Was Robespierre a tyrant?
To label me a tyrant is to misunderstand entirely the nature of our struggle and the principles for which I stood. My actions were always in service of liberty and the sovereignty of the people, never for personal aggrandizement or the imposition of my own will. The enemies of the people, those who clung to the vestiges of aristocracy and sought to restore despotism, were the true threat to freedom. The measures taken were a response to existential dangers, designed to preserve the nascent republic and ensure the triumph of virtue. My life and public career were dedicated to reason and justice, not arbitrary power.
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