Editing Napoleon III (section)

===Presidential election of 1848===
{{Further|1848 French presidential election}}
[[File:Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte président.JPG|thumb|Louis Napoleon captured 74.2 percent of votes cast in the first French direct presidential elections in 1848.]]

[[File:5fr Napoleon III - 1852.png|thumb|[[Silver coin]]: 5 franc, 1852, Under Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte as president]]
[[File:5 francs Napoleon III 1870 BB.png|thumb|[[Silver coin]]: 5 franc, 1870, Under Emperor Napoleon III]]

The new constitution of the [[French Second Republic|Second Republic]], drafted by a commission including [[Alexis de Tocqueville]], called for a strong executive and a president elected by popular vote through universal male suffrage, rather than chosen by the National Assembly.{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|p=111}} The [[1848 French presidential election|elections]] were scheduled for 10–11 December 1848. Louis Napoleon promptly announced his candidacy. There were four other candidates for the post: General Cavaignac, who had led the suppression of the June uprisings in Paris; Lamartine, the poet-philosopher and leader of the provisional government; [[Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin]], the leader of the socialists; and [[Raspail]], the leader of the far left wing of the socialists.{{Sfn|Milza|2006|pp=182–190}}

Louis Napoleon established his campaign headquarters and residence at the Hôtel du Rhin on [[Place Vendôme]]. He was accompanied by his companion, Harriet Howard, who gave him a large loan to help finance his campaign. He rarely went to the sessions of the National Assembly and rarely voted. He was not a gifted orator; he spoke slowly, in a monotone, with a slight German accent from his Swiss education. His opponents sometimes ridiculed him, one comparing him to "a turkey who believes he's an eagle".{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|p=115}}

Louis Napoleon's campaign appealed to both the left and right. His election manifesto proclaimed his support for "religion, family, property, the eternal basis of all social order". But it also announced his intent "to give work to those unoccupied; to look out for the old age of the workers; to introduce in industrial laws those improvements which do not ruin the rich, but which bring about the well-being of each and the prosperity of all".{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|p=125}}

Louis Napoleon's campaign agents, many of them veterans from Napoleon Bonaparte's army, raised support for him around the country. Louis Napoleon won the grudging endorsement of the conservative leader [[Adolphe Thiers]], who believed he could be the most easily controlled; Thiers called him "of all the candidates, the least bad".{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|p=123}} He won the backing of ''L'Evenement'', the newspaper of Victor Hugo, which declared, "We have confidence in him; he carries a great name."{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|p=124}} His chief opponent, General Cavaignac, expected that Louis Napoleon would come in first, but that he would receive less than fifty percent of the vote, which would mean the election would go to the National Assembly, where Cavaignac was certain to win.

The elections were held on 10–11 December. Results were announced on 20 December. Louis Napoleon was widely expected to win, but the size of his victory surprised almost everyone. He won 5,572,834 votes, or 74.2 percent of votes cast, compared with 1,469,156 for Cavaignac. The socialist Ledru-Rollin received 376,834; the extreme left candidate Raspail 37,106, and the poet Lamartine only 17,000 votes. Louis Napoleon won the support of all segments of the population: the peasants unhappy with rising prices and high taxes; unemployed workers; small businessmen who wanted prosperity and order; and intellectuals such as Victor Hugo. He won the votes of 55.6 percent of all registered voters, and won in all but four of France's departments.{{Sfn|Milza|2006|pp=189–190}}
<gallery>
File:Campagne présidentielle de 1848.jpg|The 1848 presidential campaign pitted Louis Napoleon against General Cavaignac, the Minister of Defense of the Provisional Government, and the leaders of the socialists.
File:Extinction du Paupérisme par Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte 1.jpeg|Louis Napoleon's essay, "The Extinction of Pauperism", advocating reforms to help the working class, was widely circulated during the 1848 election campaign.
</gallery>