Why did the constitutional monarchy fail?

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Mandip Hare LVI

2th December 2003

Why did the constitutional monarchy fail?

A constitutional monarchy is a system of Government in which a king or queen stood as head of state, but his power was limited by real power lying in a legislature an independent court system. The constitution of 1791 established a constitutional monarchy. Under this Louis XVI could only temporally veto legislation passed by the assembly. Voting was restricted only to the upper and idle classes of society. This new constitutional monarchy was not a success due to a number of interlinking factors. The king, war, nobles and church all played a significant role.

The fall of the constitutional monarchy can be said to be caused by the events 1789. In 1788 Louis XVI agreed to call a meeting of the Estates-General as France faced a financial crisis. He was hesitant in doing so but felt he had no choice but to do so, as he could not continue any longer borrowing money as the kingdom was already heavily in debt due to government spending. The meeting took place at Versailles as planned in may 1789. In this meeting the third estate, the commons, members of the lower clergy ad nobles pushed for political and social reforms. Defying the King they proclaimed themselves the National Assembly. The National Assembly swore not to break up until a constitution had been written and ratified. This swearing became know as the Tennis Court Oath. In Paris people took the idea of the National Assembly well. They hoped it would end hardship and Hunger, however when the dismissal of Jacques Necker, the Kings financial minister there was trouble. The king had accepted the advice of his advisors and replaced Necker with Breteuil. In response revolts took place. The poor revolts due to rising bread prices. On July 14th 1789, a Paris mob stormed the Bastille. This was a prison. Over one hundred Bastille has red people were killed. This incident was relevant to the overall failure of the constitutional monarchy as The Bastille had been a symbol of authority. The people of Paris saw themselves as having control of the city. A militia of armed people called the National Guard replaced the Kings troops. Louis gave in and allowed this new order in Paris.
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On the 26th of August the National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens. This was a set of principles said that all men were created equal, had natural rights and free speech. The National Assembly moved away from these general principals to details of a new constitution. The main issue was of how powers would be distributed. Louis was seen as an enlightened monarch. The National Assembly declared itself sovereign. It was seeking the King's co-operation. Louis said that agreed with the sprit of the constitution. However when expressed his view in newspapers ...

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