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Reign of Louis Napoleon
This was the time span of the Reign of Louis Napoleon. He was initially elected president through universal male suffrage, but gradually gained more power and influence, turning him into Emperor Napoleon III. -
Election of Louis Napoleon
Louis Napoleon was elected president of France in December 1848. He received a vast majority of the votes by appealing to the working classes, as universal male suffrage existed in France at the time. His name contributed as well, as he was the nephew of Napoelon I. -
Rebuilding of Paris
The modernization of Paris improved the urban environment. Napoleon III believed that this would provide employment, improve living conditions, and testify to the power and glory of his empire. -
Louis Napoleon's Seizure of Power
After the National Assembly failed to change the constitution so Louis Napoleon could run for a second term, he conspired with army officers and illegally dismissed the Assembly. -
Second French Empire
Napoleon's government encouraged the new investment banks and massive railroad construction that were at the heart of the Industrial Revolution. There were also ambitious program of public works. -
Reelection of Napoleon III
Louis Napoleon had appealed to the people in 1851 to make him president for ten years and to allow him to run for reelection. Now, as Emperor Napoleon III, he won overwhelming electoral victories by appealing to the common people and using government to improve the lives of his subjects. -
Workers gained the right to form unions
In the 1860s Napoleon III granted workers the right to form unions and the right to strike -
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Gradual Decline of Napoleon III's Power
Napoleon III gradually began to lose power in the 1860's because the middle class wanted a less authoritarian ruler. Napoleon III was a true nationalist who always tried to listen to and please his subjects. The people of France wanted to move the state more towards democracy, which naturlly led to less power for Napoleon III. -
Opposition to Napoleon III polled almost 45% of the vote.
Napoleon gave the Assembly greater powers with increasing criticism from republicans, monarchists, and liberals. -
Napoleon III again granted France a new constitution
the new constitution combined a basically parliamentary regime with a hereditary emperor as chief of state.. -
End of the Modernization of Paris
With George Haussmann in charge, the result of the remodeling was a great decline in employment and less health problems. -
End of the Franco-Prussian War
Napoleon III was captured in the Franco-Prussian War and humiliated, and France went on to accept Bismarck's harsh peace terms. This caused the fall of the Second Empire of France and the establishment of the Thire Republic of France.
