Chapter 22: Political Upheavals and Social Transformation, 1815-1850

• Congress of Vienna (1814-1815)
  • Tried to rebuild Europe after French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars
  • Hosted and controlled by Austrian Foreign Minister Klemens Von Metternich
  • Goal was to reconstruct through the “balance of powers” among European states
  • Alliance system was put in place to deal with future issues
  • Netherlands acted as buffer state against French power
  • Poland remained weak
• Main Principles
  • Quadruple Alliance
  • Principle of Legitimacy
  • The principle rights of monarchs were to be upheld when faced with the right to “self-determination”
  • Great nations wouldn’t try to conquer smaller states to increase power
  • It was the responsibility of the Great Powers to maintain and control the existing boundaries and borders of all nations through cooperation
• Conservatism and Liberalism were new ideologies
• Romanticism was an intellectual movement that took place from late 18th century to early 19th century
  • Both conservatives and liberals accepted and rejected Romanticism
  • Romantics placed value in nature
  • Romantics also placed value in intuition over scientific knowledge
  • Romanticism’s validation of of individuals and individual experiences and justification of subjective knowledge challenged traditional authority
• Nationalism: movement which tried to create a collective identity and political allegiance of people founded upon a shared cultural history and understanding
  • 1815-1850
  • Meant to unite people against the tyrannical rule of monarchs
  • Embraced by those looking to overthrow foreign rule
• Socialism: collective ownership, operation, and wealth of society
  • People should create a better social organization to better society
  • Hope was that industrial age would eradicate suffering of the poor
• Karl Marx (1818-1883)
  • Believed that all societies evolved over course of history
  • The foundation of Marxist thought is based on his analysis of history
• All of history is founded upon struggle in the classes
• Neighborhoods developed around regional and ethnic migration
  • Developed support networks to provide safety
• “Revolution in Government” (1820-1840)
  • Government started to take responsibility in managing industrial society
  • Beginning of “Welfare State”
• Small protests and revolts broke out in response to poor social conditions in 1820s
  • Response to these revolts and protests was government repression and violence
• French Revolution (1830)
• Protests and Revolts took place in England, Germany, Greece, Belgium, Italy, Russia, and Switzerland as well
  • Crushed with force (government)
• The Great Reform Bill of 1832
  • Allowed for greater electoral participation
  • Fortified role of industrial elite
  • Didn’t satisfy radicals
• People's Charter (1833)
  • Demanded universal suffrage, secret ballot, Parliament salaries, eradication of property requirements to hold office, equal election districts, and annual elections
• Women were a key part of the workforce
  • Unions excluded women
  • Many served as domestic servants
• The last great famine in European history was in 1846
• There were high unemployment rates in 1846
• Provisional Government: coalition of moderates and radicals insistent on keeping keeping the working classes from revolting
• Louis Napoleon was elected to run France in 1848
  • Executed a coup in 1851 and declared himself Emperor
• Unification of German states was in shambles for an entire generation
• Austria was a large multinational empire
  • Challenged by rise of nationalism and independence movements
• Italy was divided and under the rule of foreign power
• Austria and Prussia were determined to unite Germany under their control
• Popular unrest in Europe was solved with minimal reforms

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