1848. The President of the Republic was to be elected by the vote of the people for a term of four years. At the election which took place on the 10th of December, 1848, Louis Napoleon defeated General Cavaignac. The new President took the oath of office on the 20th of December, and before long was at odds with the Legislative Assembly. His term was to expire in 1852; and, according to the Constitution, he was not eligible for reelection. But Louis Napoleon, who had no intention of giving up the power he held, tried to have the Constitution altered so as to enable him to remain in authority; upon his plans being frustrated he resorted to violent measures. On the night of December 2, 1851, several Deputies were arrested and locked up in the prison of Mazas; Generals Cavaignac, Lamoricière, Changarnier, Bedeau, and Leflo were also imprisoned. The President ordered the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, which he styled "a centre of conspiracies." On the 4th of December the streets of Paris once more ran with blood; the provinces also took up arms in protest against that which they considered the first step toward the establishment of absolute power. Thirty-two Departments were declared in a state of siege. Louis Napoleon succeeded in restoring peace and order, but the repression was very severe; extraordinary courts were organized, which rendered over a thousand sentences of banishment; sixty-six Deputies were sent into exile.
On the 20th of December, 1851, a plebiscite ratified the high-handed proceedings of Louis Napoleon and intrusted to him the enacting of a new Constitution; thus conferring on him dictatorial power. He availed himself of this opportunity to attain his desire, and on the 20th of January, 1852, he proclaimed the new Constitution conferring on the President of the Republic, who was to be elected for ten years, the exclusive right of introducing laws. The legislative body was not permitted to alter the laws submitted for its approval without the consent of a Council of State whose members were appointed by the President. The days of the
