The violent events of the French Revolution impressed themselves deeply into the mind of Francis (as well as all other European monarchs), and he came to distrust radicalism in any form.
 In 1794, a "Jacobin" conspiracy was discovered in the Austrian and Hungarian armies.
The leaders were put on trial, but the verdicts only skirted the perimeter of the conspiracy.
 Francis's brother Alexander Leopold (at that time Palatine of Hungary) wrote to the Emperor admitting "Although we have caught a lot of the culprits, we have not really got to the bottom of this business yet."
 Nonetheless, two officers heavily implicated in the conspiracy were hanged and gibbeted, while numerous others were sentenced to imprisonment (many of whom died from the conditions).

Francis was from his experiences suspicious and set up an extensive network of police spies and censors to monitor dissent (in this he was following his father's lead, as the Grand Duchy of Tuscany had the most effective secret police in Europe).
Even his family did not escape attention.
 His brothers, the Archdukes Charles and Johann had their meetings and activities spied upon.
Censorship was also prevalent.
 The author Franz Grillparzer, a Habsburg patriot, had one play suppressed solely as a "precautionary" measure.
 When Grillparzer met the censor responsible, he asked him what was objectionable about the work.
 The censor replied, "Oh, nothing at all.
 But I thought to myself, 'One can never tell'."

In military affairs Francis had allowed his brother, the Archduke Charles, extensive control over the army during the Napoleonic wars.
 Yet, distrustful of allowing any individual too much power, he otherwise maintained the separation of command functions between the Hofkriegsrat and his field commanders.
In the later years of his reign he limited military spending, requiring it not exceed forty million florins per year; because of inflation this resulted in inadequate funding, with the army's share of the budget shrinking from half in 1817 to only twenty-three percent in 1830.

Francis presented himself as an open and approachable monarch (he regularly set aside two mornings each week to meet his imperial subjects, regardless of status, by appointment in his office, even speaking to them in their own language), but his will was sovereign.
 In 1804, he had no compunction about announcing that through his authority as Holy Roman Emperor, he declared he was now Emperor of Austria (at the time a geographical term that had little resonance).
 Two years later, Francis personally wound up the moribund Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
 Both actions were of dubious constitutional legality.

To increase patriotic sentiment during the war with France, the anthem "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" was composed in 1797 to be sung as the Kaiserhymne to music by Joseph Haydn.
The lyrics were adapted for later Emperors and the music lives on as the Deutschlandlied.
The violent events of the French Revolution impressed themselves deeply into the mind of Francis (as well as all other European monarchs), and he came to distrust radicalism in any form.  In 1794, a "Jacobin" conspiracy was discovered in the Austrian and Hungarian armies. The leaders were put on trial, but the verdicts only skirted the perimeter of the conspiracy.  Francis's brother Alexander Leopold (at that time Palatine of Hungary) wrote to the Emperor admitting "Although we have caught a lot of the culprits, we have not really got to the bottom of this business yet."  Nonetheless, two officers heavily implicated in the conspiracy were hanged and gibbeted, while numerous others were sentenced to imprisonment (many of whom died from the conditions).
Francis was from his experiences suspicious and set up an extensive network of police spies and censors to monitor dissent (in this he was following his father's lead, as the Grand Duchy of Tuscany had the most effective secret police in Europe). Even his family did not escape attention.  His brothers, the Archdukes Charles and Johann had their meetings and activities spied upon. Censorship was also prevalent.  The author Franz Grillparzer, a Habsburg patriot, had one play suppressed solely as a "precautionary" measure.  When Grillparzer met the censor responsible, he asked him what was objectionable about the work.  The censor replied, "Oh, nothing at all.  But I thought to myself, 'One can never tell'."
In military affairs Francis had allowed his brother, the Archduke Charles, extensive control over the army during the Napoleonic wars.  Yet, distrustful of allowing any individual too much power, he otherwise maintained the separation of command functions between the Hofkriegsrat and his field commanders. In the later years of his reign he limited military spending, requiring it not exceed forty million florins per year; because of inflation this resulted in inadequate funding, with the army's share of the budget shrinking from half in 1817 to only twenty-three percent in 1830.
Francis presented himself as an open and approachable monarch (he regularly set aside two mornings each week to meet his imperial subjects, regardless of status, by appointment in his office, even speaking to them in their own language), but his will was sovereign.  In 1804, he had no compunction about announcing that through his authority as Holy Roman Emperor, he declared he was now Emperor of Austria (at the time a geographical term that had little resonance).  Two years later, Francis personally wound up the moribund Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.  Both actions were of dubious constitutional legality.
To increase patriotic sentiment during the war with France, the anthem "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" was composed in 1797 to be sung as the Kaiserhymne to music by Joseph Haydn. The lyrics were adapted for later Emperors and the music lives on as the Deutschlandlied.
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor