Why Did Louis Philippe Become King

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Why did Louis Philippe become king in 1830?(8) Louis Philippe was a direct descendant of Louis XVIII, and the eldest son of Philippe, duc d’orleans. His father had supported the revolution and favoured the execution of Louis XVI and his family had a pedigree of support for revolutionary principles. In July 1830, the opponents of Charles X were divided about whom or what should replace him. Many of the popular Parisian leaders, supported by the workers and students favoured a republic under the presidency of Lafayette. However, lawyers, bankers and members of the bourgeoisie who had spoken out strongly against the Bourbon monarchy feared revolutionary activity even more. They were hostile to the idea of a republic and were determined to avoid any form of government that threatened their status and power. Liberals were debating their course of action in the final week of July 1830 and during this the republicans and working men seized the initiative. By the 28 and 29 July the barricades had gone up and the tricolour flew of Notre Dame. It was Adolph Theirs who seized initiative and he had the walls of Paris covered with posters in favour of Louis- Philippe. Theirs calculated that Louis Philippe had a royal claim to the throne and also fought for the French revolution. Louis Philippe could also maintain the monarchy in France as well as winning support of both the middle classes and the lower classes. Louis-Philippe’s case was also promoted by Theirs’ newspapers, Le national and the constitutional which had 22,000 subscribers to increase support. The Tribune and Revolution, which were republican newspapers, had only a few hundred subscribers, which showed Louis Philippe’s growing support. Lafitte, the banker, was also in favour of a constitutional monarchy and he persuaded the deputies to offer Louis-Philippe the position of ‘lieutenant General of the
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