| The
constitutional monarchy put
in place by moderate revolutionaries such as the Marquis de
Lafayette had fallen by 1792, giving way to a radical republic.
The National Convention decided to put Louis on trial for
his crimes. Although his guilt was never an issue, there was
a real debate in the Convention on whether the king should
be killed. They voted for his execution. On January 23, 1793
Louis Capet went to the guillotine in the Place de la Concorde,
where a statue of his predecessor, Louis XV, once stood.
At the scaffold he said "I forgive those who are guilty
of my death."
Part
of Liberté,
Egalité, Fraternité: The French
Revolution
exhibit |
