Doctrinaires
Encyclopedia
Doctrinaires was the name given during the Bourbon Restoration
(1814-1830) to the little group of French
Royalist
s who hoped to reconcile the Monarchy
with the Revolution
, and power
with liberty
. Headed by Royer-Collard, these liberal
royalists were in favor of a constitutional monarchy
but with a heavily restricted census suffrage — Louis XVIII, who had been restored to the throne, had granted a Charter to the French with a Chamber of Peers
and a Chamber of deputies elected under tight electoral laws (only around 100,000 Frenchmen had at the time the right to vote).
The Doctrinaires first obtained in 1816 the co-operation of Louis XVIII, who had been frightened by the violence of the Ultra-royalists in the Chambre introuvable
of 1815. The Ultras, however, quickly came back to government, headed by the comte de Villèle. The Doctrinaires were then in the opposition, although they remained quite close to the government, especially to Decazes
who assumed some governmental offices. Closer to a reflexion circle than to a political party
, the Doctrinaires were opposed on their left by the Republicans
and the "Utopian Socialists" (as they were later called by Marx
) and on their right by the Ultras.
Finally, the Doctrinaires were destroyed by Charles X
, the reactionary
successor of his brother Louis XVIII, Charles took the ultra prince de Polignac
as his minister. This nomination in part caused the 1830 July Revolution, during which the Doctrinaires became absorbed in the Orléanist
s, from whom they had never been separated on any ground of principle. According to René Rémond
's famous classification of the various right-wing families in France, the Orleanists became the second right-wing tradition to emerge after the Legitimists, a term used to refer to the Ultras after the July Revolution.
by Bonapartist
and Liberal exiles, began to speak of Royer-Collard
as the doctrinaire and also as le Pierre Royer-Collard de la doctrine chrétienne, a name which came from Royer-Collard's studies under the Prêtres de la doctrine chrétienne, a French religious order founded in 1592 by César de Bus
and popularly known as the doctrinaires.
The choice of a nickname for M. Royer-Collard does credit to the journalistic insight of the contributors to the Nain jaune réfugié, for he was emphatically a man who made it his business to preach a doctrine
and an orthodoxy
. The term quickly became popular and was extended to Royer-Collard's colleagues, who came from different horizons. The duc de Richelieu
and de Serre had been Royalist émigrés during the revolutionary and imperial epoch.
, and Maine de Biran
had sat in the revolutionary Assemblies. Pasquier
, the comte de Beugnot, the baron de Barante
, Georges Cuvier
, Mounier
, Guizot
and Decazes
had been imperial officials. But they were closely united by political principle, and also by a certain similarity of method. Some of them, notably Guizot and Maine de Biran, were theorists and commentators on the principles of government. The baron de Barante was an eminent man of letters. All were noted for the doctrinal coherence of their principles and the dialectic
al rigidity of their arguments. The object of the party as defined by the future duc Decazes was to "nationalize the monarchy and to royalize France". The king, who had been "king of France" during the Ancien Régime, ultimately became "king of the French" under the July Monarchy. This illustrated the change from the divine right of kings
to national sovereignty
: sovereignty wasn't derived from God anymore, but from the people.
The means by which they hoped to attain this end were a loyal application of the charter granted by Louis XVIII, and the steady co-operation of the king with themselves to defeat the Ultra-royalists
, a group of counterrevolutionaries who aimed at the complete undoing of the political and social work of the Revolution
. The Doctrinaires were ready to allow the king a large discretion in the choice of his ministers and the direction of national policy. They refused the principle of parliamentary responsibility, that is to allow that ministers should be removed in obedience to a hostile vote in the chamber.
Their ideal in fact was a combination of a king who frankly accepted the results of the Revolution
, and who governed in a liberal spirit, with the advice of a chamber elected by a very limited constituency, in which men of property and education formed, if not the wholes at least the very great majority of the voters. This king was not to be found until Louis-Philippe's reign during the July Monarchy
. Guizot set forth the Doctrinaires' ideology in his 1816 treatise Du gouvernement représentatif et de l'état actuel de la France. The chief organs of the party in the press were the Indépendent, renamed the Constitutionnel in 1817, and the Journal des Débats
. The Doctrinaires were chiefly supported by ex-officials of the empire, who believed in the necessity for monarchical government but had a lively memory of Napoleon
's authoritative rule and a no less lively hatred of the Ancien Régime merchants, manufacturers and members of the liberal professions, particularly the lawyers.
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
(1814-1830) to the little group of French
France in the nineteenth century
The History of France from 1789 to 1914 extends from the French Revolution to World War I and includes:*French Revolution *French First Republic *First French Empire under Napoleon...
Royalist
Ultra-royalist
Ultra-Royalists or simply Ultras were a reactionary faction which sat in the French parliament from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration...
s who hoped to reconcile the Monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
with the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, and power
Political power
Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...
with liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
. Headed by Royer-Collard, these liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
royalists were in favor of a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
but with a heavily restricted census suffrage — Louis XVIII, who had been restored to the throne, had granted a Charter to the French with a Chamber of Peers
Peerage of France
The Peerage of France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. It was abolished in 1789 during the French Revolution, but it reappeared in 1814 at the time of the Bourbon Restoration which followed the fall of the First French Empire...
and a Chamber of deputies elected under tight electoral laws (only around 100,000 Frenchmen had at the time the right to vote).
The Doctrinaires first obtained in 1816 the co-operation of Louis XVIII, who had been frightened by the violence of the Ultra-royalists in the Chambre introuvable
Chambre introuvable
La Chambre introuvable was the first Chamber of Deputies elected after the Second Bourbon Restoration in 1815. It was dominated by Ultra-royalists who completely refused to accept the results of the French Revolution...
of 1815. The Ultras, however, quickly came back to government, headed by the comte de Villèle. The Doctrinaires were then in the opposition, although they remained quite close to the government, especially to Decazes
Élie, duc Decazes
Élie Decazes, 1st duc Decazes and 1st Duke of Glücksbierg , was a French statesman, known from 1815 to 1820 as 1st comte Decazes in France, 1st Duke of Glücksbierg in Denmark in 1818, and 1st duc Decazes in France in 1820 .-Early life:Élie Decazes was born at Saint-Martin-de-Laye, Gironde, son of...
who assumed some governmental offices. Closer to a reflexion circle than to a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
, the Doctrinaires were opposed on their left by the Republicans
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
and the "Utopian Socialists" (as they were later called by Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
) and on their right by the Ultras.
Finally, the Doctrinaires were destroyed by Charles X
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
, the reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
successor of his brother Louis XVIII, Charles took the ultra prince de Polignac
Jules, prince de Polignac
Prince Jules de Polignac, 3rd Duke of Polignac , was a French statesman. He played a part in ultra-royalist reaction after the Revolution...
as his minister. This nomination in part caused the 1830 July Revolution, during which the Doctrinaires became absorbed in the Orléanist
Orléanist
The Orléanists were a French right-wing/center-right party which arose out of the French Revolution. It governed France 1830-1848 in the "July Monarchy" of king Louis Philippe. It is generally seen as a transitional period dominated by the bourgeoisie and the conservative Orleanist doctrine in...
s, from whom they had never been separated on any ground of principle. According to René Rémond
René Rémond
-Biography:Born in Lons-le-Saunier, Rémond was the Secretary General of Jeunesses étudiantes Catholiques and a member of the International YCS Center of Documentation and Information in Paris, presently the International Secretariat of International Young Catholic Students The author of books on...
's famous classification of the various right-wing families in France, the Orleanists became the second right-wing tradition to emerge after the Legitimists, a term used to refer to the Ultras after the July Revolution.
Doctrinaires, a pejorative word quickly reappropriated
The name, as has often been the case with party designations, was at first given in derision and by an enemy. In 1816 the Nain jaune réfugié, a French paper, published at BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
by Bonapartist
Bonapartist
In French political history, Bonapartism has two meanings. In a strict sense, this term refers to people who aimed to restore the French Empire under the House of Bonaparte, the Corsican family of Napoleon Bonaparte and his nephew Louis...
and Liberal exiles, began to speak of Royer-Collard
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard , was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration .-Biography:...
as the doctrinaire and also as le Pierre Royer-Collard de la doctrine chrétienne, a name which came from Royer-Collard's studies under the Prêtres de la doctrine chrétienne, a French religious order founded in 1592 by César de Bus
César de Bus
Blessed César de Bus was a French Catholic priest, founder of two religious congregations.-Life:...
and popularly known as the doctrinaires.
The choice of a nickname for M. Royer-Collard does credit to the journalistic insight of the contributors to the Nain jaune réfugié, for he was emphatically a man who made it his business to preach a doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
and an orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
. The term quickly became popular and was extended to Royer-Collard's colleagues, who came from different horizons. The duc de Richelieu
Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu
Armand Emmanuel Sophie Septimanie de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of Richelieu was a prominent French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration...
and de Serre had been Royalist émigrés during the revolutionary and imperial epoch.
"Nationalize the monarchy and royalize France"
Royer-Collard himself, LamLam
-Lam:*Mor lam, an ancient Lao form of song in Laos and Isan*Lam saravane, a music genre*Lam luang, a music genre*Lam, Germany, a town in Bavaria-LAM:*Lactational amenorrhea method, a contraceptive method...
, and Maine de Biran
Maine de Biran
François-Pierre-Gonthier Maine de Biran , usually known simply as Maine de Biran, was a French philosopher.- Life :...
had sat in the revolutionary Assemblies. Pasquier
Étienne Pasquier
Étienne Pasquier , French lawyer and man of letters, was born at Paris, on 7 June 1529 by his own account, according to others a year earlier. He was called to the Paris bar in 1549....
, the comte de Beugnot, the baron de Barante
Amable Guillaume Prosper Brugière, baron de Barante
Amable Guillaume Prosper Brugière, baron de Barante was a French statesman and historian.Barante was born at Riom, Puy-de-Dôme, the son of an advocate. At the age of sixteen he entered the École Polytechnique at Paris, and at twenty obtained his first appointment in the civil service...
, Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, Mounier
Jean Joseph Mounier
Jean Joseph Mounier was a French politician and judge.He was born at Grenoble . He studied law, and in 1783 obtained a judgeship at Grenoble. He took part in the struggle between the parlements and the court in 1788, and promoted the meeting of the estates of Dauphiné at Vizille , on the eve of...
, Guizot
François Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848, a conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, and worked to sustain a constitutional...
and Decazes
Élie, duc Decazes
Élie Decazes, 1st duc Decazes and 1st Duke of Glücksbierg , was a French statesman, known from 1815 to 1820 as 1st comte Decazes in France, 1st Duke of Glücksbierg in Denmark in 1818, and 1st duc Decazes in France in 1820 .-Early life:Élie Decazes was born at Saint-Martin-de-Laye, Gironde, son of...
had been imperial officials. But they were closely united by political principle, and also by a certain similarity of method. Some of them, notably Guizot and Maine de Biran, were theorists and commentators on the principles of government. The baron de Barante was an eminent man of letters. All were noted for the doctrinal coherence of their principles and the dialectic
Dialectic
Dialectic is a method of argument for resolving disagreement that has been central to Indic and European philosophy since antiquity. The word dialectic originated in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato in the Socratic dialogues...
al rigidity of their arguments. The object of the party as defined by the future duc Decazes was to "nationalize the monarchy and to royalize France". The king, who had been "king of France" during the Ancien Régime, ultimately became "king of the French" under the July Monarchy. This illustrated the change from the divine right of kings
Divine Right of Kings
The divine right of kings or divine-right theory of kingship is a political and religious doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God...
to national sovereignty
National sovereignty
National sovereignty is the doctrine that sovereignty belongs to and derives from the nation, an abstract entity normally linked to a physical territory and its past, present, and future citizens. It is an ideological concept or doctrine derived from liberal political theory...
: sovereignty wasn't derived from God anymore, but from the people.
The means by which they hoped to attain this end were a loyal application of the charter granted by Louis XVIII, and the steady co-operation of the king with themselves to defeat the Ultra-royalists
Ultra-royalist
Ultra-Royalists or simply Ultras were a reactionary faction which sat in the French parliament from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration...
, a group of counterrevolutionaries who aimed at the complete undoing of the political and social work of the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. The Doctrinaires were ready to allow the king a large discretion in the choice of his ministers and the direction of national policy. They refused the principle of parliamentary responsibility, that is to allow that ministers should be removed in obedience to a hostile vote in the chamber.
Their ideal in fact was a combination of a king who frankly accepted the results of the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, and who governed in a liberal spirit, with the advice of a chamber elected by a very limited constituency, in which men of property and education formed, if not the wholes at least the very great majority of the voters. This king was not to be found until Louis-Philippe's reign during the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
. Guizot set forth the Doctrinaires' ideology in his 1816 treatise Du gouvernement représentatif et de l'état actuel de la France. The chief organs of the party in the press were the Indépendent, renamed the Constitutionnel in 1817, and the Journal des Débats
Journal des Débats
The Journal des débats was a French newspaper, published between 1789 and 1944 that changed title several times...
. The Doctrinaires were chiefly supported by ex-officials of the empire, who believed in the necessity for monarchical government but had a lively memory of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's authoritative rule and a no less lively hatred of the Ancien Régime merchants, manufacturers and members of the liberal professions, particularly the lawyers.
English terminology
The word doctrinaire has become naturalized in English terminology, as applied, in a slightly contemptuous sense, to a theorist, as distinguished from a practical man of affairs.Members
- Royer-Collard (leader)
- Camille JordanCamille JordanMarie Ennemond Camille Jordan was a French mathematician, known both for his foundational work in group theory and for his influential Cours d'analyse. He was born in Lyon and educated at the École polytechnique...
- de Serre
- François GuizotFrançois GuizotFrançois Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848, a conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, and worked to sustain a constitutional...
- Victor de Broglie
- Tanneguy DuchâtelTanneguy DuchâtelCount Charles Marie Tanneguy Duchâtel was a French politician....
- Charles de RémusatCharles de RémusatCharles François Marie, Comte de Rémusat , was a French politician and writer.-Biography:He was born in Paris. His father, Auguste Laurent, Comte de Rémusat, of a good family of Toulouse, was chamberlain to Napoleon Bonaparte, but acquiesced in the restoration and became prefect first of Haute...
- Duvergier de Hauranne
- Victor CousinVictor CousinVictor Cousin was a French philosopher. He was a proponent of Scottish Common Sense Realism and had an important influence on French educational policy.-Early life:...
- Prosper Brugière, Baron de Barante
- Pierre Jouffroy
- Abel-François VillemainAbel-François VillemainAbel-François Villemain was a French politician and writer.-Biography:Villemain was born in Paris and educated at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. He became assistant master at the Lycée Charlemagne, and subsequently at the École Normale. In 1812 he gained a prize from the Academy with an essay on Michel...
- Hippolyte François JaubertHippolyte François JaubertCount Hippolyte François Jaubert was a French politician and botanist.Jaubert was born in Paris, the son of François Hippolyte Jaubert and Rosalie Mélanie Cheminade...