Chapter 22: Political Upheavals and Social Transformation, 1815-1850

  • Congress of Vienna (1814-1815)   * Tried to rebuild Europe after French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars   * Hosted and controlled by Austrian Foreign Minister Klemens Von Metternich   * Goal was to reconstruct through the “balance of powers” among European states   * Alliance system was put in place to deal with future issues   * Netherlands acted as buffer state against French power   * Poland remained weak
  • Main Principles   * Quadruple Alliance   * Principle of Legitimacy   * The principle rights of monarchs were to be upheld when faced with the right to “self-determination”   * Great nations wouldn’t try to conquer smaller states to increase power   * It was the responsibility of the Great Powers to maintain and control the existing boundaries and borders of all nations through cooperation
  • Conservatism and Liberalism were new ideologies
  • Romanticism was an intellectual movement that took place from late 18th century to early 19th century   * Both conservatives and liberals accepted and rejected Romanticism   * Romantics placed value in nature   * Romantics also placed value in intuition over scientific knowledge   * Romanticism’s validation of of individuals and individual experiences and justification of subjective knowledge challenged traditional authority
  • Nationalism: movement which tried to create a collective identity and political allegiance of people founded upon a shared cultural history and understanding   * 1815-1850   * Meant to unite people against the tyrannical rule of monarchs   * Embraced by those looking to overthrow foreign rule
  • Socialism: collective ownership, operation, and wealth of society   * People should create a better social organization to better society   * Hope was that industrial age would eradicate suffering of the poor
  • Karl Marx (1818-1883)   * Believed that all societies evolved over course of history   * The foundation of Marxist thought is based on his analysis of history
  • All of history is founded upon struggle in the classes
  • Neighborhoods developed around regional and ethnic migration   * Developed support networks to provide safety
  • “Revolution in Government” (1820-1840)   * Government started to take responsibility in managing industrial society   * Beginning of “Welfare State”
  • Small protests and revolts broke out in response to poor social conditions in 1820s   * Response to these revolts and protests was government repression and violence
  • French Revolution (1830)
  • Protests and Revolts took place in England, Germany, Greece, Belgium, Italy, Russia, and Switzerland as well   * Crushed with force (government)
  • The Great Reform Bill of 1832   * Allowed for greater electoral participation   * Fortified role of industrial elite   * Didn’t satisfy radicals
  • People's Charter (1833)   * Demanded universal suffrage, secret ballot, Parliament salaries, eradication of property requirements to hold office, equal election districts, and annual elections
  • Women were a key part of the workforce   * Unions excluded women   * Many served as domestic servants
  • The last great famine in European history was in 1846
  • There were high unemployment rates in 1846
  • Provisional Government: coalition of moderates and radicals insistent on keeping keeping the working classes from revolting
  • Louis Napoleon was elected to run France in 1848   * Executed a coup in 1851 and declared himself Emperor
  • Unification of German states was in shambles for an entire generation
  • Austria was a large multinational empire   * Challenged by rise of nationalism and independence movements
  • Italy was divided and under the rule of foreign power
  • Austria and Prussia were determined to unite Germany under their control
  • Popular unrest in Europe was solved with minimal reforms