Francois Guizot

About the Francois Guizot

Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizotwas a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848.

A conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, he worked to sustain a constitutional monarchy following 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, and 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 creation of primary schools in every French commune. As a leader of the “Doctrinaires”, committed to supporting the policies of Louis Phillipe and limitations on further expansion of the political franchise, he earned the hatred of more left-leaning liberals and republicans through his unswerving support for restricting suffrage to propertied men and supposedly advised those who wanted the vote to “enrich yourselves”through hard work and thrift.

As Prime Minister, it was Guizot’s ban on the political meetingsof an increasingly vigorous opposition in January 1848 that catalyzed the revolution that toppled Louis Philippe in February and saw the establishment of the French Second Republic. He is mentioned in the famous opening paragraph of the Communist Manifestoas a representative of the more liberal faction of the counter-revolutionary forces of Old Europe, contrasted with that of the more reactionary forces, Klemens von Metternich. Marx and Engels published that book just days before Guizot’s overthrow in the 1848 Revolution.