19th Century Ideologies The Political Spectrum
People Where would these people fall on the Political Spectrum?
Of the most influential thinkers during this age was actually a nobleman who proclaimed optimistically proclaimed the tremendous possibilities of industrial development. In his mind the key to progress was proper social organization that required the parasites - the court, the aristocracy and churchmen- to give way to the doers - the leading scientists, engineers and industrialists. The doers would carefully plan the economy and guide it forward by undertaking vast public works projects and building investment banks. He also stressed the importance that every social institution should have as its main goal improved conditions for the poor. Count Henri Saint-Simon (1760-1825)
Louis Blanc, French political leader, The Organization of Labor, introduction to the second edition, 1848. Louis Blanc, French political leader, The Organization of Labor, introduction to the second edition, 1848. Have we avowed that our goal is to undermine competition, to withdraw industry from the regime of laissez-faire? Most certainly, and far from denying it, we proclaim it aloud. Why? Because we want freedom. But real freedom, freedom for all...we want a strong government because, in the regime of inequality within which we are still vegetating, there are weak persons who need a social force to protect them...we want a government that will intervene in industry because the freedom of the future must be a reality. Have we avowed that our goal is to undermine competition, to withdraw industry from the regime of laissez-faire? Most certainly, and far from denying it, we proclaim it aloud. Why? Because we want freedom. But real freedom, freedom for all...we want a strong government because, in the regime of inequality within which we are still vegetating, there are weak persons who need a social force to protect them...we want a government that will intervene in industry because the freedom of the future of themust be a reality. Louis Blanc
Klemens Von Metternich, the Austrian foreign minister, took a prominent part in the Congress of Vienna and dominated European politics from 1814 to 1848. He acted as the restorer of the 'Old Regime' and the reconstruction of Europe after the Napoleonic wars. To safeguard the balance of power Metternich formed a 'Holy Alliance' between the monarchies of Austria, Russia, Prussia and France. Klemens Von Metternich- Austrian Foreign Minister
He was king of France from 1824 to 1830. He was also the brother of King Louis XVI and of King Louis XVIII, whom he succeeded. During the reign of Louis XVIII he headed the ultra-royalist opposition. One of his first laws as King of France decreed in 1825 gave land back to the nobles that had been confiscated from them during the French Revolution. In 1829 Charles appointed a chief minister whose aims were to reorganize society, to give back to the clergy their weight in state affairs, and to create a powerful aristocracy and to surround it with privileges. To divert attention from internal affairs; Polignac (The foreign minister) initiated a French venture in Algeria. When the Parliament objected, Charles X dissolved it. His dissolution in March 1830 of the liberal chamber of deputies and his drastic July Ordinances, that established rigid control of the press, and restricted suffrage were not very popular with the people. The effect was to destroy the constitutional charter set forth by Louis XVIII. Opposition to the Ordinances was immense and Charles X was soon overthrown in the July Revolution of 1830. Charles X of France: 1824-1830
In the spring of 1834, while at Berne, Mazzini and a dozen refugees from Italy, Poland, and Germany founded a new association with the grandiose name of Young Europe. Its basic, and equally grandiose idea, was that, as the French Revolution of 1789 had enlarged the concept of individual liberty, another revolution would now be needed for national liberty; and his vision went further because he hoped that in the no doubt distant future free nations might combine to form a loosely federal Europe with some kind of federal assembly to regulate their common interests. His intention was nothing less than to overturn the European settlement agreed in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, which had reestablished an oppressive dominance of a few great powers and blocked the emergence of smaller nations. Mazzini hoped, but without much confidence, that his vision of a league or society of independent nations would be realized in his own lifetime. In practice Young Europe lacked the money and popular support for more than a short-term existence. Nevertheless he always remained faithful to the ideal of a united continent forth which the creation of individual nations would be an indispensable preliminary. Andrew. On 28 May 1834 Mazzini was arrested at Solothurn, and exiled from Switzerland. He moved to Paris, where he was again imprisoned on 5 July. He was released only after promising he would move to England. Giuseppe Mazzini
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were heavily influenced by the early French socialists of the 1830 s and together wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848. The early French Socialists often appealed to the Middle Class to provide charity and help to the poor. Marx and Engels saw this as ridiculous as the goals of the middle class and the working class were diametrically opposed. In fact, Marx believed that the history of all previous existing societies is the history of class struggle. Just as the middle class had triumphed over the nobility, Marx believed the working class would conquer the middle class in revolution. He also believed that there would be a portion of the middle class (like himself) who would go over to the working class to aid the revolution as they would comprehend the historical moment. He believed that the bourgeois or middle class had played a revolutionary role during its 100 year rule as it has created productive capacity but eventually it would be time for the bourgeois to give way to the next productive class. When the working class or proletariat took control, a dictatorship would form to reorganize the means of production. Then a classless society would emerge and and the state would wither away since it no longer represented the needs of a particular class. Class struggle would end and the society would be more productive and increase wealth for all. Marxian Socialism (Marxism)
Simon Bolivar By the end of the 18 th century, the ideas of the Enlightenment and French and American revolutions were beginning to influence the creole elites (descendants of Europeans who became permanent inhabitants of Latin America) in Latin America. One of these, Simon Bolivar, had attended European universities and imbibed Enlightenment ideals. When Napoleon toppled the monarchies if Spain and Portugal, their authority over the colonies was weakened. Bolivar took this as an opportunity to establish independence and he went on to lead Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru to independence. He is known as the George Washington of South America. He dreamed of a united South America much like the united states, but this dream never came to fruition. However, even though he brought independence, this did little to change the system where creole elites dominated those of mixed race, Indigenous and African descent. The economies of most South American countries remained run by foreigners. Bolivar himself, while establishing a constitution for his liberated colonies, also established himself as president for life, and gave himself the ability to choose a successor.
Edmund Burke As a modern political philosophy, conservatism dates from 1790, when Englishman Edmund Burke wrote his Reflections on the Revolution in France in reaction to the French Revolution, especially its radical republican and democratic ideas. Burke maintained that society was a contract, but the state was in a partnership...not only between those who are living,...but those who are dead and those who are to be born. According to Burke, no one generation has the right to destroy this partnership but each generation had a right to preserve the partnership and pass it on to the next. Burke was strongly opposed to violent and sudden change but believed that change could come slowly and through evolutionary improvements.
Events Where would these events or policies fall on the Political Spectrum?
Nationalism had its immediate origins in the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. The idea of Nationalism is that each people had its own genius and its own specific unity, which manifested itself especially in a common language and history and often led to the desire for an independent political state. Early Nationalists believed that every nation, like every citizen had the right to exist in freedom and to develop its character and spirit. Early Nationalism also stressed the differences among people and developed a strong sense of we and they. Nationalism
Congress of Vienna 1815 Congress of Vienna 1814-1815
The Burschenschaften and Karlsbad decrees The Burschenschaften were student societies at major Universities dedicated to fostering the goals of a free, united Germany. Their ideas and their motto, Honor, Liberty, Fatherland, and their actions between 1817 and 1819, were alarming to German officials. At an assembly held at the Wartburg Castle in 1817, marking the 300th Anniversary of Martin Luther s 95 Theses members burnt books from conservative authors and a deranged student assassinated a conservative playwright. The Creation of The Burschenschaften 1815
ntemporary lithograph mocking the Carlsbad Decrees A series of laws within the German Confederation of States (written mainly by Metternich) which required German States to root out subversive ideas in their universities and and newspapers and ordered the closing of all of the Burschenschaften groups in the German states. The decrees also established a permanent committee with spies and informers to investigate and punish any liberal or radical organization. Karlsbad Decrees 1819
Since the 15th Century the Greeks had been living under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. In spite of foreign rule the Greeks had retained a culture and a language and in the 18th and 19th century saw the growth of a national spirit. Led by Alexander Ypsilanti a Greek patriot a revolt against Ottoman rule began in 1821. Initially this challenged the ideals of the Congress of Vienna but the European powers wavered due to their love of the Greek story and culture and their general feelings toward the Ottoman Empire. In 1827, under political and military pressure from the European powers, The Ottoman Empire signed a peace treaty which gave the Greeks their independence. Massacre at Chios- Delacroix Greek Revolts 1820 s
Revolution and independence At the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, Belgium (The Southern Netherlands) and the Northern Netherlands (Holland) were united to form one State. This new state was ruled by King William I. Although his policy was beneficial to the Belgian bourgeoisie, there was protest. The Catholics objected against the interference of the protestant king in clerical matters. The Liberals demanded more freedom. In 1828 Catholics and Liberals drew up a concerted programme of demands. The association between Catholics and Liberals was called unionism. After a series of incidents, the revolution erupted in Brussels in 1830. William I sent in his troops, but they were expelled on September 27th, 1830. The rebels received support from volunteers outside the city. Following this rising Belgium separated from the Northern Netherlands. A provisional government declared independence on October 4th, 1830. On November 3th of the same year, a National Congress was elected by an electorate of 30,000 men, who paid a given level of taxes or who had special qualifications. On February 7th, 1831 the national congress adopted a constitution which, for its time, was very progressive. 1830 to 1908 A diplomatic conference on the future of Belgium opened in London on the November 4th. The great powers of the time recognised the secession of Belgium from the (Northern) Netherlands. Leopold I of Saxe-Coburg became the first King of the Belgians (1831-1865). In 1865 he was succeeded by his son Leopold II (1865-1909). Under their reign Belgium became the second most important industrial Independence of Belgium 1830
RrgThe Revolutionary Era of the 1830 s started in France, prompted by Charles X s publication on July 26 of four ordinances dissolving the Chamber of Deputies, suspending freedom of the press, modifying the electoral laws so that three-fourths of the electorate lost their votes, and calling for new elections to the Chamber in September. In essence, Charles X eradicated the Constitution that had been put in place in 1814 when Louis XVIII was placed on the throne. Strikes and protests were followed by armed confrontations. The royal forces were unable to contain the insurrection; and, after three days of fighting (July 27 29), Charles abdicated the throne and soon afterward fled to England. The radicals wanted to establish a republic, and the aristocracy were loyal to Charles, but the upper-middle class were victorious in their decision to offer the crown to the Duke of Orléans,Louis- Philippe, who had fought for the French Republic in 1792. Louis- Philippe agreed to be King of the French. Eugene Delacroix: Lady Leading Liberty 1830 When the July Revolution was over, the Chamber of Peers had been transformed from a hereditary body into a nominated house, special tribunals were abolished, the alliance of the monarchy and the Roman Catholic church was ended, and the white flag of the Bourbons was replaced by the tricolour. French Revolution of 1830
Why Not England? Why Not Russia? Two places were not threatened by revolution WHY???
Why not England? Why not Russia? We will use info from your HW and the packet to fill in the sheet as a whole class.
The November Uprising (1830 31), Polish Russian War 1830 31 [3] also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress Poland's military academy revolted, led by lieutenant Piotr Wysocki. They were soon joined by large segments of Polish society, and the insurrection spread to the territories of Lithuania, western Belarus, and the right-bank of Ukraine. Despite some local successes, the uprising was eventually crushed by a numerically superior Imperial Russian Army. Czar Nicholas I decreed that henceforth Poland was an integral part of Russia, with Warsaw little more than a military garrison, its university closed and the hope of a Constitution in the Polish lands was dismissed. November Uprising: Poland 1830
The Decembrist Revolt was undertaken on December 26, 1825 to protest the ascension of Tsar Nicholas I to the throne after the death of his father Alexander I. Under Alexander I the Russians hoped to find liberal reforms under his rule, At first, but as time went on he felt that Russia was not ready and that a return to conservative authoritarian rule was the standard policy. Repression of groups espousing liberal ideas was carried out by the Tsar s secret police. This caused the officers to become even more radical in response. The Decembrist Revolt was not a single event so much as a reaction to the post-napoleonic war situation in Russia. For years, few Russians traveled abroad they only knew the system that was authoritarian, with supreme power held by the Tsar. They also knew a world where serfdom was the norm. When Russian troops chased Napoleon all the way to France, they began to notice that their world was an anomaly and that the outside world had a lot more to offer than Russia. The Decembrist movement was born out of this awakening.the Decembrist movement may have failed but it began the rumbling of society that would eventually lead to the Russian Revolution in 1917. Decembrist Revolution: Russia 1825
In response to the Peterloo Massacre the British government imposed a series of strict reforms known as the Six Acts. The government restricted large meetings public meetings and the dissemination of pamphlets of information to the poor. 60,000 people gathered in Manchester England in 1819 to protest the rising price of food as a result of the Corn Laws. Government cavalry officers attacked the crowd and killed 11 protesters. The Peterloo Massacre and the Six Acts
The British government s response to falling grain prices was the Corn Law of 1815, a measure that imposed extraordinarily high tariffs on foreign imports of grain. Those the tariffs benefited the landowners, the price of bread rose substantially, making conditions for the working classes more difficult. The Corn Laws 1815
The potato crop failure of 1845-46 indicated a disastrous fall in food supplies. Conservative Prime Minister Peel called for repeal despite the opposition of most of his Conservative Party. On 27 January 1846, Peel gave his government's plan. He said that the Corn Laws would be abolished on 1 February 1849 after three years of gradual reductions of the tariff, leaving only a 1 shilling duty per quarter Scholars have advanced several explanations to resolve the puzzle of why Peel made the seemingly irrational decision to sacrifice his Conservative government to repeal the Corn Laws, a policy which he had long opposed. Many argued that his actions were sensible when considered in the context of his concern for preserving aristocratic government and a limited franchise in the face of threats from popular unrest. Peel was concerned primarily with preserving the institutions of government, and he considered reform as an occasional necessary evil to preclude the possibility of much more radical or tumultuous actions. He acted to check the expansion of democracy by diminishing conditions which could provoke democratic unrest. He also took care to ensure that the concessions would represent no threat to the British constitution. Repeal of the Corn Laws 1848 Sir Robert Peel
The three Reform Acts, of 1832, 1867, and 1884, all extended voting rights to previously disfranchised citizens. The first act, which was the most controversial, reapportioned representation in Parliament in a way fairer to the cities of the industrial north, which had experienced tremendous growth, and did away with "rotten" and "pocket" boroughs like Old Sarum, which with only seven voters (all controlled by the local squire) was still sending two members to Parliament. This act not only re-apportioned representation in Parliament, thus making that body more accurately represent the citizens of the country, but also gave the power of voting to those lower in the social and economic scale, for the act extended the right to vote to any man owning a household worth 10, adding 217,000 voters to an electorate of 435,000. Approximately one man in five now had the right to vote. For manyconservatives, thiseffect ofthe bill, which allowed themiddleclasses to share power with theupper classes, was revolutionaryin its import. Some historians argue that this transference of power achieved in England what the French Revolution achieved eventually in France. Ther efore, the agitation preceding (and following) the first Reform Act, which Dickens observed at first hand as a shorthand Parliamentary reporter, made many peopleconsider fundamental issuesof society and politics. The 1867 Reform Act extended therightto votestill further down theclassladder, adding just short ofa million voters including many workingmen and doubling the electorate, to almost two million in England and Wales. It, too, created major shock waves in contemporary British culture, some of which appear in works such as Arnold's Culture and Anarchy and Ruskin's Crown of Wild Olive, as authors debated whether thisshift ofpower would createdemocracy that would, in turn, destroy high culture. The 1884 bill and the1885 Redistribution Act tripled theelectorate again, giving the voteto most agricultural laborers. By this time,voting was becoming a right rather than the property of the privileged. However, women were not granted voting rights until the Act of 1918, which enfranchised all men over 21 and women over thirty. This last bit ofdiscrimination was eliminated 10 years later (in 1928) by the Equal Franchise Act. The Reform Acts: Great Britain 1832, 1867 and 1884
England struggles between conservatism and liberalism. Why does England NOT have a revolution in 1848?