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

2. Weber’s Thesis During the decades just before and the one just after the turn of the century….

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  Veillees  Subsistence farming  Prayer over fertilizer  Markets & fairs  Peddlers  No concept of national history 

5. Pre-Modernization Statistics 1810- Agriculture accounted for 66% of the national product; ¾ of citizens were rural 1812- 121 French bell ringers killed during storms to ward away evil hail-bringing spirits 1860- 1 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 14 th was a national holiday

6. Peasants resistant to Change Tradition  Plot size  Pervasive insecurity  Few agricultural credit unions  Resistant to education  Distrust of the government 

7. Agencies of Change Transportation Educational Reforms Universal Military Conscription

8. ”The Changing Rail Network of France". The maps are from a)1850 b)1860 c)1870 and d)1890. Rail Road Bikes & roads Results  Transportation

9. Education Reforms Jules Ferry led reforms (1881-1886) 

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

11. Teaching Nationalism & Lying with Maps

12. Universal Military Conscription 

13. Results Modernity brought….. “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   Jobs in gov’t & military 

14. More Results Technology changed customs  Decline in… Printing killed oral culture  Development of a national consciousness  French unity now more than just administrative unity  Altered mentalite  France “becomes” L’hexagone

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