Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Revolutions of 1820-1848
The Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1820-1848
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Revolutions of 1820-1848
University students demanding reforms were joined by peasants and workers, and as demonstrations spread across Europe, these rebellions became known as the Revolutions of 1848. These political upheavals set the stage for the series of republican revolts against European monarchies that ensued. The first occurrences began in Italy and quickly spread to other nations including France where the attention of the international community was gained. Although the corruption of government and economic structures which resulted in poor living conditions provoked some of the uprisings, there were many factors contributing to the dissatisfaction of European monarchy’s subjects. In addition to governmental and economic issues, the Revolutions of 1848
were ignited throughout Europe due to previously unresolved concerns of the people, a feeling of unification among each nation’s citizens against the established government, and the intense desire for equality and freedom. The united efforts of citizens of European countries in the Revolutions of 1848 gave them inspiration to confront not only government and economic issues, but also social problems which had plagued them for years as they unified in mass for the first time to pursue opportunities of equality and freedom. Through a wave of revolutions encompassing Europe in the 1830’s in which concerns were not resolved or were even worsened, a general feeling of discontent left an open field for difficulties to grow. The people pitted against the governmental authority in their respective countries as leaders did not prioritize their citizen’s needs. People often felt suppressed, therefore they chose to rise up for considerations they believed they deserved. Although the revolutions were considered short-lived failures because lasting change did not result from them, the revolutionaries did manage to frighten those who held power. The leaders consequently instituted harsher policies to control the population which resulted in widespread disillusionment among liberals.
During the political upheaval in the Revolutionary era, writers would write mostly about the politics of the war. Although in past times people would mostly write about the troubles they faced during the time, the Revolutionary changed the way writers would persuade others. In the past most times, the authors would strictly use facts or strictly write to the select few but everything changed when the colonist faced a Revolutionary War.
The French Revolution was a period of political upheaval that occurred in France during the latter half of the 18th century. This revolution marked an end to the system of feudalism and the monarchy in France and a rise to democracy and new Enlightenment ideas. By 1789, when the revolution began, France was in a deep financial crisis due to the debt they had obtained over many years of reckless spending and France was nearly bankrupt. These financial issues fell almost completely on the bottom social class or the Third Estate which made up a majority of the country. Because of this financial trouble, the common people were heavily taxed, leaving many of them in poverty.
The Enlightenment period in Europe was a shift in the way that society thought about power and liberty. The ideals of this period helped to inspire the revolutions of the 18th century. The American colonies desired liberty from foreign rule, the French wanted to increase the power of the people in their class structure, and the Haitians fought for representation for the millions of slaves on their island. While the ideas of the enlightenment were not fully employed in each of these revolutions, they brought the nations closer to a fully representative government, rather than one of absolute power. The American revolution was a reaction to unfavorable tax policies from the King of England.
The widespread uprising of the revolutions after the publication of the Communist Manifesto are know as the Revolutions of 1848. They started in France and mainly spread to Germany, Italy, and the Austrian Empire, but were documented in other empires as well, but on a lesser degree.[4] Although the Communist Manifesto is not said to be the driving force behind these revolutions it can definitely be noted as a factor. The revolution in France happened because the working class desired universal suffrage. King Louis Philippe was overthrown and the Second Republic of France was established. The revolution in Germany, partially inspired by the French revolution that preceded it, unified the country with the national parliament.
During the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson succeeded in defeating the incumbent, John Adams, and assumed the presidency. In terms of elections though, the election of 1800 itself was a fascinating election in that it a heavily-contested election and was effectively the first time political parties ran smear campaigns against each other during an election. The Republican Party attacked the Federalists for being anti-liberty and monarchist and tried to persuade the public that the Federalists were abusing their power through acts such as the Alien & Sedition Acts and the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion (Tindall and Shi 315). The Federalists, on the other hand, attacked Jefferson for his atheism and support of the French Revolution and warned that his election would result in chaos (316). By the end of the presidential election, neither Adams nor Jefferson emerged with his reputation completely intact. Still, rather than an election between Adams and Jefferson, the election of 1800 ultimately boiled down to a deadlock between Jefferson and his vice presidential candidate, Aaron Burr, who each held seventy-three electoral votes, resulting in the election was sent to the House of Representatives. In the end, the deadlock was resolved only by Alexander Hamilton, whose immense hate for Burr allowed Jefferson to claim the presidency. However, the election of 1800 was more than just a simple presidential election. The election of 1800 was the first peaceful transfer of power from the incumbent party to the opposition and represented a new step in politics, as well as a new direction in foreign policy that would emerge from Jefferson’s policies, and to this extent, the election of 1800 was a revolution.
What is a revolution? By definition it means the overthrow of a government by those who are governed. That is exactly what the French and the Mexican revolutions were all about. The living conditions and overall treatment of the poor, pheasants, lower class, last man on the totem pole or what ever you want to call them, was a large factor in the coming of these revolutions. "Those who are governed" are exactly what the lower class people were. Also, liberty was one of the people's major concerns. They were ruled by men whose only desire was power and greed which is what led them into revolt.
Throughout history, countless uprisings have occurred. Historians classify any forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system as a revolution. The success or failure of a revolution is directly related to the revolution’s causes and consequences. The French Revolution was more successful than the Nicaraguan Revolution, because the Nicaraguan Revolution left the country in social and financial ruin, foreign powers had much greater interference, and it precipitated a period of political unrest with multiple leadership changes. One cause of both revolutions was that people from all social classes were discontented.
Throughout time, individuals have rebelled against corrupt policies within society in order to obtain their autonomy as well as their rights as an individual. King Louis XIV of France, for instance, taxed the lower class of France, in order to construct his palace, the Palace of Versailles, which depicted his power and authority. If individuals refused to pay their taxes to Louis XIV, then as a result, they would be placed in prison or be executed, as a penalty. The lower class individuals of France began to question King Louis XIV’s authority, ultimately leading to numerous rebellions against his position as King of France. Likewise, between 1750 to 1914 numerous revolutions to alter certain aspects within society occurred in diverse regions throughout this time.
French and Russian Revolutions Both the French and Russian revolutions occurred for two main reasons. Both of these revolutions were the direct result of bad leadership and a bad economy. These two reasons, along with other factors, caused both of these revolutions. Although they were both similar, they also had differences. A difference between the two is that the Russians had an unsuccessful "pre-revolution" in 1905.
The commoners of France began to revolt after hearing the ideas of famous philosophers like Voltaire. Voltaire was a deist who believed that the Catholic Church and its doctrines were not to be trusted since they used propaganda to get followers rather than the actual religion. He believed it was unfair that there wasn’t any religious freedom since you were expected to be a Catholic. He spoke openly about this, which of course got him into a lot of trouble. Nevertheless, the French commoners took his word into thought and decided to act upon what he said by revolting against the church.
During the late 1700's, two great revolutions occurred, the American Revolution and the French Revolution. These two historical events happened at the same time, but had a great number of differences and very little similarity. When French Revolution occurred, it turned into a very violent and bloody event, while the American Revolution was almost nonviolent, aside from the war. In 1774, King Louis XVI made a decision that could have prevented the French Revolution by breathing new life into the French economy: he appointed Physiocrat Robert Turgot as Controller General of Finance.
Revolutions have always been linked to social injustice brought on by classism and the imbalance economic responsibility. Despotism was present throughout Europe for decades before the people filled the streets fighting for reformation in policy, particularly those that have a direct effect on everyday living conditions. Anger and disdain was at the center of both the French and Russian Revolutions. In the years leading up to these events, the bulk of the population in the region of Europe were overworked peasants. The people were earning wages that allowed families to remain a step away from starvation. People were weary of harsh leadership and impoverished living conditions. As we will see, the Russian and French Revolutions were the result of oppression through classism and class conflict.
The year of 1848 spanned revolutions across Europe from being suppressed by most of supreme powers. These revolutions were caused by the belief in liberalism which could simply be defined as liberty and equality. Liberalism’s first victory was in the French Revolution, but due to disasters that followed and Napoleon’s reign caused liberalism to grow slow elsewhere in Europe out of fear. People like Metternich and the Holy Alliance tried to preserve their old orders and suppress these revolutionary movements unknowing of the consequences. Liberalism had another effect among the people as it caused a social war with boldly calling it as “everybody or poor vs the rich”. Overall, these revolutions failed what they set out to do
The revolutionaries in Italy had longstanding grievances, some were nationalists and some were liberals. Despite all having different ideas and aims they all resoundingly agreed that Italy needed change. The hopes of the various revolutionary groups had been raised by the election of Pope Pius and Charles Albert the King of Piedmont Sardinia. However, their hopes and resulting revolutions were crushed due to many concerning factors.
The Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848 have been described as the “greatest revolution of the century”. From its mild beginnings in Palermo, Sicily in January 1848, it did not take long to spread across the rest of Europe (Britain and Russia were the only countries not to experience such revolutions). “In 1848 more states on the European continent were overcome by revolution than ever before and ever since”2. The Revolutions became more radical but after June 1848 these revolutionary events began to overlap with those of counterrevolutionary actions, thus enabling the old regimes to return to power.