Page "History of France" Paragraph 185

The National Convention was fractured into factions, the most dangerous of which became the Montagnards.

The Montagnards and the Girondins were both originally Jacobins, a political club which was founded according to republican beliefs and whose members wanted a French democratic republic.

The Jacobin Club, however, encountered political tension beginning in 1791 due to conflicting viewpoints in response to several revolutionary events and how to best achieve a democratic republic.

Members of " The Mountain " ( French: La Montagne ) sided with the Parisian militants, also known as the sans-culottes, who aimed for a more repressive form of government that would institute a price maximum on essential consumer goods and would punish all traitors and enemies of the Republic.

Additionally, between war and political differences, the Montagnards believed these crises required emergency solutions.

The Montagnards considered themselves the true patriots of the French Revolution.

The Mountain had 302 members during its reign in 1793 and 1794, including committee members and deputies who voted with the faction.

Most of its members came from the middle class and tended to represent the Parisian population.

Its leaders included Maximilien Robespierre, Jean-Paul Marat, and Georges Danton.

This party eventually gained overwhelming power in the Convention and governed France during the Reign of Terror.