SOLD Millard Fillmore Officially Responds to the Coup of Napoleon III in France

The revolutions of 1848 had a complex impact on France. They were sufficiently powerful to sweep away the government of King Louis-Philippe, but were unable to remove the conservative and monarchist interests that had supported it. These groups opposed the idea of a republican government and tried to avoid it by electing as president Louis Napoleon, nephew of the revered Napoleon, who they thought they could control. This choice brought with it the prospect of another Napoleonic regime in which France would be restored to a pre-eminent position within Europe, but was problematic because Louis Napoleon supported moderate (if not liberal) positions. Consequently, when he came to power, he had conflicting expectations to fulfil.

The assembly remained in control of the conservatives who were quickly unhappy with Louis Napoleon. He sought to mollify them, but they did not see him as a reliable ally and intended to wait out his term in office and replace him with one of their own men. As president of the Second Republic, Louis Napoleon  was limited by law to one term, but he had other ideas. He first proposed a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the president to serve for more than one term. This was defeated in the assembly in July 1851, and he began plans for a coup. On December 2, 1851, the anniversary of his uncle’s victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, Louis Napoleon staged a masterly takeover. The legislative assembly was dissolved and the conservatives neutralized, universal suffrage was reestablished and a plebiscite authorizing the revision of the constitution was announced. An attempted radical uprising was repressed and steps were taken to assure a majority in the plebiscite. Victory would, in any case, have been the probable outcome, as the Bonaparte name promised glory, order, and a possible solution to France’s political division. The plebiscite was held on December 22 and 23, 1851, and approval of Louis Napoleon was overwhelming. A new constitution conforming to his desires was enacted on January 14, 1852, and it gave the President dictatorial powers and created a council of state, a senate, and a legislative assembly subservient to him. Subsequent decrees barred republicans from the ballot and throttled the press. It was clear that Louis Napoleon had become, in essence, an elected monarch.

All of this was watched with some trepidation in the United States, which always hoped to see France a republic, and to President Fillmore particularly, as the French president was arbitrating a financial dispute between the U.S. and Portugal, and it was easier for the American people to accept a decision from a republican leader than a monarch. The situation in France soon received President Fillmore’s personal attention, and the New York Times reported on February 12, 1852, that he had “received an autograph letter from Louis Napoleon expressing a desire to cultivate friendly relations with the United States”. The President’s response was quick.

Document Signed as President, Washington, February 16, 1852, ordering the Secretary of State to affix the “Great Seal of the United States to the envelope of a letter addressed to the President of France, in answer to one just received from His Excellency, relative to the causes which induced him to adopt measures to change the form of Government in that country.” Further research might disclose the excuses Louis Napoleon gave for the coup, and President Fillmore’s specific reaction.