Paul Barnabic European History Mrs.

Fleming March 27, 2014 A Proclamation to the People Despite the failures of the Revolutions of 1848, many of the liberal and nationalistic goals that fueled the rebellions were met within the following years. When authoritarian rulers returned to power, they approached political matters with a new outlook; they realized that if they embraced some of the liberal and nationalist ideals, they could actually strengthen their own power. One of the first leaders to take such an outlook was Louis Napoleon III. When Napoleon came to power, he was considered by many to be a feeble leader who was only in power because of his family name. In light of this, however, Napoleon took no actions to suggest otherwise during the first three years of his reign, instead he worked on winning over the full support of the French people. When he felt sufficient support had been acquired, he took action against the National Assembly, whom up until this point Napoleon had considered to be crippling his power. On December 1, 1851 Napoleon staged his Coup D Etat and seized the National Assembly. He then proceeded to make a Proclamation to the People that would eventually result in the reformation of the French government. Napoleon initiates his oration by stating that France would not be able to last with things being the way they currently were. He exclaims that the National Assembly is corrupt and that he has no intention of staying in power as long as it exists. He then proceeds to state that if they [the people of France] wish for him to stay in power and wish to eliminate the National Assembly, then he has a plan for government that will allow it [the government] to better serve the citizens of France. His course of action consists of revising the constitution to include a president who will serve a ten-year term, ministers dependent on executive power alone, a Council of State whose responsibility will be to write laws, and a legislative body to discuss and vote the laws, elected by universal suffrage. He states that this system worked under Napoleon I and it will bring the same prosperity to modern France as it had in the past. He continues stating that if they want his desires for government to become reality, they must elect him to president. If, however, the people do not want this system, he will reinstate the assembly and resign from politics. There is notable bias present in this oration as can be expected from a politician campaigning for a position in government. His views on the assembly are formed from his personal opinions and his plan is based off what he believes to be the best course of action. The significance of this oration lies in the fact that it led to him being elected to President of France. This serves as the first modern example of an authoritarian government being heavily intertwined with liberal and nationalistic ideals. Louis government quickly served as a precedent for other European nations, which helped commence the development of modern day Europe.