OF THE WORKING AND BURGHER CLASSES. BY M. ADOLPHE GRANIER DE CASSAGNAC, TRANSLATED BY BEN. E. GREEN, OF DALTON, WHITFIELD CO., GEORGIA. PHILADELPHIA: 1871. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by CLAXTON, REMSEN & HAFFELFINGER, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. STEREOTYPED BY J. FAGAN & SON, PHILADELPHIA. Translator's Dedication. TO THE WORKING AND BURGHER CLASSES OF AMERICA, UNDER WHICH DESIGNATION I INCLUDE, NOT ONLY "LABORERS, MECHANICS, HUSBANDMEN, AND MERCHANTS IN GENERAL," BUT ALSO LAWYERS, PHYSICIANS, MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL, AND ALL OTHERS OF THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS, — ALL, WHO LIVE, AND SEEK TO GROW RICH, BY THE FRUITS OF THEIR OWN LABOR AND INDUSTRY, WHETHER OF THE HEAD, OR OF THE HAND; AND NOT BY THE "SUBTLE AND ARTFUL FISCAL CONTRIVANCES OF MODERN CLASS LEGISLATION, NOR BY PUBLIC OFFICE Dedicated BY THE TRANSLATOR. V GENERAL IDEA OF THE PROLETARIAT. The working classes do not exist among all peoples - Why?—No one has dreamed of writing their history - Gap which the absence of that history leaves in politics — The working classes come from the proletariat - Mod- ern signification of this word—The proletariat comprises working-men, Political prejudices which the history of the four branches of the proletariat ought to dispel —The proletariat produced by the emancipation of slaves Among all peoples before the emancipation of slaves there were neither working-men, nor beggars, nor thieves, nor prostitutes - Why? By Chris- tianity the proletaries greatly multiplied - Slavery having preceded the proletariat among all peoples, whence comes that universal slavery which is thus found among all peoples?—Is it a natural or violent fact? The first epoch of every society contains two classes of men, masters and primitive and spontaneous element of all societies The history of the masters gives the history of the slaves-Whence come masters ? — The first masters the first fathers-Of the paternal power in noble families Names designating these families in the Greek and Latin poets- Signifi- cation of the word pius — Paternal power absolute in noble families - 7 |