Revolutions of 1848

Question 1

What was the Impact of Vienna?

Answer 1

• As we know, the Congress of Vienna looked to establish a conservative order
• However, since 1789, liberal reforms with values such as democracy, equality, and freedom had gained in momentum throughout the world, especially in Europe
• “When France has a cough, the rest of Europe catches a cold” - Metternich (cough symbolic of revolution, when France has revolutionary ideas, these ideas spread)

Question 2

What was the “Spring” of People?

Answer 2

Spring:
- A spring may be an object that when compressed, has tremendous potential energy
- It can also, of course, mean a season that follows winter
- In this context, the term “spring” means something different
- It means to “suddenly move forward”, or more plainly, to progress towards something

Question 3

What were the 2 Problems of the Revolution? (not too sure if it is the problems of the revolution, all it says in the notes is problem)

Answer 3

Problem #1 - Conservatism:
As established by the Congress of Vienna, political conservatism was the order of the day
1. All this, despite the American (1776) and the French Revolutions (1789) which were revolutions against conservative political structures, such as kings
2. The American Revolution as a much more successful revolution
Never had a king again
Also established parliamentary democracy and society based on liberal values
3. France, on the other hand, went from a king (Louis XVI), to a dictator (Robespierre), to an Emperor (Napoleon), to a king (Louis XVIII), back to an Emperor (Napoleon), etc
The bottom line is this: liberalism was on the rise, and people wanted the freedom associated with it

Problem #2 - Demographics:
- Population was on the rise within cities
- Why? Agriculture has advance to the point where an agricultural revolution meant less people were required on farms due to mechanization
- As such, less people were needed on farms
- Where were they needed? In the cities? Why? The factories of the Industrial Revolution (IR) needed workers
- Within the cities, population growth put tremendous pressure on the abilities of urban areas to cope with this many people
- As a result, many people were hungry, or sick (related to a lack of proper sanitation to get rid of the poop thousands of people create)
- In a lot of places, population outstripped food supplies, and when people were hungry they agitate for change

Question 4

What were the common themes of the revolution?

Answer 4

1. People want to control their lives → Self-determination is a key to people’s happiness
2. People like freedom
3. When being ruled over by another, such as in the case of the American colonists by Great Britain, colonial masters use repressive means to subjugate members of the colonial population
4. Eventually, self-determination movements become very popular as people want to control their lives

Question 5

Why did the Revolutions of 1848 Fail/they were not organized.

Answer 5

They were unorganized

• Many reasons for revolutionary activities
  Reactions to long and short-term causes
• Competing ideologies in different countries
• Different revolutionary leaders, aims, and goals in different countries
• Some countries had no revolutions:
  Britain
  Russia

Why did the 1848 Revolutions Fail:

• They failed to attract popular support from the working class
• The middle class led these revolutions, but as they turned radical, the middle class held back
• Nationalism divided more than united
• Where revolutions were successful, the Old Guard (or old regime) was left in place and they turned against the revolutionaries
• Some gains lasted (abolition of serfdom, etc)
• But in the long term, most liberal gains would be solidified by the end of the 19th cen.
  The unification of Germany and Italy
  The collapse of the Hapsburg Empire at the end of the WWI

The Bottom Line

• It looked like the conservative forces had triumphed
• But…
  Things had changed forever
  Economic/social problems continued to be constant challenges to the ruling order
  Conservatives would have to make concessions (giving into the demands of the people) in order to stay in power
  Many of the limited Liberal achievements remained permanent