1. Peasants into Frenchmen The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914
Interpretations of Eugen Weber’s Work

2. Weber’s Thesis
During the Belle Epoch/Fin de Siecle –so during the 3rd Republic- …

3. Pre-Modernization France-Mentalite
“Most of France was isolated & impoverished peasant communities where urban-based French culture, French language, and national consciousness had made few inroads- despite 1789 and 1848”
Underdeveloped France 
“1789 & 1848 were not trivial, just incomplete.” Politics remained local and personal until those interests became linked to national ones and understood as such.

4. Traditional Culture of France
Oral Culture
Illiterate Majority of rural France was; oral tradition KEY
Veillees Village goes to one person’s house at night to tell stories AND save fuel; creates a sense of community
Subsistence farming NOT part of the market econ
Markets & fairs Local events that create a sense of community
Peddlers Itinerate travelers who carried songs & stories
No concept of being part of the nation 

5. Pre-Modernization Statistics
1810- Agriculture accounted for 66% of the national product; ¾ of citizens were rural
French bell ringers killed during storms to ward away evil hail-bringing spirits
in 5 citizens of France didn’t speak French- French was a foreign language!
Basque, Breton, Flemish, German, Gascon, Italian, Corsican, Catalan, & Bearnais
1906- only 1 in 4 draftees could explain why July 14th was a national holiday

6. Peasants resistant to Change
NOT just mindless devotion to the old ways….
Peasants resistant to Change
Tradition 
Plot size too small to modernize
Pervasive insecurity can’t take risks on new techniques
Prayer over fertilizer
Resistant to education 
Distrust of the government 
France ONLY administratively unified  1 government, 1 tax code, 1 army, but many nations

7. Agencies of Change Transportation Educational Reforms
Universal Military Conscription

8. Transportation Rail Road Bikes & roads Centralization Results
“Greatly undermined the
isolation of separate communities”
Bikes & roads
Centralization Results
Culture connected
Trade GREATLY increased
1850
1860
1890
1870 31
496
9,167
23,089
38,109
Kilometers of RR in…

9. Education Reforms Jules Ferry led reforms (1881-1886)
 Free & compulsory education
 Centralized curriculum
 New buildings & books
 Trained teachers

10. Centralization Results of Education Reform
Taught French language 
Taught urban values 
Created shared experience 
Taught nationalism 
Progress = good 

11. Teaching Nationalism & Lying with Maps
Map French texts books are using
ACTUAL map of Europe- note the Rhine River
The magic “moving” border between France & Germany!

12. Universal Military Conscription
Continued the process schools began
Orders and signs…
Patriotism & nationalism
shared experience
 Made the gov’t more acceptable
agent of emigration
 Illiterate soldiers had to serve one more year 

13. Results
Modernity brought “unexpected hope and comfort to the peasants”
 “Many grieved over the loss of yesterday, but few who grieved were peasants… Thatched cottages…are picturesque on the outside, [but] living in them is another matter.”
When modern farming techniques proved useful…
Attitudes toward education changed Parents WANTED their kids to go to school  
Civil Servant jobs Jobs in gov’t & military 
 More good feelings about the gov’t

14. More Results
Technology changed customs  RR- no more peddlers, so songs & stories die out; better heat, so veillees die out
Printing killed oral culture 
Development of a national consciousness 
French unity now more than just administrative unity-->
Altered mentalite 
France “becomes” L’hexagone
 nickname- ONE nation (state?)

15. Analysis
Shows how small communities are absorbed into a nation and a nation-state
Reminds us how recent present levels of integration really are