The Age of Nationalism

Napoleon III in France

McKay 823-826, Palmer 12.62

-Springtime of Peoples ends-Toughness of Mind

The Second Empire

1848 1852 1854 1860 1871

-Louis Philippe

abdicates-Second Republic Begins

Louis Napoleon Coup d’etat 12/2/51

Crimean War

Begins

Second Empire Begins

-Franco-Prussian War ends Second Empire-German Empire Proclaimed-Paris Commune begins

Authoritarian Empire Stage Liberal Empire Stage2nd Republic

The End of the Springtime of Peoples• The springtime of peoples (Revolution of 1848) was

followed by chilling blasts of winter• Major accomplishment of 1848 revolutions was

– emancipation of peasantry– Constitutional governments were secured in

Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Piedmont

– France had popular sovereignty but not democracy (really a popular dictatorship)

• However, peasantry showed little concern for constitutional or bourgeois ideas

• Result strengthened the forces of political counterrevolution

• Most immediate result of Revolution of 1848 A new toughness of mind emerged

– “Get Real” zeitgeist – Idealism and romanticism are out, realism is in– Revolutionaries became less optimistic– Conservatives became more willing to exercise

repression• Realism becomes the watchword• Labor shifts to the organization of unions

Honore Daumier, The Third-Class Carriage, ca. 1862. oil on canvas. French.

Post 1848 Zeitgeist• Literature

– Realism• Writers describe life as it really is• Unsentimental• Rejected the search for sublime

meaning• Fatalistic

– Mankind is crushed by natural or societal forces

• Madame Bovary, by Flaubert– precise, unsentimental, literal– Mocks illusions of romantic literature

• Trust in science and scientific knowledge grows

• increased skepticism• role of religion is examined

– because it is unscientific is shouldn’t be taken seriously and is necessary only to preserve social order

Gustave Courbet. The Stone Breakers, 1849. oil on canvas. French.

Flaubert, Gustave: Madame Bovary

"Before she married, she thought she was in love; but the happiness that should have resulted from that love, somehow had not come. It seemed to her that she must have made a mistake, have misunderstood in some way or another. And Emma tried hard to discover what, precisely, it was in life that was denoted by the words 'joy, passion, intoxication', which had always looked so fine to her in books."- Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

Positivism• Positivism (reaction to metaphysical

abstractions of the revolutions)• Auguste Comte Positive Philosophy

– he saw human history as a series of three stages, theological, metaphysical, scientific

• revolutions in France suffered from empty words, high flying principles (excessive metaphysical abstractions)

– What is a Republic of Virtue anyway?????• To better society people must adopt a

scientific outlook • study society he created sociology!!

– Insistence on verifiable facts– Avoidance of wishful thinking– A questioning of all assumptions– A dislike of un-provable generalizations– Demands observational facts– Tests of ideas– Try to be humanly useful

• Led to growth of social sciences

Auguste Comte

Realpolitik• new tough mindedness created Realpolitik in

politics• means “the politics of reality”• In domestic affairs• people should give up utopian ideals• people should be thankful of for orderly, hard

working government• For radicals it meant

– use the tools of politics to reform rather overthrow

• In international affairs– Governments should follow their practical

interests– Not be guided by ideology or by any system of

natural enemies, allies– Make any alliances that seemed useful– Disregard ethical theories and scruples– Use any practical means to achieve their ends– War was accepted as a strategic option

sometimes needed to achieve a political purpose

Louis Philippe = King of the FrenchSecond Republic Ends

February RevolutionJune Days

Bourgeoisie MonarchyMarch Days

July OrdinancesCoup de etat of BrumaireSecond Empire Begins

1830 1848 1851

Concert of Europe

Liber

alism

Nationalism

Socialism

1848

Republicanism

Realpolitik Dam

Nationalism

Liberalism

Socialism

Republicanism

Nationalism• Dedication to an identification with the

nation-state

• Existed since 1789

• Was liberal and idealistic, democratic and radical

– Too metaphysical (according to Comte)

• Metternich feared nationalism would lead to a “war of all against all”

• Concert of Europe repressed nationalistic movements until 1848

• “But (nationalism) wears many masks”

• Napoleon III

– 1st to merge nationalism with authoritarianism

The Second Republic and Louis Napoleon • Elected president in 1848 by universal male suffrage• Why? Who Supported him?

– Peasants• Zeitgeist placed Napoleon I as a demigod

– Property owners• middleclass and peasant property owners’

feared of socialism• Wanted someone to protect property

– Wealthy liberal bourgeoisie • dedicated to law and order wanted a strong

national leader who would serve all the people and help them economically

– Church• Napoleon promised to return control of

education over to Catholic Church (Falloux Laws)

– Louis Napoleon had a Plan• wrote popular pamphlets (Napoleonic Ideas &

The Elimination of Poverty) on this subject• believed the state had obligation to provide

jobs, stimulate the economy, to represent both rich and poor

• believed that parliaments and political parties simply represented middle-class interest

Louis Napoleon and the Second Republic• Overwhelmingly elected president of

2nd Republic in 1848• cooperated with the conservative

National Assembly at first – Falloux Laws– Disbanded Republican national

guards, exiled thousands– Restricted press, assembly

• NA refused to change the constitution so he could run for another term

• seized power in a coup d'état in 12/2/1851 and dismissed the Assembly

• Plebiscite (election) legalized his actions

• Another plebiscite in 1852 made him hereditary emperor

• Took name Napoleon III and began the Second Empire

Is she truly dead? Louis Napoleon stands over the dead body of Liberty. Her coffin reads "Born 1848, died 1851" to indicate that the emperor's seizure of power murdered the freedom of France.

FRANCE: Tree of Liberty, cut down, Paris, old print, 1850

Authoritarian Stage• Ruled as a democratically

elected dictator (1852-1860)• Censored the Press• Banished political prisoners to

Devil’s Island– Infamous prison in French Guiana– Over 80 thousand prisoners died in

disease ridden harsh conditions

• Period characterized by wealthy businessmen becoming the new imperial aristocracy– Flaunted their wealth,

materialism– Most newspapers were

owned by wealthy• Period noted for rapid economic

growth

Economy of Second Empire• Economic “Take-off” period• Exports doubled from 1853-1864• Gov. took direct role in stimulating the

economy via investment and enticement• Gov guaranteed credit companies profit

for expanding credit• Sponsored creation of mortgage banks to

provide business loans• French RR reached 10 thousand miles by

1869• RR opened up markets & encouraged

farmers to specialize in 1 or 2 crops• Prices & need for farm labor dropped

sharply• RR also improved diet for average

Frenchman• Paris beautified

– Baron Haussman• Suez Canal built (1869)

– Designed by Ferdinand de Lesseps (an engineer)

– Ultimately it benefited the British most

Avenue de l’Opera, Place du Theatre Francais by Pissarro

Government of the Authoritarian 2nd Empire• Council of State

– composed of experts who drafted legislation

– Advised on technical matters• Legislative Body

– Elected by managed universal suffrage• Governments choices rarely faced any

opposition– Could only consider legislation sent by the

Emperor– Had no control over the budget– Had no power over the army– Made no foreign policy– Publishing speeches made in leg chamber

was a crime• Napoleon sponsored “official” candidates for

the Lower Chamber• Hand picked notables for the Upper Chamber

(Senate)• “bought” political support by promising

“earmarks” to politicians

The Liberal Empire• Napoleon III announced that he would

“crown the imperial edifice with liberty” in 1859

• Working class had remained republican

• 1860 Legislative Assembly given right to discuss emperor’s annual address

• Cobden-Chevalier Treaty– Allowed for Free Trade between Britain

and France– Brainchild of Michel Chevalier who had

been a Saint-Simonian but now doubted protectionism

• LA received right to approve budget in 1864

• Unions and right to strike legalized in ’64

• Reforms for the working class– Public works projects continued– Hospitals and asylums built– Free medicines given to poor

Art of the Second Empire• Barbizon School

– Characterized by painting of peasants, harvests, symbols of village life

– A break with romanticism

• Impressionist School– Characterized by its rejection

of religious and historical subjects

– Depicted rural & urban landscapes

– Reaction to photography– Meant to capture the

impression one got at a certain moment of time, at first glance

“The Gleaners” by Jean-François Millet

EDOUARD MANET: "Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe (Luncheon on the grass)", 1862/63 -

Decline of Second Empire • Depression of 1857• Industrialists turned against

Napoleon’s free trade policies• Legislative Assembly liberals call

for more liberty• 1869 election gave his opponents

(republicans monarchists, liberals) 45% on vote

• 1870 Nap granted new constitution

• Created Constitutional monarchy• By 1870 Napoleon III is sickly,

tired and foolhardy • Will be fooled into a war with the

most formidable rising power in Europe