Alexandre César Victor Charles Destutt de Tracy (; 9 September 1781 – 13 March 1864) was a French soldier and politician, son of the philosopher

Antoine Destutt de Tracy Antoine Louis Claude Destutt, comte de Tracy (; 20 July 1754 – 9 March 1836) was a French Enlightenment aristocrat and philosopher who coined the term " ideology". Biography The son of a distinguished soldier, Claude Destutt, he was born i ...

. He fought in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and was taken prisoner in Russia in 1812. Destutt de Tracy was an opposition deputy during the subsequent Bourbon and Orleans monarchies. In the

French Second Republic The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Revo ...

he was minister of Navy and Colonies from December 1848 to October 1849. He was strongly opposed to the seizure of power by

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 ...

, and left politics in 1852.

Early years

Alexandre César Victor Charles Destutt de Tracy 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 ...

on 9 September 1781. His father was Antoine Destutt de Tracy, an aristocrat, philosopher and deputy in the Estates-General for

Moulins, Allier Moulins (; oc, Molins) is a Communes of France, commune in central France, capital of the Allier Departments of France, department. It is located on the river Allier (river), Allier. Among its many tourist attractions are the Maison Mantin, t ...

. Victor Destutt de Tracy entered the ''

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'' in 1791, and graduated as an engineer. He was appointed lieutenant in 1800. In 1804 he was appointed second captain in the fourth sapper battalion. Destutt de Tracy served at

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

, with the French Army of Italy in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, and in 1807 in the Engineering headquarters. Destutt de Tracy was appointed battalion commander in the 58th infantry in 1807. He was made aide-de-camp to General Sebastiani, ambassador to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, and followed him to Spain. He fought with distinction at the

Battle of Almonacid The Battle of Almonacid was fought on 11 August 1809 during the Peninsular War between Sébastiani's IV Corps of the French Peninsular Army, which King Joseph of Spain had withdrawn from the Battle of Talavera to defend Madrid, and the Spa ...

(1809) and

Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about south ...

(1811), where he was wounded. He served in the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

of 1812, where he was taken prisoner and interned in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In 1814 Destutt de Tracy was freed in an exchange and promoted to colonel. In 1816 he married the widow of General Louis-Michel Letort de Lorville. He left the army in 1818 to pursue scientific studies. He was formally granted retirement as Staff Colonel of Infantry on 5 April 1820.

Monarchy

On 5 August 1822 Destutt de Tracy was elected as deputy for the 2nd electoral district of

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...

(Montluçon) in a by-election. He sat on the far left next to

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

, whose son

Georges Washington de La Fayette Georges Washington Louis Gilbert de La Fayette (24 December 1779 – 29 November 1849) was the son of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, the French officer and hero of the American Revolution, and Adrienne de La Fayette. He was named in ...

had married his sister Emilie de Tracy, and voted with the opposition. He ran for re-election on 25 February 1824 but did not succeed. On 17 November 1827 he was elected deputy for

, and took his seat with the opposition. Destutt de Tracy was re-elected on 23 June 1830 and supported the establishment of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

, but always maintained his independence of the royal party. He was made an Officer of 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 1831. He was re-elected as deputy in 1831, 1834, 1838, 1839, 1842 and 1846. As a member of the opposition during the reign of

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

he was moderate but held strong opinions. He demanded abolition of the death penalty, abolition of the hereditary peerage, abolition of the slave trade and freedom of slaves, free education and the abandonment of Algeria. In 1841 he was appointed a member of the Board of Agriculture.

Later political career

In the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...

Destutt de Tracy was a colonel of the 1st legion of the National Guard of Paris. On 23 April 1848 he was elected to represent

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.June Days Uprising The June Days uprising (french: les journées de Juin) was an uprising staged by French civilians from 22 to 26 June 1848. It was in response to plans to close the National Workshops, created by the Second Republic in order to provide work an ...

(23–26 June 1848) he acted against the insurgents at the head of the 1st legion of 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 ...

. When Prince Louis Napoleon was elected president, Destutt de Tracy was made Minister of the Navy and Colonies from 20 December 1848 to 2 June 1849. While he was in office slavery was abolished in the colonies. The death penalty for political crimes was also abolished. On 13 May 1849 Destutt de Tracy was elected representative for Orne in the Legislative Assembly. He continued as minister in the

second cabinet of Odilon Barrot The second cabinet of Odilon Barrot was the government of France from 2 June 1849 to 31 October 1849 under President of the Council Odilon Barrot. It followed the first cabinet of Odilon Barrot, dissolved before the elections to the Legislative Ass ...

from 2 June 1849 to 31 October 1849, when he left office. In the Assembly he continued to vote with the monarchist majority, and was opposed to Napoleon's ambitions. He protested against the coup d'état of 2 December 1851. In the elections of 29 February 1852 he ran for election to the Assembly as an independent candidate for the 2nd district of Orne, and was decisively defeated. Victor Destutt de Tracy left politics in 1852 and retired to Paray-le-Frésil, Allier, where he took up agriculture. He died there on 13 March 1864, aged 82.

References

Citations Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Destutt de Tracy, Alexandre Cesar Victor Charles 1781 births 1864 deaths Politicians from Paris Party of Order politicians Ministers of Marine and the Colonies Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic École Polytechnique alumni