Proclamation of the New Order

Concurrent

Date

19 BBY^[5]

Place

Senate Building, Galactic City, Coruscant^[1]

Outcome

The Galactic Republic is reorganized into the Galactic Empire, via the New Order^[1]
- Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine ascends to the position of Galactic Emperor for a life-long term^[1]
- The Galactic Senate becomes the Imperial Senate^[1]
- The Clone Wars are officially brought to an end^[1]
- The Jedi are declared enemies of the state^[1]
- First Empire Day^[6]

Affiliations involved

Galactic Republic/Galactic Empire^[1]
Galactic Senate/Imperial Senate^[1]

Participants

Supreme Chancellor/Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine^[1]

In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire! For a safe and secure society!Sheev Palpatine

The proclamation of the New Order was the event that marked the founding of the Galactic Empire. At the end of the Clone Wars, during an emergency session of the Galactic Senate, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine—secretly Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith—claimed that the Jedi Order had attempted to overthrow the Galactic Republic. The Jedi were declared enemies of the Republic, and Sidious transformed it into the first Galactic Empire, with himself as absolute ruler. The proclamation was met with widespread support in the Senate^[1] and in public,^[7] though some—such as Senators Bail Organa and Padmé Amidala—quietly watched in disappointment.^[1] Empire Day was an annual holiday that celebrated the declaration of the New Order.^[6]

Trillions of citizens of the galaxy heard Palpatine's proclamation of the New Order.^[8]

Partial text

(applause) And the Jedi rebellion has been foiled.

[…]

Our loyal clone troopers contained the insurrection within the Jedi Temple and quelled uprisings on a thousand worlds.

The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated! (applause)

[…]

The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed. But, I assure you, my resolve has never been stronger! (applause)

[…]

In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire! (applause) For a safe and secure society. (thunderous applause)

Reactions

So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause.Padmé Amidala

The speech announcing the transition from the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire was received with majority support and without open dissent. Some senators were in support of it because it meant a chance at a time of peace after three years of war and the carnage that had occurred.^[1] Others, notably the senators who signed the Delegation of 2,000, personally disagreed with the speech, but did not speak out.^[9] During the speech, the Naboo senator, Padmé Amidala, mused that liberty had just died to "thunderous applause."^[1]

While the speech was going on, Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, who had survived Order 66, forcibly entered the occupied Jedi Temple to investigate the attack that had occurred there, taking advantage of Palpatine being publicly elsewhere.^[1]

On the clone trooper homeworld of Kamino, Palpatine's speech was played live from Coruscant. The clones in Tipoca City attended a mandatory general assembly to listen to the Supreme Chancellor as he delivered an address on the state of the Republic. Additionally, a detachment of Coruscant Guard clone shock troopers and the members of Clone Force 99 attended the assembly, as did the city's Kaminoan administrators Prime Minister Lama Su, Taun We, and Doctor Nala Se. The clone troopers cheered as Palpatine announced that the Republic would be reformed into the Empire.^[4] News would soon spread throughout the clone ranks, however, that the New Order had plans to halt the cloning operation on Kamino;^[10] the Empire was interested in introducing service conscription to the Imperial Army, believing it was a cheaper alternative to cloning.^[4]

Because their control chips had largely failed to activate, Clone Force 99 were left confused instead of cheering at Palpatine's proclamation. When Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin dispatched the team on a mission to Onderon with the supposed goal of wiping out insurgents, they elected to desert the Empire upon realizing the supposed rebels included civilians. During their subsequent escape from Kamino, however, CT-9904 Crosshair remained with the Empire after his control chip was intensified.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Anakin Skywalker starting hanging out with the Emperor, who at this point nobody knew was that bad, because he was an elected official."
"Was he a Jedi?"
"No, he was a politician. Richard M. Nixon was his name. He subverted the senate and finally took over and became an imperial guy and he was really evil. But he pretended to be a really nice guy. He sucked Luke's father into the dark side.George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan discussing how the Emperor takes over the Senate

The proclamation of the New Order was created for the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the third and final installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.^[1]

Back in 1981, during a conference transcript meeting for the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, George Lucas discussed with Lawrence Kasdan the backstory of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side and how the Emperor subverted the Galactic Senate.^[11] This ultimately materialized into what became the proclamation of the New Order in the prequel trilogy.^[1]

In the DVD commentary of Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas stated that the interwoven scenes of the proclamation of the New Order and the mission to Mustafar was a homage to the christening and assassination sequence of the 1972 classic film The Godfather, directed by his friend Francis Ford Coppola.^[12]