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ahievement of the 1848 revolutions
ahievement of the 1848 revolutions
ahievement of the 1848 revolutions
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The revolutions of 1848 were widespread and affected about 50 countries in Europe, considering the previously separate lands of Germany and Italy. These revolutions were extremely violent and costly. In terms of lives, tens of thousands were lost during battles with several thousand more being lost in executions. Over 100,000 individuals were jailed or exiled as well. While these individual countries had significant nationalistic grievances, such as anti-Austrian attitudes in Italy, anti-Russian and anti-Turkish opinions in Rumania, anti-Habsburg in Prague and Budapest, German patriotism divided German as did Polish patriotism in Poland; it was the political and economic struggle that were the prevailing catalysts for the revolutionary uprisings.
There was widespread economic crisis in the European continent in the mid 19th century. Agricultural failures from 1845-1847 which resulted in increased food prices impeded the people’s ability to buy food. The people in Berlin were so angered over the cost of food that they rioted for four days. A third of the German population was on government relief by 1847, resulting in the number of Germans leaving for the United States in search of farmland to increase dramatically. In Prussian Silesia and Austrian Galicia over a quarter of a million people died as a result of starvation.
Anger over the ancient regime of government and its political tyranny was viewed as the single most important cause of the numerous revolutions. Heightened political awareness due to the invention and extensive use of the printing press was instrumental in fostering political awareness of new ideas such as liberalism, nationalism and socialism. Additionally, many of the countries were aware of the succ...
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... positive results of the uprisings were the spread of parliamentary governments, the allowance of manhood suffrage in France and briefly, in Austria, the elimination of lord owned and tenant farmed land in Central Europe, the beginnings of the German and Italian unification movements, and the establishment of Hungary as an equal partner with Austria under Hapsburg rule.
Works Cited
Western Civilization: A Brief History, Complete [Paperback] By Marvin Perry, Publisher: Wadsworth-Cengage Publishing; 7th edition 2010 pp 333-347
“Sparknotes” http://www.sparknotes.com/
Linked from “Sparknotes”
The Revolutions of 1848 (1848) http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/1871/section1.html
“Fordham University” http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.asp
Linked from “Fordham University”
Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions http://www.ohio.edu/chastain/index.htm
...s for more liberal reforms, helping the conservatives. This also helped show how paranoid the government was of potential rebellion against them and how pragmatic they were. Then throughout 1848, there was a multitude of rebellions and when the dust settled it seemed as if the Austrian government was going to lose it was able to get back up and fight back with the help of the Russians and get back control for the conservatives. By the end of 1851 Austria was able to remain a strong conservative dual monarchy, a concession made to appease the Magyars, but their king still had to report to the Austrian king. Throughout 1815-1851 there were many demands for more liberal reforms and strong opponents of conservatism, but by the end on 1851 Austria, Prussia, and France were still some of the few nations where conservatism was able to achieve its goals and stay in power.
Coffin, Judith G, et al. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 17th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2011. Print.
3. Jackson J. Spielvogel. Western Civilization Third Edition, A Brief History volume 1: to 1715. 2005 Belmont CA. Wadsworth Publishing
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.
...pave the way for democracy, but the bloodshed could have been more limited. Many people during the Revolution believed that France needed a change in many ways. They had achieved that by 1793. Many new reforms had been implemented in the country and it was much better off than it had been four years prior. I do agree with Kropotkin that the abolishing of serfdom and absolutism was a great achievement for France and that it did lead to a democratic system. Though this is true, the violence and bloodshed during the Revolution could have been minimized through committees and discussions. Schama is also right in that some men were too radical and their new found power went to their head. All said and done, the French Revolution was a bloody time in history, but it paved the way for a new democratic system not only for France but for many other countries as well.
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.
Cole, Joshua. Western Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture. 3rd Ed. 2. W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. Print.
) What do you think was the most important outcome of the Age of Revolutions?
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
Cole, Joshua, Judith G. Coffin, Carol Symes, and Robert Stacey. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. Brief Third ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print.
Perry, Marvin, et al. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society. 4th ed. Vol. I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
In the years leading up the the Revolutions of 1848 other major social changes associated with the Industrial Revolution were occurring, dramatic shifts in demographics reduced the quality of living for a majority of the working class people. Horrifying living and working conditions led workers to demand rights and when they were denied led them to seek new political structures. The Revolutions of 1848 failed because of the differing interests of the revolutionary groups, such as nationalists, socialists, and constitutionalists, and the existence of large, powerful conservative states, like Prussia and Austria, who were willing to preserve the order not only in their own nations but in other nations as well.
As you can see all these factors enabled the reactionary regimes to return to power after the 1848 Revolutions. I do not think that one was more influential than another but that they are all connected. Perhaps without one, another may not have had such an effect. For example, the existence of social and economic difficulties increased the divisions between the revolutionaries. They found it increasingly difficult to agree with one another on how to combat them, let alone be able to compromise on a new form of government. Also if the new widened franchise had not been so inexperienced the revolutionaries would have had an easier time replacing the old regimes, which had in fact not been that strong to start with. The reactionary regimes regained power so quickly because of all of these reasons and although the 1848 Revolutions had emphasised the “ineptitude and impotence”8 of the old sovereigns and governments, they brought with them too many resentments, grudges and radical changes, for which Europe was not yet ready.
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. 8th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
One of the key factors which led to the Unification was nationalism. Nationalism is the idea that certain things such as race, culture, religion, language or territory set them apart from those around them, and they could identify their interests with a group of people not just a local monarch. This idea created the belief that one’s loyalty was first to the ‘nation’ not the monarch. On 23 February 1848, there was a demonstration in Paris that resulted in the abdication of King Louis Philippe. Then on 13 March students in Vienna staged a rebellion which later that day forced Prince Metternich to resign as Austrian Foreign Minister. Prussian King, Frederick William IV, stood against reform and used troops to break up demonstrations. But on hearing of Metternich’s resignation he lost his nerve and called together a Diet, granting a constitution. When a crowd gathered at the Palace in Berlin the royal guard opened fire. The resulting revolution ended by November of that year as the people began to fear the consequences of prolonging it. The failure of this revolution, and the failure to achieve national unity, broke the link between liberalism and nationalism. In the end it was the nationalistic ideals of the German aristocracy, not the general populace that brought about the Unification of the German States in 1871.