King Louis Flight To Varennes

France developed constitutional monarchy and then went into democratic despotism and after that into the Napoleonic empire. It all started when the people at first fought against the unfair taxes. A constitutional monarchy was established the king was not feeling the constitutional monarchy so he plotted to restore his former power. While trying to get his power back the king was caught lying and the lie cost him his head. Then they started a republic. The idea of killing enemies of the Republic seemed like a good idea at first but took a turn for the worst.

When the King Took Flight, by Timothy Tackett, describes the events leading up to and directly following Louis XVI’s attempt to flee the country. During the time of the Revolution and the implementation of the Constitution by the National Assembly, Louis XVI and the royal family are convinced to flee the country to Austria and from there work on bringing power back to the Monarchy of France. It took years of planning to successfully determine how the royal family was going to complete the impossible task of leaving Paris, France without being detected. When the royal family did make the attempt to flee they were halted by the people and sent back to Paris. The decision to send the royal family back was based upon the creation of the National Assembly, the oath to the Constitution, and the calling of the National Guards, showing who the people of France were loyal to. The loyalty to the National Assembly and sending the royal family back to Paris posed the question of how Louis XVI and the royal family should be charged, creating long-term ramifications of doubt toward the Monarchy and France.

A constitutional monarchy was created in France because it was the decision of the National Assembly to make the king be in charge France. Even though it was a ratified constitution for the French, they decided to keep it as a king in charge instead having a president. The king however was kept as executive power of France. For the French, the king was able to resist any democratic change which made the National Assembly reconstruct the French society. The French people didn’t feel pleased of this decision because the third estate wasn’t well represented in the government which is similar to how the American colonists felt when the British passed the Tea Act, Stamp Act, and Revenue Act. The French felt cheated because they were promised a somewhat similar democracy like the American colonists gained, but they ended up with a constitutional monarchy.

In this letter, he disapproved of the reduction of his royal powers and personal wealth, which affected his lifestyle and authority. He denounced the Revolution, National Assembly, and its constitution. Copies of the letter circulated in public and revealed to people that “Louis had lied to the French” when he swore an oath “before God and the nation to uphold the constitution” (102). Not only did he leave behind his people but his flight would have led to a civil war between revolutionaries and loyalists aided by foreigners. On top of that, deputies of the National Assembly dealt with the aftermath of a missing king: paranoid Parisians suspecting a conspiracy, people storming the palace, and palace servants being accused of treason. This added to the “profound sense of desertion and betrayal” by a king that people saw as a “good father” (222). Out of disgust, they denounced Louis: calling him all sorts of names, took down portraits of him, and covered “in black the word royal” on signs, buildings, and other public places (110). The “myth of the kingship had been shattered” because nobody knew what to do with Louis at this time (104, 108). Some wanted exile or imprisonment whereas others suggested reinstating him as only a figurehead, and some thought about a “republic without a king” (108). Either way, they no longer

Initially, revolutionaries attempted to establish a constitutional monarchy based on human rights and a rational government, principles they had acquired from the Enlightenment. After the fall of the Bastille in 1789 and the Great Fear which granted freedom to serfs, eliminated taxation privileges, and also led to equal opportunities in government positions, the

The French Revolution began in 1789 due to the discontent of the Third Estate being unequal to the First Estate, who were exempt from taxes and held special privileges. Although, Louis XVI attempted to tax the First Estate in order to fix France, who is on the verge of bankruptcy. However, the First Estate refused to be taxed because it goes against the traditions imposed years ago. Louis XVI attempted to solve this by calling the Estates-General, where all three estates could meet and attempt to settle issues. The Estates-General failed to solve any problems, with that the Third Estate decided to separate and form the National Assembly. The liberal phase was primarily focused on turning France into a constitutional monarchy, where the National

The French Revolution spanned ten years and was a period of great change within France. The official beginning of the French Revolution was in May-August of 1789 when common citizens, upset with how the upper class was treated them, forced King Louis XVI (the king of France at the time) to sign the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen (the DoRoMaC). The DoRoMaC was a document that described exactly what rights the citizens wanted, such as freedom of speech and religion and innocence until proven guilty. Over the next four years, commoners lobbied for a democracy and, when King Louis XVI was executed in early 1793, a new governing body was formed called Committee of Public Safety., which was designed to subdue counterrevolutionaries. A man named Maximilien Robespierre was part of the Committee, and on September 5, 1793, he decided that the best way to keep France under control was fear. That day marks the start of the Reign of Terror.

On April 1792, France declared war on Austria. France was easily defeated and this aroused suspicions of traitors. "The Assembly ordered every soldier in Paris to the frontier, put a watch on all foreigners, and decided that priests who refused to take an oath of loyalty should be expelled..." (Brooman, 1992, p.39) The King disagreed with the order given, which angered the citizens. They also discovered that Louis purposely weakened the army of France because he didn't support the revolutionary war effort and wanted protection. (Gilbert, 1992, p.39-40) Louis indeed was not a good leader of a country. "He was not capable of leading a country in crisis." (Gilbert, 1995, p.7) People even came to think he was a traitor of the country.

In Timothy Tackett’s When the King Took Flight, it’s explained how Louis XVI’s flight to Varennes resulted in escalating events to happen in the French Revolution that changed and shaped the history of France. In his flight to escape the revolution and upon his capture, he unintentionally created a domino effect that rippled throughout France with consequences that were far from his original plans when attempting to escape the country. This essay will explain how the flight to Varennes radicalized the revolution by further weakening the monarchy and its authority along with its image, that the most significant reaction was that it opened ideas to new forms of government, and that the seeds for this radicalism was already present.

The French Revolution was a period of social and political turmoil in France from 1789 to 1799 that greatly affected modern and French history. It marked the decline of powerful monarchies and the rise of democracy, individual rights and nationalism. This revolution came with many consequences because of the strive for power and wealth, but also had many influential leaders attempting to initiate change in the French government and the economy. In 1789 the people of France dismissed King Louis XVI of his title, took apart his monarchy and executed him, his wife Marie Antoinette and thousands of nobles. The French set up a new system of government with specific revolutionary ideals, including liberty, equality and fraternity. This was a

In 1789 the French felt that their basic needs were not being met and revolted against the monarchy. The National Convention, which was the new pro-French Revolution government, created a new constitution that gave the people rights called the Declaration of the Rights of Man. As a man named Robespierre came to power, he began something called the Reign of Terror to try and stop the revolts happening in France. This was a time of mass killings and executions where evidence was no longer needed to be accused or sentenced. If the Reign of Terror was just going to be like the monarchy in order to switch back to a Republic later on, than the Reign of Terror was just as bad and unjustified as the horrible way the monarchy treated its citizens before. This is largely due to the fact that it hugely benefitted Robespierre and the rest of the National Convention by creating fear and panic in order to stop revolts against them. The Reign of Terror was unjustified because it was just like the monarchy in the fact that they took away the rights they had just given to the

During the French Revolution, King Louis XVI was in charge of the monarchy and was deposed in 1792 and later executed in 1793 (The French Revolution (1789-1799)). King Louis XVI fell into massive debt which forced him to give into the Parlement of Paris and the Estates-General, this then leading to the Revolution. After the absolute monarchy was disbanded, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted. As reported by The French Revolution by history,com, the declaration proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the old system with one that was based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty, and representative government. The National Assembly soon learned that it wasn’t easy to govern or be in charge of a country, this shown by the months it took to draft a constitution for France (The French Revolution). According to this article, many questions were asked when it came to creating the constitution such as “Would the clergy owe allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church or the French government?” or “Who would be responsible for electing delegates?”

I believe Louis is to blame for the nature of the Revolution in the sense of his indecisiveness people drew themselves away from him and his reputation began to diminish by that. I don’t think it was the revolutionary’s intent to overthrow the monarchy, but when public opinion began to grow that Louis isn’t fit to be king the idea spread. When the king did turn up missing I think it’s fair to say that it was the first time in which the 3rd estate showed feelings publicly how they resented a king and aristocrats. I think that originally revolutionaries planned on keeping a monarchy intact but they wanted equal rights and to limit the kings some. It wasn’t until he and the queen fled where they idea of getting rid of a monarchy altogether came into play.

Timothy Tackett’s book When the King Took Flight focuses on arguably the most consequential event in the French Revolution. King Louis XVI and his family’s attempt to escape France would influence an atmosphere of violence that would only continue to worsen. King Louis XVI regretted signing and accepting the Civil Constitution of the Clergy earlier in July 1790. Deciding to flee the country he assumed that through foreign intervention or negotiating he could change parts of the constitution he disagreed with. However he would be recognized and captured in Varennes. The king underestimated the true meaning and appeal of the revolution (87). His misunderstanding of the revolution led the way for the destruction of kingship and the monarchy itself. This decision had given power to the sans-culottes and the idea of a republic. While the kings flight to Varennes had many unintended consequences it serves as a crucial turning point for the revolution.

After the Revolution in France, the old absolutist monarchy was replaced by the Constitution of 1791, and King Louis XVI was forced to share power with an elected legislative body in the new constitutional monarchy. In a rather