Chapter Seven: A City Transformed Summary and Analysis

The new president, Louis Bonaparte, was seen as courteous and attentive by the American diplomatic corps. He was considered difficult to read and was known as a womanizer. One American, Dr. Thomas W. Evans, of Philadelphia, formed a close friendship with the president. Louis Bonaparte was born in 1808 and was the son of the first Napoleon's brother, Louis. His popularity resided mainly in the rural areas that overwhelmingly voted for him after an earlier coup d'etat he staged that basically made him a dictator.

Improvements were seen throughout the city; however, the disparity between the rich and poor was ever increasing. Demolition was taking place everywhere in the city to make way for the new, modern and restored structures. Les Halles, a new central market replete with ironwork and skylight roof, was erected...