Causes Of The Revolutions Of 1848

The Revolutions of 1848 have been described as the “greatest revolution of the century”1. From its mild beginnings in Palermo, Sicily in January 1848, it did not take long to spread across the rest of Europe (Britain and Russia were the only countries not to experience such revolutions). “In 1848 more states on the European continent were overcome by revolution than ever before and ever since”2. The Revolutions became more radical but after June 1848 these revolutionary events began to overlap with those of counterrevolutionary actions, thus enabling the old regimes to return to power. 1848 was described as “a sunny spring of the peoples abruptly interrupted by the winter of the princes”3.

The socialists, believing everyone is equal, saw that the proletariat was being treated poorly and knew that would have to change. The cruel working conditions and little civil rights made a gap that no single man could cross without help. Many believed that socialism was the key. Socialism grew from the problems of the Industrial Revolution. The relationship of the Revolution to socialism was that of a problem to a solution, respectively. If not for the Industrial Revolution, the problems between the classes would never have grown so apparent. Then again, without the Industrial Revolution the world would be stuck in the past.

The Revolutions of 1848 During the year of 1848, a revolutionary tide broke out in Europe.

Socialism is the underlying motivation behind communist movements in history. Socialists believe that it is unjust for a small amount of people to own the biggest portion of the wealth in society. This idea lead to the concept of a communist society, in which the existence of private property is eliminated in favor of government-owned property being shared among all it’s people. The government would provide jobs and care for all people equally. The idea was that through communism, there would be no social classes, thus eliminating alienation for any of the people in the society.

Europe underwent a wave of revolutions during the 19th century. This series of political upheavals was known as the Revolutions of 1848. The Revolutions of 1848 were a series of republican revolts against European monarchies. The revolutions began in Italy, in January 1848, and eventually spread to the rest of Europe. The Revolutions of 1848 were significant because they were the most widespread and violent political movements of Europe in the 19th century. Ultimately, the ideas of conservatism, liberalism, and nationalism impacted the Revolutions of 1848.

The Industrial Revolution consisted of scientific innovations, a vast increase in industrial production, and a rapid growth of urban populations which consequently shaped a new social structure in the European continent. Initially in the late eighteenth century, the new industrialization period produced dominant bourgeoisie employers and a united men, women, and children workers. The continued increase of factories coupled with a need for employees made the Proletariats within a short period of time a large, underprivileged, hungry, and desperate for money. Meanwhile, their bourgeoisie employers grew authoritative and wealthy as production and profit soared. Despite the common ties between proletariat workers upon the outbreak of the

The Industrial Revolution that took place throughout the 18th and the 19th centuries had major effects which influenced every aspect of society and life such as, urbanization, imperialism and nationalism. The industrial revolution had an unfathomable effect on shaping the modern world to what it is today. Before the revolution, society revolved around farming and agriculture. There were only two social classes, the nobility and the working class. Little did they know, that their lives were about to change dramatically and continue changing for the next generations to come.

Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto was most appealing to and revolutionary for the industrial workers of 1848 (and those to come after that time). The call for unification of the proletariat and abolishment of the Bourgeoisie was an urgent one during a time of rapid progress in all aspects of industrial life. This urgency of The Communist Manifesto and the desire for change of political ideologies (to match the exponential rate of progress of wealth and industry) created not only a spate of revolutions, but a long lasting change in political ideas for industrialized European nations. The Communist Manifesto created a sense of unity and class awareness throughout the

There were a few major ideas or movements that became increasingly popular in Europe in 1848. These ideas were very important in the Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx with the help of Frederick Engels. The first idea was socialism, which could be defined as: “an economic system based on collective ownership of the means of production, economic planning, and the equal distribution of goods and services.” In this new way of thinking, agriculture and manufacturing satisfied essentially all of humans wants and needs. According to the Manifesto, this new economic structure would lead to a shift in ownership of production from the bourgeois to the proletariat party. There would be no longer be a need for any set positions or responsibilities. Instead, there would be an emergence of the working class.

2,000 riots broke out – by far the largest case of popular unrest in England since 1700. During the riots, rural labourers burned down farmhouses, expelled overseers of the poor, and sent threatening letters to landlords and farmers signed by the imaginary Captain Swing. Most of all, workers attacked and destroyed threshing machines. Threshing machines were used to thresh grain, especially wheat. Until the end of the 1700s, threshing grain was done manually and it was the principal form of employment in the countryside during the winter months. Starting from the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), threshing machines spread across England, replacing workers. Steam threshers could finish in a matter of weeks a task that would have normally kept workers

The great ideas of why the revolutions in 1848 failed were, unable to come together, when the rebels rose against their rulers who were autocrats and reactionaries. These powers took advantage of the rebels’ insecurities, and so the rebellions could easily be stopped by the “head of state”. Then, there was doubt among the several races, living in the different countries of Europe. They looked upon each other with suspicion, hesitation and jealousy. Most of these races lived in the Austrian Empire. Finally, reactionary rulers of the different countries of Europe decided to help one another. For example when the people of the Italian regions rose in revolt against their rulers, Austria proposed to send in the military to help them. Peter N. Stearns,

I believe that the Industrial Revolution contribute to political inequality. The Industrial Revolution took place between the 18th and 19th centuries. Major technological breakthroughs like manufacturing, agriculture and trade changed the way we conducted things. The cotton gin, steam engine, and sewing machine were all in inventions that shaped entire economies and brought deep and lasting change to all classes of people. Thus the separation on social and political inequality happened. But Karl Marx believed in a communist society. There are no class distinctions and everybody works but an individual with a higher physically and intellectually superior get the recognition (Marx 1875, 231-233). Michael Bakunin seems to be in favor of revolutionary

Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto in order to give a voice to the struggling classes in Europe. In the document he expressed the frustrations of the lower class. As Marx began his document with "the history of all hitherto societies has been the history of class struggles" he gave power to the lower classes and sparked a destruction of their opressors.1 He argued that during the nineteenth century Europe was divided into two main classes: the wealthy upper class, the bourgeoisie, and the lower working class, the proletariat. After years of suffering oppression the proletariats decided to use their autonomy and make a choice to gain power. During the

The revolution of 1848 was a great disappointment to both Karl Marx and Alexis de Tocqueville. To Marx, the revolution should have been a step along the way to socialism, with the bourgeoisie capitalists overthrowing the previous landed feudal society. In turn, the proletariat would rise and bring both the end of class antagonism and the beginning of the socialist state. To Tocqueville, the revolution was about the reduction in the power of the aristocracy, as the lower classes were on their way up. This broadening equality must necessarily give rise to democracy, with all its hopes and shortfalls. Yet the revolution ended not in socialism or democracy, but with an emperor. Marx and Tocqueville may have had different ideas on how and why a society should conduct itself, but both found the revolution of 1848 and its resolution a disappointment.

The revolutions of 1848 had brought about millions of people across the European countries into political life due to numerous happenings during that time period. Many people across the world were focused towards the events that were triggering revolution in the whole European world. There were tumults spread in various areas of the Europe in the 19th century. It was the consequence was the extensive disillusionment of temporary co-operation between members of different social classes and occupations. Agricultural conditions, industrialization, widespread unemployment, class struggles and bad policies of the various European countries were the most prominent causes behind the revolutions of 1848. The middle class and the working class became