Was Loyalists Justified

In the late 18th century, the French people were in unrest with their king, Louis XVI. While the French people were starving, clergymen, nobles, and royalty continued to lead lavish lifestyles. Despite the requests of his people, Louis failed to make reformations so the people took it into their own hands and created the National Assembly. As news of the revolution spread throughout Europe, Prussia, and Austria threatened to invade France to protect the king and queen. An extremist group of French people, known as the Jacobins, called for the execution of King Louis and his death marked the beginning of the Reign of Terror where revolutionaries set out to rid France of those still supporting the king called Loyalists, and protect France from
Some of the people who were found guilty were executed for things that didn't warrant the death penalty. The system of government they ran replaced one absolute power with another. Many of the people accused of being Loyalists were not given a fair trial and were wrongly prosecuted which led to their deaths. The right to a fair and speedy trial is an ideal pushed by enlightenment thinkers, which French revolutionists were inspired by with the idea that all men are equal regardless of social status. “At first, the Tribunal followed a formalized legal procedure, but that gradually broke down. The accused were denied by lawyers. Conviction based on patriotic "intuition" rather than evidence was allowed. In Paris, while some members of the upper classes were acquitted, the Tribunal sentenced 2,750 to death.” ("Document E." The Reign of Terror: Was it Justified?) The revolutionaries were betraying their principles by not providing adequate due process for the accused. This led to the unjust killing of innocent people. Some of the reasons provided to prosecute those suspected of being loyalists were not valid accusations that would warrant the death