Maximilien Robespierre

King Louis XVI’s control over France, which had been increasingly limited since 1789, officially ended on August 10, 1792, when the Legislative Assembly voted to suspend the king from his duties. That decision led to the creation of the French Republic on September 22, 1792. In the following viewpoint Maximilien Robespierre, in an address to France’s legislature, argues that the republic is vital to the French people because only republics and democracies can provide peace and happiness to their citizens. According to Robespierre, France is the first true democracy because it has made all male citizens equal under the laws. He concludes that the republic will prosper if the French people and their representatives remain virtuous and subordinate their private desires to the public good. Robespierre was a leader of the...