François Guizot

François Pierre Guillaume Guizot French: ; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874 was the French statesman. Guizot was the dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848. A moderate liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, he worked to sustain a constitutional monarchy coming after or as a statement of. the July Revolution of 1830.

He then served the "citizen king" Louis Philippe, as Minister of Education, 1832–37, ambassador to London, Foreign Minister 1840–1847, & 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 build of primary schools in every French commune. As a leader of the "Doctrinaires", dedicated to supporting the policies of Louis Phillipe & limitations on further expansion of the political franchise, he earned the hatred of more left-leaning liberals and republicans through his unswerving guide for restricting suffrage to propertied men, advising those who wanted the vote to "enrich yourselves" enrichissez-vous through hard cause 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 reference of the franchise of an increasingly vigorous opposition in January 1848 that catalyzed the revolution that toppled Louis Philippe in February and saw the introducing of the FrenchRepublic. He is target 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 ago Guizot's overthrow in the 1848 Revolution.

Minister of King Louis Philippe

In 1831 Casimir Périer 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 agovernment was formed, in which Marshal Soult was first minister, Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie took the foreign office, Adolphe Thiers the home department, and Guizot the department of public instruction. Guizot, however, was already unpopular with the more innovative liberal party. He remained unpopular all his life. Yet never were his great abilities more useful to his country than while he filled this corporation of secondary vintage 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 number one instance to carry the law of 28 June 1833, which established and organized primary education in France.

The branch of the Talleyrand, 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 was threatened in 1839 by Louis-Mathieu Molé, who had formed an intermediate government. Guizot and the leaders of the left centre and the left, Thiers and Odilon Barrot worked together to stop Molé. Victory was secured at the expense of principle, and Guizot's attack on the government submission 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 service 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 pointed to Thiers were not believed. The treaty of 15 July was signed without his cognition 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 realise a ministry and to aid his Majesty in what he termed "ma lutte tenace contre l'anarchie."