The Republican Experiment, 1848-1852

The Cambridge History of Modern France #2

by Maurice Agulhon, Janet Lloyd (Translator)

Before 1848, France had been ruled by the 'July Monarchy', a liberal regime without democratic participation. After 1852, France was to be ruled by the Second Empire, an anti-liberal regime with some democratic participation. In the intervening period, the Second Republic boldly attempted to combine liberty with democracy for the first time in French history. Despite the Republic's failure of 1851–2, its aims were of great significance and marked the beginning of the modern era of republican the starting-point of what we nowadays consider the normal standard of politics in civilised countries. The reasons for the Republic's temporary failure are no less instructive, and in explaining them Professor Agulhon considers the problems of social conditions and the psychological 'apprenticeship' of the masses of new citizens. Thus his book has a special purpose, beyond the narrative treatment of to emphasise the relationship between the political history of France 1848–52 and the history of popular culture and thought.

Genres: History, France, Nonfiction

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

MAURICE AGULHON, né en 1926 à Uzès (Gard), est décédé le 28 mai 2014. Historien français spécialiste d’histoire contemporaine, il enseigna au Collège de France, de 1986 à 1997, après avoir été professeur à la Faculté des lettres d’Aix (Université de Provence, Aix-Marseille I), puis à l’Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I). Ses premiers travaux portent sur la Révolution de 1848 en Provence, mais il devient rapidement un spécialiste des institutions de la République et de la symbolique républicaine, qu’il étudia notamment à partir de la figure emblématique de Marianne. Il fut président de la Société d'histoire de la révolution de 1848 et des révolutions du XIXe siècle, de 1975 à 1981 et vice-président de la Société d’études jaurésiennes, de 1976 à 2011.

Reviews

[Frumenty · Rating 3 out of 5]

La deuxième République lasted only 4 years, arguably much less. It is an excellent case history of the way revolutions decay, captured by one faction or another. Agulhon is methodical and thorough, which is to his credit even at the cost of being just a tiny bit dull. He wears his political sympathies on his sleeve - staunchly republican - but his objectivity does not appear to be vitiated by bias. A worthwhile read, and though a bit dry it is mercifully short. Just the facts, stated and analysed with clarity.