Week 7- Ideologies, Democracies

Lecture 1

Those in 19th century looked to French revolution to origins of democratic phenomenon taking over Europe

Congress of Vienna: (1814-15)

• After Napoleon 

• Establishing conservative order in Europe

• Anti-democratic, anti-nationalist. Wants to undo these  

• Quash any revolutionary activism in the continent, put down nationalist movements

• Britain is the most powerful nation at this point, their primary interest was to make sure France wasn’t strong enough to threaten Britain’s imperial holdings. Does not want any country in the continent to emerge as a dominant power, should be an equilibrium  

• Summary: Congress reinforces the principle of dynastic kingship (dynasties),

• Redraws the map in relation to pre-French revolution with no input from local populations, Austria gives up Netherlands, gains territory elsewhere 

• Holy Roman Empire → German confederation, 300 states.  

• Prussia emerging Austria, gets territorial consolidation 

The Revolutions of 1848 

• Wave of revolutions across europe 

• Begins in Sicily, Paris, Berlin

• Not in Britain

• Rapidly, one city to the next  

• The people are becoming more and more interested in politics 

The Burning of the Throne 1848 - France

• Giant banquet is organized, government outlaws the banquet to suppress political uprising → barricades, fighting, king fled 

• New gov institutes universal male suffrage and abolishes slavery in France’s colonies 

1848 and the Social Question: France 

• Crowds start demanding reforms for workers – organization of labour and guarantee the right to labour

• the workers, those who work with their hands are the sovereign people

• Louis Blanc: radical, writes a decree that guarantees labour and work for everybody  

• Workshops are expensive and not popular, in June 1848, gov closes them →

• Barricades during the June Days, uprising, 1500 people killed, 4000 deported 

• Held an election, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon nephew) elected president. Within a few years he dissolved the republic and established an empire

• The workers reforms is something that only appealed to Parisians Urban workers

Reform in Great Britain in the 19th century

• Avoided revolution all together 

The Great Reform Act 1832 

• Second and Third Reform Acts (1867, 1884)  

• Process trying to create a particular type of voter, a man who can make informed decisions, people who have a certain amount of property. 

Chartist Movement/Chartism- begins 1838 

1. Universal suffrage: a vote for all men (over 21)

2. Vote by secret ballot.

3. no property qualification to become an MP.

4. payment for MPs.

5. electoral districts of equal size.

6. annual elections for Parliament. 

• The ideal type voter that the Chartist Movement targets is a working class man, 

Women’s Suffrage- 

• Harriet Taylor Mill publishes the Enfranchisement of Women  

• Her husband John Stuart Mill helps carry on her mission when she dies 

• women over 30 in 1918, then all women over 21 in 1928