TRIERS, LOUIS A. 



TICKNOR, GEORGE. 



739 



of which Thiers had to bear. He assumed a 

 threatening attitude, pushed the fortifications 

 of Paris, and renewed the agitation of the 

 question of the Rhine frontier. The King re- 

 fused to sanction his measures, and he retired 

 from office October 21, 1840. During the later 

 years of his office in the ministry he had sup- 

 ported repressive measures against the repub- 

 licans ; had maintained the laws of September, 

 and the regulations of the press, and of trial 

 by jury ; and had opposed or delayed measures 

 of electoral and parliamentary reform. He 

 now seemed disposed to renounce public life, 

 and entered with zeal upon his long-cherished 

 design of writing a history of Napoleon, "ISHis- 

 toire du Consulat et de V Empire." To prepare 

 himself more fully for this work, he travelled 

 in Germany and Italy, and made himself ac- 

 quainted with the scenes of the campaigns and 

 battles of the wars of Napoleon. His history 

 was acknowledged as a standard. At the in- 

 stance of the French Academy, it was awarded 

 the biennial prize of 20,000 francs. Louis Na- 

 poleon, in one of his messages to the Corps Le- 

 gislatif, called the author the national historian. 

 Mr. Thiers accepted the honor which the Acad- 

 emy designed to confer upon him, but re- 

 turned the 20,000 francs awarded him, to found 

 a new prize bearing his name. M. Thiers con- 

 tinued a member of the Chambers most of the 

 time till the fall of the kingdom of Louis Phi- 

 lippe. He maintained a general opposition to 

 the personal policy of the King and to the min- 

 istry of M. Guizot, between whom and himself 

 a strong rivalry had existed since 1884. He 

 spoke (1842) in favor of sustaining the regency 

 laws by which the Duchess of Orleans was 

 excluded from the government ; in sharp criti- 

 cism of the Guizot ministry (1844) ; against 

 increasing the power of the Jesuits (1845); 

 on the rights of the university against the or- 

 dinance by which they were violated (Februa- 

 ry 21, 1846) ; on the incompatibility of public 

 functions with the legislative mandate (March 

 16, 1846). In the beginning of 1848 he made 

 a strong liberal, almost revolutionary speech. 



When in February, 1848, the ministry pro- 

 hibited the banquet of the twelfth arrondisse- 

 ment, Thiers advised the Liberals to give up 

 their design. Shortly afterward the King called 

 upon him to form a new ministry with Odillon 

 Barrot. But the revolution of the 22d of Feb- 

 ruary overtook them, and drove Louis Philippe 

 from the throne. Thiers gave his adhesion to 

 the Provisional Government. He was elected 

 to the Constituent Assembly by four depart- 

 ments, and accepted a seat from the Depart- 

 ment of Seine Inf6rieure. He took his seat 

 upon the right, as one of the leaders of the 

 party of the bourgeoisie, actively opposed the 

 policy and designs of the socialist Left, as well 

 as of the Bonapartists, and did not conceal that 

 his sympathies were in favor of the restoration 

 of the Orleanists. About this time he wrote 

 a work u Du Droit de Propriete," attacking so- 

 cialism. He voted for General Cavaignac for 



dictator, and afterward voted for Louis Napo- 

 leon for the presidency, although he had op- 

 posed his candidacy. He voted for the expe- 

 dition to Rome, for the law of public instruc- 

 tion of the 15th of March, 1850, for the sup- 

 pression of the clubs, and for the electoral lav. 

 of May 31st. 



After the coup d'etat of December, 1851, he 

 was arrested, imprisoned, and banished. After 

 sojourning a short time in England, Switzer- 

 land, and Italy, he was allowed to return to 

 France, where he devoted himself to literary 

 pursuits, without entering into relations with 

 the restored empire. In 1863 he was chosen to 

 the Corps Legislatif from the second circon- 

 scription of Paris, over Persigny. He displayed 

 his old powers in their full activity, generally 

 in support of the opposition minority, but dif- 

 fered from them on the Roman question. His 

 earnest support of the temporal power of the 

 Pope, and his pronounced desire to prevent 

 the unification of Italy and of Germany, sepa- 

 rated him in some degree from the rest of his 

 party. In 1866 he severely criticised the Em- 

 peror's blunders in foreign policy, and particu- 

 larly opposed the course that was pursued in 

 reference to Prussia. In 1869 he condemned 

 the extravagance of Baron Haussman's admin- 

 istration of the city of Paris. The same year 

 he spoke against the system of official candida- 

 tures. He was reflected to the Corps Legislatif 

 in 1869, over an active imperial opposition. 

 Being one of the leaders of the protectionist 

 party, he vigorously opposed the commercial 

 treaties which the Government had made. He 

 was appointed on the commission of commer- 

 cial inquiry, but refused to serve, because the 

 commission was appointed with reference to 

 the promotion of free-trade views. When, in 

 1870, the new ministry of M. Ollivier was ap- 

 pointed, M. Thiers gave it his support, out of 

 Eersonal regard to its chief, who was his old 

 iend. But, when the ministry gave its con- 

 sent to a declaration of war against Prussia, 

 Thiers made a powerful speech against war. 

 The National Assembly which met in Bordeaux, 

 in February, 1871, appointed Thiers President 

 of the Executive power, which title was sub- 

 sequently changed into that of President of 

 the Republic. (The part which he took as 

 Regent of France, in the great events of the 

 year 1871, is fully described in the article 

 FRANCE.) 



Besides the works already mentioned, M. 

 Thiers published, in 1826, "LawetsonSystemede 

 Finances;" in 1831, "La MonarchiedeI830; "in 

 1853 (second edition), "Congresde Vienne" He 

 also contributed papers to the Globe, the En- 

 cyclopedic progressive, the Revue Francaise, the 

 Revue des Deux Mondes, etc. M. Thiers was 

 elected a member of the Academy in place of 

 M. Andrieux on the 13th of December, 1834. 

 He was constituted a Grand-Officer of the Le- 

 gion of Honor, April 27, 1840. 



TICKNOR, GEOKGE, LL. D., an eminent 

 scholar, professor, and author, born in Boston, 



