The Journalists and the July Revolution in France: The Role of the Political Press in the Overthrow of the Bourbon Restoration 1827–1830

292 Pages·1973·6.69 MB·English

by  Daniel L. Rader (auth.)

THE JOURNALISTS AND THE JULY REVOLUTION
IN FRANCE
THE JOURNALISTS
AND THE JULY REVOLUTION
IN FRANCE
THE ROLE OF THE POLITICAL PRESS IN THE
OVERTHROW OF THE BOURBON RESTORATION
1827-1830
by
DANIEL L. RADER
San Diego State University
-
-
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V. 1973
© 1973 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Martinus Nijholf, The Hague, Nethet'lands in 1973
All rights reserved, including the right to trans/ate or
to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form
ISBN 978-94-015-0388-4 ISBN 978-94-015-0981-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-015-0981-7
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE VII
INTRODUCTION. Journalism in the Reign of Charles X: The Social and
Political Setting
CHAPTER I. Liberty of the Press in the Restoration 9
CHAPTER II. Parisian Journals and Journalists in the Late Restoration 17
CHAPTER III. Political Journalism in the Fall of the Viiieie Ministry,
1827-1828: A Preview of Revolution 36
CHAPTER IV. Political Journalism and the Martignac Ministry, 1828-
1829: The Failure of Conciliation 46
CHAPTER V. The Political Press and the Parti-Pretre: The Anticlerical
Campaign of 1828-1829 74
CHAPTER VI. The Press in the Crisis of August 8, 1829 89
CHAPTER VII. The New Militant Press 106
CHAPTER VIII. Legal Resistance: The Breton Association and the Press 124
CHAPTER IX. Winter Quarters: November, 1829 - February, 1830 139
CHAPTER X. The Press and the "221" 152
CHAPTER XI. Judicial Ordea1s, February-March, 1830 170
CHAPTER XII. "The King will not Yie1d" 186
CHAPTER XIII. "lt is Life or Death" 208
CHAPTER XIV. The Journalists in the Trois Glorieuses 220
CHAPTER XV. The Revolutionary Influence of Journalism 244
VI TABLE OF CONTENTS
Appendices 260
Bibliography 268
Index 275
PREFACE
The "July Revolution" of 1830 in France overthrew the King, brought
down the Bourbon dynasty, and ended the fifteen-year era known as the
Restoration. lt established the "July Monarchy" of Louis-Philippe, citizen
King of the Hause of Orleans, a regime also destined for extinction eighteen
years later. Although the 1848 revolt is of somewhat greater domestic political
importance and considerably greater in its European scope and its social
implications, the July Revolution of 1830 should not be relegated to the
lower Ievels of historical consciousness. Yet, in modern times, even in France,
relatively few works have been published concerning either the Restoration
or the revolution which terminated it.
New interpretations, such as the excellent works of Bertier de Sauvigny
and David Pinkney have awakened the enthusiasm of scholars; but in
general, the intrinsic importance of this period has been slighted for nearly
a century. There are reasons for this inattention: At first glance, the era
seems retrograde, born of a conservative reaction; and placid - it falls
between Napoleon's giant earthquake on one side, and on the other, the
dynamics of European nationalism, imperialism, and the class struggle.
But the Restoration was neither archaic nor calm. lt was, for all its manifest
anachronisms, an age of rapid political, cultural, and social growth. France,
during these years, was maturing and ripening toward nationhood - and
toward the collision of many complex forces, culminating in revolution.
In all these changes, in all this political ripening, the journalists of the
periodical press played a uniquely decisive role. Unique because the French
press was then legally more free, for more consecutive years, under the
Charter of 1814, than it had ever been. Unique, too, because there then
existed a true journalism of opinion, education, and the propaganda of ideas.
Newspapers were not deterred by advertising revenues or by a desire to please
everyone. The dialag they provoked was real, but even more important m
those years before mass communication, the dialag was effective.
VIII PREFACE
In this book, the writer intends to trace the activities and influences, mainly
political, of French journals and their journalists in the late Restoration years.
I also propose to argue how the uniqueness of the press, at that time and place,
allowed it not only to develop political attitudes, but also to guide political
action, including eventually the revolution itself. Among textbook authors,
the tradition has been to pause at 1830 with a paragraph or two about that
"simple" and "clean" revolution, noting briefly the key role of the press in
bringing it off. Here, they invariably stress two journals that were committed
to the Orleanist campaign in the final six months and they overlook the long
years of preparation and ordeal when the press was frequently more im
portant than the legislative chambers as the nation's forum of opinion.
This study is concerned with the press, so that the background of political
and social history is kept to what the writer considers the essential minimum,
to complete a picture or to facilitate narrative. The work is also limited
chronologically, except for a short introduction, to the two-and-a-half critical
years that begin late in 1827 and end with the aftermath of the July Revolution
in 1830. The reason for this is political: 1827 saw the fall from power of
Charles X's capable reactionary minister, Villele; a change that evoked a new
stirring of activity in the political press and deepened existing schisms among
the royalist newspapers.
Villele, whose six-year ministry served two kings, came closer than any of
bis contemporaries to duplicating in France the kind of pragmatic reactionary
control that Prince Metternich enjoyed in the German states and Austria.
His pragmatism, bis quasi-constitutionalism, and bis sound, if politically
oriented, economic policies, made him a formidable and slippery opponent.
His policy in regard to the press was effective enough to force opposition
editors to a defensive stance. He made it difficult for journalists to reach
the small but important electorate who chose the members of the law
making Chamber of Deputies, and, through bis prefectural bureaucracy, he
kept a tight rein on the provinces where journalism was weak and where
nine-tenths of the electors voted.
But the opposition learned the tactics of its enemy and grew in wisdom.
lt learned how to strike with the least risk of prison; where to aim for the
most sensitive reaction; how to make use of the growing economic crisis;
and above all, how to create a fanatically reactionary image of Villele, who
was neither a fanatic nor as reactionary as many of the truly "Ultra" royalists.
Villele's fall, in the closing weeks of 1827, allowed an entirely new political
atmosphere to develop. Now the various ideological factions on the Left, as
well as on the Right (which included some of Villele's worst enemies) could
exercise their opinions more freely than ever before. Now the Opposition,
PREFACE IX
conditioned to defend, could plan the attack. This attack was at first confused
and diverse, but, by 1829, appeared tobe consolidating into a guided political
missile. At the same time, the journalism of the Right became more divided
and ineffective. Profiting from its own experience, as well as the blunders
of the establishment it attacked, the opposition press went on to hasten the
overthrow of the old order and to shape the character of the new.
Political semantics reflect an inexact science. I have chosen mainly
the terminology of contemporaries of that era. "Left" and "Right" are
very general and are virtually synonyms for "opposition" and "Ultra".
"Ultra" refers to ultraroyalists, of which there were at least two species,
but who were all political reactionaries. "Clerical(ists)" were laymen or clergy
who sought to involve the Church in politics, either formally or via the back
door. Some "Ultras" were anticlerical; most were not, but all the Left was
anticlerical. "Liberal" is very nineteenth century; definitely on the Left, but
clearly not including the radical Left which was mostly republican. "Legi
timist" refers to a doctrine of all who supported the Bourbon claim to the
throne, but it became the special tag for a group of "liberal", non-"Ultra"
royalists! "Defection" Iabels Ultras against Villele as well as Chateaubriand's
Legitimists who opposed both Villele and Polignac.
Translations, unless otherwise indicated, are my own responsibility and I
apologize for whatever gracelessness appears from my attempts to conserve
meaning and intent without the courage of poetic Jicense. I am also responsible
for any errors which may have inadvertently survived the Jong sessions of
rechecking and proofreading.
I am indebted to many friendly and helpful people: To a host of librarians
in France and America; to my cherished friend, Professor Franklin Palm of
Berkeley for his encouragement; to the editors of French Historical Studies for
permission to use portions of an earlier article of mine; to the San Diego State
University Foundation, for financial assistance in preparing the manu
script; to Mrs. Marion Leitner for her careful typing; and, not the least, to
my wife and daughters for their intuition and forbearance.
San Diego State University
Daniel L. Rader
INTRODUCTION
JOURNAL! SM IN THE REIGN OF CHARLES X:
THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SETTING
The French have placed memorials to greatness throughout the city of Paris.
From the countless names of streets to the bullet-pocked walls inscribed with
the names of students who fell before Nazi firing squads, all talents and spirits
have been honored. In the temple of the Pantheon, such monuments are
dedicated especially to those whose courage rase from the mind and whose
weapon was the pen. Beneath the great dome stands a !arge and prominent
sculptured group-suitably in the Romantic style and labeled, "The Journalists
of the Restoration".
Among the figures, a visitor may discover the aristocratic face of Chateau
briand, vain genius who died farnaus at eighty; or, he may recognize the more
youthful portrait of Armand Carrel, reflecting a life of idealistic adventure
tragically shortened by an act of romantic folly. Liberals, royalists, sceptics,
militants, and conservatives are all represented here. One may wonder why
such a partisan nation would enshrine. in a single statue, such a diverse group
of men. The answer may be simply that most of the journalists of the Re
storation shared three characteristics that bound them to their countrymen:
They were critical; they were individualistic; and they loved France.
Journalism in the Restoration shaped and measured the distinctive environ
ment in which it lived. The whole era of fifteen years was a synthesis of the
turbulent past, enriched with new forces of its own making.
In 1815, Napoleon I fled bis exile at Elba and reconquered France in three
weeks. Everything tha t the conquering Allies bad impressed on France in 1814
- the Bourbons, the clergy, the old aristocracy - again ran for cover when
Napoleon stamped his foot. After the Hundred Days and Napoleon's final
defeat at Waterloo, the Allies once again allowed the return of the royal
remnants of the old regime. This "Second Restoration" was something the
French were not likely to forget. Napoleon by bis vainglorious return, had
exposed a painful and striking cantrast for all the world to see. In three weeks
he bad won Paris without a shot; yet Louis XVIII was escorted in and out of