Michel Chevalier (; 13 January 1806 – 18 November 1879) was a French engineer, statesman, economist and

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

liberal.

Biography

Born in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; , ; Upper Vienne) is a département in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve départements that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The prefecture an ...

, Chevalier studied at the ''

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

'', obtaining an engineering degree at the Paris '' École des mines'' in 1829.Robinson, Moncure. "Obituary Notice of Michel Chevalier." (1880): 28-37. May 7, Read before the American Philosophical Society, May 7, 1880 In 1830, after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

, he became a Saint-Simonian, and edited their paper '' Le Globe''. The paper was banned in 1832 when the "Simonian

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religion, religious, politics, political, or philosophy, philosophical belief system, typically emerging as an offshoot of a larger organization. Originally, the term referred specifically to religious groups that had s ...

" was found to be prejudicial to the social order, and Chevalier, as its editor, was sentenced to six months imprisonment. After his release, Minister of the Interior

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

sent him in 1834 on a mission to the United States and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to observe the state of industrial and financial affairs in the Americas. In the United States, Chevalier visited different parts of the country, studying American society, its manners, and political, social, and economic institutions. He made some keen observations along the way that were published in France by the Journal des débats producing at the time "an immense effect". In Mexico he exchanged ideas with the mineralogist and politician Andrés Manuel del Río. It was during this trip that he also developed the idea that the Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking parts of the Americas shared a cultural or

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

affinity with all the European peoples with a Romance culture. Chevalier postulated that this part of the Americas was inhabited by people of a "Latin race," which could be a natural ally of "Latin Europe" in its struggle with "Teutonic Europe," "Anglo-Saxon America" and "Slavic Europe." In 1837, he wrote a well-received work, ''Des intérèts matériels en France,'' after which his career took off. At age 35, he was appointed professor of

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

at the Collège de France. In 1839, letters that he sent to France during his mission to North America were translated and edited by Thomas Gamaliel Bradford and published in the United States as, ''Society, manners, and politics in the United States, being a series of letters on North America''. Orestes Brownson reviewed the book and wrote that "The work itself is highly important and interesting, and is well worth the perusal and even the study of every American citizen." He was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1852. Chevalier was an early member of the Société d'économie politique organized in 1842 by

Pellegrino Rossi Pellegrino Luigi Odoardo Rossi (13 July 1787 – 15 November 1848) was an Italian economist, politician and jurist. He was an important figure of the July Monarchy in France, and the minister of justice in the government of the Papal States, unde ...

. He was elected a '' député'' for the '' département'' of

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

in 1845, an appointment of

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

followed in 1860. In 1859, he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

. Together with Richard Cobden and John Bright he prepared the

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

agreement of 1860 between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and France, which is still called the '' Cobden-Chevalier Treaty''. He died in his residence near Lodève.Robinson, Moncure. "Obituary Notice of Michel Chevalier." (1880): 28-37. May 7, Read before the American Philosophical Society, May 7, 1880

Works

*''Des intérèts matériels en France'', 1837 *
Society, manners and politics in the United States; being a series of letters on North America
', 1839 *''Histoire et description des voies de communication aux États-Unis'', 1840–42, 2 volumes *''Essais de politique industrielle'', 1843 *''Cours d'économie politique'', 1842-44 u. 1850, 3 volumes *''L'isthme de Panama, suivi d'un aperçu sur l'isthme de Suez'', 1844 *''Les Brevets d'invention examinés dans leurs rapports avec le principe de la liberté du travail et avec le principe de l'égalité des citoyens'', 1878

References

External links

*
Michael Chevalier: Society Manners and Politics in the United States
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chevalier, Michel École Polytechnique alumni Mines Paris - PSL alumni Corps des mines 1806 births 1879 deaths People from Limoges French engineers French newspaper editors French political writers French people in rail transport Saint-Simonists French senators of the Second Empire French classical liberal economists Academic staff of the Collège de France Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 19th-century French journalists French male journalists Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French male writers International members of the American Philosophical Society

Biography

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links