Identifier

etd-0418102-090832

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with André Tardieu, a French politician who had an outstanding career as a journalist and a politician. After the retirement of Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré in 1929, it seemed like Tardieu would be the natural choice as his successor. He was the only leader on the Right. Tardieu formed his first cabinet in November 1929 and proposed an ambitious program for public works projects to improve the country’s infrastructure. Despite solid funding, Tardieu’s proposal never passed the Chamber of Deputies and his ministry fell in December 1930. The purpose of this thesis is to find the reasons for Tardieu’s failure as head of government. It has usually been argued that Tardieu was either a reactionary who could never get the support of the Left or that he became a victim of the institutions of the Third Republic. These viewpoints are not satisfactory. The third and fourth chapter of this work demonstrate that Tardieu did have a majority in the Chamber and that his fall can be attributed to his personality and his behavior during the earlier years of his political career, during which he made many enemies. In order to prove this point, the voting patterns of the deputies are closely examined in a table, which includes votes of confidence after ministerial declarations as well as votes relating to Tardieu’s ambitious economic program. The necessity of such a program was universally accepted and is illustrated through the assessment of the economic situation after the First World War in chapter 2.

Date

2002

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Benjamin F. Martin

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.634

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