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Edmund Burke and Conservatism
Conservatism is when people believed in obedience to politics, organized religion, and social stability. This way of living was a very traditional way to go that was very anti-revolution and anti-Enlightenment. The people who followed this saw society as a body that grow, changes, matures, gets wiser, and dies. Edmund Burke was the Father of Conservatism and developed the Primacy of Order which stated that before things get better society needed a leader and order. -
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was established in September of 1814 after the first defeat of Napoleon, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia after they sent foreign ministers to make a peace agreement. The Congress had many issues to begin with such as not knowing who exactly was in charge, where their borders were, and how to stop another revolution. -
Klemens von Metternich and His Three Ideas
Klemens von Metternich was a foreign minister from Austria that was the most influential at Vienna and was the one who gave answers to the people. He came up with three ideas: Principle of Legitimacy, Balance of Power, and Principle of Intervention. The Principle of Legitimacy claimed that only Divine Right and Hereditary leaders should rule. Balance of Power helped control surrounding boarders and, finally, the Principle of Intervention helped control military powers and help it maintain peace. -
Louis Napoleon
Louis Napoleon was Bonaparte’s nephew who, went an election was held, won with 97 percent of the votes. In 1852, he ruled very much like his uncle and had another election to make himself Emperor Napoleon III. The Bourgeoisie liked what was happening because it benefitted them. Louis Napoleon ruled with an iron fist and did so by putting down dissent, closing newspapers, and imprisoning people. -
Militarism
Militarism is the reliance on military strength. Prussia was very dependent on their military so much that it got to the point of raising taxes just to help the army. People didn’t like that so they elected a different leader and he ignored the people and raised money for the army. Prussia was no longer acting like a democracy and taking consideration of what the people of Prussia wanted. -
John Stuart Mill and Liberalism
Liberalism is the idea that people should be as free as possible from the government. It was the idea of the Bourgeoisie that the talented should rule and that male property owners should be able to vote. John Stuart Mill wrote a book called On Liberty that set guidelines out saying what the government should and shouldn’t do. He thought that the best government is one that governs the least and that every time the government passes a law that it only further limits a person’s liberty. -
Otto von Bismarck
After the failure of the 1848 unification, the King of Prussia, William I, attempted to raise taxes to help build up the army; however, the legislation refused. As a solution to the taxes trying to be raised they appointed a new Prime Minister, Otto von Bismarck. He used the military, nationalism, and “politics of reality” to unite Germany. He ignored the legislature and raised money and the military from 1860 to 1866. -
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was a dedicated Italian patriot who raised an army of a thousand volunteers. Those volunteers were called Red Shirts because of the color of their uniforms. He used his army to start in Sicily and march up the peninsula. In 1861, he turned over his conquest to King Emmanuel II and a new state was proclaimed. Nonetheless, he still needed Venetia and Rome who were under Austrian and French rule so it wasn’t until 1870 did he finally get his way.
