In this unit, we learned about 5 major revolutions between 1830 and 1848. Our essential question for this unit was: were the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 really failures as many historians have concluded? In class, we first looked at the quote: “We are sleeping on a volcano. Do you not see that the Earth trembles anew? A wind of revolution blows, the storm is on the horizon” by Alexis de Tocqueville. We also looked at the quote: “When France sneezes, Europe catches a cold” by Metternich. Both of these quotes have to do with the revolutions in Europe. The governments were trying to repress revolutions, but they were all about to happen like a volcano erupting. Also, France was the first place to revolt, and the revolutionary ideas spread to all of Europe like a cold. Then, we made a scale to measure the success of failure of a revolution, so we wrote what we thought a successful revolution would look like and what an unsuccessful revolution would look like. With this scale in mind, we then moved on to learning about the revolutions. We were split into groups and each group was assigned a revolution to become experts on. We analyzed the country, date, goals, opponent, outcome, and reasons for success or failure of our revolution using a background essay and a few primary sources. We also had to analyze each primary source on our revolution to determine whether it was showing the goals, opponent, or outcome of the revolution. Once we had done all of this and had become experts on our revolution, we created a survey about it using SurveyMonkey. My groups surveys can be found in two parts: click here for Part 1 or here for Part 2. Lastly, the whole class took everybody’s surveys to learn about all of the revolutions. By doing all of this, we came to determine whether we thought that the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 were successes or failures overall.
Our group was assigned to the French Revolution of 1830, and this revolution was a partial failure. The French people were happy with their constitutional monarch, Louis XVIII, until he died in 1824. Louis had made compromises with the people and had abided by their constitution and their rights. However, when his brother, Charles X, took the throne after Louis’ death, he was not as considerate towards the people. He did not agree with the idea of constitutional monarchy; he believed in absolutism. He took away many of the people’s rights, and he “suspended the legislature, limited the right to vote, and restricted the press” (Background Essay). This caused big problems. The biggest mistake was limiting the freedom of the press. There were many newspapers and journalists in that time, and they were enraged by this restriction. Charles X’s new law stated that “No work of less than twenty printed sheets can appear without the authorization of our Minister-Secretary of State of the Interior at Paris” (Source 1), meaning that all newspapers must be checked before being printed to make sure there isn’t anything being said that goes against the king. However, Paris Journalists did not agree with these rules, and they protested. They believed that, “The Government has violated legality, we are absolved from obedience. We shall attempt to publish our papers without asking for the authorization” (Source 2). They believe that the government is violating their rights, and because of this, they no longer have to listen to the government. Radical liberals and angry workers and journalists attacked Paris. Charles X was forced to flee and the rebels took over Paris. Radical liberals wanted a Republic, but more moderate liberals compromised on a constitutional monarchy. The Chamber of Deputies decided that Charles’ cousin, Louis Philippe, should be the king because he had supported the revolutions of 1789, and seemed to be more constitutional. Louis agreed to the constitution, and he became known as the “citizen king” because he ruled through the people. “The Duke of Orleans is a citizen king...He awaits our will….It is from the French people that he will hold the crown” (Source 3). However, even though Louis promised this at first, over time his main priority was the bourgeoisie, or the upper class, and they thrived under him. Poorer workers did not benefit from Louis, and they did not get many rights. “Under Louis Philippe, the upper bourgeoisie prospered. Louis extended suffrage, but only to France's wealthier citizens. The vast majority of the people still could not vote. The king's other policies also favored the middle class at the expense of the workers” (Background Essay). The workers were still not treated equally, and many rights were still not given. Overall, this was a partial failure because the liberals did not get the Republic they wanted, and the workers still did not get rights. However, this revolution was a step in the right direction because it brought about the ideas of gaining rights for the people with a constitution or a republic. The other students in our class seemed to learn and understand our revolution well because we had a few 100% unanimous answers, and if they weren't unanimous, they were very close, as shown below. Besides multiple choice questions, there were also short answer questions in which every student submitted a response, and they were all very similar.
Overall, I think all the revolutions were both a failure and a success. Looking at the facts, almost all the revolutions failed to gain what they initially fought for. Most of the revolutions were partial failures just like the 1830 revolution in France. The Decembrist Revolt was a failure because Constantine never succeeded the throne after Tsar Alexander’s death in 1825 like the revolutionaries wanted. Many people in Russia didn’t like Tsar Alexander because of his “failure to grant meaningful constitutional change. Some had plotted to assassinate the Tsar but his unexpected death and delay in announcing the arrangements for his succession allowed them the opportunity to attempt a coup” (Background Essay). The revolutionaries saw his unexpected death as an opportunity to seize control of Russia and put in a more constitutional monarch. Constantine, next to the throne, was believed to be more liberal than Alexander, and the people wanted him to be king, however he denied the crown. This angered the people, and they revolted against the new king-to-be, Tsar Nicholas, because he was more involved with the military and less involved with constitutional change. The result of these battles were many people from both sides, especially revolutionaries, were killed, and Nicholas remained in control. The revolutionaries lost and Russia rapidly declined, so it was a failure. Another failure was the Frankfurt Assembly. The people of German were fighting for both liberal and nationalist reforms; to try to gain rights and unite Germany. The Frankfurt Assembly met to debate whether to try to create a Republic, like middle-class workers wanted, or a constitutional monarchy. They finally offered the constitutional monarch of Prussia, Frederick William IV, the crown of German, but he denied because “because the Assembly has not the right, without the consent of the German governments, to bestow the crown which they tendered me” (Source 4); the lower people of German offered the crown to him, not the royalty. Fighting then broke out between radical middle-class workers and conservatives which killed many and caused many Germans to flee their country. Lastly, the French Revolution of 1848 was a partial failure. Revolutionaries fought two main battles; one in February and one in June. They made Louis Philippe abdicate the crown, and they took control of the government, establishing the Second Republic. However, it was very short lived before moderate liberals and socialists wanted reforms. The hungry, poor workers became angry with the upper and middle class workers, and they revolted against them. With all the confusion, a constitutional monarch, Louis Napoleon, was put in place, however he soon became more like an absolute monarch, and he mainly helped the bourgeoisie. "For the bourgeoisie, the early days of the Second Empire brought prosperity and contentment. In time, however, Napoleon III would embark on foreign adventures that would bring down his empire and end French leadership in Europe” (Background Essay). The revolutionaries failed to create a Republic and ended up in the same place that they started in with Napoleon. However, in the long run, these revolutions brought about amazing revolutionary ideas that inspired many. They also showed the government that they weren’t afraid to fight for their rights, and they forced the government to be more considerate for their people because they are capable of revolution.
Citations:
Source 1: The July Ordinances, July 25, 1830 By Charles X and His Ministers
Source 2: Protest of the Paris Journalists, July 26, 1830. In Laurisse and Rambaud, Histoire Genrale, 283.
Source 3: Theirs, Adolphe.2 "Orleanist Manifesto." July 30, 1830. In Laurisse and Rambaud, Histoire Genrale, 287-288.
Source 4: Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia: Proclamation of 1849
Background Essay and all primary sources for the French Revolution of 1830 can be found at: http://www.edline.net/files/_5YGkl_/40dea4b950785ead3745a49013852ec4/France_1830.pdf
Background Essay for the Decembrist Revolt can be found at:
Background Essay for the French Revolution of 1848 can be found at:
http://www.edline.net/files/_5YGnP_/07a640cbeaabc1233745a49013852ec4/France_1848.pdf
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