On March 18, 1871, the working people of Paris took power in the city into their own hands and created the world's first government of workers, which went down in history under the name of the Paris Commune.
The Paris Commune was preceded by the Franco-Prussian War. On September 4, 1870, in Paris it became known that Emperor Napoleon III with an army of 80 thousand surrendered to the Prussians near Sedan (see article “Coup of December 2, 1851”). A revolution broke out in the city. The people put an end to the rotten Bonapartist regime and achieved the proclamation of a republic. The new bourgeois government declared itself a “government of national defense.” In fact, it sought to make peace with Prussia as quickly as possible in order to devote all its efforts to suppressing the revolution. But the working people of Paris did not intend to surrender the capital of France to the enemy and demanded a decisive fight against the invaders.
In addition to regular troops, Paris was defended by 60 battalions of the National Guard - a voluntary militia made up of city residents. Under pressure from the masses, the government was forced to agree to the creation of more than 200 battalions from among workers, artisans, and labor intelligentsia. In secret, it began negotiations with the Prussians about surrender. The generals who led the defense of Paris pursued a treacherous policy. They wanted to convince the Parisians that it was useless to continue the fight. They sent labor battalions on obviously hopeless forays, dooming them to heavy losses. The people saw that the government was betraying their interests and called it a government of national treason.
In Paris, factories and workshops were closed, workers were left without income. Trade decreased; Small shopkeepers and artisans went bankrupt. The threat of famine loomed over the city. Even horse meat became rare.
But the siege did not bring disaster to everyone. Those who had a tight wallet did not lack anything. Early in 1871, delegates from the 215 National Guard battalions elected their Central Committee. Among its members were figures of the First International, future leaders of the Paris Commune. The people of Paris, armed and united in the ranks of the National Guard, became a formidable enemy of the French bourgeoisie.
The government of “national treason” was in a hurry to conclude peace. The country held elections to the National Assembly, which was supposed to approve a peace treaty with the Prussians. The majority of the population of France were peasants. They were influenced by the church, officials and landowners. Therefore, in the meeting that opened in Bordeaux, away from revolutionary Paris, extreme reactionaries predominated. The head of the new government was Thiers, a selfish, cruel and treacherous man, distinguished by his small stature. “Dwarf monster” is what Marx called this fierce enemy of the workers. A protégé of large capitalists, Thiers saw his task in “making peace and pacifying Paris.”
In February 1871, a preliminary peace treaty, humiliating for the French, was signed. France gave Alsace and Lorraine to Germany and had to pay 5 billion francs in indemnity. Until it was paid, German troops remained on French soil.
The Thiers government wanted to provoke the population of Paris into a new uprising and drown it in blood. National Guardsmen were deprived of benefits, which were the only means of subsistence for many. The deferment of debt and rent payments was cancelled. This brought ruin to small shopkeepers and artisans, and thousands of working families were in danger of losing their homes. Thiers closed the newspapers most popular among the workers. The government decided to arrest members of the Central Committees to seize the cannons cast with workers' money.
On the night of March 17-18, 1871, columns of soldiers, wrapping rags around the hooves of their horses, moved through the deserted streets of the city to the heights of Montmartre and Belleville, where most of the artillery of the National Guard was located. Thus began the civil war: the government opened military action against the people. General Lecomte's 3,000-strong detachment secretly approached Montmartre Hill, disarmed the sentries and captured the guns. But they didn’t have time to take away the guns. The awakened residents of Montmartre noticed that something was wrong. The alarm sounded. Workers and National Guardsmen rushed to protect the cannons. The soldiers were surrounded by a dense wall of people. They were urged not to use weapons against the people. Lecomte gave the order to shoot three times. The soldiers did not obey him and began to fraternize with the people.
Having repulsed the night attack, working Paris rose up to fight. Barricades were erected everywhere. National Guard battalions, by order of their Central Committee, were drawn to the city center. They took possession of the barracks, train stations, and bridges. On the evening of March 18, the red flag of the victorious uprising fluttered in the wind over the Paris City Hall.
And on the road to Versailles, a carriage rushed, surrounded by a dense escort of dragoons. Thiers, frightened to death, left Paris in it. He constantly looked out of the window and shouted hoarsely: “Hurry! Hurry!” Following him, ministers, officials, and big bourgeois fled to Versailles. The generals, by order of Thiers, withdrew regular troops from Paris. Power in Paris passed into the hands of the Central Committee of the National Guard.
Eugene Varlin.
For almost 10 days the Central Committee was the master of the city. Relying on the support of the people and having 300 thousand fighters under arms, members of the Central Committee had every reason to declare themselves a government. But they believed that only power that arose as a result of general elections, and not an armed uprising, could be legitimate. The Central Committee ordered elections to the Paris Commune.
On March 28, 1871, in front of the town hall, with a huge crowd of people, to the sounds of orchestras and the thunder of fireworks, the Paris Commune, elected the day before, was solemnly proclaimed.
To whom did labor Paris entrust its fate? Among the members of the Commune were the workers Augustin Avrial and Eugene Varlin, members of the First International, who had gone through a large school of revolutionary struggle and had been in Bonaparte’s prisons more than once; foundry worker Victor Duval, who became a general of the Commune; journalists and historians Auguste Vermorel and Gustave Tridon; poets of the working-class suburbs Eugene Potier, the future author of the Internationale, and Jean Baptiste Clément; outstanding French artist Gustave Courbet. The Prosecutor of the Commune was 24-year-old medical student Raoul Rigaud, and military affairs in the last days of May were in charge of 60-year-old revolutionary Charles Delecluse. The Commune included the flower of the Parisian proletariat and the working intelligentsia.
Not only the French took part in the activities of the Paris Commune. Its prominent member was the Hungarian worker Leo Frankel. The army of the Communards was led by the Poles Yaroslav Dombrovsky and Valery Vrublevsky, the Garibaldian La Cecilia. Russian revolutionaries Elizaveta Dmitrieva, Anna Korvin-Krukovskaya, and Mikhail Sazhin were often seen in public clubs and on the barricades of the city. General Dombrovsky's adjutant was Valerian Potapenko.
The Commune inherited a difficult legacy. Most of the officials fled to Versailles. There was no money. There were factories and factories abandoned by their owners.
It was impossible to build a new society with the help of old authorities adapted to oppress the masses. By life itself, the Commune was faced with the need to break the state machine of the bourgeoisie and create in its place a state of a new type - the dictatorship of the proletariat. And the Communards, although most of them were far from understanding the essence and significance of what they had to do, were the first in history to begin to carry out this incredibly difficult task.
"Communards in battle." Engraving.
Civil servants were elected by the people, and they could recall those who did not justify their trust. Civil service has ceased to be a source of enrichment. Members of the Commune received the same amount as skilled workers.
The Commune itself adopted laws and implemented them itself. Members of the Commune were placed at the head of the ministries. The National Guard replaced the old army and police. The omnipotence of the clergy ended, the church was separated from the state, priests were expelled from schools, and popular clubs were opened in churches.
The Commune solemnly proclaimed the desire for peace and condemned wars of conquest. She ordered the destruction of the Vendomeque Column, cast under Napoleon I from captured cannons. “...Taking into account,” said the decree of the Commune, “that the imperial column is a symbol of brute force and false glory... the column at Place Vendôme will be destroyed.” With a huge crowd of people, the 40-meter column was defeated and broken into pieces.
The Commune improved the lot of the common people of Paris. Rent arrears were cancelled, and the poor were no longer at risk of eviction; their families moved from damp basements to empty apartments of the fleeing rich. The Commune deferred the payment of debts: it saved thousands of small shopkeepers and artisans from ruin. The Commune ordered that the items pawned in the pawnshop be returned to the Parisians free of charge; these were mainly essential items: household utensils, bedding, and work tools.
Yaroslav Dombrovsky.
The government of the proletariat, the Commune, first of all sought to alleviate the situation of the workers. Decrees followed: to prohibit arbitrary fines and deductions from workers' wages; abolish the night work of bakers, which undermines their health; transfer to workers' societies all enterprises whose owners fled to Versailles. In some factories, workers established their control over production.
The reaction went wild: after all, the communards raised their hand to the foundation of bourgeois society, its sanctuary - private property!
The Communards were not always consistent in their actions. They lacked determination and a clear understanding of the tasks facing them. The Commune did not dare to take control of the French Bank, and from there money flowed into Versailles in a stream to fight Paris. The Communards were too humane and trusting of their enemies. For a long time, bourgeois newspapers continued to be published in the city, sowing lies and slander about the workers' government.
But for all its mistakes, the Commune, as V.I. Lenin wrote, was the greatest proletarian movement of the 19th century. She proved that the working class can govern the state independently, without the help of the bourgeoisie.
Raoul Rigo.
In a huge city, surrounded on all sides by enemies, normal life was established. There was a post office and newspapers were published. The doors of museums opened to the people. Concerts were held in the former imperial palace. The theaters were crowded. There were no thefts or robberies.
The Paris Commune paid great attention to children: it saw in them the future of the revolution. The workers' state took upon itself the care of orphans. Children of the poor were given the opportunity to study. Free textbooks and notebooks were distributed in schools. The first vocational school was opened.
The enemies did not allow the Communards to complete their noble cause. The Commune lasted only 72 days, and for 57 days it waged an unequal, fierce struggle.
The Parisians lost a lot of time in the elections to the Commune. They missed the moment when it was possible to put an end to the nest of counter-revolution in Versailles with one decisive blow: Thiers had only about 20 thousand soldiers in the first days after fleeing Paris.
The Versailles government managed to exploit the mistake of the Communards. It turned to Prussia for help. Bismarck ordered the release from captivity of French soldiers who expressed their willingness to serve the bourgeois government. Priests and officers spread rumors among the soldiers about atrocities and lawlessness allegedly occurring in Paris.
PARIS COMMUNE (18.III-28.V 1871)
A 150,000-strong, well-armed army was prepared at Versailles. On April 2, 1871, the Versaillese began shelling the city with heavy guns. 10 thousand soldiers attacked the positions of the National Guard, which were defended by only 2 thousand soldiers. They were forced to retreat with heavy losses. The Versaillese shot all those captured.
Paris was gripped by indignation. The next day, the Communards set out on a campaign against Versailles. But the military leadership of the Commune underestimated the enemy’s strength and made serious mistakes in organizing the offensive. The result was tragic. The Paris National Guard suffered a heavy defeat. General Duval's detachment was surrounded and almost completely lost. Duval and his two assistants were shot by the Versaillese. The favorite of revolutionary Paris, a member of the Commune, the talented scientist Gustave Flourens, was captured and brutally hacked to death.
Since the beginning of April, hostilities have not stopped for a day. Enemy artillery bombed the city with incendiary bombs. The Versailles men fired at residential areas, hospitals, and schools.
Thiers' soldiers resorted to vile tricks: dressing up in the uniform of the National Guards or raising the signal of surrender and, coming close, suddenly opening fire. Using military superiority and the help of German troops, the Versailles men advanced step by step towards the defensive lines of Paris.
The Polish revolutionary Jaroslaw Dombrowski was appointed commander of the Parisian fortified area. An officer in the tsarist army, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for participating in the preparation of an uprising in Poland in 1863, but managed to escape from prison and emigrated to France.
Execution of the Communards. Painting by E. Picchio.
A talented military leader, Dombrovsky decided to wrest the initiative from the hands of the enemy. Supported by armored trains, he attacked the Versaillese and drove them back, but did not have reinforcements to build on his success.
The position of the Communards became more and more difficult every day. Spies and saboteurs operated in the city. They blew up a cartridge factory and a powder warehouse.
On May 21, on a clear sunny day, a traitor who had infiltrated the ranks of the Communards showed the Versailles people a weakly defended area of the city defense. Without encountering resistance, the Versailles captured the gates of Saint-Cloud. By the morning of the next day, 11 Thiers divisions - 90 thousand people - had already entered Paris.
Overnight, 600 barricades blocked city streets. The Communards fought for every block, every house. There was a smoky glow of fires over the city.
The ranks of the defenders of the Commune were thinning. Dombrovsky was mortally wounded. Charles Delecluse died under a hail of bullets and grapeshot. The Versailles men captured the Commune's prosecutor, Raoul Rigaud. “Shout: Long live the army of Versailles!” - demanded the corporal, putting a pistol to his head. “Long live the Commune! Down with the murderers! - Rigo exclaimed and collapsed with a bullet in his head.
The children of working-class Paris fought heroically alongside the adults. 15-year-old Charles Banderitte fought for ten days without rest on a barricade in the suburbs of Paris. The youth detachment “Children of the Commune” distinguished itself in battles with the Versaillese. And today the song “Cherry Time” is popular in Paris, which talks about a young heroine who bandaged the wounded at one of the last barricades.
A fierce battle broke out at the Père Lachaise cemetery. Hand-to-hand combat took place between crypts and monuments. At the cemetery wall, the Versaillese shot about 1,600 captured Communards.
On May 28, 1871, the last defender of the last barricade on the Rue Ramponneau fired his last bullet at the enemy. The commune has fallen.
The cruelty of the victors knew no bounds. The Communards were hunted with dogs, like animals, they were searched for with torches in the Parisian catacombs. They shot everyone who had traces of gunpowder on their hands or a trace of a gun belt on their shoulder. People with Polish and Italian surnames were killed (there were many Poles and Italians among the Communards). They shot children, women, and old people. In the hospitals, the wounded Communards and the doctors who tried to save them were killed. In a hurry, the living were thrown into the graves along with the corpses.
Eugene Varlin, one of the most talented leaders of the Parisian workers, a man of a noble heart and rare courage, was identified by the priest and captured. Under a hail of blows and spitting, bleeding, he was led through the streets for several hours. When he could not walk, he was dragged along the pavement. Before his death, he managed to exclaim: “Long live the Commune!”
Military courts worked day and night. Death sentences followed one after another. The Communards stood bravely before their executioners. “I trust in the future, it will preserve my memory and take care of revenge,” said Théophile Ferré, a member of the Commune, in his last word. He did not allow himself to be blindfolded before being shot.
Crowded ships departed from the coast of France. In dark, stinking holds, Commune fighters were sent into exile in distant overseas colonies, where many of them faced death from malaria and tropical fever.
Paris lost about 100 thousand of its best sons, who were shot, exiled, and fled. The Paris Commune died. The hour of liberation of the proletariat has not come. Surrounded by enemies, Paris was not supported by either the workers of other cities or the peasants. In several cities, workers tried to raise uprisings, but were defeated. The French bourgeoisie was able to strangle the Parisian revolution only thanks to the help of German troops.
The Commune was hampered by a lack of unity among its leaders; too much time was spent on unnecessary disputes and disagreements. The Communards were the first in history to try to build a society where working people were in power. They had no example and no experience before their eyes.
And yet, destroyed, shot, covered in blood, the Commune remained an example for fighters for a better future for humanity. It was the first revolution of the proletariat in history, which proved in practice that only the working class can liberate society from oppression and injustice.
Every year on the last Sunday in May, thousands of Parisian workers walk in strict silence to the Père Lachaise cemetery to the Wall of the Communards to pay tribute to those whom Marx called “the stormers of the sky.”
And many kilometers from Paris - in Moscow, in the Central Museum of V.I. Lenin - there is a bullet-pierced banner of one of the last barricades of the Commune, handed over by the descendants of the communards - the Parisian communists - to the workers of the world's first socialist country.
There is no song in the world more widespread, inspired, and militant than the anthem of the communists of all countries, “The Internationale.” It is not for nothing that after the Great October Socialist Revolution it became the first National Anthem of the Soviet country, and later the anthem of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Arise, branded with a curse,
The whole world is hungry and slaves!
Our indignant mind is boiling
And ready to fight to the death.
We will destroy the whole world of violence
Down to the ground and then
We are ours, we will build a new world,
He who was nothing will become everything...
During the Paris Commune of 1871, Eugene Potier defended the world's first workers' government from enemies. During the bloody week of May, when the enemies of the Commune were celebrating victory, Pothier was forced to go into hiding. In this situation, he wrote the anthem “The Internationale,” full of unshakable faith in the coming victory of the working class.
After the suppression of the Commune, Potier spent 10 years in a foreign land. He died on November 6, 1887. Thousands of Paris workers came to pay their last respects to the one who was the poet of the revolution and its soldier.
17 years after the creation of the Internationale, E. Pothier’s friends managed to publish a collection of his revolutionary songs. Then Pierre Degeyter (1848 - 1932), a furniture worker in Lille and a music lover, met the Internationale.
The strong words of the Internationale, full of anger and faith in the future of humanity, shook Degeyter to the core. He created the music for The Internationale. On June 23, 1888, Potier-Degeyter's work was performed for the first time.
| Prime Minister of France | ||
|---|---|---|
| March 1, 1840 - October 29, 1840 | ||
| French Foreign Minister | ||
|---|---|---|
| February 22, 1836 - September 6, 1836 | ||
Marseille, France
Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
- Orléanists
- Lycée Thiers[d]
- University of Aix-Marseille [d]
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers(fr. Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers, 26 Germinal of the year V(April 15, 1797), Marseille, - September 3, 1877, Saint-Germain-en-Laye) - French politician and historian. Author of works on the history of the Great French Revolution. Under the July Monarchy - several times Prime Minister of France. The first president of the French Third Republic (temporary, until the adoption of the constitution -). Member of the French Academy (1833).
Youth
Journalist
Thiers in his youth
Thiers's "History of the Revolution" was of great political significance. The prevailing attitude towards the revolution in society at that time was purely negative. There were, of course, other trends, but for a long time they did not find sufficient expression in literature. Thiers's book was the best expression of these trends for its time; she was all breathing with sympathy for the cause of the revolution and love for freedom. It was immediately a huge success; over the course of half a century, it sold more than 150 thousand copies. In its subsequent editions, Thiers made significant amendments depending on changes in his political views. By ridding the book of some particular shortcomings, they deprived it of its strict consistency of tone and diminished the inspiration for freedom and revolution that permeated its first edition (15th ed. P., 1881; the number of editions does not include numerous cheap editions; the book is supplemented by the published Thiers "Atlas de l'histoire de la Révolution française").
Transition to political activity. July Revolution
The police seize the circulation of the National (July 1830)
In the interval between different volumes of “History”, Thiers managed to publish the book “Law et son système” (Paris,) about the financial scam of John Law. After finishing the history of the revolution, Thiers decided to write a general history and, in order to collect materials, decided to go on a trip around the world. He had already taken his passport and bought a ticket for the ship when, on August 5, 1829, a decree was issued on the appointment of the Polignac Ministry; With this decree, the royal power declared war on the nation. A person who wanted to play a political role could not leave the country at such a time, and Thiers remained in his homeland.
“made his debut on the platform as a revolutionary; with southern ardor he imitated Danton's eloquence and, moreover, very successfully; but he soon became convinced that loud phrases and majestic movements did not suit his thin, hoarse, weak voice, his small figure and - probably on the advice of Talleyrand - changed the tone of his speeches; they became colder, he apparently cared about the accuracy and clarity of expressions and resorted to pathos much less often... The character of good nature, gaiety, and playfulness became noticeable in his speeches.”
A few months after the death of Casimir Perrier, Thiers joined the so-called Ministry of October 11 (1832), which, during the 3 ½ years of its existence, experienced several crises, changed its presidents several times and redistributed portfolios, but essentially remained the same ; color was given to it by Thiers and Guizot, the first as a representative of the left center, the second as the head of the right center. First, Thiers was the Minister of the Interior, then of Trade, then again of the Interior. Very little remains of Thiers' former radicalism; the change in his beliefs occurred in parallel with the change in the beliefs of the big bourgeoisie, of which Thiers was a representative. The Ministry and Thiers himself in particular were subject to sharp attacks from the National, now led by Armand Carrel; Thiers responded with legal prosecutions against this body, as well as against other opposition bodies. Thiers dealt with the uprisings with extreme severity, especially those in Lyon and Paris (1834). After Fieschi's attempt on the life of Louis-Philippe, Thiers supported the so-called September laws (1835), which restricted freedom of the press (increasing the amount of bail from newspapers, the threat of a fine of up to 50,000 francs for inciting hatred of the government and inciting rebellion, prohibiting expressing sympathy for the republican regime, etc.), introducing secret voting for jurors, lowering from 8 to 7 the number of jury votes sufficient for prosecution, etc. Earlier (1834) a law was passed requiring prior permission for the right to street peddling newspapers and books; and laws against freedom of association.
As Minister of Trade, Thiers patronized the Bourse; under him, the stock exchange game especially developed in France. He did a lot to improve communications in France, in particular to build a railway network. Under his influence, the government not only did not oppose the revived cult of Napoleon, but patronized it; Thiers's work was to place a statue of Napoleon on the Vendôme Column.
Government 1836
The rivalry between Thiers and Guizot, which was more personal than political, led to the fall of the ministry on October 11 and to the formation of Thiers' ministry, in which, in addition to the presidency, he took over the portfolio of foreign affairs. The ministry lasted only 6 months, from February 22 to August 25, 1836, and resigned due to disagreements with the king. In the next four years, Thiers was engaged in scientific work and led the dynastic opposition in the chamber; participated in the coalition of 1838-1839 against the Ministry of Molay.
Government 1840
On March 1, 1840, Thiers composed his second cabinet, in which he took the portfolio of foreign affairs; the cabinet was homogeneous and consisted of members of the center left; its main members, besides Thiers himself, were Remusat and Cousin. In the Chamber of Deputies he was supported by Oddilon Barrot, in the Chamber of Peers Thiers secured the support of Broglie. Thiers kept his main rival Guizot at a distance, in the post of London ambassador. Managing this ministry, Thiers said in the chamber: “I am the son of the revolution, I was born in its depths, this is my strength.” In reality, these were just one words: Thiers made it his task to balance between different parties, protecting the existing order as much as possible. “I am not prejudiced towards any party,” he said in his program speech. “I don’t believe that there is one party devoted to order and another devoted to disorder.” I believe that all parties equally desire order... I have only good citizens before me.” Thiers's ministry made an attempt to carry out a conversion of state rents, but retreated before the opposition of the chamber of peers and the king. It gave permission for the construction of several important railway lines with a government guarantee; it instructed the Prince of Joinville (the king's son) to transport Napoleon's ashes to Paris. In the field of foreign policy, it decided to support Muhammad Ali of Egypt against Turkey and the Quadruple Alliance (England, Prussia, Austria and Russia). As a result, relations with these powers became so strained that Thiers began to bring the army and navy to a martial law. In the speech from the throne, which was supposed to open the autumn session of parliament in 1840, it was supposed to announce the upcoming new recruitment of 300 thousand recruits, the construction of fortifications around Paris and a number of other corresponding measures. The king, who did not sympathize with the military designs of his minister, refused to make this speech, and the ministry resigned; his place was taken by the Ministry of Soulta-Guiso (October 29, 1840).
In opposition
Thiers was extremely irritated with the king and in his speech in the chamber placed responsibility on him, thus entering into a decisive contradiction with his constitutional theory; the king could never forgive him for this and after 1840 he had antipathy towards Thiers. Of the projects proposed by Thiers, his successors adopted only the project for fortifications around Paris. Thiers strongly supported him in the chamber, arguing that these fortifications would make Paris impregnable to any enemy, that the delivery of provisions to besieged Paris could not be cut off and, therefore, the capture of Paris by famine would also be impossible; in view of this, Thiers recommended that the chamber allocate a loan of 133 million. The opposition severely criticized Thiers' strategic considerations and argued that forts were not being built against foreigners, but in case of internal war. To the latter, Thiers objected that a government that would dare to bombard Paris would cover itself with indelible shame. Loans were allocated and forts erected. The War of 1871 proved Thiers's strategic considerations wrong, and during the pacification of the commune, Thiers' government bombed Paris. In the following years, Thiers appeared at the head of the dynastic opposition against the Guizot ministry; the tone of his speeches again rose significantly. He sharply criticized the entire activity of the ministry, which he reproached for betraying the revolution; he spoke against the Jesuits (May 2, 1845), insisted on the incompatibility of the title of deputy with public service. In the name of humanity, he protested against the killings in Galicia, against the bombing of Palermo, reproaching the government for indifference towards Italy, for supporting the Sonderbund. Thiers wrote his articles in the Constitutionnel in the same tone. His articles and speeches were read in cafes and at meetings with the same enthusiasm as his articles in the National in 1830; he regained popularity among radical elements. He traveled widely, especially in Germany and Italy, exploring places marked by the campaigns of Napoleon I.
"History of the Consulate and the Empire"
In 1845, the first volumes of his “Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire” appeared, the 20th volume of which was published only in 1862 (the 21st, containing an index, in 1869. There are later, cheap editions of 5 t. “Atlas de l’histoire du Consulat et de l’Empire” was published for the book. Scientifically, this book, which is a direct continuation of the history of the revolution, stands above the latter; Thiers had enormous unpublished material for her, consisting of various archives to which he gained access during his ministry. The tone of this book is somewhat different from that of the History of the Revolution: it talks more about “order” than about “freedom.” Its main character is Napoleon, for whom Thiers has real reverence, although he admits the fallacy of many of his measures. Together with Bérenger and Victor Hugo, Thiers worked a lot in his literary works for the rehabilitation of Napoleon, which he contributed to as a minister; he was preparing, without knowing it, the creation of the Second Empire. Tarle E.V. noting Thiers' role in the creation of the “Napoleonic legend” he wrote: “ He (extremely, however, gently) blames Napoleon only for those wars that he lost. It is written in general in enthusiastic tones. This is an exclusively political, diplomatic and military history. Thiers does not know economics and does not even suspect that it is needed to understand history. His work had enormous influence and was read in great demand, helped by the brilliance of his presentation.» .
Revolution of 1848 and return to politics
Under the Second Empire
In the legislative assembly of 1849-1851 he was one of the leaders of the monarchists, equally hostile to both the President and the Republicans; he voted for the law on primary education, which placed the school in the hands of the clergy, for the law of May 31 (1850), which limited universal voting. On December 2, 1851, Thiers was arrested and expelled from France, but already in August he was allowed to return to his homeland, and Napoleon III even began to invite him to court balls, calling him “our national historian.” Thiers stood aloof from politics for a long time, finishing his historical work, but in 1863 he was elected to the legislative corps, where he became a major figure in the opposition. He defended freedom of the press, spoke against the government's police brutality; Most often he spoke on issues of foreign policy, reproaching the government for unforgivable mistakes. When France allowed the defeat of Austria, Thiers uttered the famous phrase: “There is no more mistake left that the government would not make.” In 1869, Thiers was re-elected to the legislative body. Even Olivier's ministry did not reconcile Thiers with the empire, and he still fought against it. In January 1870 he opposed her trade policy, advocating protectionism.
Head of the government
After the fall of Napoleon III, the Government of National Defense sent Thiers to
THIERS (Thiers) Louis Adolphe (1797-1877), French statesman, head of the executive branch from February 1871, in September 1871-1873 President of France; historian. In February 1871 he concluded a preliminary agreement with Prussia, humiliating for France. After the proclamation of the Paris Commune in 1871, he led the Versailles people, who brutally suppressed the Commune. Author of "History of the French Revolution".
THIERS (Thiers) Louis Adolphe, historian and politician, President of France (1871-73).
Childhood and youth
He owes his upbringing to his mother, because his father, a former tax collector, broke the law and fled abroad, leaving his family. Already at school, Thiers was distinguished by his extraordinary abilities and received a municipal scholarship for his academic success. In 1820 he graduated from the Faculty of Law in Aix-en-Provence and worked there as a lawyer for about a year.
Journalistic and scientific activities during the Restoration
In 1821, having moved to Paris, Thiers took up journalism. Criticism of the Restoration regime on the pages of the newspaper Constitutionnel brought him popularity in liberal circles. In 1823-27 he published the ten-volume History of the French Revolution, the first fundamental study of the Great French Revolution. In 1829 Thiers was one of the founders of the liberal opposition newspaper National.
Revolution of 1830 and the July Monarchy
Thiers played a prominent role in the revolution of 1830: on July 26, he wrote an appeal to the people by journalists calling for resistance to the government's oppressive measures, and on July 29, he prepared a manifesto on the transfer of power to Louis Philippe d'Orléans. Entering the Chamber of Deputies, Thiers led the center left. A brilliant orator, he advocated strengthening the constitutional regime, abandoning revolutionary methods of political struggle and protectionist support for national industry. He put these same principles into practice as Minister of the Interior (1832-33, 1834-36) and Minister of Trade (1833-34). In 1834 he suppressed republican uprisings in Lyon and Paris. In 1836 and 1840 he was prime minister, but due to disagreements with the king on foreign policy issues, both times he went into opposition. One of the initiators of rehabilitation, published a twenty-volume work about him in 1845-61 - “The History of the Consulate and the Empire.”
Revolution of 1848 and Second Republic
On the night of February 24, 1848, when barricade battles were already taking place in Paris, Thiers rejected the king's request to form a new government. In June he became a deputy of the Constituent Assembly. Supporting the republican regime, Thiers opposed the radical reforms proposed by the neo-Jacobins and socialists. His work “On Property,” which criticized socialist ideas, became widely known. Having supported Louis Napoleon in the presidential elections (December 10), Thiers, however, subsequently fought against the establishment of a Bonapartist dictatorship, leading the monarchist party in the Legislative Assembly (1849-51). After the coup d'etat on December 2, 1851, he was arrested and expelled from the country.
Second Empire
Returning to France (August 1852), Thiers was engaged in scientific activities until 1863, until he was elected to the Legislative Corps, where he led a campaign for the restoration of democratic freedoms. In July 1870, he was the only one of the deputies to protest against the declaration of war on Prussia.
Third Republic
After the revolution on September 4, 1870, Thiers, on behalf of the Government of National Defense, visited the leading powers of Europe, seeking their entry into the war on the side of France, and then negotiated peace with Bismarck. On February 8, 1871, Thiers was elected to the National Assembly, which on February 17 appointed him head of the executive branch. On February 26, he signed a peace treaty with Germany, and in May he suppressed the revolutionary movement of the Paris Commune. Having become President of the Republic on August 31, Thiers managed to achieve a political truce between the parties and organize early payment of indemnity to Germany, freeing France from the occupation. Having resigned on May 24, 1873, he did not stop active political activity until his death.
Great Soviet Encyclopedia: Thiers Adolphe (14.4.1797, Marseille, - 3.9.1877, Saint-Germain-en-Laye), French statesman, historian, member of the French Academy (1833). In 1821 he moved from Aix, where he was a lawyer, to Paris. He collaborated in liberal-bourgeois newspapers. In 1830, T., with A. Carrel and F. Minier (his closest friend and political associate), founded the newspaper “National” (“Le National”). He contributed to the accession of Louis Philippe to the throne. In 1830 he became a member of the State Council. On the eve of the July Revolution of 1830, T. was one of the leaders of the liberal-bourgeois opposition; after the revolution he turned into a reactionary bourgeois politician. Being in 1832-36 (with a break) Minister of the Interior, in 1834 he organized the brutal suppression of republican uprisings in Lyon, Paris and other cities. In 1836 and 1840 he headed the government, simultaneously holding the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. During the February Revolution of 1848, Louis Philippe tried to put T. at the head of the government. In June 1848 T. was elected to the Constituent Assembly. During the June Uprising of 1848 he advocated the dictatorship of General L.E. Cavaignac. After the uprising, he was one of the leaders of the monarchical “Party of Order”. In December 1848 he supported the candidacy of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte for the presidency. He spoke out in the press against the ideas of socialism; participated in 1850 in the development of laws on the transfer of public education to the control of the clergy and on the restriction of suffrage. In 1863 he was elected to the Legislative Corps; joined the moderate liberal opposition. After the September Revolution of 1870, he was sent by the “Government of National Defense” to Great Britain, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in order to negotiate with them about supporting France in the war with Prussia and mediating in concluding peace, but was not successful. In February 1871, he was appointed by the National Assembly as head of the executive branch of the French Republic. Signed a preliminary peace treaty with Prussia, humiliating for France (February 1871). The Parisians rebelled against the reactionary policies of the T. government; The revolutionary uprising on March 18, 1871 led to the proclamation of the Paris Commune of 1871. T. fled to Versailles. Having secured the support of the German occupation forces, he suppressed the Commune with exceptional cruelty, gaining the shameful glory of the bloody executioner of the Communards. In August 1871, the National Assembly elected T. president of the French Republic. T. disbanded the National Guard, opposed universal secular primary education, and was an ardent opponent of any progressive reforms. However, given the political situation, he opposed the restoration of the monarchy, which is why in May 1873 an acute conflict arose between the Tunisian government and the monarchical majority of the National Assembly. In May 1873 T. resigned.
T. is one of the creators of a new direction in historiography, which recognizes the struggle of classes as “... the key to understanding the entire French history” (Lenin V.I., Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 26, p. 59 ), but who considers only the class struggle of the bourgeoisie with the nobility to be natural. In the 1820s. T. published “History of the French Revolution,” written from a liberal-bourgeois position. After the July Revolution, he revised this work in an openly reactionary spirit. T.’s second extensive work, “History of the Consulate and Empire,” is a panegyric to Napoleon I.
Adolphe Thiers connected his life with the history of France. In addition to his political activities, he left his mark on historical science. His great advantage was his ability to get along with different people and to reconcile differences between them.
At the end of his political career, he was hated by many. Because of his short stature and large glasses on his nose, he was considered a great original. Later, based on his appearance and political views, ill-wishers came up with a humiliating nickname for him. What is known about the biography of the historian and politician?
Youth
Louis Adolphe Thiers was born on April 16, 1797 in Marseille. His father was a descendant of successful bourgeois. His paternal grandfather was a lawyer, and he was also the chief secretary and controller of finances in Marseille. During the revolution of 1789, he was deprived of all positions, as were his mother’s relatives.
Adolf's childhood was spent in poverty. At school he showed good abilities, so he was able to study further at the expense of the community. In Aix-en-Provence he studied law, after graduating he became a lawyer.
In 1821, Adolf moved to Paris. He began to live with Mignet.
Journalistic activity
At first, Adolphe Thiers and his friend were in dire need, but everything changed after they began collaborating with one of the magazines. He began to write works on literature and art, and political articles.
In 1822, a collection of articles dedicated to the art exhibition was published. The following year a description of his journey to the south was published. The work was imbued with political views regarding protectionism. These works made the magazine successful and provided their author with financial stability.
Working on an extensive work
At the same time, Adolphe Thiers worked on his work, which described the French Revolution. It was distinguished by its scientific nature and detail.
In The History of the French Revolution, Louis Adolphe Thiers could speak about all events in the tone of an expert. For example, pictures of battles were described as if the author was familiar with military affairs. Adolf had an elegant style of presenting material. This ensured the book's success among wide sections of society.
All of Thiers' works are permeated with the idea of causality. The author believed that the revolution was not an accident, but a consequence of a chain of events. Many reproached him for fatalism, that is, belief in the predestination of life. The author was also accused of worshiping success. He sympathized with whoever came to power. Adolf himself believed that success is crowned with real virtues. Failure is the result of mistakes.
Thiers' book was of great political importance. At that time, society had a negative attitude towards the revolution, but the work breathed with sympathy for what happened and love for freedom. The first edition sold 150 thousand copies. The author made amendments in subsequent editions. They concerned changes in the writer's political views.
Political activity
In 1829, Adolphe Thiers, whose short biography is connected with the revolution, founded the newspaper together with Minier and Carrel. He published an article in which he pledged loyalty to the Bourbons on the condition that the dynasty strictly adhere to the constitutional charter of 1814.
Since the government of Charles the Tenth did not want to follow the charter, Adolf announced through the newspaper the candidacy of the Duke of Orleans for the throne. Thiers was given a heavy fine for this.
In 1830, an article was published about a king who does not govern his state. When the July Ordinances appeared, Adolf opposed them because they violated the charter. The journalist should have been arrested.
When Louis Philippe came to power, Thiers became a representative of the council of state. He worked in the Ministry of Finance and advocated the ideas of the revolution, demanding protection for Belgium. He also wrote extensively about freedom of the press.
In 1831, Thiers became a supporter of the conservative movement of Perrier. He was opposed to Belgium being annexed to France, as well as any drastic reforms. Words about “freedom” began to be replaced by words about “order.”
Then there was participation in the ministry of 1832, participation in the reprisal against the rebels in 1834, support for the September laws of 1835, which restricted freedom of the press. In 1836 and 1840, the Thiers ministries were formed, followed by activities in the opposition.
In 1845, a revolution occurred, Thiers became a republican. During the Second Empire, he became one of the leaders of the monarchists, and in 1871 he created his own government. He waged a war with the commune, for which he received the nickname “dwarf monster.”
Continuation of "History of the Revolution"
In 1845, Adolphe Thiers presented the first volumes of the History of the Consulate and the Empire. Scientifically, this work was superior to the first work. The fact is that during his work, Thiers gained access to various archives. The main hero of the creation was Napoleon. The author rehabilitated the ruler of France.
Presidency and death
In 1871, Adolphe was elected president of France. He also remained president of the cabinet. He managed to suppress the communes and pay a significant part of the war indemnities. Under his rule, France again became a great power.
In domestic politics, the president perfectly balanced between different parties. He himself was more inclined towards monarchists and clerics.
He held the following views:
- advocated five years of military service;
- advocated protectionism;
- was an opponent of the law on secular compulsory primary education.
In 1873, Adolf resigned and was accepted. A few years later he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. Many counted on his rise, but the biography of Adolphe Thiers ended due to a stroke. It happened on September 3, 1877 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
