The French Election of April 23, 1848: Suggestions for a Revision

On April 23, 1848, nearly eight million Frenchmen voted for representatives to a National Constituent Assembly in the first election by universal suffrage held in their country. Unfortunately, a detailed and comprehensive study of the election is still not feasible; too many source materials are scattered through departmental archives to permit a truly thorough analysis of the sort that later French elections have received.' But study on a more general level is not therefore prohibited, and the available evidence is sufficient for a re-examination of the elec