Reign of Terror Essay Example
Reign of Terror DBQ The “National Razor” or the Guillotine was used to kill many during the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror was the period during the French Revolution beginning in 1789 and ended in 1794. King Louis XVI was ruling France during this time. He was disliked by many while all of this was going on. Many people at home starved because of King Louis’ selfish decisions. Many people now ask, was the Reign of terror justified? This question has been out there for a while now. I believe the Reign of Terror was not justified because King Louis XVI was like a dictator, and left many people to live in poor conditions, many people died as a result under his rule. King Louis XVI took power when his father, who was the previous ruler, died. Many people did not agree with this because he as a young man at the time and had no experience running a country. King Louis XVI enjoyed the riches that came with being King but he did not have any experience and made random decisions that hurt the common people of the country which made France a target for other countries. King Louis XVI did not know what he was doing, obviously, but he controlled everything. The French people had no say in how their country was ran because the King paid no attention to them. France wanted him executed. Document F shows an image of when King Louis XVI was killed by the guillotine. The image also shows Maximilien Robespierre, another inspiring figure of the American Revolution, holding the king’s head while everybody else was happy and laughing as it was an enjoyable event. This event happened on January 21, 1793 long after King Louis XVI started ruling, so France was still incredibly poor. During King Louis XVI rule, many bad decisions were made. For example, the prices of many goods, especially bread, had skyrocketed because bad weather had devastated the grain harvest, so the King made a tax system. This system confused many of the people and was unfair for them