Assess the reasons why the Second Republic was so short lived

In July 1848, under the reign on Louis Philippe, France was in a state of chaos which was caused by rebellions and riots in the city of Paris. The disorder in the cities and the countryside was increasing dangerously. An armed mob of men entered the Assembly, and in order to calm the situation a republic was proclaimed. This resulted in the abdication of Louis-Philippe and the beginning of the Second Republic, which was proclaimed by Lamartine, a leader of Republicans. While seeking a decisive structure, the ruling body elected a President- Louis Napoleon. Yet, the relationships between the president and the government were not harmonious and a president appeared to be too engaged with his personal ambitions. It came to an end after a coup conducted by the president, a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, who aimed at continuation of his uncle’s politics. In a wider context there were numerous reasons why the newly organised government came to an end. From a political point of view there was no homogeneity within the Republican Party: the internal conflicts caused disorganisation and produced mutual hostility. The economic situation was also unstable: there were contradictory policies and decisions coming from the Assembly, which did affect the situation of the working class and coerced the support for the President. The military conduct of the July coup contributed to the disturbance in society, the way the main general dealt with it affected the negative reception of the Second Republic’s politics.

Regarding the internal politics of the Republican party, the conflicting ideas weakened its status. When Provisional Government was formed, it included leading politicians such as Lamartine and Ledru-Rollin who had different opinions how the new government should be run. The main body of the Government consisted of large number of Republicans, which could have been a strong and threatening opposition to Louis Napoleon. However, as was mentioned before, there was an internal divide in the party between Republicans and the Red Republicans. The leader of the Red Republicans, Redru- Rollin, wanted a political and a social change. The main objective in the agenda of the Red Republicans was to improve the living and working conditions in the large towns of France. The rate of unemployment was rising in France which caused people to lower their standards of living. Ledru-Rollin’s solution was to guarantee ‘le droit du travail’, which was the right to work for all people in France. This socialist aspiration was to overcome the extreme poverty affecting a substantial part of the population. Republicans however, were more concerned with the political reform in the country rather than the economic change. They focused on the universal manhood suffrage, which secured a right to vote for every man over the age of 21. This conflict disrupted the work of the government and led to their definite disagreement. If the Republican forces were working together to achieve their aims and stayed united during the presidential election, they would have been more influential and possibly might have won with the support of the people. The chiasmus in the Republicans’ ranks was the major limitation of the new republic and a factor which enabled Louis Bonaparte to become the leader and create an Empire instead. The leaders were not convinced to their own politics and therefore their actions were not constructive either. With such a weakened system in operation, it was just a matter of time when the Second Republic would fall.

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The accompanying factor leading to the Republic’ decline was the economic background. The idea initiated by the Red Republicans to give work to the poor in order to reduce the unemployment was based on theory hardly applicable in reality of the chaotic politics. The Red Republicans organised National Worskhops which were funded from the increased tax imposed on the bourgeoisie class. The social purpose was to give some occupation to the unemployed and appease their dissatisfaction. The number of people who enrolled for the scheme reached 120,000, however only about 50,000 were given work. First of all, this was because the Red Republicans had no experience in organising such big and it was rather a question of luck than real economic strategy that even those people were given a place in the workshops. The idea of the National Workshops had two main effects: first of all the people who did not receive a placement were disappointed and criticised the government for failing to keep up their promise. The second, just as important effect of the scheme, was the loss of support from the bourgeoisie, who were angered by the fact that their tax was increased dramatically to finance the workshops. By July people were irritated with lack of improving the situation and decided to take action themselves. The July Days are known as the period of protests against the National Workshops which were evidently too expensive and not functioning as they were meant to. Traditional barricades were set up in the poorest parts of the city and many people armed marched to the streets with the aim to demonstrate to the government their hostile attitude. The reaction of the government surprised the people: with General Cavaignac in charge, many troops were brought in to restore order in the city. The opposing rioters were easily defeated by the well prepared soldiers, resulting in 500 casualties. The Government took sides with the property owners banning the workshops completely. This was one of the main mistakes they have made. In result the government lost the support of the workers which were the ones to reinforce their powers originally. This decision undermined the reputation of the government among the proletariat and resulted in them turning to the opposition represented by Louis Napoleon.

This scheme of the Second Republic proved ineffective and cost the loss of support among both the working class and the bourgeoisie and consequently contributed to the disruption of the economic stability in the country.

In reference to the political direction adopted by Louis Napoleon, it must be acknowledged that it did not meet the expectations of the Republicans and clashed with the dominating powers represented General Cavaignac and Redru-Rollin. If the presidency had been won by a different candidate, the Republic had a real chance to survive. Later in the year of 1848, the Constituent Assembly declared presidential elections in December 1848.the main candidates that took part were Red-Rollin, General Cavaignac and Louis Napoleon. Redru-Rollin was in strong position to win the election, however he received less support than expected because many people still associated him with the Red Republicans. The other powerful and nationwide famous figure in France, General Cavaignac, was remembered as the leader of army cruelly liquidating the riots in June the same year. He had the respect of the bourgeoise, who admired him for taking a definite action against the proletariat in the July protests however they were the only, and quite small, section of the population which offered him support. This left France with the last strong image of leadership embodied in the figure Louis Napoleon. With the Bonaparte name, his title and glorious history were well recognised and respected in France. Louis Napoleon genuinely believed that it was his destiny to rule France and that the lives of people were important. This gave hope to many who lost faith in their contemporary government. Businessmen were willing to support him because they found him to be easily manipulated as an inexperienced leader. Louis Napoleon used strong propaganda to promote his name across France and to gain more popularity; he offered a vision of free and affluent country to those who still remembered the empire of his uncle and a promise of decent living to ordinary people. At the beginning of his career he promised the people to change their working and living conditions, however soon he became preoccupied with his own image and the importance of his Presidency. Louis Napoleon believed that he had to continue the work of his uncle, Napoleon Bonaparte, and return the days of glory to France. In order to achieve this he proposed to the Assembly to change the constitution to enable himself to extend his presidential cadence to ten years. He organised public petitions to help him persuade the Legislative Assembly, however his plan failed through the veto from to the Assembly. Arguing that he was working on behalf of the nation, Louis Napoleon decided to change the constitution himself. To achieve this he prepared a detailed plan of action how to overthrow the Republic. Louis Napoleon’s organisation of coup d’état involved both civil and military members of society. He successfully abolished the dominant government on 2nd December 1851 without the use of power. The leading politicians who were suspected of organising opposition were arrested early that morning. The president eliminated the assembly and introduced his own aims to the people. The characteristics of his politics was not initially antagonistic towards the Second Republic, yet the direction of events led him to the major turn against those who originally elected him.

The Second Republic was affected by internal politics, the economy of the country, the structure of the leadership, and the ambitions of Louis Napoleon himself. When merged together at the highest point of social and political tension, these factors brought about a critical change in the end of the Second Republic. The liberal values which were the foundation of the republican constitution were to be soon replaced by the dictatorship of the second Emperor.

Suzy Rabikowska