The Abolition of Monarchy and the First Republic

Active learning helps students grasp the complexities of the French Revolution by making abstract political shifts tangible. When students role-play historical figures or debate real decisions, they move beyond dates to understand motives, consequences, and the human costs of change.

• Class 9
• Social Science
• 4 activities
• 30 min–45 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the primary reasons for the National Convention's decision to abolish the monarchy in France.
2. Evaluate the arguments presented by different factions regarding the trial and execution of Louis XVI.
3. Predict the likely responses of European monarchies to the establishment of the French Republic, citing specific historical precedents.
4. Compare the principles of constitutional monarchy with those of a republic in the context of late 18th-century France.

Mock Trial

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Mock Trial: Trial of Louis XVI

Assign roles as prosecutors, defence lawyers, witnesses, and jury from historical figures. Prosecutors cite evidence of treason like the Varennes flight; defence argues for mercy and family separation. Jury deliberates 10 minutes before voting on guilt and sentence.

Prepare & details

Justify the decision to abolish the monarchy and declare France a Republic.

Facilitation Tip: During the Mock Trial, assign roles with clear dossiers so witnesses and prosecutors reference specific policies like the taille or émigré laws to avoid vague arguments.

Setup: Standard classroom arrangement with desks regrouped into two opposing team tables and a central 'witness stand' chair; no specialist space required. Two parallel trials can run simultaneously in adjacent classrooms or separated areas of a large classroom.

Materials: Printed case packets (charge sheet, witness statements, evidence documents), Printed role cards for attorneys, witnesses, jurors, and court reporter, Preparation worksheets for team case-building, Evidence tracking chart for jurors, Written reflection or exit slip for debrief

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

Mock Trial

⏱ 35 min·Whole Class

Debate Circles: For and Against Abolition

Form inner and outer circles; inner debates monarchy's abolition using Enlightenment quotes, outer observes and switches to rebut. Rotate twice for balanced arguments on popular sovereignty versus stability.

Prepare & details

Analyze the arguments for and against the execution of Louis XVI.

Facilitation Tip: For Debate Circles, provide a graphic organiser with columns for Jacobin, Girondin, and foreign observer perspectives to keep discussions focused on evidence.

Setup: Standard classroom arrangement with desks regrouped into two opposing team tables and a central 'witness stand' chair; no specialist space required. Two parallel trials can run simultaneously in adjacent classrooms or separated areas of a large classroom.

Materials: Printed case packets (charge sheet, witness statements, evidence documents), Printed role cards for attorneys, witnesses, jurors, and court reporter, Preparation worksheets for team case-building, Evidence tracking chart for jurors, Written reflection or exit slip for debrief

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

Mock Trial

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Role-Play: International Reactions

Groups represent Britain, Austria, Prussia; predict and act out responses to the execution via letters or speeches. Share in a class 'diplomatic summit' to discuss alliances like the First Coalition.

Prepare & details

Predict the international reactions to the execution of the French King.

Facilitation Tip: In Role-Play, give each diplomat a country profile sheet with pre-written concerns to ensure students internalise the stakes of republicanism abroad.

Setup: Standard classroom arrangement with desks regrouped into two opposing team tables and a central 'witness stand' chair; no specialist space required. Two parallel trials can run simultaneously in adjacent classrooms or separated areas of a large classroom.

Materials: Printed case packets (charge sheet, witness statements, evidence documents), Printed role cards for attorneys, witnesses, jurors, and court reporter, Preparation worksheets for team case-building, Evidence tracking chart for jurors, Written reflection or exit slip for debrief

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

Mock Trial

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Evidence Sort: Arguments Gallery Walk

Post stations with pro/anti-monarchy cards from decrees and pamphlets. Pairs sort into categories, justify placements, then vote class consensus on strongest argument.

Prepare & details

Justify the decision to abolish the monarchy and declare France a Republic.

Setup: Standard classroom arrangement with desks regrouped into two opposing team tables and a central 'witness stand' chair; no specialist space required. Two parallel trials can run simultaneously in adjacent classrooms or separated areas of a large classroom.

Materials: Printed case packets (charge sheet, witness statements, evidence documents), Printed role cards for attorneys, witnesses, jurors, and court reporter, Preparation worksheets for team case-building, Evidence tracking chart for jurors, Written reflection or exit slip for debrief

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should balance emotional engagement with rigorous evidence. Avoid dramatising regicide as inevitable; instead, use primary sources like Robespierre's speeches or Louis' trial transcripts to show how republicans framed their case. Research suggests that structured debates work best when students prepare roles in advance and teachers model respectful disagreement using sentence starters like 'My evidence shows...' to reduce polarisation.

What to Expect

Students will explain the National Convention's reasons for abolishing the monarchy and justify their positions on Louis XVI's trial using period evidence. They will also analyse how internal divisions and external threats shaped the First Republic's fragile start.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Mock Trial, watch for students attributing Louis XVI's execution solely to his personality traits, such as indecisiveness, without connecting his actions to systemic issues like unpaid taxes or the Third Estate's grievances.

What to Teach Instead

Use the trial's witness testimonies and financial ledgers displayed during the activity to redirect students to evidence of institutional failures, like the tax burden on peasants shown in the taille records.

Common Misconception

During the Evidence Sort Gallery Walk, watch for students assuming the Republic formed right after the Bastille fell and remained stable.

What to Teach Instead

Have students physically arrange cards showing the storming of the Tuileries in August 1792 next to the September massacres, forcing them to sequence events and note the Republic's precarious beginnings.

Common Misconception

During Debate Circles, watch for students believing all revolutionaries agreed on abolishing the monarchy from the start.

What to Teach Instead

Provide Girondin position papers in the debate packets and ask students to cite specific clauses, like their call for a referendum, to highlight the factional divide over radicalism.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After Mock Trial, have students write a one-paragraph reflection as a Convention member, arguing one reason to abolish the monarchy and one stance on Louis XVI's execution, with citations from trial testimony or financial records.

Quick Check

During Debate Circles, circulate and listen for students using terms like 'universal suffrage,' 'counter-revolutionary,' or 'regicide' correctly in their arguments, and quietly note who needs reinforcement.

Exit Ticket

After the International Reactions role-play, collect slips with: 1. The date of the Republic's declaration, 2. One fear a foreign king expressed about republicanism, and 3. A lingering question about the trial's fairness.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to draft a letter to the editor from a foreign monarch responding to the Republic's declaration, using three specific fears from diplomatic dispatches in their argument.
• Scaffolding: Provide a partially completed timeline with key events (Bastille, August Decrees, Louis' flight) for students to sequence and add causes like food shortages or royal vetoes.
• Deeper exploration: Have students compare the French Republic's justification for regicide with later republican movements (e.g., American Revolution) by creating a Venn diagram of shared and unique arguments.

Key Vocabulary

National Convention	The governing body of France that replaced the Legislative Assembly, responsible for trying Louis XVI and declaring France a republic.
Republic	A form of government where supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, rather than by a monarch.
Regicide	The act of killing a king or monarch; in this context, it refers to the execution of Louis XVI.
Jacobins	A radical political club during the French Revolution, advocating for a centralized republic and the execution of the king.
Girondins	A more moderate political faction during the French Revolution, initially in favour of a constitutional monarchy or a less radical republic.