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The Parisian Catholic Press And The February 1848 Revolution, M. Patricia Dougherty

History and Political Science | Faculty Scholarship

The spark that ignited the 1848 Revolution in France was the cancellation of a large protest demonstration which was to precede a 22 February political banquet in the XII arrondissement of Paris. The immediate issue was the right to hold meetings (the right of assembly), but the underlying issue was one of political power and reform. That this action led to a revolution which overthrew the Orleanist monarchy and instituted a republic surprised everyone. One might think that the Catholics in France who were by far and large royalist would bemoan the end of a monarchy B much as many …