Liberalism
Chapter 23-2
The first major theory in Western thought
that saw the individual as a self-sufficient
being, whose freedom and well-being were
the sole reasons for the existence of society
Classical Liberalism
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Reformist and political; not usually revolutionary
Individuals are entitled to seek freedom from
tyranny
Humans have certain “natural rights” and a
government’s job is to protect them
Rights are best guaranteed by a written
constitution
Republican (representative) form of
government essential
Liberalism in Economics
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The dismal science for some:
Ricardo’s Iron Law of Wages
 Malthus’s principles of population
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Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776)
Became the Bible of capitalism
 Advocated economic individualism
 Promoted Laissez-faire: No government
intervention even if the need seemed great
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Wealth of Nations
continued
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The most productive economy allows for the
greatest measure of individual choice
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The “Invisible hand” refers to the self-regulating
market (“natural laws” of supply and demand)
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Huge opposition to mercantilism
Utilitarianism
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Jeremy Bentham
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The utility (worth or value) of any law or
institution should be based on whether it
provided “the greatest good for the greatest
number”
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Bentham was a major supporter of Poor Laws
John Stuart Mill: On Liberty (1859)
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Argued for absolute freedom of opinion to be
protected from both censorship and from the
tyranny of the majority
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Argued with his wife for women’s rights in “On
the Subjugation of Women” 1867
Impact of Liberalism
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Influenced revolutions in France in 1830 & 1848
Liberalism became embodied in over 10
constitutions of the German states between
1815-48
Influenced reform in Britain beginning in 1830
and continuing into the 20th Century
Inspired German student organizations
Had an impact on Prussian life
Inspired mild Russian reform in 20th century
Nationalism
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Goal: Cultural unity to self-government
Unity and common loyalties caused by:
common language, history, tradition
Supported by liberals and democrats (more
radical and prone to violence than liberals)
Origins: the French Revolution and Napoleonic
Wars
German Nationalists
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Herder: The father of modern nationalism
Believed every cultural group to be unique; distinct
called the uniqueness Volksgeist
 No one culture is superior to another
 Led to the belief that every nation should be
sovereign and contain all members of the same
nationality
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German Nationalists
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continued
Fichte The “Father” of German
Nationalism
 Believed
that German culture was
superior to all others …especially
superior to Jewish culture
Nationalist Revolutionary
Movements 1815-1829
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1820 Spain: Caused England to leave the
Congress System and France crushed Spain’s
revolt replacing a Bourbon on the throne
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1820 Naples: The Carbonari (a secret liberalnationalist organization) protested the absolute
rule of Ferdinand I, King of the Kingdom of
the Two Sicilies…Revolt was crushed by
Austrian troops
More Nationalistic Revolutions
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Greek Revolution 1821-29
The “Eastern Question”: Who would fill the void
when the Ottomans (The Sick Old Man of Europe)
finally lost European territory?
England, France and Russia joined the Greeks against
Egyptian and Ottoman forces (religion)
1829 The Treaty of Adrianople: Greek autonomy
recognized after Russians defeated Ottomans
NOTE: the division of the great powers. Prussia and
Austria stayed out of the war
Revolutions of 1830
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France July Revolution (1830)
King Charles X tried to impose absolutism by
eliminating the constitutional monarchy
Paris mobs forced Charles X to abdicate
Louis Philippe –The Bourgeoisie King-led the
constitutional monarchy (Orleans family)
France now controlled by bourgeoisie bankers
and businessmen
France 1830
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July Revolution in France sparked a wave of
revolutions throughout Europe
 “When
France sneezes, the rest of
Europe catches a cold”
Italy 1831-32
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Evidence of liberal discontent in Northern Italy:
Modena, Parma, Papal states
The Carbonari advocated the use of force to
achieve nationalism
Guiseppe Mazzini led the secret revolutionary
society: Young Italy
Austrian troops crushed unorganized Italians
Italian Risorgimento continued
The German States 1830-33
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The Carlsbad Decrees had severely restricted
freedom in German states
The July Revolution in France inspired German
students to take to the streets
Were temporarily successful in the granting of
constitutions in some of the minor German
states
But easily crushed by Austria under Metternich
Belgium 1830
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Culturally different than the Netherlands
But had been merged with the Dutch in 1815
Inspired by French July Revolution, Belgian
students and industrial workers revolted against
Dutch rule
Dutch army was defeated and forced to
withdraw from Belgium by a Franco-British fleet
1839 The Great Powers declared the neutrality
of Belgium
Poland 1830-31
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Nicholas I of Russia crushed a nationalistic
uprising in Poland
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The Organic Statute of 1832 declared Poland to
be an integral part of the Russian Empire
Prussia
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Established the Zollverien in 1834
An economic union of 17 German states which
eliminated internal tariffs and established a
uniform tariff on foreign manufactured goods
Austria’s exclusion led to conflict between
Austria and Prussia, especially over control of
the German Confederation
Free-trade idea was pretty liberal
Liberal Reform in England
1820-30: Young reform-minded Tories
allied with liberal Whig reformers
(Canning, Peel)
 Britain left the Congress System in 1822
 Reformed prisons, criminal code, allowed
membership in labor unions, established
new, efficient urban police force: Bobbies
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English Religious Reforms
 Repealed
the Test Act of 1673 which
banned non-Anglicans from office
 1829
Catholic Emancipation Act:
granted full civil rights to Roman
Catholics
England: Electoral Reform
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Earl Grey (Whig) PM 1830
Whigs had big support from Middle Class
Doubled the franchise from 6% to 12%
Eliminated “Rotten Boroughs” (under populated
rural districts were replaced with urban districts)
Recent government response to a cholera
epidemic was weak and the population demanded
a more responsive government
English Labor Reform
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Factory Act of 1833: no child labor under age 9
End of slavery in British West Indies (inspired
by the work of William Wilberforce)
Poor Law of 1834: required healthy
unemployed workers to live in workhouses
Mines Act of 1842 Prohibited child labor in
mines
10-Hour Act of 1847: Limited work hours of
women and children to 10 hours a day
Other English Reforms
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Chartists wanted
Universal male suffrage
 Secret balloting
 No property qualifications for Parliament
 Salaries for members of Parliament
 Annual elections to Parliament
 Equal electoral districts
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Although Chartists failed initially, all ideas were
adopted in late 19th and early 20th centuries
Other English Reforms
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Corn Laws repealed 1846
Richard Cobden and John Bright led Anti-Corn Law
League and argued for lower food prices
 Partial reaction to the Irish Potato Famine
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Navigation Acts repealed 1849: official end to
mercantilism
Little internal unrest in England. Victorian Age
Revolutions of 1848
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Influenced by Nationalism, Liberalism, Romanticism
AND economic dislocation and instability
Only Brits and Russians avoided dramatic upheavals
Neither conservatives nor liberals gained the final
upper hand
Results: end of serfdom in Austria and Germany,
universal male suffrage in France, Parliaments est, in
some German states, encouraged unification
movement in Italy
France 1848
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February Revolution Louis Philippe was forced
to abdicate because working class and liberals
not happy with king’s unwillingness to institute
more electoral reform
A Second French Republic led by Lamartine (a
liberal allied with bourgeoisie)
Louis Blanc (socialist leader) demanded work for
the unemployed
National Workshops were created to provide
work for the unemployed
France 1848
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continued
Reforms:
Abolished slavery in the empire
 10-hour workday in Paris
 Abolished the Death Penalty
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But April elections for new Constitutional Assembly
resulted in conflict between liberal capitalists and
socialists
France
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continued
1848 June Days Revolution
Government closed workshops
 Caused class warfare: Bourgeoisie and working class
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Workers wanted a war on poverty and a
redistribution of income
 Barricades put up in the streets to prevent
authorities from stopping the revolt (the backdrop to
Hugo’s Les Miserables
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France
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continued
General Cavaignac assumed dictatorial powers
Crushed revolt 10,000 dead
Election 1848: Louis Napoleon defeated
Cavaignac and became president of the new
republic
1852 Louis Napoleon consolidated power and
became Emperor Napoleon III of the Second
French Empire
Italy
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Italian nationalists and liberals wanted an end to
foreign rule
1848 Milan, Lombardy, Venetia drove Austrian
rulers out
Bourbons defeated in Sicily and Naples
Sardinia-Piedmont declared war on Austria
Mazzini (Young Italy) established the Roman
Republic
Italy
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continued
Mazzini was protected and supported by
Garibaldi and his forces
The Pope fled
BUT Italian efforts failed:
Austrians and French returned and regained lost
land
Italians were unorganized, rural folks did not
support movement, radicals v moderates
Austria
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Hapsburg empire was particularly vulnerable to
nationalism due to the number of ethnic groups
within the empire: Germans only 25% of pop
Hungarians
 Slavs
 Czechs
 Italians
 Serbs
 Croats
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Hungary
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Louis Kossuth (Magyar leader) demanded
independence
Czechs in Bohemia declared autonomy
3 Northern Italian provinces did same
Hungarian armies made it to Vienna (Metternich
fled the city)
BUT Austrians regrouped, aided by Slavs and
Russians and Hapsburg authority restored
Bohemia
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Prague Conference 1848 promoted the idea of
Austroslavism: A constitution and autonomy
within the Hapsburg empire
But the Pan-Slav Congress failed to unite the
Slavic peoples in the empire so…
Austrian army occupied Bohemia and crushed
the rebellion
German States
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Liberals demanded a constitutional government
and a union of the German states
1848 Frankfurt Parliament: Liberals,
nationalists, romantic leaders called for elections
to a constituent assembly from all the states in
the Bund in order to unify the German states
Wanted Denmark to return two German states:
Schleswig and Holstein
So Prussia declared war on Denmark
German States
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continued
Frankfurt Parliament came up with a constitution for a
united Germany
Selected Prussian King Frederick William IV as their
emperor
He rejected the constitution
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Claimed divine right
Said he would not accept crown from the gutter
Imposed a conservative constitution guaranteeing royal
sovereignty
Plan fell apart
German States
continued
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Then Austria demanded that Prussia swear
allegiance to the Bund (Austria president of
Diet)
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Humiliation of Olmutz: Prussia forced to drop
plan to unify German states under Prussian
control and left Austria as the dominant state in
the Bund…conflict later
Results
Revolutions were largely urban movements
 Led by Bourgeoisie
 Thwarted by conflicts between rural v
urban, class conflict, disorganization, lack
of leadership
 The failure of the revolutions will cause
Romanticism to be replaced by Realism
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