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Reaction and Revolution

Preview of Events

Guide to Reading

Section PreviewIn 1848, liberals and nationalists rebelledagainst many of the conservative govern-ments of Europe.

• After Napoleon’s defeat, the victors metand redrew the map of Europe to createa balance of power and to strengthenconservatism. (p. 265)

• Liberals and nationalists opposed theexisting political system and threatenedconservative regimes. (p. 266)

• Beginning in France in 1848, the spirit ofrevolution spread quickly over Europe,but the uprisings were largely suppressed. (p. 268)

Content Vocabulary conservatism, principle of intervention,liberalism, universal male suffrage,multinational state

Academic Vocabularystability, beneficial

People and Events to IdentifyCongress of Vienna, Klemens von Metter-nich, Bill of Rights, Louis-Napoleon,German Confederation

Places to LocateVienna, Prague

Reading Objectives1. Evaluate the work of the Congress of

Vienna.2. Explain why revolutions broke out in

Europe in 1848.

Reading StrategyCause and Effect Use a chart like theone below to identify the causes of therevolutions in France in 1830 and 1848.

California Standards in This SectionReading this section will help you master these California History–Social Science standards.

10.2: Students compare and contrast the Glorious Revolution of England, the Ameri-can Revolution, and the French Revolution and their enduring effects worldwideon the political expectations for self-government and individual liberty.

10.2.5: Discuss how nationalism spread across Europe with Napoleon but wasrepressed for a generation under the Congress of Vienna and Concert of Europeuntil the Revolutions of 1848.

Revolutionof 1830

Revolutionof 1848

✦1810 ✦1820 ✦1830 ✦1840 ✦1850 ✦1860

1848Revolutionssweep throughEurope

1830Liberals overthrow Charles Xand establish a constitutionalmonarchy in France

1814Congress of Viennameets to create balanceof power

1849Austria reestablishescontrol over Lombardy

264 CHAPTER 4 Industrialization and Nationalism

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The Congress of Vienna

After Napoleon’s defeat, the victors met andredrew the map of Europe to create a balance of powerand to strengthen conservatism.

Reading Connection Does the United Nations intervenein international disputes? Read about Great Power decisionsaffecting European countries at the Congress of Vienna.

With Napoleon gone, representatives of the GreatPowers—Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia—gathered in Vienna in September 1814. In that city’sglittering palaces, they agreed at the Congress ofVienna to work to restore the old order. The mostinfluential leader there was the haughty foreign min-ister of Austria, Prince Klemens von Metternich(MEH•tuhr•NIHK).

Metternich claimed that he was guided by theprinciple of legitimacy. He meant that the lawfulmonarchs who had ruled before Napoleon sweptthrough Europe should be restored to their thrones.This had already been done in France, where theBourbon king had been put back on the throne.

The principle of legitimacy was used, however,only if it helped balance power in Europe. None ofthe victors—Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prus-sia—wanted France or any other nation, for that mat-ter, to become too powerful.

To achieve a balance of power, some territorieswere divided up, and some boundaries werechanged. As one example, land on the west bank ofthe Rhine River was taken away from France andgiven to Prussia. In this way, the strong Prussianarmy would be able to restrain France if it threatenedto overrun Europe again.

The policies of the Congress were a victory forrulers who wanted to contain the new forcesunleashed during the French Revolution. Like Met-ternich, these rulers believed in the political philoso-phy known as conservatism.

Conservatism is based on tradition and social stability. Conservatives of this period favored obedi-ence to political authority. They also believed thatestablished religions were beneficial to social order.They hated revolutions and were unwilling to acceptdemands for representative governments or moreindividual rights.

To maintain the new balance of power, GreatBritain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and laterFrance, agreed to meet occasionally if it was neces-sary to take action to maintain order. Their meetingscame to be called the Concert of Europe.

Eventually, the Great Powers adopted a principleof intervention. It said that the Great Powers had theright to send armies into countries where there wererevolutions in order to keep monarchs in power.Britain argued against this principle because it didnot want to interfere in the internal affairs of otherstates, but Austria, Prussia, Russia, and France usedmilitary force to crush revolutions in Spain and Italy.

Analyzing Explain the goals of Euro-pean leaders at the Congress of Vienna.

Reading Check

265CHAPTER 4 Industrialization and Nationalism

Klemens von Metternich conferring with Napoleon

For 30 years, Metternich worked tirelessly torepress the “revolutionary seed,” as he called it,spread by Napoleon Bonaparte. In his memoirs, hewrote:

“The first principle to be followed by the mon-archs, united as they are by the coincidence oftheir desires and opinions, should be that ofmaintaining the stability of political institutionsagainst the disorganized excitement which hastaken possession of men’s minds. . . . The firstand greatest concern for the immense majority ofevery nation is the stability of the laws, and theiruninterrupted action—never their change. There-fore, let the governments govern, let them main-tain the groundwork of their institutions, bothancient and modern; for it is at all times danger-ous to touch them.”

Woldemar Friedrich in Die Deutschen Befreigskriege/Mary Evans Picture Library

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Forces of Change

Liberals and nationalists opposed the existingpolitical system and threatened conservative regimes.

Reading Connection Have you heard news reportsabout national conflicts in Bosnia? Read about the first stirringsof nationalism among ethnic groups in the Austrian Empire.

Between 1815 and 1830, conservative govern-ments throughout Europe worked to maintain theold order. Powerful forces for change were also atwork, however: liberalism and nationalism.

Liberalism Liberalism is a political philosophy thatgrew out of the Enlightenment. Liberalism held thatpeople should be as free as possible from govern-ment restraint.

Liberals believed that all people had the right tobasic civil liberties—equality before the law, and free-dom of assembly, speech, and the press. Liberalswanted the rights of the individual to be protected in


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Europe after the Congress of Vienna, 1815

German Confederation

The Congress of Vienna tried to create a new balance ofpower in Europe.

1. Interpreting Maps Within what political boundaries isVienna located? Of what nation is Vienna the capital today?

2. Applying Geography Skills Compare this map to themap of Napoleonic Europe shown on page 233 of yourtext. What territories that belonged to the French Empirein 1812 were not part of France after the Congress ofVienna? What land did Russia gain?

a written document, as they were in the American Billof Rights. Liberals were also committed to religioustoleration and to separation of church and state.

A typical liberal favored a limited monarchy inwhich a king must follow the law. It was very impor-tant to liberals to have the basic laws for governmentembodied in a written constitution.

Finally, liberals were great supporters of a repre-sentative assembly, or legislature. This legislaturewas to be elected, but liberals did not think everyoneshould vote for representatives. Liberals were notdemocrats who believed in universal suffrage. Theybelieved that only people with property should votebecause property owners were the ones who had along-term, serious interest in the community.

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These attitudes were middle-class attitudes. It wasthe new industrial middle class that was acquiringwealth. They felt important and wanted representa-tion, as well as protection from the mobs who mightthreaten their property. They said that workersshould not have the vote until they became as edu-cated and hardworking as the middle class.

Nationalism In the nineteenth century, nationalismwas an even more powerful force than liberalism.Nationalism arose when people began to identifythemselves as part of a community defined by a dis-tinctive language, religion, and customs. In earliercenturies, people’s loyalty went to a king, or theirtown or region. In this period, people began to feelthat their chief loyalty was to the nation.

It was the French Revolution that made nationalisma potent force. Everywhere, people with a commonlanguage and traditions began to feel that they werethe nation, not a royal ruler. Germans living in tinystates ruled by princes yearned for unity. Writers andpoets writing about German folk legends and heroesurged national unity. Ethnic and religious groups in theAustrian and Ottoman Empires wanted to break awayfrom the empire and be a nation. Nationalism was aparticular threat to empires that contained many ethnicand language groups, but conservatives everywherefought the forces of nationalism.

Nationalism was so strong that it eventually over-came some of the principles of liberalism. Liberalshad argued that freedom could flourish only if eachpeople had its own sovereign state. Nationalistsbecame more and more passionate about their ownnation. Often, they forgot about the rights of othernational groups. They were willing to expand their

own nation at the expense of others. In this way,nationalism weakened some liberal principles.

Revolutionary Outbursts Beginning in 1830, theforces of change—liberalism and nationalism—began to break through conservative domination ofEurope. In France, upper middle-class liberals over-threw the Bourbon monarch Charles X in 1830because he ignored the law. The new governmentwas a constitutional monarchy under Louis-Philippe,a cousin of Charles X.


In 1830, Charles X of France dissolved the French legis-lature and suspended freedom of the press. Revolutionfollowed. The rebels demanded a republic. How wasLouis-Philippe involved in these events?

History

Klemens von Metternich 1773–1859—Austrian statesman

There was no greater symbol of conser-vatism in the first half of the nineteenthcentury than Prince Klemens von Metter-nich. Born in the Rhineland of Germany,he fled to Austria in 1794 and joined theAustrian diplomatic service. He was madeAustrian foreign minister in 1809.

An experienced diplomat, Metternich was conceitedand self-assured. He described himself in his mem-

oirs in 1819: “There is a wide sweep about mymind. I am always above and beyond the pre-

occupation of most public men; I cover aground much vaster than they can see. I can-not keep myself from saying about twentytimes a day: ‘How right I am, and how wrongthey are.’” When revolution erupted in 1848,Metternich fled to England.

(t)Giraudon/Art Resource, NY, (b)Austrian Information Service

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In the same year, 1830, there were three more rev-olutions. Nationalism was the chief force in all ofthem. Belgium, which had been annexed to the for-mer Dutch Republic in 1815, rebelled and created anindependent state. Nationalists in Poland and Italyalso tried to create their own nations, but they werenot successful. Russian forces crushed the Poles’revolt, and the Austrian army put down revolts in anumber of Italian states.

Evaluating How did liberalism andnationalism begin to break through the conservative domina-tion of Europe?

The Revolutions of 1848

Beginning in France in 1848, the spirit of revo-lution spread quickly over Europe, but the uprisings werelargely suppressed.

Reading Connection Did you know that popular revolu-tions in 1989 and 1990 destroyed communist governments inEastern Europe? In 1848, popular revolutions also ignited, butthey failed to achieve most of their goals.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, conser-vatism still dominated Europe. In 1848, however, lib-eralism and nationalism triggered another outburstagainst the status quo—the established groups insociety that had long held power and expected tokeep it.

Reading Check

Another French Revolution France again providedthe spark for revolution. Severe problems in theFrench economy in 1846 brought untold hardship inFrance to the lower middle class, workers, and peas-ants. At the same time, members of the middle classclamored for the right to vote, but the governmentrefused to make changes.

The monarchy was finally overthrown in 1848. Agroup of moderate and radical republicans set up aprovisional, or temporary, government. The republi-cans were people who wished France to be a repub-lic—a government in which leaders are elected andthere is no monarch.

The provisional government called for the electionof representatives to a Constituent Assembly thatwould draw up a new constitution. Election was tobe by universal male suffrage, meaning all adultmen could vote.

The provisional government also set up nationalworkshops to provide work for the unemployed.From March to June, the number of unemployedenrolled in the national workshops rose from about66,000 to almost 120,000. This emptied the treasuryand frightened the moderates, who reacted by clos-ing the workshops on June 21.

The workers refused to accept this decision andpoured into the streets. In four days of bitter andbloody fighting, government forces crushed theworking-class revolt. Thousands were killed, and


In 1848, revolution broke out in Paris again. In 1830,opposition to press censorship was a major cause. Thistime, working conditions played a bigger role. Whatmajor change had occurred in working conditions?

History

Stock Montage

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thousands more were sent to the French prisoncolony of Algeria in northern Africa.

The new constitution, ratified on November 4,1848, set up a republic, called the Second Republic.The new government had a single legislature electedby universal male suffrage. An elected presidentserved for four years.

In December 1848, Charles Louis Napoleon Bona-parte, known as Louis-Napoleon, was elected presidentby a huge margin. His victory was attributed to the factthat everyone knew his famous uncle.

Trouble in the German States News from Franceled to upheaval in other parts of Europe. The Con-gress of Vienna in 1815 had recognized the existenceof 38 independent German states called the GermanConfederation. Of these, Austria and Prussia werethe two great powers. The other states varied in size.

In 1848, cries for change led many German rulersto promise constitutions, a free press, and jury trials.Revolutionists even formed an all-German parlia-ment, the Frankfurt Assembly, to fulfill a liberal andnationalist dream—the preparation of a constitutionfor a united German nation. Deputies to the parlia-ment were elected by universal male suffrage.

Ultimately, however, the Frankfurt Assembly failedto achieve its goal. The members drafted a constitutionbut had no real means of forcing the German rulers toaccept it. German unification was not achieved.

Revolutions in Central Europe The AustrianEmpire also had its problems. The empire was amultinational state—a collection of different peoples,including Germans, Czechs, the Magyars in Hungary,Slovaks, Romanians, Slovenes, Poles, Croats, Serbians,and Italians. Only the German-speaking Hapsburgdynasty held the empire together. German speakersplayed a lead role in the empire, although they repre-sented only a quarter of the population.

In March 1848, popular demonstrations led to thedismissal of Metternich. In Vienna, revolutionariestook control of the capital and demanded a liberalconstitution. To appease them, the government gaveHungary its own legislature. In Bohemia, the Czechsclamored for their own government.

Austrian officials made concessions, but they weredetermined to reestablish control. In June 1848, Aus-trian forces crushed the Czech rebels in Prague. Bythe end of October, the rebels in Vienna had beendefeated as well. With the help of a Russian army of


Russian Troops in HungaryOn November 1, 1956, Imre Nagy, leader of Hungary,

declared Hungary a free nation and promised new elec-tions. Hungary was at that time under the control of theSoviet Union. Fearing that these elections would meanthe end of Communist rule in Hungary, Nikita Khrushchev,leader of the Soviet Union, reacted dramatically.

On November 4, two hundred thousand Soviet(mostly Russian) troops and four thousand Soviet tanksinvaded Budapest, Hungary’s capital city. An estimatedfifty thousand Hungarians died on that day. Nagy fledbut was later arrested and executed. The Hungarian Rev-olution of 1956 had failed.

To Hungarians who knew their country’s history, theuse of Russian troops to crush their independence hadan all-too-familiar ring. In 1848, Louis Kossuth had led arevolt that forced Hungary’s Austrian rulers to grant Hun-gary its own legislature and a separate national army. InApril 1849, the Hungarian legislature declared Hungarya republic. Kossuth was made the new president.

Meanwhile, the Austrians wereunwilling to give up their controlof Hungary. Unable to subdue theHungarians, the Austrian govern-ment asked the Russians for help.Czar Nicholas I of Russia, whofeared revolution anywhere, gladlyagreed. A Russian army of140,000 men crushed the Hun-garian forces, and Kossuth fledabroad. The Hungarian Revolutionof 1848–1849 had failed.

Soviet tanks in Hungary

There have been more recent revolts againstrepressive governments that have been violent.Review recent newsmagazines to locate one suchevent. Write a historical account of the event, usingboth primary and secondary sources.

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140,000 men, the Hungarian revolutionaries werefinally subdued in 1849. The revolutions in the Aus-trian Empire had failed.

Revolts in the Italian States The Congress ofVienna had set up nine states in Italy. They were theKingdom of Piedmont in the north; the Kingdom ofthe Two Sicilies (Naples and Sicily); the Papal States;a handful of small states; and the northern provincesof Lombardy and Venetia as part of the AustrianEmpire.

In 1848, Italians rebelled against the Austrian gov-ernment in Lombardy and Venetia. Revolutionariesin other Italian states also took up arms and sought tocreate liberal constitutions and a unified Italy. By1849, however, the Austrians had reestablished con-trol over Lombardy and Venetia. The old order alsowon out in the rest of Italy.

In 1848, popular revolts at first succeeded. Middle-class liberals and radicals cooperated to achieve lib-eral governments and constitution. When these twogroups began to fight over goals, however, the con-servatives were able to regain control. Still the forcesof nationalism and liberalism had been unleashed,and for the rest of the century, they remained a pow-erful political force.

Identifying What countries experi-enced revolutions in 1848?

Reading Check


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Revolutions in Europe,1848–1849

Center of revolution

In 1848 and 1849, revolution spread through Europe.

1. Interpreting Maps How far south did the revolutions of1848 to 1849 extend?

2. Applying Geography Skills Pose and answer one ques-tion about the pattern in world history shown on this map.

Conservatism Liberalism Nationalism

Checking for Understanding1. Vocabulary Define: conservatism,

stability, beneficial, principle of inter-vention, liberalism, universal malesuffrage, multinational state.

2. People and Events Identify: Congressof Vienna, Klemens von Metternich, Billof Rights, Louis-Napoleon, GermanConfederation.

3. Locate Vienna, Prague.

Reviewing Big Ideas4. Explain the effect of conservatism in

1848.

Critical Thinking5. Sequence and

Change How did industrialization con-tribute to the spread of liberalism?

6. Compare and Contrast Use a tablelike the one below to compare andcontrast the ideologies of conservatism,liberalism, and nationalism.

Analyzing Visuals7. Examine the painting on page 268.

Can you identify a worker and a middle-class person among the rebels?How is it possible to distinguish them?CA CS2

8. Expository Writing Select one ideology: conservatism, liberalism,or nationalism. Write an essay identifying contemporary ideas it has influenced. CA 10WA2.3

For help with the concepts in this section of Glencoe WorldHistory—Modern Times, go to andclick on Study Central.

wh.mt.glencoe.com

Study CentralHISTORY

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