The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte

[Sand Castle]

Can someone explain The Eighteenth Brumaire to me please? I just finished reading it, but as an American living in the 21st Century I don't really know much about French history from well over 100 years ago. So I became confused by the disorderly web of old politics that was laid out in the book. Theory seemed to blur into unknown history, which made it hard for me to understand.

I did, however, understand the following things. But correct me if I'm wrong.

1. In times of crisis, usually one that threatens the rule of the bourgeoisie, the ruling class gives up its political power and the state becomes an independent oppressor.
2. Something about second revolutions dressing themselves up in the clothes of past revolutions in order to gain support, but they really betray the ideals of those past revolutions.

That's about it. I usually understand these types of things, and I tried to figure it out on my own by Googling for good reviews and explanations, but all I found were websites that had the text of Marx's essay.

[Die Neue Zeit]

That's a typical story. The bigger, unsung story, however, is the emergence of Social-Democracy with hyphen:

http://www.revleft.com/vb/social-democracy-t132438/index.html?p=1715000

[Communist]

.
To Learning, from Theory.

Moved.
.

[ComradeOm]

A few key dates in French history that might prove useful in sorting out the "disorderly web of old politics". What Marx does is look behind the events to tie them all together through class analysis

1789: The French Revolution: Outbreak of revolution in France... far too detailed to go into

1792: The First French Republic declared

1799: The original Eighteenth Brumaire: Napoleon I stages a military coup on the eighteenth of Brumaire (9 Nov in the revolutionary calendar) establishing himself as dictator

1804: The formation of the First French Empire: Napoleon crowned Emperor, a position that he holds until 1814

1815: The Bourbon Restoration: Louis XVIII becomes monarch of France (in practice) but strikes a relatively moderate tone. When he died in 1824 his successor, the reactionary Charles X, lurched towards ancien regime style absolutism. This set the scene for...

1830: The July Revolution: Charles X is overthrown and Louis Philippe d'Orléans (a supposed liberal, nicknamed the 'Citizen King') takes the throne. Very much a bourgeois king

1848: Springtime of the Peoples - the European Revolutions of 1848. A democratic revolution (one of the first in a wave that swept Europe) deposes Louis Philippe. The revolution contains both liberal and socialist elements, as symbolised by the flying of both the Tricolore and the red flag. The former won out (after armed conflict during the June Days) with the establishment of the bourgeois Second Republic. To cap the year off, Louis Napoleon (nephew of the one and only Nappy) is elected President in December

1851: The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. After battling parliament for years, Louis Napoleon stages a coup. A year later he is declared Emperor of the Second French Empire

1870: The Franco-Prussian War. Napoleon's army is crushed at Sedan (where another French military disaster would follow decades later) and he himself is taken capture. French politicians quickly disassociate themselves with him and the Third Republic is declared in 1871... after more bloodshed in Paris