Ideology

For two months in 1871, far-left revolutionaries seized control of Paris during Europe's first communist revolution.

Although the revolutions of 1848 were, as George Macaulay Trevelyan quipped, a “turning point at which modern history failed to turn,” they helped usher in a new type of European politics and diplomacy.

Ideology,

c. 1815-1914 CE

The French and industrial revolutions triggered dramatic political and social consequences and new theories to deal with them. The ideologies engendered by these 19th-century revolutions—conservatism, liberalism, socialism, nationalism, and even romanticism— provided their adherents with coherent views of the world and differing blueprints for change. The responses to socioeconomic changes reached a culmination in the revolutions of 1848, but the failure of these uprisings left the issues raised by the economic, political, and social transformations unresolved well into the 20th century.

Following a quarter-century of revolutionary upheaval and war spurred by Napoleon’s imperial ambitions, the Great Powers met in Vienna in 1814–1815 to re-establish a workable balance of power and suppress liberal and nationalist movements for change. Austrian Foreign Minister Klemens von Metternich led the way in creating an informal security arrangement to resolve international disputes and stem revolution through common action among the Great Powers. Nonetheless, revolutions aimed at liberalization of the political system and national self-determination defined the period from 1815 to 1848.

The revolutions that swept Europe in 1848 were triggered by poor economic conditions, frustration at the slow pace of political change, and unfulfilled nationalist aspirations. At first, revolutionary forces succeeded in establishing regimes dedicated to change or to gaining independence from great-power domination. However, conservative forces, which still controlled the military and bureaucracy, reasserted control.

Although the revolutions of 1848 were, as George Macaulay Trevelyan quipped, a “turning point at which modern history failed to turn,” they helped usher in a new type of European politics and diplomacy. Conservative leaders, exemplified by Napoleon III of France, used popular nationalism to advance state power and authoritarian rule.

In the second half of the 19th century, labor leaders in many countries created unions and syndicates to provide the working classes with a collective voice, and these organizations used collective action such as strikes and movements for men’s universal suffrage to reinforce their demands. Feminists and suffragists petitioned and staged public protests to press their demands for similar rights for women. The international movements for socialism, labor, and women’s rights were important examples of a trend toward international cooperation in a variety of causes, including antislavery and peace movements. Finally, political parties emerged as sophisticated vehicles for advocating reform or reacting to changing conditions in the political arena.

Nationalism acted as one of the most powerful engines of political change, inspiring revolutions as well as campaigns by states for national unity or a higher degree of centralization. Early nationalism emphasized shared historical and cultural experiences that often threatened traditional elites. Over the course of the 19th century, leaders recognized the need to promote national unity through economic development and expanding state functions to meet the challenges posed by industry.

Source: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-european-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf

"The [Paris] Commune arrested by Ignorance and Reaction", 1871

The responses to socioeconomic changes reached a culmination in the revolutions of 1848, but the failure of these uprisings left the issues raised by the economic, political, and social transformations
unresolved well into the 20th century.

The Political Spectrum

Objective: Explain how the European political order was maintained and challenged from 1815 to 1914.

Conservatives developed a new ideology in support of traditional political and religious authorities, which was based on the idea that human nature was not perfectible.
Liberals emphasized popular sovereignty, individual rights, and enlightened self-interest but debated the extent to which all groups in society should actively participate in its governance.
Radicals in Britain and republicans on the continent demanded universal male suffrage and full citizenship without regard to wealth and property ownership; some argued that such rights should be extended to women.
Liberalism shifted from laissez-faire to interventionist economic and social policies in response to the challenges of industrialization.
Socialists called for the redistribution of society’s resources and wealth and evolved from a utopian to a Marxist scientific critique of capitalism.
Marx’s scientific socialism provided a systematic critique of capitalism and a deterministic analysis of society and historical evolution.
Anarchists asserted that all forms of governmental authority were unnecessary and should be overthrown and replaced with a society based on voluntary cooperation.

Conservatism

Edmund Burke is considered to be the Father of Conservatism.

CONSERVATISM

Classical Liberalism

Radicalism and Social Liberalism

Peterloo Massacre, 1819

Critics of the People’s Budget of 1911 claimed its social benefits weren't social liberalism but socialism that would ruin the British economy.

Socialism and Communism

Socialists despised capitalism as unjust suppression of the working class masses.

street fighting during the Paris Commune uprising of 1871

Anarchism

ANARCHISM

The Political Spectrum

The Concert of Europe

Objectives:

Explain how the European political order was maintained and challenged from 1815 to 1914.
Explain how the development and spread of nationalism affected Europe from 1815 to 1914.
Explain how and why various groups reacted against the existing order from 1815 to 1914.

The Congress System

Conservatives developed a new ideology in support of traditional political and religious authorities, which was based on the idea that human nature was not perfectible.
The Concert of Europe (or Congress System) sought to maintain the status quo through collective action and adherence to conservatism.
Metternich, architect of the Concert of Europe, used it to suppress nationalist and liberal revolutions.
Conservatives reestablished control in many European states and attempted to suppress movements for change and, in some areas, to strengthen adherence to religious authorities.

1879 illustration depicting the arrest of members of Carbonari, a secret society dedicated to expelling Austrian forces from Italy and uniting the Italian peninsula, especially during the failed Revolution of 1820.

Early Nationalist Movements

Nationalists encouraged loyalty to the nation in a variety of ways, including romantic idealism, liberal reform, political unification, racialism with a concomitant anti-Semitism, and chauvinism justifying national aggrandizement.

July Revolution of 1830

Eugene Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People celebrates the July Revolution of 1830.

In the first half of the 19th century, revolutionaries attempted to destroy the status quo.

1848 Revolutions

fighting in Berlin during the 1848 Revolutions

The revolutions of 1848, triggered by economic hardship and discontent with the political status quo, challenged conservative politicians and governments and led to the breakdown of the Concert of Europe.

Emperor Franz Joseph leading Austrian troops against Hungarian revolutionaries

The Concert of Europe

Mass Politics

Objective: Explain the various movements and calls for social reform that resulted from intellectual developments from 1815 to 1914.

The British Houses of Parliament meet in the Palace of Westminster, London. The current neo-Gothic Romantic-style building opened in 1870, and has become a symbol of democracy.

Emile Zola's open letter to the president of France inflamed French political passions during the Dreyfus Affair (1894–1906) .

Political movements and social organizations responded to problems of industrialization.
Mass-based political parties emerged as sophisticated vehicles for social, economic, and political reform.
Workers established labor unions and movements promoting social and economic reforms that also developed into political parties.
Feminists pressed for legal, economic, and political rights for women as well as improved working conditions.
Various nongovernmental reform movements, many of them religious, assisted the poor and worked to end serfdom and slavery.
Reformers promoted compulsory public education to advance the goals of public order, nationalism, and economic growth.

Women's Social and Political Union leaders Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst, c. 1908

Suffragettes fought for women's right to vote.

Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst is arrested outside of Buckingham Palace, 1914

Women campaigning for the right to vote in Britain.

19th-Century Urban and Social Reforms

Objective: Explain how and why governments and other institutions responded to challenges resulting from industrialization.

Reforms transformed unhealthy and overcrowded cities by modernizing infrastructure, regulating public health, reforming prisons, and establishing modern police forces. The reforms were enacted by governments motivated by such forces as public opinion, prominent individuals, and charity organizations.