Version 1.0 | Last updated 08 October 2014
Jaurès, Jean By Rémy Cazals
Jaurès, Jean Socialist, journalist, philosopher Born 03 September 1859 in Castres (Tarn), France Died 31 July 1914 in Paris, France
A philosopher, historian, and journalist (creator of L’Humanité), Jean Jaurès defended the socialist program for workers and small farmers in the Chamber of Deputies and throughout France. Within the Second International, an organisation of socialist and labour parties, he fought against the dangers of war until his assassination and was considered the “Apostle of Peace.”
Table of Contents 1 Education and Early Politics 2 Historian and Journalist 3 Socialist 4 Apostle of Peace Selected Bibliography Citation
Education and Early Politics Jean Jaurès (1859-1914) was a brilliant student at the secondary school in Castres (which was later renamed after him) and at the Ecole Normale Supérieure. He was awarded the agrégé in philosophy in 1881, and received his doctoral degree in philosophy in 1892. He taught at the secondary school in Albi, then at the Faculty of Letters at Toulouse. In 1885, he was elected deputy to the National Assembly from the Tarn department, on the republican ticket opposing the clerical and monarchist right. He thought that the Republic should engage in social reforms in favour of workers and small farmers. Jaurès’ political philosophy evolved towards socialism. After being defeated in the parliamentary elections in 1889, he became a member of the Toulouse City Council and worked a great deal in education and culture. The miners of the town of Carmaux, who were fighting against the mine’s leaders, made Jaurès their representative in 1893; he was continually re-elected in this position until his death, except for the period 18981902. In 1895-96, he became totally committed to the cause of the glass workers in the same industrial region and helped create the Verrerie Ouvrière (Glass Workers’ Cooperative) of Albi, thanks to contributions from all the French unions.
Historian and Journalist As a historian, Jaurès was in charge of the monumental Histoire socialiste (1789-1900), published in thirteen volumes from 1901 to 1908. In particular, he wrote the four volumes on the Socialist History of the French Revolution. He also helped create the Commission for the Economic History of the French Revolution, responsible for publishing documents on this pioneering subject. As a journalist, Jaurès wrote thousands of articles for a great number of socialist papers and journals, including La $Jaurs, Jean - 1914-1918-Online
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