The Revolutions of 1848 and
After
Age of Empire
Spring 2005
The Role of Nationalism in the Revolutions
of 1848
One of the common elements was
Nationalism.
It contributed to both Germans
and Italians to seek unification.
Allowed for the subject peoples
of the Austrian Empire to seek political and cultural autonomy.
The Romantic movement had
stimulated a nationalistic Renaissance among the Central and Eastern Europe.
The Role of Language
Czech was on the verge of
extinction in the late 18th Century.
Especially in the light of the
expansion of German.
Since many Czechs adopted German
as the language of their superiors.
By 1848, a Czech linguistic
revival was underway.
In many ways it was linked to
Pan Slavism.
What sort of People were the Nationalists
of 1848?
Where they liberal?
Did they understand the feelings
of other minorities?
No, they were neither generous
or liberal toward other national groups.
The Role of Liberalism
Liberalism was another element
in the coming of the Revolutions of 1848.
In Eastern and Central Europe,
the liberals wanted constitutions to limit the power of their monarchs.
They also wanted the liquidation
of feudalism and manorial dues.
In France the liberals wanted to
replace the July Monarchy with a Democratic Republic.
What did the French Liberals Want?
The French liberals were moving
in the direction of socialism.
Radicals wanted to guarantee the
right to work.
This was somewhat revolutionary
for the time.
What do you think?
Why would they feel this way?
What was driving the
intellectuals to move in this direction?
Economic
Distress
The Blight that attacked the
Irish potato also struck the Continent.
Food prices rose rapidly.
Leading to bread riots.
Actual famine in Europe,
something that had not happened in modern memory.
Then came the collapse of
railroads.
Untold human suffering occurred.
The seeds of Revolution were now
set.
The State of the Bourbon Restoration
Louis XVIII did not want to do
anything that would upset the French.
He enjoyed being King and did
not want to do anything to jeopardize that relationship.
He maintained many of the
reforms of the Revolution.
Including the Bank of France.
Funding schools.
Accepted the Charter of 1814
which was the basis of the French government until 1830.
The Royal Fool
Louis XVIII died in 1824.
And was succeeded by his bother,
the Count of Artois, Charles X.
Charles was not concerned with
the peoples interests.
Nationalism and democracy did
not interest him.
He was only interested in the
expansion of royal absolutism.
Then he made a number of
tactical mistakes.
Failed Policies
He promised to compensated the
ιmigrιs who fled France.
Removed liberal provisions from
the Charter of 1814.
Punished the sacrilegious.
Moved to replace the
revolutionary Tricoleur, with the Bourbon standard.
The left gained a majority in
1827.
Pressuring Charles X.
Later he responded by the July
Ordinances limited a free press and dissolved the Chamber of Deputies.
The Coming of the July Monarchy
The new regime was a
constitutional monarchy.
Something Charles X would not do
as he sailed for exile to England.
The new king was the Duke of
Orleans
Louis-Philippe, the Citizen King.
This period was known as the
July Monarchy.
In many ways
it was a victory
for the bourgeoisie.
The Driving Force for Revolution
Liberalism check on absolutist
governments via constitutions.
Nationalism where national
groups sought independence from the dynastic regimes of the old order.
Classic example would be the
Austrian Empire.
This is evident in the Greek and
the Belgian Revolts.
The Origins of the Revolution
The economic crisis hit hard in
France.
Railroad construction came to a
near standstill in France.
All the industries associated
with railroad construction collapsed too.
Rising levels of unemployment
compounded with low wages angered the workers.
The government became totally
indifferent to the plight of the poor.
Louis Philippes Response to
Industrialization
After 18 years on the throne,
Louis Philippe took only two steps to help the working poor.
In 1833 to increase
state aid to primary education.
In 1841 to restrict
child labor.
The government really
represented only those well connected.
They were called the
Stockholders, who numbered about 200,000 people.
The
Governments Response for Reform
For those who wanted liberal
reforms.
The answer was simple.
Enrichissez-vous
In other worlds, make yourself
rich and dont worry.
The government now banned labor
organizations.
Censorship was imposed.
Growing Discontent
Because of Frances support of
Mehemet Ali, the Egyptian Governor who tried to create an empire in the
Mediterranean.
The leaders of the opposition
were Adolphe Thiers, who was out of power, but favored a constitutional
monarchy.
Another opponents were the
disappointed Republicans formed a second opposition.
There was also another group,
much smaller, the Bonapartists.
This movement grew as soon as
Napoleons remains were returned to France in 1840.
The Political Banquets
Starting in the Summer of 1847,
Constitutional Monarchs linked up with Republicans to stage a series of
political banquets.
The meetings called for extended
suffrage.
And the resignation of Theirs
appointment, Guizot.
Generally the banquets were
peaceful until the one on February 22, 1848 was to be held.
Guizot ordered that the banquet
was not to be held.
The public took to the streets
to protest.
Louis Philippe dismissed Guizot
and was prepared to appoint Thiers.
But it was too late since the
riots contributed to 50 deaths.
On Feb. 24, Louis Philippe
abdicated.
The Radicals Tried to Fill the Void
Like previous revolutions in
France, the Radicals tried to fill the power void.
The main support for the
Radicals came from the working class.
The radicals wanted a Republic
and extensive economic and social reform.
But they had a problem.
No clear leader that could
articulate their position.
Enter the Moderates
The moderates controlled the new
provisional government.
The Moderates were willing to
concede universal suffrage.
But they were opposed to
expanded reforms.
The moderates wanted to keep
economic and social reforms to a minimum.
To appeased the radicals, the
moderates bought into the idea of national workshops.
National Workshops
They were the brainchild of
Louis Blanc (1811-82).
He initially called them social
workshops.
They were to be run by the
workers themselves.
But with the financial
assistance of the state.
They were sort of a relief
project runs along the lines of the military.
About 100,000 people.
About 10% received 2 Francs a
day.
The rest received one Franc a
day.
The First Election and After
The universal manhood suffrage
aided the Moderates.
Yet the Conservative peasants
were willing to see the July Monarchy disappear, but dont threaten private
property.
The bulk of representation came
from outside Paris.
100 delegates out of the 900
came from rural France.
The radicals could not accept
the results and attacked the National Assembly on May 15, 1848.
The moderates decided to
dissolve the national workshops.
Worker Response
The workers resisted between
June 23-26, 1848 and rose in insurrection.
The War Minister, Gen. Louis
Cavaignac moved in quickly to crush the workers.
There were serious class war
overtones from the June Days.
From the insurgents we find
mechanics, railroad workers, and stevedores.
Fear of a social revolution
brought lot of support for the government.
The Results
Over 1,500 were killed.
Others were sent into exile to
Algeria.
All Socialist Clubs and Papers
were crushed.
Blanc fled to England.
The fears of the moderates was
seen in the Constitution of the Second Republic (1848-51).
The Constitution of the Second Republic
Property rights were protected,
but not the right to work.
Established a powerful president
with a powerful legislature.
Unicameral legislature elected
by popular vote every four years.
This was a product of
Montesquieus Separation of Powers.
The stage was set for a new
strongman.
The Results of the First Election in
December 1848
Cavaignac received 1.5 million
votes.
Louis Napoleon received 5.5
million votes.
Bonaparte had no loyalty to the
Constitution or the Republic.
Louis Napoleon Bonapartes Problems with
the Assembly
As President of the Second
Republic he had numerous quarrels with the National Assembly.
The National Assembly refused to
amend the Constitution of 1848.
Why?
They were afraid of the
Socialists and Radicals.
It also reduced universal
manhood suffrage.
Allowed the Prince President to
appear as the champion of the persecuted.
Setting the Stage for the Coup
The Coup was to coincide with
the coronation of Napoleon I on Dec. 2, 1804.
As well as the anniversary of
Napoleons victory at Austerlitz and Dec. 2, 1805.
With the help of the Army and
with his fellow conspirators he purged the Assembly of his enemies.
Then he announced that there
would be a popular vote for a new constitution.
There was some minor street
fighting.
This allowed Napoleon to appear
as the champion of order.
In the ensuing election Napoleon
received 7.5 million votes to 640,000 against.
Impact of the Coup
The future Third and Fourth
Republics feared a strong president.
Instead the chief executive
would be weak until the coming of Charles De Gaulle and the Fifth Republic.
Why did the French Vote Yes?
The public was weary of the
struggles that occurred in France over the last three years.
Many were fearful of the specter
of Socialism.
This was the first time
Socialism was used in the West.
The glorification of Napoleon
has to be taken into account as well.
Many more voted yes in memory
of the past glory of France.
Saving the Pope
In 1849, President Bonaparte
sent French troops to Rome to defend the Pope against Italian Radicals.
But by this time, the Italian
Revolution was petering out.
Objective of Italian Nationalists
The Italian nationalists were
weak and divided.
Yet they sought to drive the
Austrians from Italy.
Earlier, Bonaparte offered aid
to Piedmont.
The Piedmontese responded:
Italy will do it alone.
The Role of Piedmont
One group based in Northern
Italy favored Piedmont.
The key figure here was
Count Cavour,
a great admirer of British and French liberalism.
He was the editor of
Il Risorgimento,
which meant in Italian, Resurgence or Regeneration.
This name was then applied to
the whole unification process in Italy.
Objectives of the Neo-Guelfs
They wanted the Pope to play a
role in unifying Italy from the Austrians, ie., the Germans.
The hope was that the Pope would
led, but Piedmont would supply the troops.
Their goal was to turn Italy
into a federation of Italian States.
Each would have their own
monarch, but with a liberal constitution.
Young Italy
To be a member you had to be
under forty.
They believed that Italy should
be a Republic.
The leader of this group was
Joseph Mazzini (1805-1872).
He wanted to create an
organization more effective than the Carbonari.
But he was limited by his own
lengthy exile.
He modeled other movements in
Russia, Germany, Ireland, and Poland.
The Events of the Italian Revolution of
1848
The revolt started in January
1848 in Sicily and Naples.
Forcing the King Ferdinand II to
grant a constitution like the one in France in 1818.
This led to similar situations
in Piedmont, Tuscany, and the Papal States.
Revolts in Lombardy and Venetia
and a similar outbreak in Vienna, forcing the resignation of
Count Metternich,
contributed to the revolt in Milan in March 1848.
Venice proclaimed itself the
Republic of St. Mark.
The Impact on Piedmont
In the summer of 1848, Piedmont
annexed Lombardy.
Followed by Modena and Parma.
This raised serious concerns
among the other Italian states.
Raising fears of Piedmont
imperialism.
Earlier, the Pope declared that
he would be neutral in any war with Austria.
The Ferdinand II then revoked
the Constitution of 1848, but agreed to go to war with Austria.
Austria Strikes Back
The Austrians who had
experienced the Revolutions of 1848, were looking for an opportunity to strike
back.
The Austrians then crushed the
Piedmontese and their King, Charles Albert, at the Battle of Custozza in July
1848.
But events were going to fast
for the Piedmontese Monarch.
Young Italy then rose in Rome
and drove Pope Pius IX to flee Rome.
A Democratic Republic was formed
under Mazzini in November 1848.
The Italian revolutionaries
wanted Charles Albert to continue the war against Austria.
The Collapse of the Revolutions in Italy
Piedmont then faced the
Austrians at the Battle of Novara and lost again.
Then the Austrians crushed the
Republic of St. Mark in August 1849.
Earlier, French troops were sent
to Rome in order to protect the Pope in July 1849 and remain there until 1871.
Liberalism was once again
discredit, but there was hope.
Only Piedmont defied the
Austrians.
The Italians would not forget
that.
Comparisons with the Other Revolutions of
1848
The German Revolutions that
occurred in 1848 followed the same pattern as in Italy.
Liberalism and Nationalism won
the first rounds.
But then, Austrian resistance
forced the issue.
It was Surprising Failure of the German
Revolution
The Revolution had considerable
support from:
What did the Liberals Want?
They wanted constitutional
monarchies throughout the German states.
They also wanted to strengthen
the German Confederation.
They want to put to an end of
the repressive hegemony of Austria and Metternich.
The hero for the German liberals
was King Federick William IV (1840-61).
Frederick William IV of Prussia
He was an attractive but
unstable political figure.
Much like 42.
He promised much but delivered
little.
Prussia Makes Efforts at German
Unification
First the Prussians abolished
internal tariffs in 1818.
They also applied a uniform
tariff schedule on imports.
This was the first step in the
creation of the Zollverien or Customs Union.
By 1844, almost all of Prussias
neighbors had joined.
Except Austria.
It was obvious that Prussia was
going to be a key player in the process of unification.
It the Appearance of German Unification
Victories came quickly in the
Western German states.
From there the demands followed
for constitutions, civil liberties, and a stronger German Confederation.
By Mid-March demonstrators put
up barricades in Berlin.
Frederick William IV accepted
some liberal demands.
The King appealed for calm, but
violence broke out anyway.
The rioters then broke into the
Royal Palace and forced Frederick William IV to salute the dead.
The Collapse of Frederick William IV
Overwrought, Frederick William
IV gave into the Liberal demands.
He summoned an assembly to write
a constitution for Prussia.
He declared Prussia had merged
with Germany.
He then proclaimed himself the
King of the new German state.
The Impact on the German Confederation
In May 1848, the Constitutional
Convention met in Frankfurt, the capital of the Confederation.
The representatives were
primarily professionals.
Then a debate ensued over the
type of Germany they favored.
This was difficult since Austria
was part of the Confederation.
But it did not include Austrias
non-German lands.
The situation of Austria divided
the Confederation.
What Sort of Germany?
The Confederation was divided
into two groups.
One group was the
Kleindeutschland
solution.
Which wanted a Germany of only
Germans.
The other was the
Grossdeutschland
solution.
Or Greater Germany that included
Austria.
But they forgot their Liberalism
over the issue of Prussian Poland.
The German Constitution of 1848
It was a Liberal document.
A blend of American and British
models.
The German states were to
surrender many of the rights of the Central government.
There was to be a bicameral
legislature.
The lower house was elected by
universal manhood suffrage.
The upper house by the Land
governments.
Ministers were responsible to
the legislature.
The chief executive was the
monarch, German Kaiser.
The Selection of the German Monarch
The Frankfurt selected Frederick
William IV of Prussia.
But then he did the
unbelievable.
He refused the throne.
Why?
Why would he do that?
He favored the Austrians.
Then the professional classes
fled, with the rise of the radicals from the lower social orders.
Prussia Gets a Constitution
Prussia then had a constitution.
One acceptable to Frederick
William IV and his advisors.
This was the Constitution of
1850.
One protecting the rights of
upper classes.
In time this became the
Constitution of Imperial Germany.
And continue until 1918.
The Architect of a Unified Germany
The main figure here was a
relatively unknown statesmen.
A former diplomat.
Who helped resolve a
constitutional issue concerning the Prussian Army.
A man who said: The great
issues of the day are not solved by parliaments and resolutions of majorities,
but by iron and blood.
Otto von Bismarck.
The Fate of the Revolution of 1848
Depended on what happened in
Austria.
If the Revolution in Austria was
successful, then the Revolts in Italy and Germany would have been successful.
But Austria waited out the
storm.
The key for the
counterrevolution in Austria were the number of nationalities in the Austrian
Empire.
The Nationalities of Austria
Germans
Magyar
Czech/Slovak
Slovene
Croat
Serb
Polish
Ruthenian
Rumanian
Italian
23%
14%
19%
4%
4%
5%
7%
8%
8%
8%
State of the Minorities in the Austrian
Empire
They were not compartmentalized.
Hungary had numerous
minoritiesSlovaks, Rumanians, Croats, Serbs, and Germans.
The Germans were the merchant
class as well bureaucrats.
Where
was Nationalism supreme?
Lombardy and Venetia
Bohemia
Hungary
And the Croats in Hungary
The Situation in Hungary
One group wanted to model
themselves after Britain.
With gradual modernization.
Another group was led by Louis
Kossuth (1802-94) who was a spellbinding orator.
The answer for them was
linguistic reform as the first step in cutting the ties with Vienna.
But the Magyar nationalists
opposed all other nationalists.
Greatest threat came from the
Croats in the Illyrian provinces
The Role of Liberalism
Liberals in Vienna wanted a
constitution.
Greater civil liberties.
Workers wanted a great social
program and rights.
The Situation in Vienna
Vienna opposed all changes.
Metternich realized that changes
were necessary, but he was checked by the reactionaries.
Especially by Francis I
(1792-1835) and Ferdinand I (1835-48).
Spies and censors kept the
public in check.
Metternich claimed that Austria
was administered, but not ruled.
News From Paris
Revolts broke out immediately in
Milan, Venice, Bohemia in March 1848.
In Hungary forced Ferdinand I to
accept the March Laws granting Hungarian autonomy.
The
March Laws
Instituted parliamentary
government.
Substituted a parliament for a
feudal Diet.
Abolished serfdom.
Ended immunity from taxation.
Ran roughshod over other
minorities.
Events of March 12, 1848
Students rose up in rebellion.
Metternich fled to England.
In May Ferdinand fled from
Vienna.
By July a Revolutionary Council
ran affairs in Vienna.
The
Empire Strikes Back
In Prague the Czechs established
a Pan-Slav Congress.
Riots broke out in June and the
Austrian Army Commanders wife was killed.
Prince Windischgratz ordered a
five-day bombardment of the city.
This was the start of the
counterattack.
Next the Italians were crushed
at Custozza.
The Austrians then used divided
and conquer to isolate the revolutionaries.
Turning the minorities against
the Magyars.
The Coming of Franz Joseph (1848-1916)
Prince Felix Schwarzenberg
arranged for the abdication of Ferdinand I.
With his nephew Franz Joseph
replacing him.
Schwarzenberg claimed all
previous agreements by Ferdinand I were null and void.
Kossuth then declared Hungary a
Republic.
Here Come The Russians
Nicholas I of Russia had no love
for Revolution and feared the spread of the bacillus of Revolution to Russia.
He offered Austria the aid of
the Russian Army.
Schwarzenberg accepted.
The Hungarians were crushed by
August 1849.
But when the Russians turned
over the Hungarian prisoners to the Austrians, the Austrians hanged them.
Why did the Revolts Fail?
The revolutionaries lacked
organization and coordination.
The leaders were too doctrinaire
and idealistic to be practical politician.
Class conflicts sapped the
revolutionaries of the necessary strength to be successful.
Political antagonism between
moderates and radicals as well as rabid nationalists.
The Situation in North America
The Texas Revolution was won in
1836.
But the question was what would
happen next?
From 1836 through 1845 the issue
was annexation.
The fear of war with Mexico kept
that from happening.
When it looked like the British
would interfere
President John Tyler recommended annexation in 1844.
And became a main point of
contention in the election of 1844.
The Coming of the Mexican War
The idea originated with the
John L. Sullivan, an editor.
The view that the destiny of the
United States was to expand from ocean-to-ocean.
James K. Polk campaigned on the
annexation of Texas.
His campaign motto was
Fifty-Four Forty or Fight.
Even with England and/or Mexico.
But Mexico was the most
desirable enemy.
American Strategy
Gen. Zachary Taylor marched from
Texas and defeated Santa at Buena Vista (Feb. 22, 1847).
Instead of supporting Taylor (a
potential political rival), Polk supported another force on Winfield Scott took
Vera Cruz
and then moved on to Mexico City.
But they did fight against
American-Irish deserters who composed the St. Patricks Battalion.
In the meantime, the Americans
gained California.
The Endgame
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
ended the conflict.
The vast tract of territory
gained by the USA was known as the Mexican cession.
Which the Washington paid $15
million.
The rest would be purchased in
1853 as part of the Gadsden Purchase.
The Treaty was signed on Feb. 2,
1848.
Impact
of the War
Lincoln introduced the spot
resolutions in Dec. 1847.
David Wilmot introduced the
famous Wilmot Proviso in 1846 that slavery could not be introduced in
territories taken from Mexico.
Later the Compromise of 1850
saved the Union for a while.
But the sections were lining up
for eventual conflict.