Abstract
tury of the Common Man, enough interest already existed in the working class that the historian can study its attitudes. This is especially true in France after the establishment, in 1848, of universal manhood suffrage. Henceforth, the holders and seekers of political power could no longer ignore public opinion in the widest sense. sources for worker opinion during the Second Empire are, therefore, relatively abundant. They have, however, been little utilized, particularly on the local level. And until we have more local histories, public opinion studies will be greatly handicapped. results of plebiscites and elections can be useful if used cautiously and with an awareness of electoral practices. Thus, government pressure and the absence of real alternatives in the plebiscites meant that they did not necessarily reveal public opinion.1 Electoral districts often included voters from different classes. An agricultural area frequently had small factories and always craftsmen, but since all voted together, election results, alone, do not reveal how workers voted. A similar situation existed in Paris 1The leading student of public opinion during the Second Empire has said: The rigged elections and the packed legislatures were not even taken seriously by Napoleon III himself as weathervanes of opinion. Lynn M. Case, French Opinion on War and Diplo,nacy during the Second Empire (Philadelphia, 1954), p. 271. [ 36 ]
Published Version
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