Revolutions of 1830 & 1848

In 1830 and 1848, there were many revolts within Europe. These revolts were fueled by liberal, republican, and nationalist ideas. Although many of these revolutions were unsuccessful, they still are very important in history. Three of the revolutions that took place in this time period will be judged by their success and failure.

The Decemberist's Revolt of 1825 took place in Russia. This revolution was driven by the people, who wanted liberal changes in the form of a new constitution. Already upset by the fact that Poland, a country Russia had defeated, was given a new constitution by Russia, the people planned to kill the Russian leader, Tsar Alexander. But before they could execute their plan, Tsar Alexander died, leaving Tsar Nicholas the throne. Knowing that Tsar Nicholas was a conservative. meaning it was unlikely that Russia would receive a new constitution in the near future, the people attempted to take advantage of the transition of power, and started a revolution against Tsar Nicholas. At first, the Tsar was hesitant on resisting the revolt of his own people, but soon after he swore that all revolutionists would be dealt with no mercy. The revolution was almost a complete and utter failure. No changes were made, and the people actually lost some rights.

The French Revolution of 1830 was the first of two revolutions within an 18 year period in France. The reason for the revolution was because Liberals wanted a constitutional monarchy instead of an absolute monarchy. The Radical Republicans wanted to eliminate the monarchy all together and create a republic in France. The French people set up barricades in the streets and killed soldiers to try to rebel against Charles X. The French people managed to force King Charles X out of France, leaving Louis Philippe to take the throne. This did not work out very well for the majority of the French people because only the upper bourgeoisie gained anything. The vast majority of the French people still could not vote. The revolution was not very successful because only the upper class received any rights.

The French Revolution of 1848 was the second of the two revolutions within an 18 year period in France. This revolution was fueled by Radical Republicans wanting to end private property, and liberals wanting extended suffrage. The recession in France also sparked the revolution, causing Louis Philippe to renounce his throne. He was replaced by Louis Napoleon, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. Louis Napoleon held the majority of the votes out of the nine million Frenchmen that voted. However, Louis Napoleon declared himself emperor and basically put the French people back to square one. This revolution was partly a success and partly a failure because while they did get what they wanted by having the right to vote for Louis Napoleon, they ended up having their suffrage taken away again when Louis Napoleon declared himself emperor.

The photo above is an allegory that shows the French people fighting in the French Revolution of 1848

This is the link to the Decemberist's Revolt Project: http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=kaaANVo