 Down the long path of history, cramping across centuries and continents and the graves of kings and the necks of dictators, seeking always a way of life where the people have their freedom, believing, praying, fighting, dying. We came this way. The NBC University of the Air, a public service feature of the national broadcasting company and its affiliated stations, presents We Came This Way, a new historical series for our listeners at home and overseas. With Clifton Utley as Nuri Herr, we present Chapter 9, the story of Leon Gambetta and the birth of a republic on We Came This Way. For my doll, men make events. Yeah, how? Well, take Washington. If Washington had not come along when he did, they might never have been in the United States. What about Lincoln? Same thing. No, no, men don't make events. Events make men. Look at the men we've known in our own time. Hitler, Mussolini, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Well, I'll leave it to this fellow here. What do you say? Well, there comes time in the affairs of men when the fate of millions of people hangs in the balance. It might be said that the crisis was the result of the deeds of certain men. Or again, it might be that the men were the result of the crisis. But this we do know. When great crises face mankind, leaders do rise up and blaze the way for their people to follow. And such an inspired leader was Leon Gambetta. The people of Paris were awakened in the early morning hours of December 2nd, 1851, by artillery and rifle fire sweeping the streets. During the night, Louis Napoleon, who was then president, had overthrown the Second Republic with a sudden bow stroke. Created the Second Empire and made himself the emperor. He can hardly believe it. He is mowing down the people in the streets, Dr. Boudin. I talked with him late last night and there was no hint of this. His soldiers seized the assembly hall first thing just after midnight. We must arouse the workingmen. Yes, they will stand with us against him. He will arrest us. All of us deputies on site. We must tell the workmen what has happened. We must go out into the streets and tell them the truth. Leave the way, Boudin. And we will follow. Next day, the small party of deputies threw up a barricade in the Fobos and Antoine. Boudin, with the constitution of the Second Republic in his hand, climbed the top of the barricade, which consisted of an overturned omnibus and several carriages. The rights of you, the people, have been crossed by the act of this desperate Napoleon III. The truth, Napoleon's truth, they're coming. We are well armed, Boudin. We cannot retreat. People, your assembly, the members you have elected to represent you under the law, has been dissolved. I ask you to rise. You keep that daily pay of 25 francs. You shall see how a man can die for 25 francs. I hold here in my hand the text of the most precious document of France, the constitution. Louis Napoleon has destroyed this constitution, which he has sworn on oath to maintain. Let me read from it. Let me tell you your rights under this constitution. Boudin fell with three musket bullets in his skull and died there in the street with the constitution of the Second Republic clutched in his hand. With Boudin, died the Second Republic, but the will to be free still lived in many Frenchmen. 17 years later, in 1868, three editors in Paris opened a subscription to erect a memorial to Boudin. They were arrested and brought to trial, charged with inciting hatred and contempt of Louis Napoleon's government. It is not the editors who are on trial. It is the empire of Louis Napoleon. That is what the discerning one said. And defending one of the editors was a young attorney named Leon Gambetta. Gambetta? Which one is he? I do not know. Perhaps that bulky one there, with the beard and one eye. Gambetta? Yes, I have heard the name. Soon Gambetta's name was to be known to every Frenchman and to people far beyond the seas and would endure for centuries to come. Masterfully, he presented his case. By the time he was ready to make his final plea, the people in the courtroom were roused to tense expectancy. He is not just a man, this Gambetta. He is a force. And he is only 30 years old. 30? He looks 50. It is that beard in his great size. Why have we never heard of him? They say he was born in the south, the son of a grocer. And he has only recently come to the attention of the court. Gambetta fixed the court with his overwhelming presence. Listen! For 17 years now, you have been the absolute discretionary masters of France. It is your own word. We will say nothing of the use you have made of her resources, of her blood, of her honor and her glory. But there is one fact that is your most complete condemnation. You have never dared to say we will celebrate December 2nd as one of the solemn festivals of France. We will make it a national anniversary. No! And yet all of the regimes that have followed one another in this country have honored the day of their birth. July 14th and August 10th were made festivals. The July days of 1830, the 24th of February, only two anniversaries, the 18th of Brumaire and December 2nd, have never been raised to the rank of solemn commemoration. For you know that if you tried to place them there, they would be rejected by the conscience of the nation. Very well then. We claim this anniversary which you would not keep. We take it for our own. And we shall celebrate it always unceasingly. Every year it will be the anniversary of our dead. Until the country shall once more be master and shall subject you to great national expiation in the name of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Ah, Solicitor General, you shrug your shoulders. Do not imagine that I am afraid either of your scorn or your threats. Yesterday at the close of your address you said, we shall take precautions. Do you, Solicitor General, dare to say you will take measures? What measures will you take? Is that not a threat? Well then listen, this is my last word. You can strike us, but you can never dishonor us, nor beat us down. Gometha lost the case, but he had sounded the death knell of Louis Napoleon's empire. He had rallied the flagging hopes of the Republicans. Overnight he became famous, and for the next 14 years all Europe was to resound with his name. Viva Gometha! The Republicans had found a champion, a dynamic, eloquent, fearless champion. The next year, 1869, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, and Louis Adolf Thierre immediately saw his value. The very fact he was elected establishes him as a symbol of justice in France. But now France was facing war. Bismarck was in power and pressure. He was trying to provoke war with France, Monsieur Thierre. Yes, and the Chamber of Deputies is playing into his hands. You and I alone, Monsieur Thierre, of all our parties, stand against war with pressure. Well, the question is, can we prevail? Sooner or later war must come, but we must not permit Bismarck to provoke us into it. France must clearly be proved to be just in the eyes of the world. Then we shall have the support of the world against the Prussians. In Paris, the mobs railed against the insults of Bismarck. But in the provinces where Gometha had come from, there was no clamor for war. But on July 19th, 1870, it came. And as vigorously as he had opposed war, he now supported it. We shall beat them! We shall beat them! Emperor Louis Napoleon and Marshal MacMahon were marching on Chalon on Sedan, and one of France's two armies. In Paris, Gometha was working with infectious enthusiasm. We shall beat them! We shall beat them! On September 1st, 1870, word came back to Paris that Louis Napoleon and Marshal MacMahon and their army had made contact with the Prussians, and a battle was underway at Padon. The next day, the news of what had happened struck Paris and the Chamber of Deputies like a thunderbolt. Prussians of Christus had said, Louis Napoleon and Marshal MacMahon and one of France's two armies have been captured. While the Chamber of Deputies sat in session, the crowds in the streets went wild with excitement. The mobs are gathering in the approaches to the building. The empire of Louis Napoleon was tottering. The emperor was the captive. And one of his marshals and one of his armies were captives. Jules Parrentier and other strong men of the Chamber of Deputies made proposals. The time has come to overthrow Louis Napoleon. Set up a Provisional Governing Commission! The first condition of the people's emancipation is order. I know you are resolved to respect it. Gometha addressed the people in the gallery. You desire to give an energetic expression to your wishes. Your wish is in the depths of every Frenchman's heart. It is on the lips of your country. My people, my people play become. Order must be preserved. We have two things to do. First, to resume our sitting and act in accordance with authorized forms. And second, to give the country an example of real union. I am with Napoleon! We want a republic! Salam pledge! There is a salam pledge that you must give us. That you will allow us to deliberate in perfect freedom. The howling mobs swarmed into the chamber like a tidal wave. Gone back to the street like a rock against them. In the name of France you must be calm. Have you no confidence in us? You are elected representatives? Yes! Yes! We have confidence in you. Listen to me. Since the country is in danger, since sufficient time has been given the representatives of the nation to depose the dynasty of Louis Napoleon, since we here constitute the authority sanctioned by your popular vote. We hereon now declare that Louis Napoleon and his dynasty have forever ceased to reign over France! The empire was ended. Gometha and the leaders of the deputies, with the people of Paris cheering and shouting around them, walked to the Hotel de Ville. And there, Gometha proclaimed the republic. The government of national defense, and he became minister of the interior in it. Louis Adolf Thier became president. And it was to him that Gometha went with the plea that the government move away from the imminent danger of capture by the Prussians. Let us be realistic, Monsieur Thierre. The Prussians are advancing in Paris. Disquestionable that we can hold Paris, but we can win. Monsieur Gometha, if we leave Paris, there will be revolution. The government must stay. But there is need in tour for a member of the government of your capacity, Monsieur Gometha. The government asks that you, as minister of the interior, go. No. I feel strongly that the government should move. But if it stays here in Paris, then I should be here. Paris is the post of the greatest danger, and therefore of the greatest honor. I shall stay. But, Monsieur Gometha, it is of the greatest importance to the government that you go to... The members of the government argued with Gometha for days. One of France's armies had been captured at Sedan. The second surrounded at Metz. Yet no thought that France could lose the war ever entered Gometha's head. It was not until Paris was completely surrounded by Prussians that he would agree to leave Forteur to carry on the fight. But how will you get out now? I will get out. On October 7th, 1870, Gometha was an undersecretary and a pilot climbed into a balloon at the Place Saint-Pierre at Montmartre. Are you ready, Monsieur Gometha? I am. Hold on. Pass off the lines. The balloon rose quickly from the field. The breeze is south-easterly. That will carry us over the line of Prussian forts. Will it not, pilot? Yes, it will. It does not matter. The balloon rose to an altitude of 2,000 feet. The Prussian advance guard is firing at us, Monsieur Gometha. It is for artillery. Those shots whistling by us? Yes. Then we rise higher, pilot. A little. They rose out of range at the cannon. Then suddenly, something went wrong. We're beginning to come down. What has happened, pilot? I don't know. We're going to land. But it's not this territory in the hands of the Prussians. But there is no way to stay up. The balloon landed in a field, which only a few hours before had been occupied by enemy regiments. Prussian troops, seeing them, rushed for the balloon. Quickly. Get this ballast overboard. Yes. They are rising again. Look. Look, they're aiming their rifles at us. The balloon rose to 600 feet. Gometha was grazed on the hand by a musket ball. Is it bad, Monsieur Gometha? No. Can't we keep this attitude, pilot? For a while it leaves. Skimming over the treetops, the balloon stayed aloft until they reached Montedier. Gometha made his way to Amiens and from there to Tours. Gometha's daring fired the imagination of the people. Inspired them to continue the fight. Although now France's second army, besieged at Metz, had surrendered. We can still win. We will make this a war to the finish. They have captured both our armies. They have captured our marshals. What can we do? We will raise a new army. And we will fight the boss and beat them. In Tours, Gometha became the minister of war as well as the minister of the interior. The people rallied around him. With Nishita Faisené, a brilliant young engineer, Gometha organized the resistance of the provinces against the invading Prussians. Not only must we raise an army to Faisené, but we must find generals. We will find generals. Inspired with the spirit of freedom, the two worked together to Faisené working out the details and Gometha stirring the hearts of his people with his glowing eloquence. Let us sink all individual interests. Let us sacrifice all personal sentiments to the one thought, the salvation of France. Then we shall be back the enemy. France will be saved. And the republic will be permanently established. Out of thin air, under the commanding leadership of Gometha and Faisené, a new French army materialized. Monsieur Gometha. Monsieur Gometha. Yes, what is it? We've defeated them at Koulmere. The dispatch has just come. We have turned the tide. We will beat them. We will beat them. We have raised an army of 600,000. But the crushing power of the Prussians is drawing in on Paris. If Paris can hold out, we shall be able to lift the siege. We have made a start to Faisené. And now we shall win. Paris is in the grip of the enemy. But under the direction of Gometha, most of the rest of France was still resisting. Paris has capitulated. What? Yes, the government surrendered yesterday. It is impossible. France cannot capitulate. We will continue the fight. Can we continue after the government in Paris has... By what presumption does Paris dare to surrender for the provinces? Paris is not France. No, we will continue the fight. We will fight through the finish. We will beat them. The Prussians were in Paris. But Gometha, in the provinces, raising and organizing and equipping and training his army of liberation would not yield. At length, Jules Favre, vice president, came from Paris to prevail upon him. If you love France, you will yield. If you do not yield, there will be civil war. Alone, without the lies, without leaders, deprived of communication with their capital, Gometha's army of the republic had resisted five months against a powerful enemy which the regular armies of the French Empire have not been able to hold back for five weeks. Gometha gave in. Mr. Gometha, you are ill. Francis fallen. You must care for your health now while there is still time. Francis fallen. It is impossible. Gometha had all but spent himself. He resigned and went to San Sebastian in Spain to fight for his health. And now the people of Paris, penniless and hungry, many among them disarmed French soldiers stood by and watched the Prussians march in. For this we have to thank our government. And now the government is coming to sit at Versailles. Adolpheirs and his licks-bittles are coming to sit at Versailles. I heard it today. Never. Adolpheirs is sympathetic to the return of the monarchy. Never will France have another Louis XIV. We must see to it that Adolpheirs and his assembly never have the opportunity to hold it back. Adolpheirs in February 1871 had been elected by the National Assembly as chief of the executive power of the French Republic. The assembly was to convene at Versailles on March 20th. But two days before that, the commune broke out. We demand the arrest and file of the members of the government of National Defense. Bring to justice those responsible for the dishonor of France. The rank and file became a lawless mob. The newly created republic, born through bloodshed and suffering and national disaster, balanced on the brink of destruction. Troops were sent to seize the guns of Montmartre and to put down the riots. In the name of the republic, I demand that you give up your guns and disperse around the troops, around the troops. Take the firearms from the soldiers. We will need them. Fire at the revolutionaries! Fire! Instead of firing on the communards, the soldiers joined them and arrested their own commander. In the name of the republic, I demand that you give up your guns and disperse. The commander fell, riddled with bullets. The army forces of Paris were in a battle against the government. Sion to Nabon, Toulouse, Limoire to Montmartre. Diverté! Justice! The pressure stood by and watched Frenchmen killing Frenchmen. The fighting went on for two months until Paris had to be besieged once again and again conquered by force of arms. Gombetta was ill in Spain. He had fought for the republic against the empire. He had fought for the republic against the enemy. Now the republic faced what Gombetta dreaded most. Destruction by its enemies within France. I would try to restore the monarchy. No, the monarchy must not be restored. Gombetta returned to France. Was elected by ten departments as deputy. Now his task was to save the republic. But against him were the powerful royalists. You dare speak of a republic? Three times a republic has been tried in France. And three times it has perished in blood and imbecility. The very word republic strikes terror in the heart of all who love France. I say to you that a republic is the hope of France. There can be no peace and no order. Until our classes shall have been given a share in the benefits of civilization and can regard the government as the legitimate offspring of the sovereign power of the people. The republic means placing public affairs into the hands of fanatics ready for any violence. I ask Monsieur Gombetta what our republics recall. The first republic recalls the reign of terror. The second republic recalls the bloody June insurrection. And the third republic recalls more brutally than we can ever forget the bloody and disgraceful commune. The republic stands indicted before the wild. Does France desire to force wear her right to constitute herself a free country? If there is anything to console us amid the sorrow and the shame of our bereaved country, it is the thought that the mothers and patriots of France will supply her future champions and avengers. We must establish once and for all a government founded on that equality of rights and duties which recognizes no other distinctions between man and man than those arising from character, intelligence and energy in the battle of life. A republic? Yes! I call upon all parties and the masses who are of no party to support the republic. And I ask you, do you wish to rule the republic? Then recognize it first. When you have recognized it, then we shall be perfectly ready to admit you to the conduct of its affairs. The republic was saved but only for the time. Gombetta became the defender of the young republic against all who threatened it. Vigilantly he guarded against all reactionaries, against both royalists and imperialists. He watched the fall of the government of Louis-Gadoff-Tierre, the rise to power of Marshal MacMahon, who in 1870 had been captured with the first French army and with Louis-Napoleon at Seydant. When President MacMahon undertook a coup d'etat to turn to the republic over to the royalists, Gombetta squarely opposed him. What kind of republic do we have when a president can dissolve a legislative body like the chamber of deputies? Because it is republican and he is a sympathizer with the royalists and the imperialists. The chamber of deputies should preclude the very thing that President MacMahon was trying to do. Yes, but the Senate is anti-republican. But the chamber of deputies is not. No, but it is too late to stop the president from dissolving the chamber. That he has already done. His plot is to elect a new chamber of deputies which is anti-republican and with both houses anti-republican and with the reactionary president like MacMahon and his reactionary ministry, the Third Republic today faces its gravest crisis since it was born in the blood of 1870. We can oppose President MacMahon and that we will do. I say, I say let us take our places on the legal ramparts of our constitution and fight with all that is in us. MacMahon must not succeed. The 363 Republicans of the dissolved chamber of deputies united to support the re-election of one another. They gave charge of their campaign to a committee of 18 under the inspired leadership of Gombetta. When the sovereign voice of France has spoken, they will have to give in. I'll give up. That is Lee's Majesty. You are speaking of the head of the French government. Gombetta was arrested, tried, sentenced by default to three months in prison and a fine of 2,000 francs. We should never have arrested Gombetta. The trial and sentence have done President MacMahon's government as much harm as Gombetta's speech did. Gombetta will not have to serve the sentence. But the damage was done. Gombetta and his committee toured the nation in what jeopardy the Republic stood because of MacMahon's attempt at usurpation of power. The Republicans win! The Republicans win! We have won back control of the Chamber of Deputies. A tyrant can turn us out. But we have been returned by the people. The Republicans again had control of the Chamber of Deputies. Their power was growing. In the next few months, the Republicans also won control of the Senate, which MacMahon had tried to use as an instrument against the Republic. MacMahon's effort to overthrow the Republic had failed. And with a year still to go in his term, MacMahon resigned. The Republic of France at last is in the hands of the Republicans. The man who spoke these words was soon to pass forever. But Gombetta was to live on as one of the makers of the French Republic and as a symbol of liberty and of justice for all men for all time. Would you like to know more about the life and times of Leon Gombetta portrayed in the program you just heard or other men like Tolstoy, Hugo and Whitman? A handbook containing life stories of 13 great leaders in the struggle for human liberty has been prepared as an interesting supplement to the broadcast series. To obtain your copy, write for We Came This Way. Address your requests to Columbia University Press, Station J, New York 27, and enclose 25 cents in coin for costs of printing and mailing. Tonight's script was written by Arnold Marquess and was directed by Norman Pelton. Original music was composed by Emil Sodastrom and directed by Joseph Galicchio. Clifton Utley was the narrator and Gombetta was played by Murray Forbes. Others in the cast were Ralph Camargo, Art Seltzer, Ronald Van Arsdale, Jim Goss, Sidney Mason, Carl Cronkey, Charles Eggleston, Sidney Brees, and Gilbert Ferguson. This series is presented each week as a public service feature of the National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated independent stations.