The 1848/9 Revolutions (Depth Study)

Question 1

What were some of the social influences of the revolutions?

Answer 1

• At the end of February 1848, King Louis-Phillipe fled Paris and France was declared a republic
• This sparked desire to revolt for liberty across Europe
• The middle-class population were firmly committed to liberal principles whereas the working class sought radical improvements to their working and living conditions

Question 2

What was the effect of population growth in the countryside?

Answer 2

• Since the mid-18th century, population was doubling in the century up to 1848
• This meant it was hard for some areas to sustain their populations
• Thus, people left the land and drifted into the towns in search of work or left the country
• Of the 250,000 people who left Germany in the 1840s, the majority went to the USA

Question 3

What problems were there in the countryside?

Answer 3

• In the countryside, much of the land in eastern Prussia belonged to the Junkers and was worked by landless peasants
• Therefore, even for tenant farmers, rents were high and it was difficult to make a living

Question 4

What problems were there in the towns?

Answer 4

• In most towns, there was insufficient jobs and housing to cope with the influx of migrants from the countryside
• Living conditions were atrocious and there was unemployment in many industries
• Strikes and riots multiplied in the 1830s and 1840s
• Skilled workers felt threatened by the advance of mechanisation that forced down costs of production and made hand made goods expensive

Question 5

What was the economic crisis of 1846-7?

Answer 5

• The potato blight caused distress and unrest as potatoes made up the main diet of German peasants and thus riots broke out, it also caused a sharp rise in food prices
• Consequently, the higher food prices led to a reduction in consumer spending and craft and industrial products lost demand causing workers to be laid off

Question 6

What did skilled workers do?

Answer 6

• Some skilled workers had their own trade organisations which kept them from the unskilled factory workers whom they despised and feared
• During 1848, leaders of the skilled workers staged demonstrations and elected representative assemblies to discuss their grievances

Question 7

What was class consciousness?

Answer 7

• Marxist historians argue that as industrialism developed, each class developed it’s own consciousness, an awareness of one’s place in the social class system
• The proletariat was inevitably opposed to the bourgeoisie

Question 8

What were some of the political problems leading up to the revolutions?

Answer 8

-Middle class Germans were critical of the systems which excluded them from participation in the political process and in which they were restrained from free expression of their grievances by the censor and the secret police

Question 9

What was the significance of Baden in the revolutions?

Answer 9

-The impetus for a German revolution came from the small state of Baden when in 1846 the Duke of Baden had been forced to accept a liberal constitution
-Consequently, the Baden representative assembly was elected on a wider franchise than in any other German state
Radical politicians in Baden held meetings and wanted:
- fairer taxation
- education for all
- a people’s army
-better relations between employees and workers
-a united German republic

Question 10

What was the situation like in early 1848?

Answer 10

In 1848, few Germans expected revolution, there was still widespread loyalty to the established dynasties, moreover, the economic situation was beginning to improve slightly

• Nonetheless, economic distress in the major cities, which continued over the winter of 1847-8, helped to foment revolution
• The urban and rural poor, however, did not have a clear set of aims and were often untouched by the radical, liberal and nationalist ideologies of the middle classes

Question 11

What was the first key event in the course of the revolutions?

Answer 11

-In February 1848, King Louis Phillipe was overthrown and a republic was established in France

Question 12

What was sparked from France’s establishment as a republic?

Answer 12

-News of events helped to spark revolution in Austria and there were mass demonstrations in Vienna where in working class areas there was widespread looting

Question 13

What was Metternich’s reaction to the revolutions?

Answer 13

• Metternich fled and the army, whose loyalty was suspect, was withdrawn from the capital
• The city was left in control of radical students and their working class supporters

Question 14

What was the impact of Metternich’s fall on most Germans?

Answer 14

• Metternich’s fall added fuel to the revolutionary fire
• In some places peasants attacked their landlords, stormed castles and destroyed feudal records
• Elsewhere, artisans used the opportunity of the breakdown of law and order to destroy the new machines that they saw as a threat to their livelihood

Question 15

What was the reaction of most German rulers?

Answer 15

-Most German rulers lost their nerve, giving in easily to demands for more representative government

Question 16

How did liberals feel about the peasant revolts?

Answer 16

• Urban liberals had little sympathy with the peasant revolts in the countryside
• In some instances, new liberal governments, appalled by the destruction of private property, sent in troops to restrain the peasantry

Question 17

How did the Frankfurt Parliament come about?

Answer 17

• In 1848, following the Declaration of Heidelberg, an assembly of states called the ‘Vorparlament’ was formed and after 5 days, agreed on how those who would draw up the constitution for a united Germany would be elected
• The parliament would: meet in Frankfurt, represent every 50,000 inhabitants with each member and be elected by male citizens who were ‘of age’ and ‘economically independent’
• Elections were carried out in all 39 states and approximately 75-90 per cent of men could vote (dependent on their area)
• The elections, however, were indirect and civilians voted for electors who then went on to chose representatives

Question 18

What did the Frankfurt Parliament release whilst struggling to form a constitution?

Answer 18

-They released the Fifty Articles of the fundamental rights of German citizens (e.g- freedom of worship, the press)

Question 19

What were the weaknesses of the Frankfurt Parliament?

Answer 19

• It was quickly decided that any constitution would be sovereign and whilst state parliaments could make laws, they’d need to coincide with the constitution
• The existing boundaries of the confederation didn’t conform to any logical definition of Germany, therefore, the parliament was divided between wanting a ‘Grossdeutchland’ or a ‘Kleindeutchland’, one that included Austria or not
• The Frankfurt parliament was unable to collect taxation and had no army to raise
• Many workers lost faith in the parliament due to their Industrial code
• The parliament was divided between conservatives, liberals and radicals so it became challenging to agree

Question 20

Why did the Frankfurt parliament fail?

Answer 20

• In March 1949, a constitution was finally agreed
• However, when Fredrick William was ‘elected’ emperor, he realised that he didn’t want Prussia under parliament’s control
• Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover and Prussia all rejected the constitution
• The parliament was driven out of Frankfurt and in June forcibly dispersed

Question 21

What was the impact of the revolutions and the Frankfurt Parliament on the development of nationalism?

Answer 21

• There was a lack of nationalism in the support for the revolutions as there were divided aims amongst the social classes
• It was only the middle class that was really interested in unification
• Failure of the Frankfurt Parliament epitomised the failure of nationalism as it failed to create a German constitution or unite Germany
• However, they had helped to stir a national consciousnesses as people were more politically aware of a united Germany