USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -During the French Revolution, the guillotine became the primary symbol of the Reign of Terror and was used to execute thousands of people, including King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.

Detailed explanation-2: -Hanson notes, “The guillotine stands as the principal symbol of the Terror in the French Revolution.” Invented by a physician during the Revolution as a quicker, more efficient and more distinctive form of execution, the guillotine became a part of popular culture and historic memory.

Detailed explanation-3: -It worked by dropping a weighted blade down a wooden frame onto the victim’s neck, severing their head. Death would have been almost instantaneous. In 1791, a French doctor named Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed the machine be used in France, as a more humane method of capital punishment.

Detailed explanation-4: -Tricolor Cockade Later, Lafayette added white to the cockade to represent the king and the entire nation of France. Eventually, the tricolor cockade became the symbol of the revolutionary government.