A historical figure of liberal Protestantism, he voluntarily went into exile in Switzerland under the Second Empire, from 1866 to 1870, because he refused to swear allegiance to the new government.

Meanwhile, he tried to put in place a liberal Protestant church, calling pastors Jules Steeg and Felix Pécaut.

After the announcement of the proclamation of the Republic, he returned to France and was actively involved in political and social initiatives of the municipality of 17th arrondissement.

Refusing to teach philosophy because he was more willing to work for the poorest children, it was thanks to his friendship with the Minister of Public Instruction, Jules Simon, that he was appointed director of the Paris schools.

In 1898, as a supporter of Alfred Dreyfus, Buisson participated in the creation of the French League for Human Rights, which he was president from 1913 to 1926.

Buisson submitted a separate report on women's suffrage on 16 July 1909, some months after Dussaussoy's death.

[6] Ferdinand Buisson was also the prime contractor for a remarkable editorial project, the Dictionnaire de pédagogie et d'instruction primaire, for the writing of which he surrounded himself with more than 350 collaborators, and more particularly with James Guillaume who became its editor-in-chief.

A supporter from the beginning of the League of Nations, Buisson then devoted himself to Franco-German rapprochement, especially after the occupation of the Ruhr in 1923, inviting German pacifists to Paris and traveling to Berlin.