Who Was Responsible For Louis Xvi's Downfall

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

It is often debated whether or not the reign of King Louis XIV had a positive or negative effect on France. Although there were improvements during his reign in transportation, culture, and national defense, there were far more negative aspects. He depleted the national treasury with his liberal spending on personal luxuries and massive monuments. His extreme fear of the loss of power led to poor decision making, which caused the court to be of lower quality. King Louis XIV’s disastrous rule brought about a series of effects that influenced the French Revolution in the following century.

King Louis XVI loved his country, even if it was in ruins which he was trying to fix, and even though unfortunately he was not the strongest ruler that does not mean King Louis XVI committed treason against France. He was wrongly persecuted for something he did not commit, treason is the crime of trying to overthrow your country's government or of helping your country's enemies during war, not fleeing from an unsafe home. King Louis XVI was innocent of treason because he actively tried to fix problems in the country, even though sometimes the outcomes of his solutions weren't perfect. He was a significant monarch with the way he affected the French Revolution as a

Internal enemies of the French Revolution included Louis XVI as well as his wife, Marie Antoinette. Louis kept a supportive front toward the Revolution yet he remained in contact with Austria (like his Austrian wife), Prussia and Sweden asking for help to restore the Monarchy. When Louis tried to escape with his family and failed, the population began losing faith in their King, something that previously was not the case as he was rather popular. He was returned to Paris as a prisoner and reluctantly agreed to the Civil Constitution. The fact that Louis also greatly opposed the Rights of Man also led to his growing unpopularity.

That was when the Guillotine was invented. They put it to a vote, then they dropped it on his throat. The all the sudden the european kings heard about this. They attacked france because they had been allies with the king. The new leader said enemies were everywhere ,so for a year the guillotine was working endlessly. The people got sick of him so they stuck his head under the guillotine. Then france was ran by the directory. France was only successful in the war. Guess who led them to victory Napoleon Bonaparte. When they got home he made himself the emperor.

Louis would make the nobles do many embarrassing things, such as dress him, and even take out his chamber pot after going to the bathroom. Nobles would also be honored to see the king wake up in the morning, and watch him eat, things that had never been seen done by nobles for any other leader in history. By making the nobles do things like this, it made them feel less highly about themselves, less powerful, and less likely to try to overthrow him.

Innocent lives lost, brawls on the streets, and blood splattered on the ground. These are all things you would find during the Reign of Terror, a period of time during the French Revolution where the newly-created government executed large amounts of people who were suspected enemies of the Revolution. The French Revolution started in 1789 as an attempt to rid of the absolute monarchy that ruled over the French people and create a new government that fit their needs. There were three leading factors that spurred the start of the Revolution. The first was the high debt that rose during this time, primarily from King Louis XVI sending money to aid in the American Revolution.

When the french people killed their leaders they became much better off. First off, the country of france was very poor but the king lived in a mega-mansion called Versailles. People were not happy about this so they imprisoned King Louis and kept him in jail and kept him their tell they decided what to do with him (Document A). Ordinally when the French finally executed King Louis, he could not control the country so the French citizens could control their money and not waste it on things that were not worth it.

To begin, was The Reign of Terror justified? Does a bear poop in the woods? Yes. The Reign of Terror lasted less than two years, from the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793 to late July 1794. During those eighteen months, more than 20,000 French people were put to death by guillotine.

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.

During the French revolution, French citizens went against absolute monarchy and the feudal system that was antiquated. They were influenced by Enlightenment ideas such as inalienable rights and popular sovereignty. Louis XVI was the ruler at the time; he believed that his power was given to him by God, thus making him think his ruling was right despite people’s opinion. The citizens of France especially the 3rd estate disliked the king for treating them poorly. Eventually the Jacobins convicted Louis XVI to death by a guillotine for treason after finding a large iron box holding Louis XVI’s secret correspondence with foreign monarchs. The beheading of King Louis XVI was justified because he took people’s rights away and made people follow his inadequate rules and biased judgments based on status. Furthermore, if he were to be left alive it would have posed a threat to the security and stability of France.

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.

With King Louis XVI making the bad decisions, acknowledgement was to be done to fix corruption in government. As said in document A, "The representatives of the French people believed that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole causes of public calamities and the corruption of the government." King Louis was a poor absolute monarch during the 1780's (document B) juggling France's unfair tax system and poverty (background essay). This relates back to representatives of the French people's beliefs of a corrupted government. Seen throughout the Reign of Terror, the reign of Robespierre, and King Louis XVI reign, corruption of government is through ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man (document B). Although power has been taken advantaged of through absolute monarchs, they have changed history for better. Without their abuse of power, the Reign of Terror wouldn't have ended and solved the problems France was facing.

Despite these arguments, it is clear that Louis’ contributions to France outweighed the negative aspects of his reign. In his early personal reign, Louis was highly successful in both internal and foreign affairs. At home the parliaments lost their traditional power to obstruct legislation, and the judicial structure was reformed by the codes of civil procedure and criminal procedure. Urban law enforcement was improved by the

Brief Summary- Dr. Munro Price, Modern European Historian at the University of Bradford, wanted to find out the truth of what the true actions and feelings of the King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were in those years before the collapse. After being dragged back to Paris from Versailles, they were then held prisoner in the capital. Concerned for their own safety, the King and Queen forced to agree with the revolution and its agenda. However, in secret, they both began devising a strategy and took the utmost precautions to hide their real policy. The Road from Versailles reconstructs much of what had been speculated until now as to the King and Queen’s clandestine diplomacy from 1789 until their executions. Dr. Price focuses on a small portion of history that has generally been unknown to the public, but could hold the key to the final days of the Old Regime and the mindset of the King. This book could give insight into the economic and social status