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The rise and fall of the Second Empire, 1852-1871
De la fête impériale au mur des fédérés, 1852-1871. English
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- Physical
- Summary
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The Second Empire lasted longer than any French regime since 1789, yet most historical accounts of the government of Napoleon III have been overshadowed by knowledge of its disastrous and tragic en...
The Second Empire lasted longer than any French regime since 1789, yet most historical accounts of the government of Napoleon III have been overshadowed by knowledge of its disastrous and tragic end. As Professor Plessis shows in this detailed thematic study, such an approach ignores the major social, economic and political developments of a period which witnessed the gradual acceptance of universal suffrage, the establishment of large-scale industrial capitalism, a massive improvement in communications and the birth of impressionism in art. The modernisation of French society was nonetheless a fitful and irregular process, and the role of the imperial government in that process of modernisation equally uncertain. The paradox of a dictatorship that liberalised itself was not the least perplexing phenomenon of a age in which stagnation and innovation were constantly juxtaposed.
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- Creator
- Alain Plessis ; translated by Jonathan Mandelbaum
- Included Title
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- Second Empire, 1852-1871
- Format
- Books
- Languages
- English, French
- Publication
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- Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] ; New York : Cambridge University Press ; Paris : Editions de la maison des Sciences de L'homme, 1985
- Physical Details
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- xvii, 193 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
- ISBNs
- 0521252423, 9780521252423, 2735100758, 9782735100750, 0521358566, 9780521358569, 2735102254, 9782735102259
- OCLC
- ocm10799772
- Translation of: De la fête impériale au mur des fédérés, 1852-1871.
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-190) and index.
- Translation of: De la fête impériale au mur des fédérés, 1852-1871.
- The regime of Napoleon III -- Late 1852 -- A restoration? -- New times -- The unity of the Second Empire -- Napoleon III -- The sphinx -- The antithesis of the 'men of stature' -- 'Napoleonic ideas' -- The spirit of the regime -- Institutions: authoritarian features -- The suspension of liberties -- The emperor's powers -- The constitutional role of ministers -- The assemblies (the Senate, the Conseil d'Etat, the Legislative Body) -- Democratic features -- The means of expression of universal suffrage -- Official candidacies -- The political personnel and political life of the Second Empire -- The governing personnel -- The position of ministers -- The key men of the regime -- The membership of the assemblies -- The senators -- The conseillers d'Etat -- The deputies -- The role of the three assemblies -- The Senate's lethargy -- The myth of the Conseil d'Etat -- The revenge of the Legislative Body -- The administration -- Civil servants -- The prefects -- The conseillers generaux and local notables -- Political weaknesses -- Winning over the affluent classes -- Economic progress and change -- Prosperity and expansion -- A stable population -- The role of the State -- A favourable economic cycle -- The various facets of imperial prosperity -- Money -- The stock exchange -- Company financing -- The banking revolution -- Capitalist concentration -- Capital exports -- The railway revolution -- Industrial growth -- The rise of big industry -- The evolution of traditional sectors -- General assessment