Exam #1 ~ Europe: 1815-Present

1815:

Year when the long revolutions and Napoleonic Years ended; Napoleon was defeated and exiled to the island of Helena.

Post War order: Congress of Vienna

Congress of Vienna:

A conference of European powers held in 1814-1815 to restore stability and order after the Napoleonic Wars, redrawing the continent's political map and establishing a balance of power.

4 most important states in Europe at the time:

France, Russia, Prussia, AustriaThese nations played key roles in shaping the post-war order and negotiating treaties during the Congress.

Metternich was the Austrian Foreign minister whose ideas’ “carried the way” at the Congress of Vienna.

Goal: to set up a balance of power arrangement; Russia, Prussia, and Austria all wanted to deter and prevent another Napoleonic war campaign. A diplomatic meeting aimed at reshaping Europe.

the Congress of Vienna worked for 100 years; no major wars among the great powers.

Congress of Vienna context:

1792: the French Republic had staged the Reign of Terror (1792-1794) and started al the wars.

Restoration of the Monarch; the monarchy of France was restored by the Congress of Vienna; the Old ruling house (the Bourbon Family), was put back on the throne.

King Louis XVIII:

King restored by the Congress of Vienna.

Spent a long time in exile before taking throne, but his days in exile created a political realist out of him. he ruled from 1815 to 1824, implementing constitutional reforms and navigating the complexities of post-Napoleonic France. wanted to be a constitutional monarchy, and there was a written constitution, called “The Charter” , which he accepted.

“The Charter”:

Contained two houses, Senate (Upper house) and the Chamber of Deputies (Lower house). The Charter upheld the “Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789), which was an imitation of the United States’ Bill of Rights. More abstract than Bill of Rights

Assignats:

simply put, are bonds. these bonds were sold to “help” the French govt pay their debts, cuz the French govt was “broker than broke”.

collateral: all the land owned by the Catholic Church was confiscated. Assignats were a form of currency issued during the French Revolution, backed by confiscated church property, intended to alleviate the national debt.

Ultra Royalists:

wanted what they had before what they have now. The current king’s brother was a part of this group; same group that hunted down and assassinated Old Revolutionaries. They sought to restore the absolute monarchy and traditional privileges lost during the Revolution, opposing any form of constitutional government.

1824:

King Louis XVIII died, and Charles X becomes the next king.

Charles X:

Instituted all of the following under his reign: limited freedom of the press, indemnified the Aristocrats, reduced interest paid on Assignats and used money to help impoverished noble families, made sacrilege a crime again. many French citizens denounced what the king was doing, especially in the cities, where riots broke out (July Revolution), which ultimately caused King Charles X to abdicate, so one of his cousins (Louis Phillippe) could be made king.

King Louis Phillippe:

(R. 1830-1848)

start of a new monarchy; some tensions were reduced, but problems remained, even under the new king. this new regime was narrowly supported; Louis Phillippe’s reign was justified as corrupt and incompetent.

The Industrial Revolution:

This is what makes our modern life possible; prior to industrialism, bu around the age of 13, we would start to cultivate the family plot of land; the Industrial revolution allowed people to leave the countryside and move to the city (overturned the ways of life that had been the norm for thousands of years); industry depended on the manufacturing (whether it be more individual) and new tech made production easier; the aggressive application of technology to the production process was the most important (especially in the factory system).

The Two Industrial Revolutions:

The First Industrial Revolution (approx. 1800-1850)

The Second Industrial Revolution (approx. 1850-1900)

The First Industrial Revolution (1800-1850):

Started in Britain (England, Scotland, and Whales); it started in Britain because of an abundance of iron and coal (which was very plentiful in those regions), there was also an abundance of newspaper which helped generate demand; Britain had been pretty stable for some time (infrastructure, etc. were all good and maintained); London was the largest city in Europe; greater urbanization in Britain created demand, and so , the industries adopted and adapted; Great Britain was the greatest free trader (tariffs on imported goods); more social mobility (more able to do what you want, which encourages risk and can allow some to prosper while others suffer).

Greatest innovation: was the factory (prior to the factory was the putting out system, which was home manufacturing).

Most important technological advance of the First Industrial Revolution: the steam engine, which was figured out by James Watt; was applied to spinning, weaving, and tons of other things, which improved the possibilities of manufacturing.

The Trinity of the First Industrial Revolution:

Steam Engine, Steel, and Coal; demand for all three rose concurrently.

Living conditions in the early cities during the First Industrial Revolution:

Wretched and disgusting; center of neighborhoods were factories; over crowded; narrow street; no sewer system (which led to cholera and typhus being more common)

Critics of the First Industrial Revolution:

Thomas Malthus (1766-1834): was a priest of the Church, and his thoughts were contained in the “Essay of the Principles of Palpitation” (talked about how populations skyrocket, and more people equals less food)

David Ricardo: wrote the “Principles of Political Economy”(1817), which talked about how when times were good, people tended to have more kids, which means more people, which also means that more laborers would be entering the market.

For Mathus and Ricardo’s predictions to come true, there needed to be constants, and that did not happen; too many things were changing at too rapid of a pace for their predictions to be accurate.

The Second Industrial Revolution (1850-1914):

Took place on the continent of Europe, primarily in Germany; with the Second Industrial Revolution, the economic gap between Great Britain and continental Europe disappeared (Germany and other European countries closed the gap); most power powerful products of the Second Industrial Revolution were: Steel, Chemicas, and Energy.

Most powerful products of the Second Industrial Revolution:

Steel: because the traditional methods of production were inefficient, Henry Bessemer created a new method of production (which was cheaper to make and more efficient).

Chemicals: Germans excelled at this because of their universities; their university laboratory standards in Germany were very high; plastic was created by German engineers; German engineers had access to great education and supplies at their disposal; petroleum and electric power started to be explored.

Energy: In 1881, the first electric generator was built in Germany; that meant that candle light and gas could be replaced with electric lights; factories could be more effective and safer to work in; subways, electric trains, and cars would all start to be converted; electric plants were built over time; cities started creating efficient sewer systems (typhus was endemic to the First Industrial Revolution, but that was no longer the case in the Second Industrial Revolution).

Difference between First and Second Industrial Revolution:

many more consumer products were coming out on the market in the Second Industrial Revolution,, which meant that more people could (and would) use things in their homes; products such as soaps, etc.

In 1886:

German engineer, Gottfried Daimler, created the Internal Combustion Engine; the same engine that is found in cars and allows us to drive; produces less pollution than the steam engine; great application of this machine led to the development of automobiles.

First great producers of cars was France:

Renault.

Urban Conditions:

Improved drastically in the Second Industrial Revolution; building of parks occurred during the Second Industrial Revolution; green spaces were needed (i.e Central Park, etc); 1920-1960s was the heyday for parks) .

greater application of electric and petroleum made cities brighter, streets wider, and street lights were finally introduced; other environmental regulations were enacted, such as traffic cones, building codes, etc.

2 Characteristics of Middle class during the Second Industrial Revolution:

Having books (because more people could afford them and actually read them), and a piano.

Conservatives (from the 19th Century):

wanted to preserve the good things (the good things that worked from the old days). Metternich was a conservative. Burke was also one.

Burke: thought that the French Revolution was bad and would only end bad, but he supported the American Revolution. Americans wanted a healthy liberty, while the French wanted to overturn their ancestral govt.

Joseph De Maistre: another influential conservative; wrote “Considerations on France”; was not blind to the problems with the old French govt.

Juan Donoso Cortes: wrote “Essays on Catholicism, liberalism, and socialism”(1851); was a nobleman who had an extensive career as a diplomat to the Spanish Throne; very critical of the notion of equality; devout Catholic though he was.

Liberals:

inspired by Enlightenment thinkers; fundamental difference of conservatives and liberals was their view on the human person; the conservatives believed that our problems were rooted in sinfulness, that from brith we are doomed by sin (children are not innocent). The liberals believed that when you are born, you are a blank slate (neither good or bad), but our experiences in life determine our future.

Adam Smith:

wrote “Wealth of Nations”(1776); first (sort of) economist); teacher of moral theology.

Basis was the markets; market had buyers and sellers with diverse interests which are processed by markets (process expressed in price)

Mercantilism:

it is when you know you are doing well, when the amount of precious metals is growing, due to ta favorable balance of trade (selling more goods overseas, making more imported goods, etc.), but Smith said this was a waste of everyone’s time.

another great Liberalist, was Thomas Paine:

wrote “Rights of Man”(1791); was in favor of the French Revolution; read some of Burkes work, and the “Rights of Man” was a response to the “Reflection Essay”; Paine was nearly guillotined as a result, but was able to escape in time.

Socialists/Socialism:

some of the famous socialists were: Francois Fourier and Claude Henry De Saint-Simon (“De” in your name makes you a nobleman).

Socialists agree with the liberals about human nature that we are a blank slate, however socialists were convinced that if everyone got to do their own things, there would be major gaps in wealth and quality of life.

Socialists said that societies need social experts, people who can study the functioning of the society, the law, etc. (if/when problems arise, find a remedy; social engineering).

Conservatives and socialists both agree that neither half of society are functioning properly; measures need to be taken to prevent social strife.

Social strife: one group of people resent another group of people.

liberalism and socialism pick up momentum in the 2nd half of the 19th Century

United Kingdom in the first half of the 19th Century:

There was a much needed reform in Parliament; prior to the 19th Century, Parliament was in shambles; it has been around since the 1290s, which has been called into session when the King’s revenues weren’t doing what he said they would. Taxes weren’t really a thing in medieval times because the govts weren’t organized enough (no IRS). Many people were even too poor to pay taxes, so people would hide their goodies and little wealth they did have when the tax collector came by.

By the 1290s, almost every medieval king could not wage war with their current revenues, so they turned to more taxation; a king could only collect/enact taxes after consultation with Parliament.

Parliament was first founded when kings needed money for war; Reformation of English Church in the 1500s; Parliament was an advisory body to the King, not a checks and balance to the monarchy; the 17th Century, Parliament acquired the power to thwart the king, if they did not agree (very unusual tho).

UK Parliament:

broken into the Lordes and Commons.

Lourdes: was bishops; Peers of the realm, which was about 300 in number; male heads of the 300 most illustrious families.

Commons: Boroughs; towns; 2 MPs per town; seats were allowed in the earliest days and didn’t change until 1832, which meant there was no alteration I the House of Commons for 600 years (approx).

in the 18th Century, there were calls for Reform, but the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars halted that for the time being. many of the people in the House of Commons were relatives of those in the house of Lourdes (no real incentive to change things in Parliament).

in the US, representation in the senate and house differ from that of the UK: people in the House of Commons were expected to think of the good of the realm, less of the locality, whereas in the US, a representative looks out for their constituents.

Post Napoleonic Wars (Post 1815):

UK was distrustful of standing armies, so they purposely kept them small, which leads to saving money and less likely for military rebellion. once the soldiers were done with their job in the military, they were forced to go back to regular civilian life, where they struggled to adapt back to life pre war. times were still tough at this time, Passage of Corn Laws (Corn=grains/wheat in the UK).

1815-1825 were tough years for people in Great Britain. August 1819, where 20,000 people which would be known as the Peterloo Massacre. public fear was created due to the publication in newspapers of the event. Sic Acts promulgated as a result, designed to suppress labor organizations and assembles (special permits needed from govt); these Six AActs allowed for detainment of organizers and other various things

After 1820, conditions improved; bad crops improved; child labor laws created; people were less disappointed and depressed; opportunity for reform of House of Commons started to happen

King William IV (r. 1830-1837):

Said he wanted to create new peers that would vote for a reform bill in the house of Lordes; Great Reform Bill (1832), which did not get rid of all pocket boroughs, but helped; doubled ranks of voters; more work still needed.

Parliament and Ireland:

were both reformed; act of union law was passed in 1800, which united Ireland and Britain; Ireland got 85 seats in parliament; the United Kingdom was formed when these two nations unified.

Charters:

Known as chartism; first working class political movement; “people’s charter” published in 1840

Victorian Compromise:

1837-1867; not much reform was passed, but peace and prosperity occurred; grudging contentment for about 30 years.

Revolutions of 1848:

Revolutions took place all over Europe; highly ideological arguments (liberalism and nationalism).