François Guizot
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
, orator, and
statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a ...
. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848. A conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, he worked to sustain a
constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
following the
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first in 1789. It led to ...
of 1830. He then served the "citizen king" Louis Philippe, as Minister of Education, 1832–37, ambassador to London, Foreign Minister 1840–1847, and finally Prime Minister of France from 19 September 1847 to 23 February 1848. Guizot's influence was critical in expanding public education, which under his ministry saw the creation of primary schools in every French commune. As a leader of the "
Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Hea ...
", committed to supporting the policies of Louis Phillipe and limitations on further expansion of the political franchise, he earned the hatred of more left-leaning liberals and republicans through his unswerving support for restricting suffrage to propertied men and supposedly advised those who wanted the vote to "enrich yourselves" (enrichissez-vous) through hard work and thrift. As Prime Minister, it was Guizot's ban on the political meetings (called the campagne des banquets or the Paris Banquets, which were held by moderate liberals who wanted a larger extension of the franchise) of an increasingly vigorous opposition in January 1848 that catalyzed the
revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
that toppled Louis Philippe in February and saw the establishment of the
French Second Republic The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Re ...
. He is mentioned in the famous opening paragraph of the Communist Manifesto ("a spectre is haunting Europe...") as a representative of the reactionary forces of Old Europe. Marx and Engels published that book just days before Guizot's overthrow in the 1848 Revolution.


Early years

Guizot was born at
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of ...
to a
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. ...
Protestant family. On 8 April 1794, when François Guizot was 6, his father was executed on the scaffold at Nîmes during the
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public Capital punishment, executions took pl ...
. From then on, the boy's mother was completely responsible for his upbringing. Driven from Nîmes by the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, Madame Guizot and her son went to
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
, where he was educated. In spite of her decided
Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
opinions, the theories of
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
influenced Madame Guizot. A strong Liberal, she even adopted the notion inculcated in '' Emile'' that every man ought to learn a manual trade or craft. Guizot learnt carpentry, and succeeded in making a table with his own hands, which is still preserved. In 1805, he arrived in Paris and he entered at the age eighteen as tutor into the family of M. Stapfer, formerly
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...
minister in France. He soon began to write in a journal edited by
Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Suard Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Suard (15 January 1732 – 20 July 1817) was a French journalist, translator and man of letters during the Age of Enlightenment. He was born in Besançon and died in Paris. Biography Suard was incarcerated in the ''Royal F ...
, the ''Publiciste''. This connection introduced him to the literary society of
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
. In October 1809, aged twenty-two, he wrote a series review of François-René de Chateaubriand's ''Martyrs'', which won Chateaubriand's approbation and thanks, and he continued to contribute largely to the periodical press. At Suard's he had made the acquaintance of
Pauline de Meulan Pauline de Meulan (2 November 1773 — 1 August 1827) was a French writer and journalist, known especially for her work on education and her liberal position in the aftermath of the French Revolution. French literary critic Sainte-Beuve described ...
(born 2 November 1773), a contributor to Suard's journal. Her contributions were interrupted by illness, but immediately resumed and continued by an unknown hand. It was discovered that François Guizot had substituted for her. In 1812 Mademoiselle de Meulan married Guizot. She died in 1827. (An only son, François, born in 1819, died in 1837 of consumption.) In 1828 Guizot married Elisa Dillon, niece of his first wife, and also an author. She died in 1833, leaving two daughters, Henriette (1829–1908), a co-author with her father and prolific writer herself, and Pauline (1831–1874) and a son, Guillaume (1833–1892), who attained some reputation as a scholar and writer. He and historian Francois Mignet invented the concept of the bourgeois revolution. On 15 June 1837, Guizot sat next to the Princess Lieven at a dinner given by the Duc de Broglie. After twenty years as Russian Ambassadress to London, she had separated from her husband and sought refuge in Paris, where from 1835 she had held an increasingly influential salon occasionally attended by Guizot. She had sympathised with him over his son's death earlier in 1837. From 15 June, they formed a close and loving friendship, exchanging over 5000 letters. He was present at her death in Paris in 1856. Her role in supporting and influencing his aims in aristocratic, political and diplomatic circles was considerable, aided by her retaining many contacts in England and her brother being Chief of Secret Police in Russia and a confidant of the Tsar. During the
First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...
, Guizot, entirely devoted to literary pursuits, published a collection of French synonyms (1809), an essay on the fine arts (1811), and a translation of
Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, i ...
's ''
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to th ...
'', with additional notes, in 1812. These works recommended him to the notice of
Louis-Marcelin de Fontanes Louis-Marcelin, marquis de Fontanes (6 March 175717 March 1821) was a French poet and politician. Biography Born in Niort (Deux-Sèvres), he belonged to a noble Protestant family of Languedoc which had been reduced to poverty by the revocation of ...
, grand-master of the
University of France The University of France (french: Université de France; originally the ''Imperial University of France'') was a highly centralized educational state organization founded by Napoleon I in 1808 and given authority not only over the individual (previ ...
, who selected Guizot for the chair of modern history at the Sorbonne in 1812. He delivered his first lecture (reprinted in his ''Memoirs'') on 11 December of that year. He omitted the customary compliment to the all-powerful emperor, in spite of the hints given him by his patron, but the course which followed marks the beginning of the great revival of historical research in France in the 19th century. He had now acquired a considerable position in Paris society, and the friendship of
Royer-Collard Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (21 June 1763 – 2 September 1845) was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830). Biography Early life He was born at Sompuis, near Vitry-le-Franç ...
and leading members of the liberal party, including the young
duc de Broglie The House of Broglie (, also ; french: Maison de Broglie, or ) is a French noble family, originally Piedmontese, who migrated to France in the year 1643. History () was the name of an old Piedmontese noble family, from which were descended ...
. Absent from Paris at the moment of the fall of Napoleon in 1814, he was at once selected, on the recommendation of Royer-Collard, to serve the government of King
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 â€“ 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...
, in the capacity of secretary-general of the ministry of the interior, under the abbé de Montesquiou. Upon the return of
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
from Elba he immediately resigned, on 25 March 1815, and returned to his literary pursuits.


"The Man of Ghent"

After the
Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoratio ...
, he returned to
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
, where he saw Louis XVIII, and in the name of the liberal party pointed out that a frank adoption of a liberal policy could alone secure the duration of the restored monarchy â€“ advice which was ill-received by the king's confidential advisers. This visit to Ghent was brought up by political opponents in later years as unpatriotic. "The Man of Ghent" was one of the terms of insult frequently used against him in the days of his power. The reproach appears to be wholly unfounded. He was acting not to preserve the failing empire, but to establish a liberal monarchy and to combat the reactionary ultra-royalists. On the second restoration, Guizot was appointed secretary-general of the ministry of justice under de Barbé-Marbois, but resigned with his chief in 1816. In 1819 he was one of the founders of the Liberal journal '' Le Courrier français''. Again in 1819 he was appointed general director of communes and departments in the ministry of the interior, but lost his office with the fall of Decazes in February 1820. During these years Guizot was one of the leaders of the
Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Hea ...
, a small party strongly attached to the charter and the crown, and advocating a policy which has become associated (especially by Émile Faguet) with the name of Guizot, that of the ''
juste milieu ''Juste milieu'' (meaning "middle way" or "happy medium") is a term that has been used to describe centrist political philosophies that try to find a balance between extremes, and artistic forms that try to find a middle ground between the traditio ...
'', a middle path between absolutism and popular government. Adhering to the great principles of liberty and toleration, they were sternly opposed to the anarchical traditions of the Revolution. They hoped to subdue the elements of anarchy through the power of a limited constitution based on the suffrage of the middle class and promoted by the literary talents of the time. They were opposed alike to the democratic spirit of the age, to the military traditions of the empire, and to the bigotry and absolutism of the court. The Doctrinaires fell out of influence following the
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first in 1789. It led to ...
in 1830. In 1820, when the reaction was at its height after the murder of the Duc de Berry, and the fall of the ministry of the duc Decazes, Guizot was deprived of his offices, and in 1822 even his course of lectures were interdicted. During the succeeding years he played an important part among the leaders of the liberal opposition to the government of Charles X, although he had not yet entered parliament, and this was also the time of his greatest literary activity. In 1822, he published his lectures on representative government (''Histoire des origines du gouvernement représentatif, 1821–1822'', 2 vols.; Eng. trans. 1852); also a work on capital punishment for political offences and several important political pamphlets. From 1822 to 1830 he published two important collections of historical sources, the memoirs of the history of England in 26 volumes, and the memoirs of the history of France in 31 volumes, a revised translation, of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, and a volume of essays on the history of France. Written from his own pen during this period was the first part of his ''Histoire de la révolution d'Angleterre depuis Charles I à Charles II'' (2 vols., 1826–1827; Eng. trans., 2 vols., Oxford, 1838), which he resumed and completed during his exile in England after 1848. The
Martignac Jean-Baptiste Sylvère Gay, 1st Viscount of Martignac (20 June 1778 3 April 1832) was a moderate royalist French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration 1814–30 under King Charles X. Biography Martignac was born in Bordeaux, France. In 179 ...
administration restored Guizot in 1828 to his professor's chair and to the council of state. During his time at the
University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...
his lectures earned him a reputation as a historian of note. These lectures formed the basis of his general ''Histoire de la civilisation en Europe'' (1828; Eng. trans. by William Hazlitt, 3 vols., 1846), and of his ''Histoire de la civilisation en France'' (4 vols., 1830). In January 1830 he was elected by the town of
Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the ...
to the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
, and he retained that seat during the whole of his political life. Guizot delivered an address in March 1830 calling for greater political freedom in the Chamber of Deputies. The motion passed 221 against 181. Charles X responded by dissolving the Chamber and called for new elections which only strengthened opposition to the throne. On his return to Paris from Nîmes on 27 July, the fall of Charles X was already imminent. Guizot was called upon by his friends Casimir Perier, Jacques Laffitte,
Villemain Villemain is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. See also *Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department The following is a list of the 256 communes of the Deux-Sèvres department of France France (), officially ...
and Dupin to draw up the protest of the liberal deputies against the royal ordinances of July, while he applied himself with them to control the revolutionary character of the late contest. Personally, Guizot was always of opinion that it was a great misfortune for the cause of parliamentary government in France that the infatuation and ineptitude of Charles X and Prince Polignac rendered a change in the hereditary line of succession inevitable. Once convinced that it was inevitable, he became one of the most ardent supporters of Louis Philippe. In August 1830 Guizot was made minister of the interior, but resigned in November. He had now joined the ranks of the moderate liberals, and for the next eighteen years was a determined foe of democracy, the unyielding champion of "a monarchy limited by a limited number of bourgeois."


Minister of King Louis Philippe

In 1831
Casimir Périer Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')." List of variations *Belarusian: КазіР...
formed a more vigorous and compact administration, terminated in May 1832 by his death; the summer of that year was marked by a formidable republican rising in Paris, and it was not until 11 October 1832 that a stable government was formed, in which Marshal Soult was first minister, Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie took the foreign office,
Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...
the home department, and Guizot the department of public instruction. Guizot, however, was already unpopular with the more advanced liberal party. He remained unpopular all his life. Yet never were his great abilities more useful to his country than while he filled this office of secondary rank but of primary importance in the department of public instruction. The duties it imposed on him were entirely congenial to his literary tastes, and he was master of the subjects they concerned. He applied himself in the first instance to carry the law of 28 June 1833, which established and organized primary education in France. The branch of the
Institute of France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...
known as the '' Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques'', which had been suppressed by Napoleon, was revived by Guizot. Some of the old members of this learned body â€“ Talleyrand, Sieyès, Roederer and Lakanal â€“ again took their seats there, and a host of more recent celebrities were added by election for the free discussion of the great problems of political and social science. The Société de l'histoire de France was founded for the publication of historical works, and a vast publication of medieval chronicles and diplomatic papers was undertaken at the expense of the state. The
July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...
was threatened in 1839 by
Louis-Mathieu Molé Louis-Mathieu Molé (24 January 1781 â€“ 23 November 1855), also 1st Count Molé from 1809 to 1815, was a French statesman, close friend and associate of Louis Philippe I, King of the French during the July Monarchy (1830–1848). Biography ...
, who had formed an intermediate government. Guizot and the leaders of the left centre and the left, Thiers and
Odilon Barrot Camille Hyacinthe Odilon Barrot (; 19 July 1791 – 6 August 1873) was a French politician who was briefly head of the council of ministers under President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in 1848–49. Early life Barrot was born at Villefort, Lozè ...
worked together to stop Molé. Victory was secured at the expense of principle, and Guizot's attack on the government gave rise to a crisis and a republican insurrection. None of the three leaders of that alliance took ministerial office, and Guizot was not sorry to accept the post of ambassador in London, which withdrew him for a time from parliamentary contests. This was in the spring of 1840, and Thiers succeeded shortly afterwards to the ministry of foreign affairs. Guizot was received with distinction by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
and by London society. His literary works were highly esteemed, and he was sincerely attached to the alliance of the two nations and the cause of peace. He also secured the return of Napoleon's ashes to France at the insistence of Thiers. As he himself remarked, he was a stranger to England and a novice in diplomacy; the embroiled state of the Syrian War question, on which the French government had separated itself from the joint policy of Europe, and possibly the absence of entire confidence between the ambassador and the minister of foreign affairs, placed him in an embarrassing and even false position. The warnings he transmitted to Thiers were not believed. The treaty of 15 July was signed without his knowledge and executed against his advice. For some weeks Europe seemed to be on the brink of war, until the king ended the crisis by refusing his assent to the military preparations of Thiers, and by summoning Guizot from London to form a ministry and to aid his Majesty in what he termed "''ma lutte tenace contre l'anarchie''."


The second Soult government

Thus began, under dark and adverse circumstances, on 29 October 1840, the important administration in which Guizot remained the master-spirit for nearly eight years. He himself took the office of minister for foreign affairs, and upon the retirement of Marshal Soult, he became prime minister. His first care was the maintenance of peace and the restoration of amicable relations with the other powers of Europe. His success gave unity and strength to the moderate liberal party, who now felt that they had a great leader at their head. During Guizot's tenure as foreign minister, he and
Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in ...
, the foreign secretary to Sir Robert Peel, carried on well, and thus they secured France and Britain in the entente cordiale. Part of the formation of the entente came about when Guizot secured the transfer of Napoleon's ashes from St. Helena to the French government. The opposition in France denounced Guizot's foreign policy as basely subservient to England. He replied in terms of unmeasured contempt: "You may raise the pile of calumny as high as you will; you will never reach the height of my disdain! (''Vous n'arriverez jamais a la hauteur de mon dédain!''") In 1845 British and French troops fought side by side for the first time in the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata. The fall of Peel's government in 1846 changed these intimate relations; and the return of
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...
to the foreign office led Guizot to believe that he was again exposed to the passionate rivalry of the British cabinet. A friendly understanding had been established between the two courts with reference to the future marriage of the young queen of Spain. The language of Lord Palmerston and the conduct of Sir Henry Bulwer (afterwards Lord Dalling) at Madrid led Guizot to believe that this understanding was broken, provoking the
Affair of the Spanish Marriages The Affair of the Spanish Marriages was a series of intrigues between France, Spain, and Great Britain relating to the marriages of Queen Isabella II of Spain and her sister the infanta Luisa Fernanda in 1846. Britain and France took opposing r ...
after Guizot came to believe that Britain intended to place a Coburg on the throne of Spain. Determined to resist any such intrigue, Guizot and the king plunged headlong into a counter-intrigue, wholly inconsistent with their previous engagements to Britain and fatal to the happiness of the queen of Spain. By their influence she was urged into a marriage with a despicable offset of the house of Bourbon, and her sister was at the same time married to the youngest son of the French king, in direct violation of Louis Philippe's promises. This transaction, although it was hailed at the time as a triumph of the policy of France, was in truth as fatal to the monarch as it was discreditable to the minister. It was accomplished by a mixture of secrecy and violence. It was defended by subterfuges. Its immediate effect was to destroy the Anglo-French alliance, and to throw Guizot into closer relations with the reactionary policy of Metternich and the Northern courts. His first object as prime minister was to unite and discipline the moderate liberal party, which had been broken up by previous dissensions and ministerial changes. In this he entirely succeeded by his courage and eloquence as a parliamentary leader, and by the use of all those means of influence which France supplied to a dominant minister. No one ever doubted the purity and disinterestedness of Guizot's own conduct. He despised money; he lived and died poor; and though he encouraged the fever of money-getting in the French nation, his own habits retained their primitive simplicity. But he did not disdain to use in others the baser passions from which he was himself free. Some of his instruments were mean; he employed them to deal with meanness after its kind. In 1846, the opposition accused the government of buying the votes of the electorate. Guizot acknowledged that corruption happened but the government could not really prevent it. Non-voters exaggerated the occurrences of corruption to point to their need for enfranchisement. Guizot utterly failed to satisfy the demand for expansion of suffrage. Some scholars point out that corruption, while certainly present, did not have a large effect on the voting records of those in the Chamber of Deputies. The strength of Guizot's oration was his straightforward style of speaking. He was essentially a ministerial speaker, far more powerful in defence than in opposition. Nor was he less a master of parliamentary tactics and of those sudden changes and movements in debate which, as in a battle, sometimes change the fortune of the day. His confidence in himself, and in the majority of the chamber which he had moulded to his will, was unbounded; and long success and the habit of authority led him to forget that in a country like France there was a people outside the chamber elected by a small constituency, to which the minister and the king himself were held responsible. Guizot's view of politics was essentially historical and philosophical. His tastes and his acquirements gave him little insight into the practical business of administrative government. Of finance he knew nothing; trade and commerce were strange to him; military and naval affairs were unfamiliar to him; all these subjects he dealt with by second hand through his friends,
Pierre Sylvain Dumon Pierre Sylvain Dumon (14 February 1797 – 24 February 1870) was a French politician who was a deputy from 1831 to 1848, and Minister of Finance in the last years of the July Monarchy. Early years Pierre Sylvain Dumon was born in Agen, Lot-et-Ga ...
(1797–1870), Charles Marie Tanneguy, Comte Duchâttel (1803–1867), or
Marshal Bugeaud Thomas Robert Bugeaud, marquis de la Piconnerie, duc d'Isly (15 October 178410 June 1849) was a Marshal of France and Governor-General of Algeria. Early life He was born at Limoges, a member of a noble family of Périgord (Occitania), the yo ...
. The consequence was that few measures of practical improvement were carried by his administration. Still less did the government lend an ear to the cry for parliamentary reform. On this subject the king's prejudices were insurmountable, and his ministers had the weakness to give way to them. It was impossible to defend a system which confined the suffrage to 200,000 citizens and returned a chamber of whom half were placemen. Nothing would have been easier than to strengthen the moderate liberal party by attaching the suffrage to the possession of land in France, but blank resistance was the sole answer of the government to the moderate demands of the opposition. Warning after warning was addressed to them in vain by friends and by foes alike, and they remained profoundly unconscious of their danger till the moment when it overwhelmed them.


1848 Revolution

In the afternoon of 23 February 1848, King Louis-Philippe summoned Guizot from the chamber, which was then sitting, and informed him that considering the situation in Paris and elsewhere in the country during the Banquet agitation for electoral reform, and the alarm and division of opinion in the royal family, led him to doubt whether he could retain Guizot as his prime minister. Guizot instantly resigned, returning to the chamber only to announce that the administration was at an end and that the king had sent for
Louis-Mathieu Molé Louis-Mathieu Molé (24 January 1781 â€“ 23 November 1855), also 1st Count Molé from 1809 to 1815, was a French statesman, close friend and associate of Louis Philippe I, King of the French during the July Monarchy (1830–1848). Biography ...
. Molé failed in the attempt to form a government, and between midnight and one in the morning Guizot, who had according to his custom retired early to rest, was again sent for to the Tuileries. The king asked his advice. "We are no longer the ministers of your Majesty," replied Guizot; "it rests with others to decide on the course to be pursued. But one thing appears to be evident: this street riot must be put down; these barricades must be taken; and for this purpose my opinion is that
Marshal Bugeaud Thomas Robert Bugeaud, marquis de la Piconnerie, duc d'Isly (15 October 178410 June 1849) was a Marshal of France and Governor-General of Algeria. Early life He was born at Limoges, a member of a noble family of Périgord (Occitania), the yo ...
should be invested with full power, and ordered to take the necessary military measures, and as your Majesty has at this moment no minister, I am ready to draw up and countersign such an order." The marshal, who was present, undertook the task, saying, "I have never been beaten yet, and I shall not begin to-morrow. The barricades shall be carried before dawn."
Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...
and Barrot decided to withdraw the troops. Guizot found a safe refuge in Paris for some days in the lodging of a humble miniature painter whom he had befriended, and shortly afterwards escaped across the Belgian frontier and from there to London, where he arrived on 3 March. His mother and daughters had preceded him, and he was speedily installed in a modest habitation in Pelham Crescent, Brompton. The society of England, though many people disapproved of much of his recent policy, received the fallen statesman with as much distinction and respect as they had shown the king's ambassador in 1840. A professorship at Oxford was spoken of, which he was unable to accept. He stayed in England about a year, devoting himself again to history. Back in Paris in 1850, Guizot published two more volumes on the English revolution -- ''Pourquoi la Révolution d'Angleterre a-t-elle reussi?'' and ''Discours sur l'histoire, de la Révolution d'Angleterre''. In February 1850
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
and Frederick Engels co-wrote a critical assessment of this two-volume history.


Later life

After having resigned as Prime Minister of France, he left politics. He was aware that the link between himself and public life was broken forever, and he never made the slightest attempt to renew it. The greater part of the year he spent at his residence at Val Richer, an Augustine monastery near
Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the ...
in Normandy, which had been sold at the time of the first
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
. His two daughters, who married two descendants of the illustrious Dutch family of De Witt, so congenial in faith and manners to the
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
s of France, kept his house. One of his sons-in-law farmed the estate. Guizot devoted his later years with undiminished energy to literary labour, which was in fact his chief means of subsistence. In 1854, Guizot published his ''Histoire de la république d'Angleterre et de
Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
'' (2 vols., 1854), then his ''Histoire du protectorat de Cromwell et du rétablissement des Stuarts'' (2 vols., 1856). He also published an essay on Peel, and amid many essays on religion, during the ten years 1858–1868, appeared the extensive ''Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de mon temps'', in nine volumes. His speeches were included in 1863 in his ''Histoire parlementaire de la France'' (5 vols. of parliamentary speeches, 1863). As his grandchildren grew up around him, he began to teach them French history. From these lessons sprang his last work, the ''Histoire de France racontée à mes petits enfants''. The history came down to 1789, and was continued to 1870 by his daughter Madame Guizot de Witt from her father's notes.


Learned societies

Two institutions may be said even under the Second Empire to have retained their freedom: the
Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institut ...
and the Protestant Consistory. In both of these Guizot continued to the last to take an active part. He was a member of three of the five academies into which the Institute of France is divided. The
Academy of Moral and Political Science An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...
owed its restoration to him, and he became in 1832 one of its first associates. The
Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...
elected him in 1833 as the successor to Dacier. In 1836, he was selected as a member of the
Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
, the highest literary distinction of the country. In these learned bodies Guizot continued for nearly forty years to take a lively interest and to exercise a powerful influence. He was a keen advocate of their independence. His voice had the greatest weight in the choice of new candidates; the younger generation of French writers never looked in vain to him for encouragement, and his constant aim was to maintain the dignity and purity of the profession of letters. In 1842, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and a foreign honorary member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1855.


Protestant Consistory

In the consistory of the Protestant church in Paris Guizot exercised a similar influence. His early education and his experience of life conspired to strengthen the convictions of a religious temperament. He remained throughout his life a firm believer in the truths of revelation, and a volume of ''Meditations on the Christian Religion'' was one of his latest works. But though he adhered inflexibly to the church of his fathers and combated the rationalist tendencies of the age, which seemed to threaten it with destruction, he retained not a tinge of the intolerance or asperity of the
Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
creed. He respected in the Church of Rome the faith of the majority of his countrymen, and the writings of the great Catholic prelates,
Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addr ...
and
Bourdaloue Louis Bourdaloue (20 August 1632 – 13 May 1704) was a French Jesuit and preacher. Biography He was born in Bourges. At the age of sixteen he entered the Society of Jesus, and was appointed successively professor of rhetoric, philosophy and ...
, were as familiar and as dear to him as those of his own persuasion, and were commonly used by him in the daily exercises of family worship.


Death and legacy

Down to the summer of 1874 Guizot's mental vigour and activity were unimpaired. He died peacefully, and is said to have recited verses of Pierre Corneille and texts from the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
on his death-bed. During the 1820s, Guizot was among the darlings of the European liberal intelligentsia. His historical works such as ''Histoire générale de la civilisation en Europe'' (1828) and ''Histoire de la civilisation en France'' (1830) were widely admired by thinkers including
John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
("I have dinned into people's ears that Guizot is a great thinker and writer"),
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...
("Guizot is a man after my own heart...He possesses deep knowledge, combined with an enlightened liberality"),
Charles Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he s ...
("this astonishing man about whom one could say so many things"), and
Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wo ...
. In 1840, he was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
. Guizot's later resolute opposition to universal suffrage has led his critics to argue that he was a conservative or even reactionary. However, it is more accurate to describe Guizot as a proponent of the ''juste milieu'' or political centrism that defended representative government against absolutism and the excesses of democracy. His doctrine of the sovereignty of reason was intended as a liberal strategy to divide and limit sovereignty, and to consolidate the constitutional gains of the Charter of 1814. He likewise called for the abolition of capital punishment. His ideas influenced subsequent liberal reformers throughout Europe such as József Eötvös in Hungary, Johan Rudolph Thorbecke in the Netherlands, and
José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; 9 May 1883 â€“ 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century, while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism, and dictatorship. His philosoph ...
in Spain. In recent years, the scholarship of Pierre Rosanvallon,
Larry Siedentop Sir Larry Alan Siedentop (born 24 May 1936) is an American-born British political philosopher with a special interest in 19th-century French liberalism. He is the author of ''Democracy in Europe'' and an occasional contributor to several major B ...
,
Ivo Mosley Ivo Adam Rex Mosley (born 1951) is a British writer. His career has encompassed ceramics, poetry, social commentary, opera and musical theatre. His focus of the last few years is on works of non-fiction relating to politics and monetary reform. ...
and Aurelian Crăiuțu has renewed interest in Guizot's political thought and the Doctrinaires more generally.


Works

* ''Dictionnaire des synonymes de la langue française'', 1809. * ''De l’état des beaux-arts en France'', 1810. * ''Annales de l’éducation'', 1811–1815, 6 vol. * ''Vie des poètes français du siècle de Louis XIV'', 1813. * ''Quelques idées sur la liberté de la presse'', 1814. * ''Du gouvernement représentatif de l’état actuel de la France'', 1816. * ''Essai sur l’état actuel de l’instruction publique en France'', 1817. * ''Du gouvernement de la France depuis la Restauration. Des conspirations et de la justice politique'', 1820. * ''Des moyens de gouvernement et d’opposition dans l’état actuel de la France. Du gouvernement de la France et du ministère actuel. Histoire du gouvernement représentatif en Europe'', 1821, 2 vol. * ''De la souveraineté'', 1822. * ''De la peine de mort en matière politique'', 1822. * ''Essai sur l’histoire de France du Ve s. au Xe s.'', 1823. * ''Histoire de Charles Ier'', 1827, 2 vol. * ''Histoire générale de la civilisation en Europe'', 1828. 2e édition Langlet et Cie, 1838. * ''Histoire de la civilisation en France'', 1830, 4 vol. * ''Le presbytère au bord de la mer'', 1831. * ''Rome et ses papes'', 1832. * ''Le ministère de la réforme et le parlement réformé'', 1833. * ''Essais sur l’histoire de France'', 1836. * ''Monk, étude historique'', 1837. * ''De la religion dans les sociétés modernes'', 1838. * ''Vie, correspondance et écrits de Washington'', 1839–1840. * ''Washington'', 1841. * ''Madame de Rumfort'', 1842. * ''Des conspirations et de la justice politiques'', 1845. * ''Des moyens de gouvernement et d’opposition dans l’état actuel de la France'', 1846. * ''Histoire de la révolution d'Angleterre depuis l'avènement de Charles Ier jusqu'à sa mort'', 1846. * ''M. Guizot et ses amis. De la démocratie en France'', 1849. * ''Pourquoi la révolution d’Angleterre a-t-elle réussi ? Discours sur l’histoire de la révolution d’Angleterre'', 1850. * ''Études biographiques sur la révolution d’Angleterre. Études sur les beaux-arts en général'', 1851. * ''Shakespeare et son temps.
Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patrona ...
et son temps'', 1852. * ''Abélard et Héloïse'', 1853. * ''Édouard III et les bourgeois de Calais'', 1854. * ''Histoire de la république d’Angleterre'', 1855, 2 vol., Sir Robert Peel. * ''Histoire du protectorat de
Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
et du rétablissement des Stuarts'', 1856, 2 vol. * ''Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire de mon temps'', 1858–1867, 8 vol. * ''L’Amour dans le mariage'', 1860. * ''L’Église et la société chrétienne en 1861'', Discours académique, 1861. * ''Un projet de mariage royal'', 1862. * ''Histoire parlementaire de France, recueil de discours, '', 1863, 5 vol. Trois générations. * ''Méditations sur l’essence de la religion chrétienne'', 1864. * ''Guillaume le Conquérant'', 1865. * ''Méditations sur l’état actuel de la religion chrétienne'', 1866. * ''La France et la Prusse responsables devant l’Europe'', 1868. * ''Méditations sur la religion chrétienne dans ses rapports avec l’état actuel des sociétés et des esprits. Mélanges biographiques et littéraires'', 1868. * ''Mélanges politiques et historiques'', 1869. * ''L'Histoire de France : depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'en 1789. Racontée à mes petits-enfants'', 1870–1875, 5 vol. * ''Le duc de Broglie'', 1872. * ''Les vies de quatre grands chrétiens français'', 1873. * ''L'Histoire d'Angleterre : depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à l'avènement de la reine Victoria. Racontée à mes petits-enfants'', 1877-1878, 2 vol.


See also

*
Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera ( French idiom, meaning "God helps those who help themselves"; literally, "Help yourself, heaven shall help you"), simply called Aide-toi, was a French society that aimed to stir up the electorate against the government d ...
*''
Le Globe ''Le Globe'' was a French newspaper, published in Paris by the Bureau du Globe between 1824 and 1832, and created with the goal of publishing Romantic creations. It was established by Pierre Leroux and the printer Alexandre Lachevardière. Afte ...
'' *
Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques The Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (CTHS) (''Committee for Historic and Scientific Works'') is a French research institution created by the Minister of Public Education François Guizot on 18 July 1834 for the purpose of 'leading ...


References


Sources

Unless noted with a footnote below, this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). See
External links An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. Hyperlinks are considered either "external" or "internal" depending on their target or destination ...
for full citation. ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
'' (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. The 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', in turn, gives the following references: * Guizot's own ''Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de mon temps'' (8 vols., 1858–1861) * ''Lettres de M. Guizot à sa famille et à ses amis'' (1884) *
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he s ...
, ''Causeries du lundi'' (vol. 1., 1857) and ''Nouveaux Lundis'' (vols. i. and ix., 1863–1872) * E Scherer
''Etudes critiques sur la littérature contemporaine''
(vol. iv., 1873) * Mme de Witt, ''Guizot dans sa famille'' (1880) * Jules Simon, ''Thiers, Guizot et Rémusat'' (1885); * E Faguet, ''Politiques et moralistes au XIXe siècle'' (1891) * A Bardoux, ''Guizot'' (1894) in the series o
"''Les Grands Ecrivains français''"
ref>The EB1911 article for François Guizot has the error "G Bardoux" instead of the correct "A Bardoux".
* Maurice Guizot, ''Les Années de retraite de M. Guizot'' (1901) * For a long list of books and articles on Guizot in periodicals see HP Thième, ''Guide bibliographique de la littérature française de 1800–1906'' (s.c. Guizot, Paris, 1907). * For a notice of his first wife see
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he s ...
, ''Portraits de femmes'' (1884), and Ch. de Rémusat, ''Critiques et études littéraires'' (vol. ii., 1847). * *


Citations


Further reading

* Crăiuțu, Aurelian. ''Liberalism Under Siege: The Political Thought of the French Doctrinaires'' (2003). * Johnson, Douglas. ''Guizot: aspects of French history, 1787–1874'' (1963). * Richter, Melvin. "Tocqueville and Guizot on democracy: from a type of society to a political regime." ''History of European Ideas'' 30.1 (2004): 61–82. *


External links

* Official website on François Guizot at http://www.guizot.com/en/. Website created on the initiative of François Guizot's descendants and the François Guizot Association. Contains unpublished archives. * * * *
"The History of the Origins of Representative Government in Europe"


at the Modern History Sourcebook. {{DEFAULTSORT:Guizot, Francois 1787 births 1874 deaths People from Nîmes French Calvinist and Reformed Christians Politicians from Occitania (administrative region) Doctrinaires Orléanists Prime Ministers of France French interior ministers Government ministers of France Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy French people of the Revolutions of 1848 Historians of the French Revolution 19th-century French historians Founders of Sciences Po University of Paris faculty Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Académie Française Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)