:

Isser Woloch

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1"Danton, Georges Jacques,"Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99. 1993-1998

Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.