Frédéric Passy (20 May 182212 June 1912) was a French
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
and
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
who was a founding member of several peace societies and the
Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...
. He was also an author and politician, sitting in the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
from 1881 until 1889. He was a joint winner of the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
in 1901 for his work in the European peace movement.
Born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to a prominent
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Orléanist
Orléanist (french: Orléaniste) was a 19th-century French political label originally used by those who supported a constitutional monarchy expressed by the House of Orléans. Due to the radical political changes that occurred during that centu ...
family, Passy was surrounded by military veterans and politicians. After training in law, he worked as an accountant and served in the
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
. He soon left this position and began travelling around France giving lectures on economics. Following years of violent conflicts across Europe, Passy joined the peace movement in the 1850s, working with several notable activists and writers to develop journals, articles, and educational
curricula
In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
.
While sitting in the Chamber of Deputies, Passy developed the Inter-parliamentary Conference (later the
Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...
) with British MP
William Randal Cremer
Sir William Randal Cremer (18 March 1828 – 22 July 1908) usually known by his middle name "Randal", was a British Liberal Member of Parliament, a pacifist, and a leading advocate for international arbitration. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Pr ...
. Alongside this, he founded several peace societies: the , the , and the . Passy's work in the peace movement continued into his later years, and in 1901, he was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
alongside
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
founder,
Henry Dunant
Henry Dunant (born Jean-Henri Dunant; 8 May 182830 October 1910), also known as Henri Dunant, was a Swiss humanitarian, businessman, and social activist. He was the visionary, promoter, and co-founder of the Red Cross. In 1901, he received th ...
.
Passy died in 1912 after a long period of illness and incapacitation. Despite his economic works gaining little traction, his efforts in the peace movement resulted in him being recognised as the "
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
of European peace activists". His son,
Paul Passy
Paul Édouard Passy (; 13 January 1859, Versailles21 March 1940, Bourg-la-Reine) was a French linguist, founder of the International Phonetic Association in 1886.
He took part in the elaboration of the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Early life ...
, published a memoir of his life in 1927, and his works are still being republished and translated into English in the 21st Century.
Family and early life
Frédéric Passy was born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1822 to an aristocratic
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
family, which had strong ties to
Orléanist
Orléanist (french: Orléaniste) was a 19th-century French political label originally used by those who supported a constitutional monarchy expressed by the House of Orléans. Due to the radical political changes that occurred during that centu ...
politics.
His father, Justin Félix Passy, was a veteran of Waterloo. His paternal grandfather, Louis François Passy, had been (Receiver General of Finance), an important office in the
Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
. His paternal grandmother was Jacquette Pauline Hélène d’Aure, whose brother, the Count d'Aure, was a riding master who fought for France in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and
Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...
.
Passy's mother, Marie Louise Pauline Salleron, was from an aristocratic Parisian family. His maternal great-grandfather, Joseph Salleron, was deputy mayor of the
6th arrondissement of Paris
The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''.
The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...
, and his maternal grandfather, Claude Louis Salleron, created a highly-profitable
tanning
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
business and was proposed as an officer in the
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
in 1814.
After getting married in 1821, Félix Passy moved into the family home with Claude Louis Salleron. They went into business with each other and Félix eventually became an equal partner. Frédéric Passy's mother died in 1827, and in 1847, Félix married Irma Moricet, his son's widowed mother-in-law.
Early career
From 1846, Passy worked as an accountant in the Conseil de Droit. In 1848, he served in the
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
. He resigned from his Conseil position in 1849 to start a career as an economist.
He was unable to secure a full-time position in education; he refused to swear the mandatory oath of loyalty to French monarch
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
, believing his rule to be illegitimate. However, Passy published several books on economics during this time, the majority of them compiled from his lectures at universities in Pau,
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
,
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
, and
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
.
Development of ideas
Passy was trained in law, but soon became interested in moral and political economy. As he contemplated the effects of war, he was inspired by the works of several
liberal economists
Economic liberalism is a List of political ideologies, political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial wr ...
Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty.
As a young ...
, and
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
. Passy was most impressed by Bastiat, who developed his ideas from Cobden's
Anti-Corn Law League
The Anti-Corn Law League was a successful political movement in Great Britain aimed at the abolition of the unpopular Corn Laws, which protected landowners’ interests by levying taxes on imported wheat, thus raising the price of bread at a tim ...
. Bastiat held the belief that the
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
and high tax which often accompanied
militarism
Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
had a largely negative effect on the poor, and Passy further developed these ideas on
class conflict
Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor.
The forms ...
throughout his work.
Being raised in a family of military veterans, Passy described in his autobiography how he "might easily have been drawn towards militarism". Instead, the stories about the horrors of the
French conquest of Algeria
The French invasion of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Deylik of Algiers, and the French consul escalated into a blockade, following which the July Monarchy of France inva ...
pushed him to consider the effect that war had upon humanity. Years of violent discontent in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
socialists
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...
:
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Socia ...
,
Émile de Girardin
Émile de Girardin (22 June 180227 April 1881) was a French journalist, publisher and politician. He was the most successful and flamboyant French journalist of the era, presenting himself as a promoter of mass education through mass journalism. ...
, Passy, and
Michel Chevalier
Michel Chevalier (; 13 January 1806 – 18 November 1879) was a French engineer, statesman, economist and free market liberal.
Biography
Born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Chevalier studied at the ''École Polytechnique'', obtaining an engineering d ...
were all advocates of this idea. In 1859, Passy condemned the idea that military action could be a solution to political issues, suggesting instead that Europe should have a "permanent congress to oversee the general interests of humanity" and an international police force.
Recognising the importance of journalism in the fight for peace, he conceived a plan to create a journal devoted to "
pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
propaganda". This led to him working with Edmond Potonié-Pierre on (''The International Mail''), an English/French periodical devoted to the European peace movement. Passy's association with Potonié's (League of Public Good), a liberal and socialist group aimed at attacking
monopolies
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
and high taxation, ended when Potonié began to call for a sweeping change in
social policy
Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society.
Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...
. He advocated for the
separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
death sentence
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
.
League of Peace
Founding the League
In April 1867, the Paris newspaper ''
Le Temps
''Le Temps'' (literally "The Time") is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. It is the sole nationwide French-language non-specialised daily newspaper of Switzerland. Since 2021, it has b ...
'' published three letters attacking the actions of the French concerning Luxembourg, the third of which was written by Passy. The letter invited readers to join a "peace league", and was given enthusiastic support by:Henry Richard, secretary of the
Peace Society
The Peace Society, International Peace Society or London Peace Society originally known as the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace, was a pioneering British pacifist organisation that was active from 1816 until the 1930s.
H ...
, visited Paris in that year and urged the
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
to allow an international
peace congress
A peace congress, in international relations, has at times been defined in a way that would distinguish it from a peace conference (usually defined as a diplomatic meeting to decide on a peace treaty), as an ambitious forum to carry out dispute ...
during the 1867 Paris Exposition. The idea was rejected, but the government eventually allowed lectures on the general principles of peace go ahead, with the condition that no questions were asked afterwards.
In May 1867, Passy and Chevalier received permission to organize the (International and Permanent League of Peace). It was in the that Passy declared "war on war", believing that liberal economics would bring social change once military spending was eradicated. This differed greatly with the ideas of previous conservatives like
Friedrich von Gentz
Friedrich von Gentz (2 May 1764 – 9 June 1832) was an Austrian diplomat and a writer. With Austrian chancellor Von Metternich he was one of the main forces behind the organisation, management and protocol of the Congress of Vienna.
Early ...
, whose anti-war stance was concerned with maintaining the status quo.
On 21 May, Passy delivered a lecture at the (School of Medicine) in Paris, discussing his views on pacifism. He explained that his views were not from a religious or political perspective, but from an economic, moral, and philosophical one. While he did suggest that defensive or independence wars could be "the most noble and magnificent task in life", he strongly condemned wars of conquest and expansion as disadvantageous to a country's wealth and moral character.
In the same year, the French
Saint-Simonian
Saint-Simonianism was a French political, religious and social movement of the first half of the 19th century, inspired by the ideas of Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon (1760–1825).
Saint-Simon's ideas, expressed largely through a ...
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. This group was far more political than Passy's, founded on
republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
views and strongly advocating for the separation of church and state. Passy made efforts to differentiate his from this one, repeating their "anti-revolutionary aims" and avoiding political questions over human rights.
Despite struggling to find adequate space for its 600 members, the held a meeting in June 1868 in which Passy gave a speech on the group's "anti-revolutionary" aims:
Franco-Prussian War
The first large conflict to happen during the 's existence was the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. After the
Battle of Sedan
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, ...
and capture of Napoleon III, Passy pleaded with the Prussian royalty to remember "that you only made war to defend yourself, not to attack" and stop attacking the French people after the collapse of their government. He returned to Paris and attempted to convince the British and American embassies to provide neutral intervention in the conflict, even considering travelling by
hot air balloon
A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...
to the Prussian king himself. On the death of his brother-in-law in the
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
, Passy left Paris once again, disheartened that the could not stop the war.
Opposition
With Passy having adamantly renounced the earlier group, it is understandable that Edmond Potonié was one of the main opponents of the . He believed it not to be a serious peace society due to their vastly-differing opinions on the speed of change: he believed that only rapid societal change would bring about peace, whereas Passy's group advocated a calmer legalistic approach. Other protest against the came from religious groups, with
Hyacinthe Loyson
Charles Jean Marie Loyson (10 March 1827 – 9 February 1912), better known by his religious name Père Hyacinthe, was a famous French preacher and theologian. He was a Roman Catholic priest who had been a Sulpician and a Dominican novice ...
being denounced by the right-wing journalist
Louis Veuillot
Louis Veuillot (11 October 1813 – 7 March 1883) was a French journalist, author and anti-Semite who helped to popularize ultramontanism (a philosophy favoring Papal supremacy).
Career overview
Veuillot was born of humble parents in Boyne ...
as part of a "Protestant front": efforts to recruit more Catholics to the cause largely failed.
Funding
The received monetary support from notable liberals, such as
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
(who joined on 4 August 1867) and
Jean Dollfus
Jean Dollfus (September 25, 1800 – 21 May 1887) was a French industrialist who grew a textile company, Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie (D.M.C.), in Mulhouse. Dollfus was a leading figure in a philanthropic society which constructed a company town that ...
. Subscription rates for its 600 members allowed the 's treasury to have six thousand francs in 1868: founding members paid roughly one hundred francs, while associates paid five francs.
Masonic
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...
lodges began to undertake peace projects.
Passy noticed this renewed belief in peace, and in 1872 he began working on reviving the . He explained the two paths which society could take:
# A path of war and revenge against
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
and the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
to restore Alsace-Lorraine, involving permanent armaments, a standing army, and a world where young men were doomed to a life in the barracks.
# A path of peace and law, where arbitration was a fundamental part of European governing and an organized international system would allow the return of "lost provinces" through diplomatic means like
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
s.
He was aware that his favoured path, the latter, would not happen immediately or even in the near future, but set about creating a new French peace society to promote arbitration, the (French Society of Friends of Peace).
Several other groups considering arbitration and the development of international law appeared during this time, including the (Association for the Reform and the Codification of the Law of the People; later the
International Law Association
The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...
) in 1873, which Passy and Henry Richard were involved in. The meetings, involving discussions on ways to reduce friction among different communities, were a way to enhance the conversations that Passy thought important for developing international co-operation.
1878 Paris Exposition
Noticing the growth and popularity of the peace movement, members of the arranged a congress at the 1878 Paris Exposition, however they warned attendees not to raise "unpleasant" and provocative issues. 13 different nations were present among the 150 delegates, although 95 were from France. The congress was held across multiple days, involving a range of talks and speakers:
* Adolphe Franck, the French philosopher, opened the congress with an assertion that peace activism was beneficial for society. He argued that while war may previously have benefitted society, through creating communities and spreading culture, it was now nothing more than a cause of destruction and suffering.
*Charles Lemonnier reviewed the contributions of previous peace societies and opposed a motion that sought to create a transnational organisation or federation, stating the young age of the movement. The delegates ignored his advice, but he was seemingly correct as it took 13 more years to create such a group.
*As leader of the , Passy opposed a resolution which stated that war "enthrones despotism and ... aggravates the condition of the most numerous and poorest classes". He rejected it on the grounds that war was damaging for all members of society, not just the poorest, and that within republics there is no class system. Lemonnier was among those who supported the resolution in the ensuing debate on class and the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
, but the conference sided with Passy's view, refusing to recognise class as a social reality.
*Several of the congress's speakers sought to convince it to create a permanent and legal body, including the French publicist Edmond Thiaudière, who argued that transnational representatives sitting in a parliament could work together to undermine the militarists in their countries. Arturo de Marcoartu, the Spanish peace activist, spoke in favour of a worldwide initiative to establish a European parliamentary system that would abolish war between its signatories.
The decade following the 1878 congress was a slow one for the , with
Charles Richet
Charles Robert Richet (25 August 1850 – 4 December 1935) was a French physiologist at the Collège de France known for his pioneering work in immunology. In 1913, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "in recognition of his work on ...
noting that the meetings often consisted "only of Passy, Thiaudière and imself.
Merging
In 1889, Passy's merged with
Hodgson Pratt
Hodgson Pratt (10 January 1824 – 26 February 1907) was an English pacifist who is credited with founding the International Arbitration and Peace Association in 1880.
Early life
Born at Bath, Somerset on 10 January 1824, he was the eldest of fi ...
's
International Arbitration and Peace Association
The International Arbitration and Peace Association (IAPA) was an organisation founded in London in 1880 with the stated objective of promoting arbitration and peace in place of armed conflicts and force. It published a journal, ''Concord''.
Found ...
to form the (French Society for Arbitration between Nations). This new lost its support in the 1890s to other groups, like the (Peace Through Law Association), which had been founded by a group of young Protestants.
Political career
On 28 April 1873, Passy ran for the
Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
seat in the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
as an independent conservative republican against the radical
Édouard Lockroy
Édouard Lockroy (18 July 183822 November 1913) was a French politician.
He was born in Paris, the son of Joseph Philippe Simon (1803–1891), an actor and dramatist who took the name of Lockroy.
Revolutionary years
He had begun by studying ar ...
. Passy lost with 17,000 votes compared to Lockroy's 54,000. However, he was elected to the local council of
Seine-et-Oise
Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.1881, Passy was elected as the Deputy for the
8th arrondissement of Paris
The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' ("the eighth").
The arrondissement, ...
, beating a
Bonapartist
Bonapartism (french: Bonapartisme) is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In thi ...
candidate. While in the Chamber, Passy continued to promote his views on peace. In October 1883, he led a discussion on the
Tonkin campaign
The Tonkin campaign was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and en ...
, attacking the government's imperialist policy and suggesting that the conflict be subject to
arbitration
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...
. His position was met with ridicule and he left the chamber for an extended period of illness. He returned to the issue in December 1885, denouncing the
colonialist
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
actions of France amid the "remote prospect of any commercial results" coming from the conflict. He criticised the government for affording rights to Alsace and Lorraine, but not to
Tonkin
Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...
and other colonies.
He often spoke against France's corn duties, and in support of free trade, working alongside Finance Minister
Léon Say
Jean-Baptiste-Léon Say (6 June 1826, Paris – 21 April 1896, Paris) was a French statesman and diplomat.
One of the 19th-century's noted economists, he served as French Finance Minister from 1872 until 1883.
Biography
The Say family is a mos ...
to promote these free trade beliefs as part of the Association for the Defence of Commercial and Industrial Freedom. None of Passy's initiatives within the chamber received legislative support, but his proposal that the state “take advantage of all favourable occasions to enter into negotiations with other governments to promote the practice of arbitration" was supported by 112 members from across vastly different parties.
Passy was re-elected to the Chamber in 1885. He ran again in
1889
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...
, and despite increasing his vote share in the weeks building up to the election, lost by 1,717 votes to Marius Martin.
Inter-parliamentary Conference
In 1887, Passy and British MP
William Randal Cremer
Sir William Randal Cremer (18 March 1828 – 22 July 1908) usually known by his middle name "Randal", was a British Liberal Member of Parliament, a pacifist, and a leading advocate for international arbitration. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Pr ...
petitioned their respective parliaments to support arbitration treaties between their country and the United States. Passy amassed 112 signatures from French parliamentarians, supported in his efforts by
Jules Simon
Jules François Simon (; 31 December 1814 – 8 June 1896) was a French statesman and philosopher, and one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans in the Third French Republic.
Biography
Simon was born at Lorient. His father was a linen-dra ...
and
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (, also , ; 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he was a ...
. A year later in November 1888, Cremer led a delegation of nine MPs to meet with twenty-five French Deputies to discuss working together. This meeting formed the first Inter-parliamentary Conference (later the Inter-parliamentary Union) in 1889, attended by prominent politicians like
Léon Bourgeois
Léon Victor Auguste Bourgeois (; 21 May 185129 September 1925) was a French statesman. His ideas influenced the Radical Party regarding a wide range of issues. He promoted progressive taxation such as progressive income taxes and social insuran ...
Passy contributed to several different political magazines, including the feminist ' (''Review of Social Morale'') and the literary-political ' (''Political and Literary Review''). He published an autobiography in 1909, entitled (''For the Peace: Notes and Documents'').
In 1877, Passy was accepted into the (Academy of Moral and Political Sciences) for his works on political economy, and he was elected president of the (French Association for the Advancement of Sciences) in 1881. In his application to the , Passy avoided using the word "peace" and instead wrote:
Peace through education
Passy was aware of the importance of education in achieving peace, encouraging a textbook for nine-to-twelve-year-olds to be written. His group sponsored a prize essay in 1896 for this purpose. Passy and d'Estournelles de Constant worked together on a 1906 educational work, (''Peace and Peace Education''), and in 1909 released an entire curriculum entitled (''Pacifist Teaching Course'').
Nobel Peace Prize
Passy's health had declined in old age, but he was still prominent and popular enough within the peace movement that it was assumed he would win the first
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
. Public attention around the prize had increased to such a point that Passy was challenged to a duel by a man declaring that "the Nobel Prize does not belong to you", but nothing further came from the incident.
In December 1901, Passy was awarded half of the first Nobel Peace Prize, which was split with
Henry Dunant
Henry Dunant (born Jean-Henri Dunant; 8 May 182830 October 1910), also known as Henri Dunant, was a Swiss humanitarian, businessman, and social activist. He was the visionary, promoter, and co-founder of the Red Cross. In 1901, he received th ...
, the founder of the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
, and each received over 100,000
francs
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
.
Being too elderly and ill to attend the ceremony in Christiania (now Oslo), neither Passy or Dunant delivered an acceptance speech. Instead, Passy wrote an article to be released posthumously, criticising
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( , ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedes, Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He is best known for having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel ...
's
executors
An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used.
Overview
An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...
for using his money to create foundations he did not intend, and suggesting that the award could weaken the peace movement by attracting disingenuous money-seekers instead of peace-seekers. The article was published by the peace journal (''Peace Through Law'') in 1926. Despite Passy's objections, Professor of History Sandi E. Cooper notes, the prize money was most likely used to fund his peace activism.
Final years
Passy continued to advocate for peace in his later years. In 1905, he attended the 14th
Universal Peace Congress
A peace congress, in international relations, has at times been defined in a way that would distinguish it from a peace conference (usually defined as a diplomatic meeting to decide on a peace treaty), as an ambitious forum to carry out dispute re ...
in
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
Ludwig Quidde
Ludwig Quidde (; 23 March 1858, Free City of Bremen – 4 March 1941) was a German politician and pacifist who is mainly remembered today for his acerbic criticism of German Emperor Wilhelm II. Quidde's long career spanned four different era ...
. This was his last recorded event, moments before his death. A year later, he attended the 15th Universal Peace Congress in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, alongside delegates from across Europe and the United States like
Felix Moscheles
Felix Stone Moscheles (8 February 1833 – 22 December 1917) was an English painter, writer, peace activist and advocate of Esperanto. He frequently painted genre scenes and portraits.
Biography
Born on 8 February 1833 in London to a Germa ...
and Bertha von Suttner. Recognising the popularity of peace activism, Passy remarked in 1909 that "the influence of these international eace congressesincreases ... from year to year; it becomes more and more evident that they are taken seriously in the highest quarters".
Despite Passy's fame, his economic doctrines failed to gather momentum among his countrymen.
Illness and death
In May 1912, celebrations had been prepared for Passy's 90th birthday, but he was unable to attend due to his worsening health. He had intended to give an address at the celebrations, but it was later published in . Addressing his desire to "lessen the evil in the world and increase the good", it ended with the words:
Passy spent his last months incapacitated in bed. On 12 June 1912, he died in Paris. His funeral was a simple one without "flowers or pomp", the service being led by his friend, the Protestant pastor Charles Wagner.
Religious and political views
Religion
Passy was born into a Catholic family, regularly attending
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
and making friends with
Ézy-sur-Eure
Ézy-sur-Eure (, literally ''Ézy on Eure'') is a commune in the Eure department in the Normandy region in northern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also co ...
's priest while living there in the 1850s.
In 1870,
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
's
First Vatican Council
The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...
issued the , which legitimised
Papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ''ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the aposto ...
and solidified his word as divine. Passy could not accept this assertion of authority, and his family switched to a non-denominational, liberal
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
instead. Despite his Catholic background, he was supported by members of different denominations like the Protestant pastor Joseph Martin-Paschoud and Grand Rabbi
Lazare Isidor
Lazare Isidor (1806–1888) was a French rabbi who served as chief rabbi of the Israelite Central Consistory of France during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Early career
Isidor served as chief rabbi of Paris from 1847 until 1867.
Duri ...
. Passy's son Paul suggested that he may have remained a "liberal Catholic" even after 1870, commenting on his close friendship with the radical Catholic priest Hyacinthe Loyson.
Socialism
While acknowledging their attendance at peace congresses, Passy disagreed with the violence that often accompanied the
labour movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
, considering it to be a hindrance to peace-seeking efforts. However, he did agree that socialists had "some points, some very legitimate aspirations, that we would be wrong not to take into account".
In 1894, the Universal Peace Congress in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
considered the ways in which members of the labour movement might be further involved with the peace movement, but Passy argued against such a co-operation. He denied any difference between social classes in a free and democratic society, and suggested that members of the labour movement join already-existing peace societies, instead of creating new society-aligned entities.
Military service
Despite serving in the National Guard, Passy disapproved of the idea of garrison life, believing that it led to laziness, gambling, and promiscuity. Instead, he suggested that the citizen-soldier would be a better idea:
Instead of being removed from society, they would be allowed to develop the "military virtues" within it.
While sitting in the Chamber, Passy advocated for a three-year obligatory term of service for all French citizens, but suggested that those adding to "the intellectual grandeur of France" may be allowed a shorter term.
Disarmament
When asked by young peace activists to support disarmament, Passy responded that:
He argued that it was impossible to disarm countries without first putting in place institutions that promoted international co-operation and arbitration.
Apoliticism
Like his non-denominational religious views, Passy was seemingly
apolitical
Apoliticism is apathy or antipathy towards all political affiliations. A person may be described as apolitical if they are uninterested or uninvolved in politics. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased po ...
. He sat as an independent conservative republican, yet spoke often in support of
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
policies like
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
economics.
In August 1898,
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
published a
rescript
In legal terminology, a rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation.
Over ...
which called for an international conference to discuss a peace agenda. Passy saw this as proof that his neutral and apolitical brand of peacekeeping had worked, believing that leaders would see the negatives of an "infinite
arms race
An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more states to have superior armed forces; a competition concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and t ...
" and work together across country lines.
Marriage and issue
In 1847, Passy married the wealthy Marie Blanche Sageret (1827–1900), the daughter of Jules Sageret and Marie Florence Irma Moricet. Their first son,
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, was born in 1859. He became a famous
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
, known for founding the
International Phonetic Association
The International Phonetic Association (IPA; French: ', ''API'') is an organization that promotes the scientific study of phonetics and the various practical applications of that science. The IPA's major contribution to phonetics is the Interna ...
. Passy's progressive views on European culture were influential towards his parenting: his son Paul learnt four languages as a child, yet never attended school. Another son, Jean, was born in 1866: he also became a linguist and preceded his brother as Secretary of the IPA.
Passy and Sageret also had a daughter called Marie Louise, whose husband Louis André Paulian was in charge of the Chamber of Deputies's stenographic bureau. On 17 February 1912, Mathilde Paulian, the 20-year-old daughter of Marie and Louis, climbed over the railings of the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
observation deck and fell to her death, apparently upset over the ill health of her grandfather (Passy) and sister.
Alix, another daughter of Passy and Sageret, married Charles Mortet, an officer in the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
.
In 1856, Passy acquired the estate in
Chambourcy
Chambourcy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located west of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and about west of Paris.
Its inhabitants are called ''Camboriciens''. "Chambourcy", form ...
from
Jean-François Bayard
Jean-François Alfred Bayard (17 March 1796, Charolles, Saône-et-Loire – 20 February 1853, Paris) was a French playwright. He was the nephew of fellow playwright Eugène Scribe.
Life
As a law student and a lawyer's clerk, Bayard wrote with p ...
. A relative called Pierre Passy lived there in 1923, and the family owned the house until 1949.
Family tree
Legacy
Passy's brand of peace through arbitration and international co-operation continued long after his death, with activists lobbying for formalised treaties over "the rights of foreign visitors, joint access to waterways, settlement of territorial disputes". In his will, Passy expressed his independent and peaceful nature, writing:
In 1927, his son Paul published a memoir of his father's life entitled .
Several roads have been named after Passy, such as those in Nice,
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...
, and
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris.
Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...
. In March 2004, the
Inter-parliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...
acknowledged Passy's effort in its creation and inaugurated the Frédéric Passy Archive Centre in Paris.
Selected works
Books
Articles
Awards and honours
*
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
(1895)
*
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
(1901)
* Legion of Honour – Commander (1903)
See also
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...