Mark Washburne

A Biography of Elihu Benjamin Washburne: Volume Five: American Minister to France During Paris Commune of 1871 Mark Washburne

Mark Washburne is an Associate Professor of History and Political Science at the County College of Morris in New Jersey. The author is a distant cousin of Minister Elihu Washburne and resides in Mendham, New Jersey. In 1869, President Grant nominated his old friend, Elihu Washburne, as Secretary of State and then Minister to France. Washburne presented his credentials to Napoleon III and was present in 1870 for the Franco-German War. Following the war with the Germans, the people of Paris rose up in revolt and proclaimed a leftist Commune. The poor response of the French government to feed the people of Paris after the peace treaty contributed to the political turmoil. Despite having just gone through a harrowing experience of war and siege with the Germans, Minister Washburne now was faced with a new war, a civil war, and a new siege, this time imposed from within. The Fifth Volume explores the life of Elihu Washburne with special focus on his significant role during the Paris Commune of 1871.