Knowledge

The fall of the July Monarchy

At the beginning of the year 1848, Louis-Philippe of Orleans (1773-1850) was the king of France. He was crowned after the Revolution of 1830. At first, inspired by the ideals of the Revolution, the king was seen as a personification of hope for the monarchy but soon the July Monarchy (1830-1848) faced numerous demonstrations which were roughly suppressed (the Canut revolts in Lyon in 1831, uprisings in Paris in 1832 and in Lyon in 1834).

The republican Opposition got organized gathering support stemming from the social discontent. The conservative direction of the July Monarchy became more pronounced from 1848: Guizot, who was the secretary-general of Louis-Philippe the First, answered the requests concerning the expansion of the equal suffrage and the demands of the poorest in the following fashion: “Get richer by working and by saving money”. From 1846, the economic crisis (the rise of bread price, food shortage, unemployment) strengthened the unpopular regime. As political meetings were forbidden, Republicans organized, all over France, banquets to claim their main demand: the universal suffrage. On 22 February, 1848, a planned banquet was forbidden. This provoked demonstrations during which the troops shot at the crowd. This was the beginning of the French Revolution of 1848.

Social changes caused by industrialization and the profusion of new ideas left a mark on the first half of the 19th century: inspiring the main liberal theories as well as republican, socialist and communist ideas. The liberal ideology and middle class’ interests couldn’t prevent what was to become the major political issue: the “social question”. “The Revolution of 1848, deeply rooted in this conflicted past, was an heiress to all these new ideas, fed by the promises of the French Revolution…In three days, the July Monarchy, which was old, riddled with corruption, destabilized by the economic crisis and too distant from the social reality, fell apart, almost without any fights…” (Maurizio Gribaudi, Michèle Riot-Sarcey, op. cit.).

Crushed hopes of the “48’s spirit”

A temporary provisional government stood at the head of the republic proclaimed on 24 February 1848. It decided to hold an election of the constitutional assembly through Universal Male Suffrage. In huge euphoria, the freedom of the press and assembly, the right to work, the abolition of death penalty for political offences and the abolition of slavery in colonies were proclaimed. The number of political clubs and associations increased in cities, also in Paris. They discussed prospects of a democratic and social republic; some women asserted their equal rights.

However, the hopes for a democratic republic emerging from the French Revolution of 1848 quickly faded:

• During elections on the April, the “Party of Order”, which gathered moderate and monarchist republicans, won thanks to rural votes.
• National workshops were closed on 22 June. This led to a murderous confrontation between the troops and the French people who held barricades on 23 and 26 June.

On the 10 December 1848, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte’s success in the presidential election confirmed the victory of those who wanted to put an end to the “48’s spirit”...

Chronology from the National Assembly website:

http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/suffrage_universel/suffrage-1848.asp#chronologie

21 February	Gunfire in Boulevard des Capucines.
24 February	Louis-Philippe’s abdication. Proclamation of the Republic by the provisional government.
26 February	Abolition of the death penalty for political offences.
2 March	Tenhour working day in Paris, eleven-hour working day in the Provinces. The principle of Universal Suffrage is confirmed.
4 March	Freedom of the Press and freedom of assembly are granted.
5 March	Decree about the elections that are planned on 9 April.
17 March	The “day’” organized by Blanqui is a failure. Still, he puts off the elections until the 9th to 23 April.
23 April	Constituent Assembly’s election.
4 May	The meeting of the Assembly and the proclamation of the Republic.
15 May	A revolutionary demonstrators invade the Assembly
4 June	Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is elected at the Constituent Assembly.
21 June	Decree about national workshops.
23-26 June	Barricades and street fights in the eastern part of Paris (4000 dead men among insurgents, 1600 casualties in the army).
4 November	The Assembly voted the Constitution.
10 December	Presidential elections. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte’s election for the president of the Republic.

Conceptual Objectives

To set the Revolution of 1848 in its French and European context.

To understand and use these following notions correctly:

• Census suffrage / Universal Male suffrage
• Monarchy / Republic
• Parliamentary government
• Nations / Nationalities
• Colonial slavery / Anti-slavery movement / Abolitionist movement

Methodological Objectives and Skills

To master chronological landmarks:

• set and characterize an event in its chronological context

To exploit and to compare information:

• identify documents (literary works, engravings, paintings on canvas)
• pick, classify and compare information according to the corpus
• contextualise the corpus in the historical situation

To organize and to synthesize information:

• write a text or give a well-organised talk and argue using specific historical vocabulary

Suggestion of Activities

After having studied the French and European historical context in 1848 with the students, the teacher:

• should read the extract from The Sentimental Education by G. Flaubert.
• should describe and analyze two engravings (The Ballot Box or the Rifle, The Universal, Democratic and Social Republic: the Pact) and the painting (The Emancipation to the Reunion Island).

The study of these works, beside their cultural contributions to literature and history of arts, would contribute to the understanding of the historical context: French and European political revolutions and the second abolition of slavery in French colonies in 1848. These notions could be equally well used in Civics.

Suggestion of Evaluation

The teacher would make sure that his students:

• know how to identify, read or examine different documents of the corpus
• know how to set different documents in their historical context
• master the vocabulary and specific notions discussed during the lesson
• can write a summary referring precisely to the documents

Additional and Interdisciplinary Tasks

Literature:

Read The Sentimental Education by Flaubert and some extracts from Choses vues (Things Seen) by Victor Hugo (Oeuvres completes de Victor Hugo, J. Seebacher et G. Rosa éd., coll. Bouquins, Robert Laffont, Paris, 1987).

Civics:

In the context of the history of suffrage and the struggles for social rights, these following notions could be highlighted and defined:

• Human and citizen rights
• Civil and political rights
• Social en economic rights

http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/suffrage_universel/index.asp

History of arts:

Study the way the paintings depict the abolition of slavery of 1848: The Emancipation to the Reunion Island by Alphonse Garreau and The Abolition of Slavery in French Colonies (27 April 1848) by François Biard.

Study and analyse the use of symbols and allegories.