The ‘Three Glorious Days’

Abstract

The parliamentary crisis precipitated by the liberal electoral victory in the summer of 1830 was turned into a revolutionary situation by two factors: the response of the liberal press to the ordinances of St-Cloud and the volatility of the artisans of Paris faced with both the political crisis and continuing deprivation resulting from the economic depression. Following the overwhelming liberal triumph, which he interpreted as the first step towards his own revolutionary overthrow, and after much hesitation, Charles determined to seize the initiative. Emboldened by the victory of the French troops in Algeria, and overestimating the patriotic enthusiasm thus aroused, Charles was persuaded by some of his ultra ministers that the liberals were so dangerous that he was justified in invoking the emergency decree powers given to him in article fourteen of the constitutional charter. He hoped that the ordinances he signed at St-Cloud on 25 July would end the emergency, which he believed had been created by the election, and restore his own position. The liberal press was blamed for the absence of a stable government, accused of dominating parliament, depressing the army and subverting religion.