In the 19th century, the Reign of Terror was treated much in the same way that “communism killed 100 million people” is used today. It was supposed to be the cautionary tale of what happens if you actually give the people any power. This was used to stop any sort of radical movements but also against liberals getting any more concessions out of the old order. Most narratives of the French Revolution spoke negatively of the Terror, Robespierre, et al until liberals started pushing back on that in the run up to 1848.