The Revolutions of 1848

A set of vocabulary terms based on the lecture covering the causes, key figures, and outcomes of the Revolutions of 1848 in Europe.

Revolutions of 1848

A series of revolutions that occurred throughout almost every country in Europe, starting in France and characterized by demands for constitutions and national identity.

Arab Spring

A modern series of protests and revolutions cited as the closest historical equivalent to the widespread and contagious nature of the Revolutions of 1848.

Constitution

A written document that empowers a legislative body and limits the power of the royalty or monarchy.

Universal Male Suffrage

The right for all adult men to vote, a concept that almost no one supported during the initial 1848 revolutions.

Nationalism

The desire for national identity or unity, which motivated some states to seek independence (like Hungary) and others to seek unification (like Germany and Italy).

Schleswig and Holstein

Two provinces controlled by Denmark but considered German, involved in a territorial issue so complex that Lord Palmerston claimed only three people ever understood it.

Lord Palmerston

The Foreign Minister of England who famously commented on the confusing nature regarding the ownership of Schleswig and Holstein.

Social Reforms

Proposed changes to society's structure, including the abolition of serfdom and the creation of government-funded work programs.

Serfdom

A system of labor where peasants are bound to the land; it still existed in the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the revolutions of 1848.

Workfare Programs

Government programs designed to employ those who could not find jobs in the private sector, often used to combat the effects of industrial boom and bust cycles.

Banquet of February 22, 1848

A fundraising event planned by French reformers that the government attempted to ban, leading to the setup of barricades and the flight of the King.

Constitutional Liberals

A group of seven individuals in the French interim government who argued for a written constitution and a limited monarchy.

Social Liberals

A group of three individuals in the French interim government who founded modern socialism and believed the government should resolve economic inequality.

Socialism

A belief that the primary duty of the government is to resolve the economic inequality between the rich and the poor.

French Workshops

Government-established programs that provided jobs for two francs a day, which grew from 25,000 participants in March to 120,000 by June 1848.

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte

The nephew of Napoleon who won the French presidential election and eventually became Emperor after a plebiscite.

Plebiscite

A direct vote by the electorate on an important public question, such as the vote that confirmed Louis Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor.

Mazzini

The leader of a Republican revolution in Rome who sought to overthrow the Pope's territorial power but was suppressed by French troops.

Napoleon III

The title taken by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte after he transition from a Republican leader to the Emperor of France.

Austro-Hungarian Army

A military force composed of aristocratic officers and serfs; the loyalty of the serfs was secured after the Austrians granted them freedom.