Monday, Dec 22, 2014
- The Revolutions of 1848
- Causes
- Conservative leaders steadfastly refused to respond to the problems and social tensions created by industrialization and urbanization.
- Working-class radicals and middle-class liberals were convinced that the repressive Metternich system had outlived its usefulness.
- Nationalists in Italy and Germany yearned for unification. At the same time, national minorities in the Austrian Empire demanded independence.
- Widespread crop failures, rising prices of food, and growing unemployment helped fuel demands for change.
- Revolution in France
- Affluent bourgeoisie dominated France during the reign of Louis Philippe (r. 1830-1848). A leading minister rejected demands for extending the franchise to the working class proclaiming, “Enrich yourself and you will have the vote.”
- Unable to withstand public pressure, Louis Philippe’s government collapsed in February 1848.
- As tension and unrest gripped Paris, liberals, socialists and Bonapartists all vied for power.
- Following a bloody confrontation between workers and the capitalist-backed government, French voters overwhelmingly elected Louis Napoleon as president of the Second French Republic. The nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, Louis promised to restore order at home and glory abroad.
- Napoleon III (r. 1852-1870): Establishment of the Second Empire
- In 1848, French voters elected Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (nephew of Napoleon I) the new president of the Second French Republic.
- Just four years later, Louis Napoleon proclaimed France an empire with himself Emperor Napoleon III. A vast majority of the French people endorsed these proclamations.
- Economic Progress
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Napoleon III understood the importance of modern industrialization. His economic policies included the following achievements:
- Railroad mileage increased by more than fivefold.
- Moderate free-trade policies doubled exports.
- Industrial production doubled, enriching the middle class.
- Napoleon did not ignore the working class. He legalized trade unions and improved public housing.
- Rebuilding Paris
- Napoleon named Baron Georges Haussmann to oversea a vast project to redesign Paris.
- Haussmann replaced narrow streets and congested working-class neighborhoods with wide avenues, impressive public monuments, and expansive parks.
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The rebuilding project accomplished several objectives:
- It transformed Paris into a symbol of France’s prosperity and greatness.
- It made it much harder for rioters to blockade streets.
- Quest for Glory
- Napoleon believed that the Concert of Europe limited France’s foreign policy.
- Napoleon was determined to follow a foreign policy calculated to undermine the Concert of Europe and win international glory for himself and for France.
- Italian Nationalism
- Austria dominated northern Italy.
- Italian nationalists formed a secret society called the Carbonari (“charcoal burners”). The Carbonari hoped to drive out the Austrians and unify Italy.
- Inspired by the events in France and Belgium, the Carbonari rebelled. However, Metternich promptly sent in Austrian troops to restore order.
- The Carbonari’s failure to left Giuseppe Mazzini as Italy’s foremost nationalist leader.
- Defeat in Italy
- Led by Giuseppe Mazzini, the “Young Italy” movement sought to establish a liberal republic embracing all of Italy.
- The Austrians once again proved to be too strong while the Italians once again proved to be too divided.
- Hope and Failure in Germany
- A growing number of German nationalists hoped for a more liberal German state.
- In 1834, all the major German states except Austria formed the Zollverein, a free-trading union, to facilitate commerce.
- Riots broke out in Berlin in 1848. Frederick William IV (r. 1840-1861) responded by issuing a series of reforms, including calling a Prussian assembly to draft a new constitution.
- Meanwhile, another assembly met in Frankfurt to draft a constitution for all Germany.
- The hopes of German reformers were soon crushed. Supported by the army, Fredrick William dissolved the Prussian assembly. He then rejected the Frankfurt assembly’s plan for a constitutional monarchy declaring that he would refuse to “pick up a crown from the gutter.”
- The failure of the German reform movement had fateful consequences for Germany and the future of Europe.
- Revolutions in the Austrian Empire
- Austria was a huge dynastic state in which a dominant German-peaking nation ruled a large number of subject nationalities and ethnic groups.
- Revolutionary fervor quickly spread from Paris to Vienna. As tensions mounted, Metternich resigned and fled to England.
- An Austrian constituent assembly abolished the robot, or forced labor, thus removing a major source of peasant discontent.
- Revolution quickly spread from Vienna to Hungary where Louis Kossuth demanded self-government.
- Despite initial setbacks, the Austrian government regained control. Only Hungary remained defiant. The new Austrian emperor Francis Joseph (r. 1848-1916) accepted the offer of Tsar Nicholas I to help defeat the Hungarians. A joint invasion of Russian and Austrian forces crushed Hungarian resistance.
- Key Points
- The revolutions of 1848 failed because of internal divisions, a lack of popular support outside the cities, and the continued strength of conservative forces.
- Peaceful reforms enabled England to avoid violent revolts.
- Repressive policies stifled reform in Russia.
- The idealistic romantic spirit now yielded to a new age of political realism.