Chapter Review Flashcards

Europe was in disarray after 25 years of war (from 1789-1815).
Economies were destroyed, and governments were overturned due to Napoleon's liberal revolution.
Napoleon dismantled monarchies and controlled the church via a concordat.

Conservative nations convened to address Europe's disrupted state.
Goals:
- Prevent the spread of liberalism.
- Maintain a balance of power.
Concerns:
- Containing Prussia's increasing strength (but there is no country called Germany).
- Stabilizing France, the origin of liberalism.

Motivated by an absolute king who did not grant rights or sovereignty to the people.
Enlightened ideals promoted rights, constitutionalism, free speech, and the end of serfdom.
Liberalism: A movement advocating for liberty and equality.

Simultaneous revolution focusing on economic equality through capitalism.
Capitalism: The ability to freely buy, sell, and trade.
Dual Revolution: Liberalism encompasses both economic (capitalism) and political (republicanism) aspects.

Advocated for a return to monarchies, landed aristocracies, a strong Catholic Church, and social order.
Sought to suppress liberalism and restore the old ways.

Economically devastated with a labor shortage due to 25 years of war.
Mass migration from rural areas to Paris in search of jobs.
Metternich reinstated conservative Bourbon kings, suppressing liberalism.
This created a toxic situation: a conservative king ruling a liberal population in need of wealth distribution and worker protections.

The Bourbon kings were unsympathetic and adversarial to liberalism.
Liberal demands became more radical over time.
Socialism: A more radical form of liberalism advocating for wealth redistribution.
- Figures like Louis Blanc, Antoine Proudhon, and Charles Fourier promoted socialism.
Nationalism: The idea that each ethnic group should have its own state.
Louis Napoleon overthrew the last Louis Bourbon king (Louis Cody) in 1848.
- Inspired socialist revolutions in Berlin, Vienna, and Frankfurt.
June Days: A period of upheaval in the summer of 1848.
Karl Marx:
- Advocated for the abolishment of government to achieve wealth redistribution.
- Authored The Communist Manifesto,
- Inspired Lenin and the communist revolution.

Aimed to suppress liberalism by:
- Restoring monarchies.
- Limiting free speech and free press.
- Controlling college fraternities (through measures like the Carlsbad Decrees and the Six Acts).
- Creating an army to suppress liberal revolutions.
Success:
- Did not eliminate constitutionalism and rights.
- Created stability in Europe from 1815 to 1914 (pre-World War I).

Lack of inspiration until Louis Napoleon's rise.
Strong controls imposed by Metternich.
Divisions among liberals:
- Middle-class liberals wanted constitutions and departments.
- Poor liberals wanted socialism and nationalism.
Liberals could not agree on a platform for revolution or the shape of Germany.
Frankfurt Parliament:
- The chief demand of the revolution was a parliament representing all Germans.
Hungry Forties: Drought conditions and high food prices fueled anger.
King Frederick Wilhelm IV of Prussia initially conceded to demands but retained power.
- He maintained the right to veto parliamentary decisions and did not grant the parliament a chief executive.
Schleswig and Holstein:
- Two German states seeking to break away from Danish control and join the Frankfurt Assembly.
- The Frankfurt Parliament was too weak to enforce this, leading to embarrassment.
Erfurt Union:
- Frederick Wilhelm proposed a union of German states under Prussian control.
Austria opposed this, leading to the humiliation of Olmutz, where Prussia was forced to abandon centralization.

Prussia resolved to:
- Industrialize and militarize.
- Otto von Bismarck later termed it as "Blood and Iron".
The humiliation sparked interest in uniting the German states under a stronger Prussia.

Appointed Minister President of Prussia in 1862 to strengthen the military.
Bismarck's aims:
- Create a strong, conservative Prussian state.
- Willing to start a constitutional crisis and wars.
- Start three wars to put his money where his mouth was.

France was the final hurdle to unification. Prussia could now create the Second Reich (a united German empire).
France wanted revenge.
Bismarck negotiated secret treaties to isolate France.
A false treaty situation led to World War I when Russia and Austria, both assuming Germany was their ally, fought each other.

Bismarck sought to consolidate control over the German states.
Practiced real politics by appeasing liberals with worker compensation, minimum wage, and disability insurance.
Kulturkampf: A war against the Catholic Church to unify the state.