The Mountain (1849)
Encyclopedia
The Mountain was a political grouping in the French legislative election, 1849
. It drew its name from The Mountain
, a group active in the early period of the French Revolution
. Standing on a republican platform, its main opposition was the conservative Party of Order (Parti de l'Ordre
). The Mountain achieved 25% of the vote, compared to 53% for the Party of Order. It was led by Ledru-Rollin, one of the members of the Second Republic
's early provisional government.
The Mountain stood on a platform of low taxation, which made it popular with peasants, especially in industries that were suffering, such as agriculture and forestry. France sustained steady economic growth during the latter part of the Restoration
and the July Monarchy
, although the late 1840s witnessed a downturn, which was one of the factors behind the 1848 Revolution
. The National Workshops
proved unpopular with the peasantry, and, despite being formed by urban left-wing politicians, The Mountain was particularly successful in rural areas such as central France and the western and central départments in and around the Massif Central
. The Mountain promised to end the land tax of '45 centimes' used to finance the Workshops, reform military service, and develop education. Traditionally pro-revolutionary, left-wing and Protestant areas of the south, affected by a slump in the wine trade, also backed The Mountain in 1849. Engels
, and later Marx
, attributed the relative lack of support for the democ-socs in the urban proletariat
to distrust engendered by Ledru-Rollin's involvement in, and refusal to condemn, the suppression of the June Days Uprising
. Later, in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon
, Marx cited The Mountain's formation in the Second Republic as one of the many instances in this regime of history repeating itself "as farce".
After 1849, the Barrot
Party of Order-backed government sought to repress protests against alcohol excises and the '45 centime', as well as demand for cheap credit and other grievances. The démoc-socs clandestinely organized this dissent in the face of press censorship, restrictions on political meetings, and harassment. The Mountain's broader strategy was to prepare for the 1852 legislative and Presidential elections, by continuing to espouse its utopian Christian socialist
message alongside attempts to politicize the three million voters who had been disenfranchised in 1850 despite the Republic's constitution
proclaiming universal (manhood) suffrage
. Marx again found cause for criticism, accusing The Mountain of impotently "prophesying future victories".
The causes behind The Mountain's success amongst particular demographics are disputed. Margadent, McPhee, and Merriman have argued that the peasant vote signalled an acceptance of modernization, whilst Weber, Jones, Corbin have argued that peasant support was typical, even if the provincial rivalries and support for negative demands such as low taxation present were cloaked in urban political lexicon. Tombs has pointed out that the demands of voters were expressed in a number of different ways and that support was fleeting (wine growers were also prepared to back Louis-Napoléon or the Bourbons to get excise duties cut), and that peasants in the south-west and Massif Central who backed The Mountain also accepted Louis-Napoléon after his coup of 1851
, and the end of the Second Republic. For the remainder of the Second Empire, Louis-Napoléon found the core of his support lay in the peasantry.
Resistance to the coup d'état was most strongly present in the normally republican regions, again suggesting continuity. Thus, when the démoc-socs, in the most widespread popular uprising of the 19th century, organized protests against the coup that numbered 100,000 strong, it was in mainly Protestant areas that The Mountain derived its most cohesive support.
French legislative election, 1849
French legislative elections were held on 13 May 1849. Voters elected the first National Assembly of the Second Republic.The conservative Parti de l'Ordre won an overall majority of 450 seats.The Parti de l'Ordre was a bourgeois, traditionalist, and conservative party opposed to the Presidency of...
. It drew its name from The Mountain
The Mountain
The Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
, a group active in the early period of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Standing on a republican platform, its main opposition was the conservative Party of Order (Parti de l'Ordre
Parti de l'Ordre
The Parti de l'Ordre was a French Orleanist and Legitimist conservative political party that existed during the Second Republic....
). The Mountain achieved 25% of the vote, compared to 53% for the Party of Order. It was led by Ledru-Rollin, one of the members of the Second Republic
French Second Republic
The French Second Republic was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte which initiated the Second Empire. It officially adopted the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité...
's early provisional government.
The Mountain stood on a platform of low taxation, which made it popular with peasants, especially in industries that were suffering, such as agriculture and forestry. France sustained steady economic growth during the latter part of the Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
and the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
, although the late 1840s witnessed a downturn, which was one of the factors behind the 1848 Revolution
French Revolution of 1848
The 1848 Revolution in France was one of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. In France, the February revolution ended the Orleans monarchy and led to the creation of the French Second Republic. The February Revolution was really the belated second phase of the Revolution of 1830...
. The National Workshops
National Workshops
National Workshops refer to areas of work provided for the unemployed by the French Second Republic after the Revolution of 1848. The political crisis which resulted in the abdication of Louis Philippe caused an acute industrial crisis adding to the general agricultural and commercial distress...
proved unpopular with the peasantry, and, despite being formed by urban left-wing politicians, The Mountain was particularly successful in rural areas such as central France and the western and central départments in and around the Massif Central
Massif Central
The Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaux....
. The Mountain promised to end the land tax of '45 centimes' used to finance the Workshops, reform military service, and develop education. Traditionally pro-revolutionary, left-wing and Protestant areas of the south, affected by a slump in the wine trade, also backed The Mountain in 1849. Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
, and later Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, attributed the relative lack of support for the democ-socs in the urban proletariat
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
to distrust engendered by Ledru-Rollin's involvement in, and refusal to condemn, the suppression of the June Days Uprising
June Days Uprising
The June Days Uprising was a revolution staged by the citizens of France, whose only source of income was the National Workshops, from 23 June to 26 June 1848. The Workshops were created by the Second Republic in order to provide work and a source of income for the unemployed, however only...
. Later, in The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon
Der 18te Brumaire des Louis Napoleon was written by Karl Marx between December 1851 and March 1852, and originally published in 1852 in Die Revolution, a German-language monthly magazine published in New York and established by Joseph Weydemeyer...
, Marx cited The Mountain's formation in the Second Republic as one of the many instances in this regime of history repeating itself "as farce".
After 1849, the Barrot
Odilon Barrot
Camille Hyacinthe Odilon Barrot was a French politician.-Early life:Barrot was born at Villefort Lozère. He belonged to a legal family, his father, an advocate of Toulouse, having been a member of the Convention who had voted against the death of Louis XVI. Odilon Barrot's earliest recollections...
Party of Order-backed government sought to repress protests against alcohol excises and the '45 centime', as well as demand for cheap credit and other grievances. The démoc-socs clandestinely organized this dissent in the face of press censorship, restrictions on political meetings, and harassment. The Mountain's broader strategy was to prepare for the 1852 legislative and Presidential elections, by continuing to espouse its utopian Christian socialist
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
message alongside attempts to politicize the three million voters who had been disenfranchised in 1850 despite the Republic's constitution
French Constitution of 1848
The Constitution of 1848 is the constitution passed in France on November 4, 1848 by the National Assembly, the constituent body of the Second French Republic...
proclaiming universal (manhood) suffrage
Universal manhood suffrage
Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult males within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification...
. Marx again found cause for criticism, accusing The Mountain of impotently "prophesying future victories".
The causes behind The Mountain's success amongst particular demographics are disputed. Margadent, McPhee, and Merriman have argued that the peasant vote signalled an acceptance of modernization, whilst Weber, Jones, Corbin have argued that peasant support was typical, even if the provincial rivalries and support for negative demands such as low taxation present were cloaked in urban political lexicon. Tombs has pointed out that the demands of voters were expressed in a number of different ways and that support was fleeting (wine growers were also prepared to back Louis-Napoléon or the Bourbons to get excise duties cut), and that peasants in the south-west and Massif Central who backed The Mountain also accepted Louis-Napoléon after his coup of 1851
French coup of 1851
The French coup d'état on 2 December 1851, staged by Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte , ended in the successful dissolution of the French National Assembly, as well as the subsequent re-establishment of the French Empire the next year...
, and the end of the Second Republic. For the remainder of the Second Empire, Louis-Napoléon found the core of his support lay in the peasantry.
Resistance to the coup d'état was most strongly present in the normally republican regions, again suggesting continuity. Thus, when the démoc-socs, in the most widespread popular uprising of the 19th century, organized protests against the coup that numbered 100,000 strong, it was in mainly Protestant areas that The Mountain derived its most cohesive support.