Appeal to the people. : Supplement to the Constitutionnel of 2 December 1851 In the name of the French people the President of the Republic. Decree for the plebiscite. Done at the Élysée Palace on 2 December 1851. Signed "Louis Napoléon Bonaparte and the Minister of the Interior de Morny". Imprimerie Nationale, December 1851. 59,3 x 44,3 cm. Large printed placard. 59.3 x 44.3 cm E.M. (tears, missing) under glass. Historical background: Following Parliament's decision to abolish universal suffrage for the election of the President of the Republic, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte declared a state of siege and dissolved the Assembly and the Council of State. This marked the beginning of the Second Empire.