One of the most polarizing moments of the French Revolution was the execution of King Louis XVI. Above, I took some photos from the museum we visited today that show King Louis being escorted to the guillotine. The article, “How It Happened” by William Doyle, points out how the King initially tried to meet the demands of the people by ensuring the establishment of a constitution at the Tennis Court Oath in 1789. In addition, one year after the Storming of the Bastille, the King visited Paris to celebrate the one year anniversary of this pivotal moment. This event was known as the Fête de la Fédération and was designed the symbolize national unity and reconciliation between the French government and its people. At the event, the King made an oath to uphold the constitution and the laws of the French state. Although the King made several gestures and promises that ensured the people he would grant them rights, nothing truly changed. As discuess in my previous post, the severity of the poverty, coupled with several other confounding factors, forced the people to take an unconventional route and start a full-fledged revolution.
All of this culminates into the painting that we see above. After the revolution had begun, the King began conspiring with neighboring countrie’s kings to formulate a plan to squish the revolution. The people caught the King, and decided to imprison him and his entire family. In late 1792, the French republic was established, and they were faced with the decision of what to do with the King. How would he pay for his crimes against France? The vote was split between banishment and death, with the majority vote leaning towards death. King Louis XVI was executed on January 21, 1793.
In my opinion, I believe it was the wrong move to execute the King. Setting the precedent that executing government executives for their wrong doing would eventually lead to the executions of those who would replace the King. If the French republic were mindful of this, they may have had a little more grace for the King.
Revolutionary Cities 