The Congress System was built on the power of the ideologies of the period. The 19th century is also sometimes referred to as the era of the ‘isms. A number of political theories arise during this period including nationalism, conservatism, liberalism, and socialism. 19th Century ‘isms can be summarized as follows:

Nationalism is defined as a people who are bound together by a common language, customs, culture, history, and ideally a common religion. The conclusion is that a people should be part of the same political structure or government.

Liberalism’s definition comes directly from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and the French Revolution. Liberals wanted equality under law, religious toleration, and freedom of speech and the press. They believed that government’s power should be limited and man’s civil liberties and property should be protected. Liberals believed that a government’s power came from the consent of the governed and thus government should be checked by its people. This justifies revolution if necessary to ensure these rights.

Conservatism was a reaction to the extremes of the French Revolution and its liberal leanings. As you read in Kreis’s lecture, Edmund Burke expressed these ideals when he wrote regarding the French Revolution. Conservatives wanted obedience to traditional political authority. They were not against change, but they wanted change to be slow and regulated without overturning society.

Socialism argued that liberals had not gone far enough, that the liberties the liberals were advocating only applied to the middle class and not the working class. Socialism worked to reorganize society completely. To socialists of the 19th century, there were only two classes – the capitalists and the proletariat.

Consider the following questions as you read more detailed information about each ism.

• Compare and contrast the period 1815-1870 in Britain and France: What were the different set of events and the final results?
• What was the ideology of nineteenth century Conservatism and how did it dominate and provoke reactions during the period from 1815 to 1848?
• What were the intellectual bases of the various political movements? How did each contribute to the desire for and belief in change?
• What effect did the Conservative Age have on the daily life in Europe? What were the effects of the Liberal Era (that followed it)? In what sense were these two sides of a single coin?
• What are the names of the various revolts against the “Bourbon” monarchies between the years 1815 and 1848? What were their common causes and what did they generally achieve?
• How would you describe the Revolutions of 1848? Where did they occur? Who led them? What did they hope to achieve? How did each end?
• How would you explain the rise of Louis Napoleon? Why and how was he able to have such an influence on France in the middle of the nineteenth century?
• What was the Second French Empire? How did it come about and what were its domestic characteristics? What were its foreign policies and how did it end?
• How did the movement to unify Italy progress? What were the effects of ideology, personality and fortune in its final success?