Atlas / Comparisons / Girondins vs Jacobins
Girondins and Jacobins
Measured distance across six axes
Opposed programmes with little shared ground. They agree within three points on CU, ID. They diverge by eight points or more on AU, SC.
Axis by axis
| Axis | Brissotins | The Mountain | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +06 | +01 | 5 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| CU · Social and cultural order | −04 | −06 | 2 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| AU · Organisation of power | −04 | +08 | 12 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| SC · Scale of decision | −05 | +09 | 14 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| ID · Rule of membership | −03 | −06 | 3 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| CH · Method and tempo | +05 | +09 | 4 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
Each axis runs from −10 to +10; the distance is the straight-line separation across all six at once, out of a maximum of 49.0. How the scoring works →
The evidence behind the widest gaps
A distance figure is worth nothing unless the scores behind it can be checked. These are the artefacts supporting the axes that separate these two most.
Brissotins · AU −04
Coded −4: constitutional republic and rule of law during revolution.
- Documented act or statuteOpposed the September massacres of 1792 and demanded prosecution of those responsible.
The Mountain · AU +08
Near the ceiling: the constitution was ratified and then suspended, with all powers vested in a committee.
- Documented act or statuteThe 1793 constitution was ratified by referendum and immediately suspended for the duration of the emergency.
- Documented act or statuteThe Law of 22 Prairial removed defence counsel and limited verdicts to acquittal or death.
Brissotins · SC −05
Coded −5: provincial authority against Parisian street power.
- Documented act or statuteAccused of federalism, a capital charge under the Convention.
The Mountain · SC +09
Coded +9: the departments subordinated to Paris through appointed representatives on mission.
- Documented act or statuteRepresentatives on mission were sent from the Convention with plenary powers over departments and armies.
What this comparison does not establish
Proximity means similarity of stated position. It carries no claim about competence, circumstance, scale of operation, or what either organisation actually did to the people under it. Two organisations can sit close together and produce entirely different histories, because those things are not on any axis and could not be.
Girondins
1791–1793 · France
Constitutional republic, free commerce, provincial autonomy against Parisian street power.
Jacobins
1792–1794 · France
Republic of virtue, popular sovereignty, universal male suffrage, secularisation, revolutionary emergency government.
Distance is not the whole answer. Two organisations can sit the same distance apart for entirely different reasons, and the reason is the content of any claim about them. Open the comparison in the atlas to weight the axes yourself.
Open in the atlas