Napoleon III and the Quest for Glory

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Napoleon III and the Quest for Glory

• Chapter 23, pages 875-876

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The goals for this presentation are

• How was Napoleon the III related to the first
  Napoleon?
• In what ways did Napoleon III take advantage of
  the Napoleonic legend to gain power?
• In what ways did Napoleon use democracy and
  dictatorship to gain power?
• You will be able to identify the improvements and
  failures of Napoleon IIIs reign.

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During the Revolution of 1848, Louis-Philippe was
deposed. A republic was established, and there
would now be an election for president.
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When the revolutions of 1848 died down in France,
there were four candidates for president. The
Constituent Assembly wanted a strong
executiveand they wanted the president to be
elected by universal male suffrageall men
eligible to vote.
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Among the four candidates was a Napoleona second
Napoleon, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte.
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Who was he? He was the son of Napoleons
brother, Louis, who had married Hortense,
Josephines daughter. So, in fact Louis-Napoleon
was a descendant of both Napoleon and Josephine.
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Thats just a little historical detail, so in a
way Napoleon and Josephine had childrenbut only
through her daughter and his brother.
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Napoleons son died at 19 in 1832, so his nephew,
Louis assumed the position as head of the family.
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He was filled with thoughts of glory, and heywhy
notwanted to capitalize on his famous connection.
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He was helped by what historians call the
Napoleonic legend. It is a fact that
Napoleons reputation grew after his death---and
after the memories of the millions who died as a
result of his policy faded away
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Louis Napoleon wrote books that glorified his
uncle and burnished or polished his legend.
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Twice this young Napoleon tried to seize power,
in a way that would be similar to Hitlers
Putsches in the 1920s

• In Strasbourg in 1836
• In Boulogne in 1840

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He was not successful and had to flee to England.
But he waiting in the wings for his timeand
that time came with the collapse of the
government in 1848.
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Louis Napoleon played it both ways he was a
friend of the common people, and yet wanted law
and order. Some said his sympathy for the common
man was a trait he inherited from his gentle
mother Hortense, the daughter of Josephine.
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And in 1848after the first upheaval, the French
were asked to vote for a new Presidentand whose
name was the most recognized on the Ballot?
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Yes, Louis Napoleon, nephew of the glorious
Napoleon.
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The votes were counted

• 5,400,000 for Louis Napoleon
• 1,500,000 for Cavaignac
• 370,000 for Ledru-Rollin
• 18,000 for Lamartine

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So, Louis Napoleon became President of France.
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Immediately he took steps to fortify his power.

• He brought in a new constitution in May 1849.
• He divided and conquered by allowing the various
  factions to fight amongst themselves.
• He ousted violatile socialist factions in 1849

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Then, in a more aggressive move, he rescinded
universal male suffragemaking sure that the
poorest, or most republican voters, were
disenfranchised (could not vote).
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Again, this was similar to Hitlers methods of
gaining power
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He also allowed the Catholic Church to control
the education system, provided it suppressed any
socialist elements that would threaten peace.
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When Republicans threatened to overthrow the
Italian government, France sent troops into Italy
to protect the popethey remained there for 20
years.
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But Bonaparte still did not have absolute power.
He gave back universal male suffrageput his
people in charge of the military and police,
and declared the Assembly dissolved.
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There was violence on the streets of Paris150
people died, but Napoleon rounded up the
opponents and ordered a vote.
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The official vote was 7,439,216 for Napoleon,
646,737 opposed. So now, twice, Napoleon had
been elected by popular vote.
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A year later, Napoleon declared himself Napoleon
III, and France an empirethe second empirehis
uncle, Napoleon had ruled the first empire.
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Napoleon III would rule France as a complex
dictator.
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Part II Napoleon III and the Second Empire.
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Elected in 1848but emperor by 1852, Napoleon III
came to power under popular acclaim and nostalgia
for the return to the glory days of the first
Napoleon.
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A short man, like his uncle, he was not a great
organizer, leader, or soldier like the first
Napoleon--
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But this new Napoleon had more sympathy for the
poor and respected public opinion than his famous
uncle.
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Napoleon III wanted modern progress for Francehe
embraced the Industrial Revolution with all its
improvements.
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He diminished the power of the legislature, the
elected body of Francethis was a natural step
toward consolidating power.
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He married a young beautiful Spanish noblewoman,
Eugenie, who became a tragic queen.
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They held a sumptuous court.
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Napoleon III ordered that Paris be modernized.
Old medieval buildings were blown up.
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The great Opera house was builtcomplete with
Phantom!
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Streets were widened to prevent barricades being
built. The army could now gain easier access to
the city.
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Sewers and water supplies improvedsubways began
to be built.
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The French built the Suez Canal
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Railroads were built
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Easy Avenues of Credit developed..
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The Stock Exchange boomedand people became
fantastically wealthy.
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Hospitals and asylums were established and free
medicine distributed.
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And in 1864, it became legal for workers to
strike. Labor unions were gaining strength.
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Yet, Napoleon believed in Free Tradeand signed a
free trade agreement with Great Britain. This
angered Prussia and other European countries.
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But by 1860, the French Empire was running into
trouble
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Opposition from many sides meant that Napoleon
III allowed for more Legislative influence
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Despite Napoleons promise that there would be
peaceforeign entanglements loomed for
Francethey spelled doom for the Second Empire.
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The Crimean war was fought in 1854-1856we will
learn about that in more detail.
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Napoleon supported a disastrous intervention in
Mexico (1862-1867), where the brother of the King
of Austria was killed
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And finally, Napoleon III faced Prussia in
1870he would be defeated and abdicate the
throne. The second Empire ends. There will be
no more kings in France.
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The goals for this presentation were

• You learned how Napoleon the III was related to
  the first Napoleon.
• You know how Napoleon III took advantage of the
  Napoleonic legend to gain power.
• You know how Napoleon used democracy and
  dictatorship to gain power.
• You identified the improvements and failures of
  Napoleon IIIs reign.