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Bourgeoisie
Term used to refer to the "middle class." In the 19th century concept of class struggle, the bourgeoisie were those who owned the means of production and the proletariat consisted of their workers.
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Bund
A confederation of the various fragmented German states in the period after the Congress of Vienna (1815).
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Burschenschaft
Student political groups that formed at German Universities beginning around 1815. These groups were expressions of German nationalism.
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Capitalism
Generally middle-class economic ideology emphasizing free markets, the ownership of private property, and the accumulation of wealth by enterprising businesspeople.
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Carbonari
Liberal, Nationalist secret society in Italy in the first half of the 19th century. They sought a unified Italy under governments different from those the Congress of Vienna had imposed on them.
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Cato Street Conspiracy
Conspiracy of British Radicalism, plotting to assassinate the Tory cabinet. When the conspiracy was discovered in 1820, several conspirators were executed.
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Chartist Movement
Reform movement in Britain of the 1830s and 1840s that demanded progressive political reforms like universal adult male suffrage and the right of working- class people to serve in Parliament. Although it failed at the time, the goals of Chartism were eventually reached.
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Congress System
Term referring to the Reactionary method for maintaining political control; Metternich called a series of congresses between conservative leaders during the years from 1815 and 1848. These congresses included the Congress of Vienna, the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, the Congress of Troppau, and the Congress of Verona.
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Conservatism
British reactionary philosophy supporting monarchy and old ways. Championed by Edmund Burke, who had been horrified by the French Revolution, Conservatism argued for prudent and gradual change.
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Corn Law
First passed in 1815, these laws put high tariffs on grain coming into England. This protected the profits of the land-owning aristocrats, but also increased food prices, hurting both workers and their employers, who had to pay higher wages if the price of bread went up. It is important to realize that in the British usage here, "Corn" refers to grains in general, not the kind of Corn (Maize) of which Americans usually think.
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Dialectic
Theory of thought and historical progress in which opposites are created, and then reconciled to create a synthesis. This approach was pioneered by Hegel.
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Holy Alliance
In 1815, Alexander I started the Holy Alliance to uphold Christian values. However, it became a common name by which the reactionary Congress System was referred to as a whole.
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Laissez Faire
In French, it means "allow to do". This economic philosophy suggests that if government interferes in the economy as little as possible (takes a "hands off" approach) markets will equilibrate and the economy will run as smoothly as possible.
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Liberalism
19th century ideology that sought self-government, increased male suffrage, and legal equality for all and free-market economic policies. 19th century "liberalism" is a far cry from what "liberalism" means today. Because 19th century "liberalism" ultimately triumphed in Western Europe and the United States, 19th century "liberalism" is actually closer to what is "conservative" in our own time.
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Manchester
Industrial city in Northern England, which greatly increased in population during the Industrial Revolution. Because of the Rotten Boroughs, its interests were underrepresented in Parliament during the early 19th century.
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Monroe Doctrine
American policy announced in 1823 in which President Monroe demanded that Europe not interfere with goings-on in the Western Hemisphere. Monroe's warning was initially followed not because of fear of the United States, but because the other European powers knew Britain's Navy would stop any further colonial adventurism in the New World.
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Nationalism
Modern movement in which countries engineer a sense of unity and common purpose among a large nation. The people in these nationalist countries develop a strong sense of loyalty to their nation. Though it seems automatoc to most people in the modern world, nationalism really developed throughout Europe only in the early 19th century.
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Pan-Slavism
Movement that seeks to unify the Slavs, an ethnic classification in Eastern Europe that includes Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Macedonians.
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Proletariat
In the 19th century, a term developed to refer to the working class. Proletariats were employed by, and involved in class struggle with, the bourgeoisie.
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Radicalism
Anti-Church, anti-Monarchy reform group in 19th century England, largely based on the ideas of Jeremy Bentham. Unconcerned by tradition, the British radicals challenged the old ways.
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Reactionary
Having to do with what is opposed to change and progress. In 19th century Europe, the Reactionary cause was championed by Metternich, who wanted the old regimes of Europe to stay in power.
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Republicanism
French equivalent of British Radicalism, Republicanism glorified the social leveling accomplished by the French Revolution.
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Romanticism
Intellectual movement begun in reaction to the dominance of Enlightenment Reason. Romanticism criticized Reason, suggesting that it could not answer all questions. Leading Romantic artists and writers included Hegel, Schiller, Schinckel, Keats, Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, and Delacroix.
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Rotten Boroughs
In England in the 19th century, voting districts were so poorly drawn that a city with half-a-million people like Manchester received only as much representation in Parliament as a small village. Though the Industrial Revolution rapidly changed the population distribution in England, the voting districts lagged behind, giving advantage in Parliament to wealthy landowners while under representing the new manufacturing cities.
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Socialism
Economic ideology, opposed to Capitalism and Laissez Faire, that holds that key industry and the means of production should be centrally controlled by the government, so that workers will not be abused by bourgeoisie factory owners.
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Textile
Threads, cloth and clothing. Early in the Industrial Revolution, textiles were the mainstay of British factory production.
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Tory
18th and early 19th century British political party, opposed to the Whigs. Although the Tories comprised various factions, the party was opposed to Parliamentary reforms.
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Utility
Utility is the measure of good or usefulness of something. It is often held that something should be done if it will maximize the overall utility of society. This belief is formulated as "Utilitarianism," and is described in John Stuart Mill's book Utilitarianism.
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Volksgeist
German Romantic idea, suggested by Herder, that each nation has its own particular "special genius". Thus, what is right for one nation may not be right for another nation, and, according to German Romantics and Nationalists, each "nation" should strive to express its individual Volksgeist.
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Carlsbad Decrees
1819 regulation in Germany that outlawed the Burschenschaft student groups, pushing them underground. It also established censorship, and government control of universities. Metternich, from his position of influence in Austria, helped get this measure passed in the German Bund.
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Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle
1818 Congress in which the European powers agreed to withdraw their armies occupying France. Alexander I tried to convince the other powers to form an international military coalition to suppress Revolution, but Castlereagh refused British participation.
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Congress of Troppau
1820 Congress, dealing with collapse of the government in Naples. At the Congress, Metternich received permission to restore the old government using the Austrian army.
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Congress of Verona
Congress called by Metternich to deal with revolutionary stirrings in Spain and Greece. France sent an army into Spain to quell the rebellion there. Although Alexander I expressed an interest in putting down the South American revolutions of Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin, Castlereagh promised British naval opposition. Verona was the last international Congress held in the period from 1815-1848.
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Congress of Vienna
1814-1815 meeting of the Great powers that led to the reorganization of Europe in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars.
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Decembrist Revolt
The 1825 death of Czar Alexander I of Russian sparked a succession dispute between Alexander's two sons. Constantine, the younger brother of Nicholas, received some support because he was known to be the more Liberal of the two brothers. The revolt in favor of Constantine was put down by the rightful heir, Nicholas I, and the army.
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Enclosure Movement
18th century movement among wealthy British landed aristocrats to rationalize their farms. Using new farming technology and systems of crop rotation, they forced the agrarian poor off the old "village commons" that now became "enclosed" as private property. The jobless poor ended up constituting the proletariat working class in the upcoming Industrial Revolution.
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February Revolution
1848 Revolution in Paris, primarily by lower-class workers, who overthrew Louis Philippe, established universal adult male suffrage, and elected Louis Napoleon Bonaparte president. Along with overthrowing Louis Philippe's regime, the February Revolution sparked other revolutions throughout Europe.
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Frankfurt Assembly
From 1848 to 1849, a group of German bourgeoisie intellectuals and professionals who attempted (and failed) to create a unified German state.
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Gothic Revival
1830s movement in architecture when buildings in the Gothic (high medieval) style became popular. It was in this period that the British Parliament building was built. This was the architectural manifestation of Romanticism. Where the Enlightenment had looked down on the Middle Ages as a "dark" period of ignorance, the Romantics celebrated the Medieval period for its spiritualism, depth, and sense of adventure.
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Industrial Revolution
18th and 19th century development, beginning in Britain, in which manufacturing was increasingly done in factories by machines, rather than in small workshops by hand labor. The Industrial Revolution, in combination with the earlier the Enclosure Movement, radically reshaped the world economy and social and political development.
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July Revolution
1830 overthrow of Charles X's oppressive regime; ultimately, Louis Philippe became the new French king.
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Peterloo Massacre
In 1819, manufacturers organized around 80,000 workers to protest the Corn Laws. When some of the peaceful protesters were shot, the event was dubbed the "Peterloo Massacre", likening the British government's shameful use of violence on a peaceful crowd to the recent defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.
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Reform Bill of 1832
This British bill simplified voting requirements, though it actually didn't enfranchise many new people. Most importantly, it partially corrected the problem of Rotten Boroughs, giving a much larger amount of Parliamentary power to previously under-represented manufacturers like those Manchester.