Charter of 1815

Charter of 1815

The Charter of 1815, signed on April 22, 1815, was the French constitution prepared by Benjamin Constant at the request of Napoleon I when he returned from exile on Elba. More correctly known as the "Additional Act to the Constitutions of the Empire" the document extensively amended (in fact virtually replacing) the previous Napoleonic Constitutions (Constitution of the Year VIII, Constitution of the Year X and Constitution of the Year XII). The Additional Act reframed the Napoleonic constitution into something more along the lines of the Bourbon Restoration Charter of 1814 of Louis XVIII, while otherwise ignoring the Bourbon charter's existence. It was very liberal in spirit, and gave the French people rights which had previously been unknown to them, such as the right to elect the mayor in communes of less than 5,000 in population. To diminish the effect of the changes and concessions from the new liberal spirit, Napoleon treated it as a mere continuation of the previous constitutions, and it therefore took the form of an ordinary legislative act "additional to the constitutions of the Empire".

Contents

Preparation

Napoleon, having returned from the Island of Elba for the Hundred Days, was not able to re-establish the First Empire as it had been before his restoration. He asked the liberal Benjamin Constant to prepare a new Constitution. It was adopted by a plebiscite on June 1, 1815 by an immense majority of the five million voters, although a great many eligible voters abstained. It was promulgated in a ceremony at the Champ de Mars. The rapid fall of Napoleon prevented it from being fully applied.

Principles

The legislative power was to be exercised by the Emperor together with the Parliament, which was to be composed of two chambers: the Chamber of Peers composed of hereditary members appointed by the Emperor, and the Chamber of Representatives, composed of 629 citizens elected for 5 year terms by electoral colleges in the individual départments. The ministers were to be responsible to the Parliament for their actions. The liberalization dealt both with the guarantees of rights and the end of censorship. In the end, the two chambers held sessions for only one month, from June 3 to July 7, 1815.

See also

References

  • English Text of the Charter
  • Anderson, Frank Maloy. The constitutions and other select documents illustrative of the history of France, 1789-1901 Minneapolis, H.W. Wilson, 1904.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 1815 in France — See also: 1814 in France, other events of 1815, 1816 in France. Events from the year 1815 in France.Events*3 January Austria, Britain, and Bourbon restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia. *26 February… …   Wikipedia

  • 1815 — Year 1815 (MDCCCXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12 day slower Julian calendar). Events of 1815January March * January 2 Lord… …   Wikipedia

  • 1815 in rail transport — Events February events * February 6 The first railroad charter in the United States is issued to the New Jersey Railroad Company, a railroad that ultimately was never built. July events * July 31 The boiler explosion of a locomotive designed by… …   Wikipedia

  • Apothecaries Act 1815 — The Apothecaries Act 1815 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (citation 55 Geo.lll, c.194) with the long title An Act for better regulating the Practice of Apothecaries throughout England and Wales . The Act introduced compulsory… …   Wikipedia

  • Treaty of Paris (1815) — The Treaty of Paris of 1815 was signed on November 20, 1815, following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon. In February, Napoleon had escaped from his exile on Elba; he entered Paris on March 20, beginning the Hundred Days of his… …   Wikipedia

  • Paris Charter — The Charter of Paris for a New Europe (also known as the Paris Charter) was adopted by a summit meeting of most European governments in addition to those of Canada, the United States and the Soviet Union, in Paris on 21 November 1990. The charter …   Wikipedia

  • Economic History of the Netherlands (1500 - 1815) — The Economic History of the Netherlands (1500 1815), is the history of an economy that some consider to be the first modern economy, continuously existing to this day. It covers the period from the time in which the geographic area currently… …   Wikipedia

  • Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika \(1815 bis 1854\): Expansion von Meer zu Meer —   Sieht man von der Sklaverei in den Südstaaten ab, dann waren die USA nach 1815 die am meisten egalitäre, individualistische und erwerbsorientierte Gesellschaft der Welt. Die fortschreitende Demokratisierung bezog die common people, das einfache …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Hundred Days — This article is about Napoleon s last period of rule. For other uses, see Hundred Days (disambiguation). Hundred Days Part of the Napoleonic Wars …   Wikipedia

  • List of mayors of Cincinnati — This is a list of mayors of Cincinnati. Contents 1 History 2 Mayors of Cincinnati 3 See also 4 References History Until the charter …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”