Life of Maxamillian Robespierre - 979 Words

Maximilien Robespierre declared at the trial of King Louis XVI. â€Å"The King must die so that the nation can live.† Robespierre advocated the kings demise and with it the ways of the Ancien Rà ©gime. However, in an ironic twist of fate his words also foreshadowed his own rise and fall as the leader of the French Revolution. Known as â€Å"The Incorruptible†, or alternately â€Å"Dictateur Sanguinaire† Robespierre is a monumental figure of the French Revolution, but which was he? Was he the incorruptible revolutionist fighting to overthrow the Ancien Regime or a raging radical that implemented his own absolute tendencies under the cover of the revolution? When dissecting the dichotomy of Robespierre’s life and actions during the French Revolution and†¦show more content†¦Another characteristic of Absolutism is that of the subjugation of the church. While previous absolute rulers either appointed the clergy or became the head of the church Rob espierre took a different direction by forming his own religion. The Cult of the Supreme Being was developed by Robespierre based on a radical concept of deist beliefs, but with the addition of the quest for virtue and civic duty as well as emphasizing reason. Robespierre stated that his religion would banish â€Å"all the ridiculous phantoms that the ambitions of priest and the politics of kings have commanded us to obey in the name of heaven.† On May 7, 1794 Robespierre introduced the Cult of the Supreme Being to the National Convention and on June 8 the Festival of the Supreme Being was held to inaugurate the new state religion. The former catholic state was banned. With the adoption of this new religion the Catholic Church lost any remaining power they had on a political level, lowering them to a never before seen powerless in France. Not only did this new radical religion revoke the power of the Catholic Church, but all that power was imbued into the leader of this new religion, Robespierre himself. He church wasn’t the only body that was reduced to a powerless state during this time, but the nobility as well. The subjugation of the nobility is an important trait of