Considerant was born in Salins, France, in 1808 at the foot of the Jura mountains, of a family belonging to the bourgeoisie. His father was a distinguished humanist, translator of English treatises, librarian for the city, and headmaster of a small school. The family was poor and the parents often had boarders in order to make financial ends meet. Considerant finished school at Salins and then entered the Lycée de Besançon in order to prepare himself for L’Ecole Polytechnique. While attending school in Besançon he met Just Muiron in the home of Mme. Vigoureaux who, with several others, was giving considerable time to the study of the works of Fourier. Mme. Vigoureaux had lived in Salins and had sent her son to Considerant’s father for instruction; it was thus natural for Considerant to spend a portion of his time in her home. Besides the boy, she had two daughters, one of whom later became the wife of Considerant and accompanied him to Texas. In 1826, at the age of eighteen, Considerant entered L’Ecole Polytechnique and was in due time graduated, whereupon he immediately entered the army and soon attained the rank of captain. After a short service with the army, he felt that he should give all of his time to the spreading of the teachings of Fourier and, finally, after some hesitation, resigned his commission in the army. Marshall Soult, to whom he applied for release, told him that his resignation would not be accepted for the army needed officers of his type, but that he would be granted indefinite leave of absence, and that he might return to the army at any time with the same rank as he then held.[6] Considerant also attended school in Metz and from there he went to Paris, where he set about his work. In June, 1832, the first number of the _Phalanstére_, organ of the Fourierists, appeared. The principal contributors to the paper were Considerant, Baudet-Dulary, Jules Lechevalier, Just Muiron, Amédee Paget, Pellarin, Renaud, Clarisse Vigoureaux, and Fourier. The followers of Fourier rejected the name Fourierists and accepted as an official title _phalanstériens_ and the constituent parts were to be known as _phalanstére_ or phalange. The paper soon brought discord, or rather the discord was inherent in the publication. Fourier thought that the whole movement should be advertised or established by an actual experiment, while the disciples thought that conferences, pamphlets, political actions, public speeches, and other means should be used to get the plan before the people. Then, too, besides Fourier, others led a mild revolt from the group which Considerant apparently controlled.