Thermidor, 11th month of the
French Revolutionary calendar. The coup of 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794) marked the downfall of
Robespierre and the end of the
Reign of Terror. The men who came into power were members of the old bourgeoisie and the newly rich who had profited from speculation and inflation. Extravagance in dress and manner prevailed. The
Jacobins were suppressed, but the royalists did not gain power. The Thermidorians removed economic controls, thus unleashing inflation, and established some freedom of worship. The principal figures in the so-called Thermidorian reaction included
Barras and
Tallien. The period ended with the establishment of the
Directory (1795).
See A. Mathiez, The Thermidorian Reaction (1929, tr. 1930).
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