The King essays

The King essays As the events of the French revolution unfolded, Louis XVI soon found himself at its centre when, on December 11, 1792, he was brought to trial and charged with conspiring against the nation. As a defining moment of the French revolution, there is no questioning as to the fundamental nature of the trial in the future political developments of the revolution. The contributing factor of his ultimate demise, however, is often disputed. While the political circumstances surrounding the trial contributed to Louis XVIs downfall, it was ultimately the kings poor character that instigated the fateful deeds responsible for his trial and execution. Despite the fact that the political struggle between radicals and moderates played a role in bringing Louis to trial, it was nevertheless Louis passive personality that brought him to judgement. Within the Convention, the question of Louis accountability and trial was fervently debated amongst the Girondin moderates and Jacobin radicals. The moderates wanted to try the king, whereas the radicals contended that he king had already been judged according to the events of August the 10th, and deserved no trial at all.# Jacobin tactics, however, proved to be less successful than the Girondins as they were unable to successfully convince the Convention otherwise that Louis guilt was not subject for judicial review, it was necessarily a measure of public safety.# Thus, on December 1792, a motion was unanimously passed by the Convention to try the king for his crimes against the nation.# Nevertheless, if not for the kings passive personality, the issue of trial would have never been debated as the kings violability would not have been in question. This is because the kings passive personality lead him to be swayed by the opinions of others; opinions that lead to his trial. This is most evident in his ill-advised flight to Austria, June 21,...