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The Paris Commune 1871

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Chantel E.
H. Crosby
HIS 102-W08
March 31, 2013

The Paris Commune 1871 One of the most inspiring and greatest events for the working class in history is The Paris Commune of 1871. In March of 1871, the citizens of Paris declined the authority of the French government. The working class people were able to replace the state government with their own branch of government and held power until their decline. Causes of the Communes origins lie in the Franco-Prussian War as well as the siege of Paris. During this time, people were experiencing intense isolation from France and uproar of patriotism which caused socialist aspects to come about among the lower class Parisians. With the defeat of France and the end of the siege, people …show more content…

Since this rejection of power was done openly, Thiers called an immediate evacuation of government from Paris. The army and many of the bureaucracy left the city and went to Versailles. Citizens now had control of Paris. The newly formed Central Committee of the National Guard came out as the main authority during the government’s swift retreat. The immediate concern of the committee was to have municipal elections and move power to the Commune as quickly as possible. On March 26, the elections brought a Paris Commune that was to the left of the Assembly at Versailles. Many of the districts elected officials that were in opposition of the government. Of the ninety one representatives, thirty five were manual laborers, mostly craftsmen in little workshops. Members of the Commune had little to no experience politically. They often rambled during their debates which caused many matters to be dropped rather than addressed (Magraw 88). Politically, the Commune had no direction. This was a very important aspect because it was needed in order to win a civil war. One of the Commune’s most effective measures was to do away with payment of rent that accumulated over the course of the siege. For lower classes, this was a big relief and helped to get more support for the Commune. However, actions such as this were very rare. With no apparent leader, the Commune was always shifting different

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