Mr. Dostert's Domain
Absolution to Revolution
Robespierre & the Reign of Terror
The death of the king plunged France into chaos as competing factions battled in the Assembly about the future of France. On the streets of Paris mobs searched for any person with ties to the Old Regime and the government set about its own wave of terror by trying and executing any person who was viewed of an enemy of the new found Republic. Paris's streets ran red with blood as convicted enemies of the state were guillotined by the thousands. The revolutionary zeal based on enlightenment ideals which had inspired the entire French nation suddenly had turned against itself as the new republic's leaders sought to create a republic of virtue.
The Guillotine
Perhaps the most famous invention of the French Revolution was the guillotine. Invented by Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin, the machine was inspired by revolutionary spirit to be an execution device which was efficient, humane, and democratic. Dr. Gullotin claimed that those executed with the device "wouldn't even feel the slightest pain." Prior to the gullotine's introduction in 1792, many French criminals had suffered through horrible punishments in public places. Furthermore, the social class which the criminal belonged to often determined the method of his punishment. The nobles were allowed the honor of dying by decapitation which was seen as humane, while commoners were often hanged or tortured in horrific ways. This new killing machine allowed the revolutionary government to systematically dispose of its enemies in a swift and indiscriminate way. This undoubtedly was an example of the Enlightenment gone awry.
Following the death of the king, the young government was under siege as many of the monarchs of Europe declared war in an attempt to defend their sovereignty and divine right. From all sides the French Republic found itself under attack from foreigners and royalists who wished to end the chaos of the revolution and return France to the stability and safety of a monarchy. Because of this ominous threat, the Committee of Public Safety put the guillotine to work in a string of executions against any believed enemies of the revolution. Anyone who spoke against the new government or was simply accused of being anti-revolutionary could be put on trial and executed. This period which became known as the Reign of Terror saw the execution of thousands upon thousands of men and women by guillotine in an attempt to protect France. The "national razor" had become an instrument of terror.
Maximillien Robespierre
Following the death of Louis XVI a radical political organization known as the Jacobin Club took control of the government. One of the most prominent Jacobins was Jean-Paul Marat. During the Revolution, he edited a newspaper called L'Ami du Peuple. In his fiery editorials, Marat called for the death of all those who continued to support the king. In ever increasing numbers he demanded executions to guarantee the survival of the republic. Marat's newspaper became a call to action and a demand for violence.
The Jacobins had thousands of enemies in France itself. These included peasants who were horrified by the king's execution, priests who would not accept government control, and rival leaders who were stirring up rebellion in the provinces. How to contain and control these enemies became a central issue.
The Jacobin leader Maximilien Robespierre slowly gained power and emerged as the voice of the Jacobins. Robespierre and his supporters set out to build a "republic of virtue" by wiping out every trace of France's past. Firm supporters of the Enlightenment, they changed the calendar, closed all churches in Paris, and began executing all who resisted his reform, the enemies of the revolution. From the summer of 1793 to the summer of 1794 Robespierre governed France virtually as a dictator. He justified his use of terror by suggesting that it enabled French citizens to remain true to the ideals of the revolution and allowed the government fulfill its promises during a time of crisis.
Thousands of people were sent to their deaths for charges which were often untrue, or for offences which were harmless. For example, an 18-year-old youth was sentenced to die for cutting down a tree that had been planted as a symbol of liberty. Perhaps as many as 40,000 were executed during the Terror. When the wars turned in France's favor, some demanded an end to the Terror and a return to the democratic principles the revolution had been founded on. These demands were met with further executions by Robespierre. When Robespierre threatened the National Convention it turned on him and demanded his arrest and execution. The radical phase of the French Revolution, ended on July 28, 1794, when Robespierre himself was guillotined.
French Revolutionary Wars
Although the wars against the kings of Europe began disastrously, over time France was able to turn the tide in their favor with a string of stunning victories. This success was due to two reasons: the institution of a draft, and the development of nationalism. First, the Convention ordered a draft of 300,000 French citizens between the ages of 18 and 40, which enlarged the army to over 800,000 soldiers, the largest in Europe. Secondly, the revolutionary fervor which had spread the revolution inspired the French soldiers far greater than their enemies who had joined the army out of desperation and fought for a king who they could never relate to. The soldiers of France during the revolution developed into the best in the world largely due to this passion, dedicated to protecting their country and spreading the ideals of the revolution.
France's shocking victory War of the First Coalition guaranteed the success of the new government and brought security to country. Moreover, the victory won France new territories in what is today Belgium and pushed France's borders east to the Rhine river. This war which early on seemed like a death sentence to the republic became a medium for exporting revolutionary ideas by setting up new friendly "sister republics" which shared the Enlightenment ideals of France. The revolution which had began as a local revolt had quickly become a global movement.
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The stunning success and meritocracy which had developed in the Revolutionary Army of France made it a beloved by the citizens of France. Its order and success at the time of chaos brought by the Reign of Terror made many look to it for guidance, in the search for a steady hand which could bring stability to France. The inspiring figure which emerged was Napoleon Bonaparte.
Absolute Monarchs
During the Medieval period and Renaissance European monarchs struggled to establish their authority over the country as they battled renegade nobles and the Catholic Church for supremacy. By the seventeenth century most monarchies of the Europe had used cunning and power to dominate their countries and create kingdoms with unquestioned rulers who held all the power within their states' boundaries. These powerful states took control of every aspect of society and the politics of a nation became a matter of personality as the ambitions and beliefs of one man or woman became the state itself. The age of absolution was a time of great upheaval which left in its wake the modern states of Europe.
 Frederick the Great |  Louis XIV |
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 Maria Theresa |  Peter the Great |
 Charles I |
Divine Right
Rulers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries amassed power and to create systems in which their rule could not be challenged. One step in achieving this was the creation of the theory of divine right. Divine right says that God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as God's representative on Earth. An absolute monarch answered only to God, not to his or her subjects. The divine right theory became the justification for all the acts of the government and enabled kings to act freely in creating policy and centralizing authority.
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Over time the decline of feudalism and the rise of a middle class allowed for greater and greater power to be held by the kings of Europe. Monarchs used the wealth of colonies to pay for their ambitions. Furthermore, religious and territorial conflicts between states led to almost continuous warfare. This caused governments to build huge armies and to levy even heavier taxes on an already suffering population. These pressures in turn brought about widespread unrest. Sometimes peasants revolted. In response to these crises, monarchs imposed order by increasing their own power. As absolute rulers, they regulated everything from religious worship to social gatherings. The created powerful bureaucracies to control their countries' economic life. By taking these steps the kings of the Age of Absolution freed themselves of the limitations imposed by the nobility and by representative bodies such as Parliament.
Luxury & Extravagance
The kings of Europe surrounded themselves with luxury. They devoured meals created by Europe's greatest chefs and lived in great palaces. The greatest example of this extravagant lifestyle was France's king Louis XIV. Louis' Palace of Versailles was a city unto itself with lavesh decorations and decadent furnishings throughout. Louis turned his life into a spectacle, the center of all attention for the nobility. Louis forced his nobles to come to court or lose favor. The nobles followed Louis throughout the day in hopes that Louis would notice them. Having the nobles in his palace increased royal authority in two ways. It made the nobility totally dependent on Louis. It also took them away from their homes, thereby giving more power to the intendants, bureaucrats loyal to only the king.
Other European monarchs lived in similar ways to Louis, building their own palaces filled with gold, marble, and great works of art. In Russia, Peter the Great not only built palaces, but also cities. Peter used his absolute power to force modernization. He forced his nobility to adopt the customs of European nobility and resolved to make Russia compete with Europe on both military and commercial terms. Peter's goal of Westernization was seen as a way to make Russia stronger. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was the establishment of his new and modern seaport which eventually became his capital; St. Petersburg. Peter forced thousands of serfs to leave their homes to transform a swamp into one of the great cities of Europe. An estimated 25,000 to 100,000 people died from the terrible working conditions. When St. Petersburg was finished, Peter ordered many nobles to settle in his new capital. St. Petersburg became Russia's "window on Europe," transforming Russia into a truly European power through his will and determination.
Monarchs Battle for Central Europe
In Central Europe pair of Absolute Monarchs battled for control. Maria Theresa of Austria and Frederick the Great of Prussia each had dominating personalities and used their will to mold their countries in their own image. Maria decreased the power of the nobility and limited the amount of labor that nobles could force peasants to do in order to create a powerful centralized state. Meanwhile, Frederick was practical and militaristic. Frederick was obsessed with transforming his relatively small state of Prussia into a military juggernaut, once writing that "the fundamental role of governments is the principle of extending their territories." These giants of their time fought two major wars, the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War in an attempt to overtake the other. The wars devastated Europe, pulling in most of the other European powers, ending without much real change in the territorial situation in Europe. In the end, both Austria and Prussia emerged as powerful states and important actors in the future of European politics.
An Age of War & Conflict
Whereas the sixteenth century was filled with religious conflicts, the next two centuries saw continued warfare in the name of power. These centuries saw a series of wars which were launched by absolute monarchs to fulfill their ambitions and extend their state's power. The great French king Louis XIV fought one war after another to expand his territory. Perhaps the most notable of these wars was the War of Spanish Succession which involved virtually every state in Europe against the French who had managed to supplant the king's grandson as the king of Spain. Fearful of a French and Spanish union, England and Austria led a coalition against the French for nearly fourteen years before it finally concluded, largely a draw. The treaty allowed Louis' grandson to retain the throne but promised that Spain and France would never be united. The English won control of Gibraltar as well as control of several American possessions of France.
The century was filled with these ambitious wars which had become global conflicts due to the expansive empires which had grown out of the Age of Discovery. The Seven Years' War for example in the Americas was known as the French & Indian War and was fought around the globe. Many of these wars bankrupt the state and pushed the burden of paying for these conflicts to the peasants who were forced to pay exorbitant taxes. The era of Absolute Monarchs may have created effective government, but it also brought hardship and anger to the lower classes who would slowly begin to question divine right and demand reforms to improve their own lives.
The English Civil War & Glorious Revolution
England had seen the expansion of royal power under Queen Elizabeth. However, unlike France or many of the other European states of the time, England had a parliament which had held a large role in English government for centuries. Elizabeth did not have a child so her throne passed to her cousin James who had been the King of Scotland. James ran into nearly constant conflict with parliament over finances and religious reforms. Although James was able to maintain a peaceful relationship with parliament, the actions of his son Charles I would lead to a civil war which would shockingly result in the death of the king himself.
Charles Defies Parliament
Charles needed money, in part because he was at war with both France and Spain. Several times when Parliament refused to give him funds he dissolved it. By 1628 Charles was forced to call on Parliament once again. This time it refused to give him money until he signed the Petition of Right. In the petition the king agreed to four points:
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He would not imprison without due cause.
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He would not levy taxes without Parliament's permission.
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He would not house soldiers in private homes.
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He would not impose martial law in peacetime.
After signing the petition, Charles ignored it. Even so, the petition was important because it put the law above the king. This idea contradicted theories about absolute monarchy. Once more when parliament refused to obey the king's will he dissolved the body and imposed fees on the people of England which made him increasingly unpopular.
Civil War Erupts
After creating a religious conflict by attempting to unify the English and Scottish Churches, Charles once again needed Parliament to approve funds to supply an army to put down the rebellion. Once called, Parliament passed laws to limit royal power. Furious, Charles tried to arrest Parliament's leaders in 1642, but they escaped. Equally furious, a mob of Londoners raged outside the palace. Charles fled London and raised an army in the north of England where people were loyal to him.
From 1642 to 1649, supporters and opponents of King Charles fought the English Civil War. Those who remained loyal were called Royalists or Cavaliers. On the other side were Puritan supporters of Parliament. Because these men wore their hair short over their ears they were often called Roundheads. The leader of the Roundheads was a general named Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell's army turned the tide of the war and captured the king. In 1649, Cromwell and the Puritans brought Charles to trial for treason against Parliament. They found him guilty and sentenced him to death. The execution of Charles was revolutionary. Kings had been overthrown, killed in battle, or put to death in secret. Never before, however, had a reigning monarch faced a public trial and execution.
Following the execution of the king, Cromwell established a commonwealth, a republican form of government. When Parliament refused to follow his lead Cromwell tore up the Constitution and became a military dictator. In England, Cromwell and the Puritans sought to reform society. They made laws that promoted Puritan morality and abolished activities they found sinful, such as the theater, sporting events, and dancing. Cromwell ruled until his death in 1658. shortly afterward, the government he had established collapsed, and a new Parliament was selected. The English people were sick of military rule. In 1659, Parliament voted to ask the son of Charles to return to England. This return to monarchy is known as the Restoration.
The Glorious Revolution
In 1685, Charles II died, and James II became king. James soon offended his subjects by displaying signs of Catholicism. Violating English law, he appointed several Catholics to high office. When Parliament protested, James dissolved it. Fearful of renewed civil war and a line of Catholic kings, members of Parliament invited Mary, James' older daughter, and her husband William of Orange to overthrow James for the sake of Protestantism. When William led his army to London in 1688, James fled to France. This bloodless overthrow of King James II is called the Glorious Revolution.
Limits on Monarch's Power
At their coronation, William and Mary vowed to recognize Parliament as their partner in governing. England had become a constitutional monarchy, where laws limited the rulers power. Even the king had to follow the laws. To make clear the limits of royal power, Parliament drafted a Bill of Rights in 1689. This document listed many things that a ruler could not do:
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No suspending of Parliament's laws
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No levying taxes without a specific grant from Parliament
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No interfering with freedom of speech in Parliament
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No penalty for a citizen who petitions the king about grievances
To make government more efficient and allow Parliament and the monarchy to cooperate, the English developed wht became known as the cabinet system. In the cabinet system, a group of government ministers chosen by the majority party in Parliament acted in the rulers name to create policy for the government. The leader of these ministers was called the Prime Minister. This system of English government continues today.
The seventeenth century in England was a tumultuous time that demonstrated the English were not prepared to destroy the monarchy, but they would not tolerate an Absolute Monarchy all the same. Despite this hesitancy by the English, the French a century later would follow the precedent set by the English and rid themselves of monarchy in a much more violent and shocking fashion in their own revolution.
The Age of Enlightenment & Scientific Revoulution
The Renaissance had inspired a spirit of curiosity in many fields and led scholars to question ideas that had been accepted for hundreds of years. Meanwhile, the Reformation prompted followers to challenge accepted ways of thinking about God and salvation. This questioning of society cleared the way for the Scientific Revolution and Age of Enlightenment which sought to use science and reason to reorganize and reform society. This new insight led to the reevaluation of all accepted norms and the creation of new beliefs about government, religion, economics, and education. The movement reached its height in the mid-1700s and ultimately led to a newsociety and transformed Western civilization.
The Roots of Modern Science
Before 1500, scholars generally used either the Bible or sources from ancient Greece or Rome to answer questions regarding the nature of the universe. Few European scholars challenged the scientific ideas of the ancient thinkers or the church by carefully observing nature for themselves. However, beginning in the sixteenth century, a few scholars began to challenge tradition through the use of science. This change has become known as the Scientific Revolution. This new way of thinking was based upon careful observation and a willingness to question accepted beliefs.
Often the Scientific Revolution is sighted as beginning with Nicolaus Copernicus and his study of astronomy and the organization of the universe. His heliocentric theory directly challenged the Bible which held a geocentric theory which taught that God had deliberately placed the earth at the center of the universe. Although his thoughts caused little stir at first, over the next century other scientists including Tycho Brahe and Galileo Galilei built on the foundations he had laid. These findings frightened both Catholic and Protestant leaders. If people believed the church could be wrong about this, they could question other church teachings as well. Despite an attempt to suppress these ideas by the Church, these books and ideas still spread all over Europe.
The Scientific Method
The revolution in scientific thinking led to a new approach to science called the scientific method. The scientific method is a logical procedure for gathering and testing ideas. Two important developers of the scientific method were Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes. Bacon argued that scholars relied too heavily on the conclusions of Aristotle and other ancient thinkers. He urged scientists to experiment and then draw conclusions. Like Bacon, Descartes believed that scientists needed to reject old assumptions and teachings. As a mathematician he approached gaining knowledge differently than Bacon. Rather than using experimentation, Descartes relied on mathematics and logic. He argued that everything should be doubted until proven by reason. This development of skepticism became the starting point for modern science. Scientists have shown that observation and experimentation, together with general laws that can be expressed mathematically, can lead people to a better understanding of the natural world.
Newton Explains Motion & Gravity
One of the most important thinkers of the Scientific Revolution was the English scientist Isaac Newton. Newton studied mathematics and physics and concluded that all physical objects were affected equally by the same forces. Newton's great discovery was that the same force ruled motion of the planets and all matter on earth and in space. The key idea that linked motion in the heavens with motion on the earth was the law of universal gravitation. According to this law, every object in the universe attracts every other object. The degree of attraction depends on the mass of the objects and the distance between them. Newton claimed that all the universe worked like a giant clock. Its parts all worked together perfectly in ways that could be expressed mathematically. Newton believed that God was the creator of this orderly universe, the clockmaker who had set everything in motion.
Newton also revolutionized physics by studying the characteristics of motion. Newton's three laws of motion explained the way objects moved throughout the universe by describing new scientific and measurable concepts including inertia, force, acceleration, and momentum. By establishing constants which apply to all objects, Newton's laws became the foundation for the great machines of the twentieth century including the rockets which took men to the moon. All of these miraculous achievements were only possible because of Newton's work The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.
New Views on Government
During the Age of Enlightenment several thinkers began to question the nature of government in an effort to create a better society. They challenged the belief of divine right and theorized about ways to improve governments so that they could better serve their people. Their writings inspired revolutionaries who championed their beliefs in natural rights and democratization, unseating powerful monarchs and replacing them with representative governments made up of the people, by the people, and for the people.
One of the earliest innovations on government was developed by Thomas Hobbes and expanded upon by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These writers supported the idea which became known as the social contract. They argued that governments were created by the people out of self-interest to establish law and order rather than because God ordained them. This meant that government was created to serve its people, rather than the old vision which said that people must serve the state. Although Hobbes believed that a monarch was necessary to impose order, Rousseau believed in the goodness of people and that government should be made up by the people. He therefore advocated full democracy.
The philosopher John Locke believed that people could learn from experience and improve themselves. As reasonable beings, they had the natural ability to govern their own affairs and to look after the welfare of society. Locke criticized absolute monarchy and favored the idea of self-government. According to Locke, all people are born free and equal with three natural rights: life, liberty, and property. The purpose of government is to protect these rights. If government fails to do so, citizens have the right to overthrow it. Locke's theory had a deep influence on modern political thinking. His belief that people have the right to rebel against unjust rulers helped inspire struggles for liberty in Europe and the Americas.
Philosophers Advocate Reason
The Enlightenment reached its height in France in the mid-1700s. Paris became the meeting place for people who wanted to discuss politics and ideas. The social critics of this period were known as philosophes, the French word for philosophers. The philosophes believed that people could apply reason to all aspects of life, just as Isaac Newton had applied reason to science. Five concepts formed the core of their beliefs:
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Reason: Enlightened thinkers believed truth could be discovered through reason or logical thinking.
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Nature: The philosophes believed that what was natural was also good and reasonable.
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Happiness: The philosophes rejected the medieval notion that people should find joy in the hereafter and urged people to seek well-being on earth.
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Progress: The philosophes stressed that society and humankind could improve.
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Liberty: The philosophes called for the liberties that the English people had won in their Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights.
The most influential of the philosophes was François-Marie Arouet, who used the pen name Voltaire. Voltaire argued for freedom of religion and speech by writing works of satire- the use of irony, sarcasm, or wit to attack a folly, vice, or stupidity. The most famous of these works was his book Candide which addresses the problem of evil. The book criticizes and ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers through the use of allegory. Voltaire's works stressed the importance of liberty and individualism in virtue, inspiring many of his contemporaries to challenge authority in the name of freedom. His sharp wit and confrontational language made him many enemies at the French court, and twice he was sent to prison. After his second jail term, Voltaire was exiled to England for more than two years.
Another influential French writer, the Baron de Montesquieu, devoted himself to the study of political liberty. Montesquieu believed that Britain was the best-governed and most politically balanced country of his own day. This was because Britain had a system which divided governmental power into branches known as Separation of Powers. Montesquieu argued that Separation of Powers would keep any individual or group from gaining total control of government. He also argued for oversight of the branches by each other in what would become known as Checks and Balances. These ideas later became the foundation of the United States Constitution.
Women and the Enlightenment
Although the philosophes challenged many assumptions about government and society, they often overlooked traditional attitudes on women. Rousseau, for example, believed that a girl's education should mainly teacher her how to be a helpful wife and mother. Mary Wollstonecraft challenged this assumption in he essay called A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. In the essay, she disagreed with Rousseau that women's education should be secondary to men's. Rather she argued that women, like men, need education to become virtuous and useful. Wollstonecraft also urged women to enter the male-dominated fields of medicine and politics.
Ethics and Morality
An area which was undoubtedly impacted by the Enlightenment was in the field of moral ethics. The emphasis on the importance of the individual was expanded upon through the development of deontology by Immanuel Kant. Kant argued that individuals needed to use reason to judge the right action in a given scenario based on obligations and duties. Kant argued that the results of an action were meaningless, only intent and motivations were relevant. Kant challenged traditional political opinions and divine right by insisting that people should never be used as a means to an end. This maxim demands that people should be treated as equals and always respected no matter their place in society. This theory has developed into one of the three predominant ethical systems of Western Civilization and his works are still read to this day.
The Enlightenment Spreads
The buzz of Enlightenment ideas was most intense in the mansions of several wealthy women of Paris. There, in their large drawing rooms, these hostesses held regular social gatherings called salons. At these events, philosophers, writers, anrtists, scientists, and other great intellects met to discuss ideas. One of these salons was run by Marie Thérèse Geoffrin, who financed one of the most ambitious projects of the Enlightenment- the writing of the Encyclopedia. Denis Diderot set out to write a collection of books which would cover all fields of knowledge and was based purely on science and reason. This would allow a wide base of knowledge to be available to people in one easily accessible collection. The Enlightenment views expressed in the articles angered both the French government and the Catholic Church. Their censors banned the work. They said it undermined royal authority, encouraged a spirit of revolt, and fostered "moral corruption,irreligion, and unbelief." Nonetheless, Diderot continued publishing his Encyclopedia.
The French Revolution
In the 1700s, France was considered the most advanced country in Europe. It had a large population and prosperous foreign trade. It was considered the intellectual center of Europe as the birthplace of the Enlightenment, and France's culture was widely praised and imitated by the rest of the Western world. However, the appearance of success was deceiving. In reality the absolutest state created by Louis XIV was rotting from within. When a financial crisis rocked France in 1789, the monarchy was forced to call the Estates General to meet. Little did the king know, this decision would set off a chain reaction which would remake the political systems of Europe and the world, molded by Enlightenment ideas and forged with blood.
The Ancien Régime
Third Estate
Second Estate
First Estate
Prior to the revolution France had a social and political system known as the Ancien Régime or Old Regime. Under this system, the people of France were divided into three large social classes, or estates. Two of the estates had privileges, including access to high government offices and exemptions from paying taxes. The First Estate was made up of members of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church owned more than 10 percent of the land in France and provided education and relief services to the poor. Members of the clergy paid about 2 percent of their income to the government. The Second Estate was made up of rich nobles. Although they accounted for just 2 percent of the population of France, the nobles owned more than 20 percent of the land and paid almost no taxes. The majority of the clergy and the nobility scorned Enlightenment ideas as radical notions that threatened their status and power as privileged persons.
About 97 percent of the people belonged
to the Third Estate. They were all the
people who did not belong to either of the
first two Estates. The three groups that
made up this estate differed greatly in their economic conditions. The first group- the bourgeoisie, or middle class were bankers,
factory owners, merchants, professionals, and skilled artisans. Often they were well educated and believed strongly in the Enlightenment ideals of liberty and equality. Although some of the bourgeoise were as rich as nobles, they paid high taxes and lacked privileges. Many felt that their wealth entitled them to a greater degree of social status and political power which was denied to them by the Old Regime.
The rest of the Third Estate was made up of workers from cities and peasants from the countryside. These two groups were extremely poor and made up the vast majority of the Third Estate. Because they were paid low wages and frequently were out of work, they often went hungry. If the cost of bread rose many westarved to death or rioted. Peasants and the urban poor resented the clergy and the nobles for their privileges and special treatment. The heavily taxed and discontented Third Estate was eager for change.
Causes for the Revolution
As the eighteenth century progressed, France became more and more unstable as its systematic problems eroded the state from within. The primary causes for the development of a revolutionary spirit in France were:
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Inequality: The Third Estate resented being overtaxed and powerless in the state and grew increasingly angry at the nobility.
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Enlightenment Ideas: New views about power and authority in government caused many to question divine right and absolute monarchy in favor of constituionalism.
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Financial Crisis: The Government's overspending on itself and on fruitless wars had bankrupt the state leading to excessive debt which could no longer be paid without serious reforms to the tax system.
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Inept Leadership: Louis XVI was indecisive and allowed matters to drift. He paid little attention to his government advisers, and had little patience for the details of governing.
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The American Revolution: The American revolution inspired many in France who saw it as the fulfillment of Enlightenment Ideology. It also frustrated many because France had fought and paid for the revolution which gave Americans freedom and rights, privileges the French themselves did not enjoy.
The Estates General Meet
By the 1780s, France's once prosperous economy was in decline due to the heavy burden of taxes which made it almost impossible to conduct business profitably within France. In addition, bad weather in the 1780s caused widespread crop failures, resulting in a severe shortage of grain, pushing many to the brink of starvation. For decades the monarchy had borrowed heavily to pay the debts it had amassed from wars and extravagant spending by the court and the queen, Marie Antoinette. Her spending on gowns, jewels, gambling, and gifts earned her the nickname "Madame Deficit." When bankers refused to lend the government any more money, Louis faced serious problems.
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Louis put off dealing with the emergency until he practically had no money left. His solution was to impose taxes on the nobility. However, the Second Estate refused, forcing him to call a meeting of the Estates General- an assembly of representatives from all three estates- to approve this new tax.
The clergy and the nobles had dominated the Estates General throughout the Middle Ages and expected to do so in the 1789 meeting. Under the assembly's medieval rules, each estate's delegates met in a separate hall to vote, and each state had one vote. The two privileged estates could always outvote the Third Estate.
The Third Estate delegates, mostly members of the bourgeoisie whose views had been shaped by the Enlightenment, were eager to make changes in the government. Many believed that they had been summoned to remake France and create a constitution for France. They insisted that all three estates meet together and that each delegate have a vote. This would give the advantage to the Third Estate which had as many delegates as the other two estates combined.
When the Second Estate refused to concede to the demands of the Third Estate, the delegates of the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly and set themselves to the task of passing laws and reforms in the name of the French people. By declaring themselves the National Assembly they had in essence proclaimed the end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of representative government. This vote was the first deliberate act of revolution. Sensing that things were getting out of hand, Louis ordered meeting adjourned and locked the Third Estate out of their meeting room. Refusing to back down, the delegates broke down a door to an indoor tennis court, pledging to stay until they had drawn up a new constitution in what became known as the Tennis Court Oath.
Revolution Begins
In Paris, rumors flew. Some people suggested that Louis was intent on using military force to dismiss the National Assembly. Others charged that troops were coming to Paris to massacre French citizens. People began to gather weapons in order to defend the city against attack. On July 14, a mob searching for gunpowder and weapons stormed the Bastille, a Paris prison. The mob overwhelmed the guard and seized control of the building. The angry attackers massacred the prison commander and several guards and then paraded around the streets of Paris with the dead men's heads on pikes. The fall of the Bastille became a great symbolic act. The people had become mobilized and joyously began attacking authority figures and asserting their control over the city. The French Revolution had begun.
Following the attack on the Bastille, rebellion spread from Paris into the countryside. From one village to the next, wild rumors circulated that the nobles were hiring outlaws to attack peasants. A wave of senseless panic called the Great Fear rolled through France. The peasants soon became outlaws themselves. Armed with pitchforks and other farm tools, they broke into nobles' manor houses and destroyed theold legal papers that bound them to pay feudal dues. In October 1789, thousands of Parisian women rioted over the rising price of bread. Brandishing knives, axes, and other weapons, the women marched on Versailles. First, they demanded that the National Assembly take action to provide bread. Then they turned their anger on the king and queen. They broke into the palace, killing some of the guards. The women demanded that Louis and Marie Antoinette return to Paris. Louis and his family left Versailles, never to see their magnificent palace again. They spent the rest of their lives as prisoners.
The Revolution Brings Reform
With the king in captivity the National Assembly began taking steps to dismantle the Old Regime. They began by sweeping away the feudal privileges of the First and Second Estates, thus making commoners equal to the nobles and the clergy. Three weeks later, they National Assembly adopted a statement of revolutionary ideals, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The document declared that men are born free, and guaranteed citizens equal justice and rights. The Assembly took over Church lands and declared that Church officials were to be elected and paid as state officials. These actions shocked many, however the longer the revolution went on the more radical it became.
These radical reforms made Louis increasingly fearful. Some of his advisers warned him that he and his family were in danger. Many supporters of the monarchy thought France was unsafe and left the country. Louis decided to do the same. In June of 1791, the royal family tried to escape from France to the Austrian Netherlands where they would be protected by Marie Antoinette's family. As they neared the border, however, they were recognized and arrested as traitors.
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Monarchs and nobles in many European countries watched the changes taking place in France with alarm. They feared that similar revolts might break out in their own countries. As a result, some countries such as Austria and Prussia demanded that the French restore Louis to his position as an absolute monarch. In response, the Legislative Assembly declared war.
The war began badly for the French and the enemy armies began to advance on Paris. Fearful that foreign armies would take Paris and punish the revolutionaries a wave of panic swept through the city. Mobs of radicals massacred the royal guards and murdered any nobles, priests, or royal sympathizers they could find. Under pressure from the angry mob and radicals in their midst, the Legislative Assembly declared the end of the monarchy and called for elections in a new French Republic. Louis had been reduced from a king to that of a common citizen and prisoner. Now, guided by radicals in the Assembly known as the Jacobins, the new government put Louis on trial for treason The Convention found him guilty and sentenced him to death. On January 21, 1793, the former king was beheaded by the guillotine. His wife, Marie Antoinette followed him just 10 months later.
Napoleonic Europe
The chaos of the Reign of Terror made many in France weary of the path of radicalization the revolution had taken. Although most still supported the Enlightenment ideology that the revolution had brought, the mass guillotining and political infighting had left the country without a clear direction. Many hoped simply for the government to bring stability and some sense of normalcy to the nation. Into this void a revolutionary general named Napoleon Bonaparte seized power and took it upon himself to transform France from a republic into a powerful Empire. This French Empire exported the ideology of the revolution, producing an outpouring of nationalism and war. In his wake, Napoleon and his armies unknowingly created the foundations of modern Europe and the modern state.
Napoleon and the Revolution
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. When he was nine years old, his parents sent him to a military school. Early on Napoleon distinguished himself as a brilliant strategist and leader. At the age of 16, he finished school and became a lieutenant in the artillery. When the revolution broke out, Napoleon joined the army of the new government.
The chaos of the revolution offered Napoleon, like many young military leaders, the chance to advance in the military through cunning and skill unlike the military of the Old Regime. The new military of the revolutionary government was built on merit, allowing individuals with talent to be promoted. Napoleon seized this opportunity and quickly became one of the leading military leaders of the French Republic.
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In October of 1795, fate handed the young officer a chance for glory. When royalist rebels marched on the National Convention, a government official told Napoleon to defend the delegates. Napoleon and his gunners greeted the thousands of royalists with cannonade. Within minutes, the attackers fled in panic and confusion. Napoleon Bonaparte became the hero of the hour and was hailed throughout Paris as the savior of the French Republic.
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The fame earned by Napoleon's defense of the Convention earned him the command of a French army against the forces of Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1796. In Italy, Napoleon won a series of remarkable victories in stunning fashion. These victories took on greater significance as many in France became disillusioned with the government's inability to bring stability to France. Napoleon continued his military success with an expedition to Egypt. The mystique and history of Egypt drew Napoleon to there to fight the British in an effort to disrupt British trade. Napoleon full of Enlightenment vigor brought with him archaeologists and scientists for his great adventure, concealing Bonaparte's true motivation, to gain power. Once again Napoleon won an epic victory with the Pyramids in view. Despite his victory on land, the British admiral Horatio Nelson​ defeated the French naval forces, cutting off supplies from France. Realizing that defeat was only a matter of time Napoleon returned to France. However, Napoleon managed to keep stories about his setbacks out of the newspapers and thereby remained a great hero to the people of France.
Coup d'État
By 1799, the Directory had lost control of the political situation and the confidence of the French people. When Napoleon returned from Egypt, his friends urged him to seize political power in what is known as a coup d'état. Troops under his command surrounded the national legislature and drove out most of its members. The lawmakers who remained then voted to dissolve the Directory. In its place, they established a new government with Napoleon as its leader. Napoleon quickly assumed the powers of a dictator.
As Consul, Napoleon was able to stabilize France and restore order. First, Napoleon led his troops in battle and was able to end the war which had lingered on for over ten years. Napoleon was free to focus his energies on reforming France based on his vision of the Enlightenment. Napoleon kept many of the changes that had come with the revolution. His first task was to get the economy on a solid footing. He did this by setting up an efficient method of tax collection and the establishment of a national banking system. Napoleon took steps to end corruption and inefficiency in government. He dismissed corrupt officials and, in order to provide the government with trained officials, set up lycees, or government-run public schools. Napoleon's new government promoted people on the basis of merit rather than family connections. Napoleon also allowed for the return of the Catholic Church which allowed acknowledged their status as the religion of the majority, but took away all of their special status which they held under the Old Regime. Finally, Napoleon introduced a comprehensive system of laws which became known as the Napoleonic Code. This gave the country a uniform set of laws and eliminated many injustices. Napoleon's France had brought liberty tempered with order.
Napoleon pretended to be the constitutionally chosen leader of a free republic, but now his ambition drove him to want more. In 1804, Napoleon called a plebiscite to make himself Emperor and the French voters supported him. On December 2, 1804, dressed in a splendid robe of purple velvet, Napoleon walked down the long aisle of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The pope waited for him with a glittering crown. As thousands watched, the new emperor took the crown from the pope and placed it on his own head. With this gesture, Napoleon signaled that he had given himself power and he was more powerful than the Church, which had traditionally crowned the rulers of France. Napoleon had taken France full circle, once more France was ruled by a monarch.
Napoleon Creates an Empire
Napoleon's ambition knew no bounds and he was not content simply to be master of France. Napoleon envisioned a European Empire on the scale of Ancient Rome. Napoleon had already annexed the Austrian Netherlands and parts of Italy to France and set up a puppet government in Switzerland. Now he looked to expand his influence further. Fearful of his ambitions, the British persuaded Russia, Austria, and Sweden to join them against France in the War of the Third Coalition. Napoleon met this challenge with his usual boldness and crushed the opposition. He out generaled every opponent, decimating armies far larger than his own. In the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Napoleon destroyed the armies of Austria and France in stunning fashion, forcing them to sign peace treaties. Later he attacked Prussia and once more annihilated his enemies. Unable to stand up to his military genius, Europe had been pacified and subjugated. France's only major enemy left undefeated was the great naval power Britain. Napoleon had become the master of Europe on land, yet the sea remained unconquerable.
Napoleon's Empire Collapses
Napoleon's ambition proved to be the both Napoleon's greatest strength as well as his undoing. His desire for power had raised him to great heights, and the same love of power led him to his own destruction. In his efforts to extend the French Empire and crush Great Britain, Napoleon made three disastrous mistakes: the Continental System, the Peninsular War, and the disastrous invasion of Russia.
Frustrated by his inability to force Britain to surrender, Napoleon set up a blockade to prevent all trade between Great Britain and other European nations. Napoleon called this policy the Continental System because it was supposed to make continental Europe more self-sufficient. Napoleon also intended to destroy Great Britain's commercial and industrial economy which depended on trade. This blockade ultimately failed for several reasons. First, British smugglers managed to bring cargo from Britain into Europe and the French were powerless to stop them. Second, many of Napoleon's allies who were forced to adopt this policy either disregarded the policy or became embittered by it, turning his allies into enemies. In addition, Britain responded with its own blockade. And because the British had a stronger navy, they were better able than the French to make the blockade work. Although this angered the United States and eventually led to war, it was only a minor inconvenience to Britain who was focused on the destruction of Napoleon.
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In 1808, Napoleon made a second costly mistake in what became known as the Peninsular War. In an effort to force Portugal to accept the Continental System, he sent an invasion force through Spain. When the Spanish people protested this action Napoleon removed the Spanish king and put his own brother, Joseph, on the throne. This act outraged the Spanish people and inflamed their nationalistic feelings. Unable to defeat Napoleon in open battle the Spanish instead fought a guerrilla war in which peasants ambushed French troops and then fled into hiding. This war devastated French morale and made many begin to lose faith in their cause. The British added to the French troubles by sending troops to aid the Spanish. Napoleon lost about 300,000 men during this war and it proved to Europe that Napoleon could be defeated.
The biggest mistake of Napoleon's career came in 1812 with his invasion of Russia. Although Alexander I was Napoleon's ally, the Russian czar refused to stop selling grain to Britain. Because of this breakdown in their alliance, Napoleon decided to invade Russia. In June of 1812, Napoleon and his Grand Army of more than 600,000 soldiers marched into Russia. Rather than confront Napoleon, the czar pulled back his troops, refusing to give battle to Napoleon. As the Russians retreated they practiced a scorched-earth policy in which they burned their own fields and slaughtered livestock so as to leave nothing for the enemy to eat. When Napoleon reached Moscow he found it undefended and in flames. Rather than surrender the city Alexander had destroyed it. This move confused Napoleon who had expected to negotiate peace when he reached Moscow. Instead, the Grand Army suddenly found itself far from home without any food or shelter with the Russian winter about to begin.
Napoleon's retreat from Russia decimated the Grand Army. The snows and freezing temperatures killed men by the thousands as Russian raiders mercilessly attacked Napoleon's ragged, retreating army. The last survivors staggered out of Russia more than a month after their departure from Moscow. Although historians disagree on specific figures, the retreat had decimated Napoleon's army leaving him with fewer than 40,000 men, permanently ending his ability to dominate Europe.
Napoleon's Downfall
Napoleon's enemies were quick to take advantage of his weakness. Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Sweden joined forces against him. Austria also declared war on Napoleon, despite his marriage to Marie Louise. All of Europe was at war with Napoleon.
Napoleon managed to raise another army but it was ill prepared for battle and the united power of all Europe was too much for even him. By 1814 the allied armies were closing in on Paris and Napoleon was forced to surrender and give up his throne. He was exiled to the tiny island Elba and most believed that he would never be heard from again, but they were wrong.
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Following Napoleon's defeat Louis XVI's brother assumed the throne as Louis XVIII. However, the new king quickly became unpopular among his subjects. When news of their unhappiness reached Napoleon he made a daring escape and landed in the southern France with fewer than 1,000 men. When Napoleon was confronted by troops sent by the king, the soldiers abandoned their ranks flocked to Napoleon's side. Joyous crowds met him on his march to Paris and thousands of volunteers swelled the ranks of his army. Within days Napoleon had reconquered France without firing a single shot.
In response, the European allies declared Napoleon an outlaw and quickly mobilized their armies to strike. The British army, led by the Duke of Wellington, prepared for battle near the village of Waterloo in Belgium. Napoleon attacked knowing that time was short to deal a crippling blow to the English before the Prussian army arrived. Despite Napoleon's best effort the British army defended its ground all day. Late in the afternoon, the Prussian army arrived. Together, the British and the Prussian forces attacked the French.
Defeated once more, Napoleon abdicated once again. Taking no chances, the British shipped Napoleon to St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic. There, he lived in lonely exile for six years until his death in 1821. Without a doubt, Napoleon was a military genius and a brilliant administrator. Yet all his victories and other achievements must be measured against the millions of lives that were lost in his wars. His legacy is conflicted as a man who brought rights wile taking freedom, and spread liberal ideas through imperial wars.
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Despite the efforts of the Congress of Vienna to limit the spread of the revolutionary spirit which had consumed France, a rapid series of revolutions in Latin America destroyed much of Europe's overseas American empires during and directly following Napoleon's reign. These revolutions, inspired by the success of the American Revolution and principles of the French Revolution, reshaped Latin American society yet were unable to bring the prosperity and democracy they had promised. Once again, the principles which had inspired so many failed to come to fruition as new nations were created and slowly slipped under the control of military dictators.
Colonial Society Divided
In Latin American colonial society, class dictated people's place in society and jobs. At the top of Spanish-America were the peninsulares, people who were born in Spain. They formed a tiny percentage of the population. Only peninsulares could hold high office of the colonial government. Creoles, Spaniards born in Latin America, were below the peninsulares in rank. Creoles could not hold high-level political office, but they could rise as officers in the army. Creoles often owned large estates and were wealthy. Together these two groups controlled land, wealth, and power in the Spanish colonies.
Below the peninsulares and creoles came the mestizos, persons of mixed European and Indian ancestry. Next were the mulattos, persons of mixed European and African ancestry. These two groups would often have some education, but could never hold any position of power or importance. Many worked as merchants in cities or farmed in the country. At the bottom of the social ladder were Indians and enslaved Africans who performed menial labor and held few rights or privileges.
A Slave Revolt Becomes a Revolution
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The Congress of Vienna
Following the devastation of the Napoleonic Wars the European heads of government were looking to establish long-lasting peace and stability on the continent. They sought to create a new European order which would guarantee collective security and stability for the entire continent. A series of meetings in Vienna, known as the Congress of Vienna, were called to set up policies to achieve this goal. This meeting, the first unified effort for peace, created an international system which would influence world politics for the next 100 years.
A Conservative Vision for Europe
Following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, the victorious allies wanted to pull back the reforms and democratic ideals the French Revolution had set loose upon the continent. The allies sent representatives to meet in Austria to determine the future of Europe. This meeting has become known as the Congress of Vienna. The powers of Europe had come to believe that Napoleon's behavior had been a natural outcome of experiments with democracy, and that the French Revolution had proven that democratic governments were destined to fail. Under the leadership of Austria's foreign minister Klemens von Metternich, representatives attempted to undermine the liberal reforms of the revolution and return Europe to a time prior to the revolution which they believed was more stable and secure. This approach to government which values traditional monarchies and aristocracy is known as conservatism.
To guarantee peace the Congress of Vienna had three main goals:
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Contain France by making its neighbors more powerful.
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Create a Balance of Power so that no country in Europe could easily overpower the others.
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Reaffirm the principle of Legitimacy by returning all the ruling families to power that had been deposed by Napoleon.
The Congress of Vienna was a political triumph in many ways. For the first time, the nations of an entire continent had cooperated to control political affairs. The settlements they agreed upon were fair enough that no country was left bearing a grudge. Therefore, the Congress did not sow the seeds of future wars. In that sense, it was more successful than many other peace meetings in history. By agreeing to come to one another's aid in the case of threats to peace , the European nations had temporarily ensured that there would be a balance of power on the continent. The Congress of Vienna then created a time of peace in Europe. It was a lasting peace. Although there were intermittent smaller wars, thanks to the Congress of Vienna there was no major war involving all of the great powers at once until the First World War 99 years later.
The Concert of Europe
The rulers of Europe were very nervous about the legacy of the French Revolution. They worried that the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity might encourage revolutions elsewhere. Late in 1815, Czar Alexander I, Emperor Francis I of Austria, and King Frederick William III of Prussia signed an agreement called the Holy Alliance. In it, they pledged to base their relations with other nations on Christian principles in order to combat the forces of revolution. Finally, a series of alliances devised by Metternich called the Concert of Europe, ensured that nations would help one another if any revolutions broke out. These agreements were designed to guarantee that the conservative order would continue to hold power and liberal ideas would be suppressed.
Across Europe, conservatives held firm control of the governments. However, despite these meticulous steps taken to ensure the old order, the leaders of the Congress of Vienna could not turn back the clock. The Revolution had given Europe its first experiment in democratic government. Although the experiment had failed, it had set new political ideas in motion. These ideas would find new life in throughout the nineteenth century.
The Industrial Revolution
The nineteenth century's most stunning transformation came with the industrialization of Europe and America. Before the Industrial Revolution, people made virtually everything by hand. Then, technology took a leap forward and the introduction of new machines allowed for the production of goods to be faster and more efficient. This transformation did not simply change how things were made, it reshaped and reorganized society in almost every aspect. By the thousands, peasants moved to the cities of Europe leading to overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. The new factories polluted the air with thick black soot from the new need of an industrialized society; coal. The invention of the steam engine and locomotive connected nations like never before, allowing people to rapidly move about the country and trade goods the expanding factories of Europe produced. Finally, industrialization revolutionized the concept of time by increasingly emphasizing clocks and the minutes and hours of the day rather than the position of the sun. The world would never be the same.
The Beginnings of Industrialization
In 1700, small farms covered the European landscape. Wealthy landowners, however, began buying up much of the land that village farmers had once worked. The large landowners dramatically improved farming methods. These innovations amounted to an agricultural revolution.
After buying up the land of village farmers, wealthy landowners enclosed their land with fences or hedges. Within these enclosures, landowners experimented with more productive seeding and harvesting methods to boost crop yields. The first new technique which developed in the enclosures was the seed drill which allowed farmers to sow seeds in well-spaced rows at specific depths, making planting more efficient. Secondly, the process of crop rotation improved crop yield by creating a cycle which could replenish nutrients to the soil, improving soil structure and fertility. Livestock breeders improved their methods as well by only allowing their largest animals to breed, increasing their average size exponentially.
The combined effect of the agricultural revolution was a much larger food supply which needed fewer farmers to produce. Over time, the owners of enclosures began to force small farmers to become tenant farmers or simply give up farming altogether. This forced many throughout Europe to move into the cities to find jobs as factory workers.
The Factory System
Industrialization, or the process of developing machine production of goods, transformed the landscape of European cities. Huge factories filled with machines were built throughout the continent and America to produce goods in ever increasing quantities, offering new jobs for those willing. Unlike traditional means of production, the factory system needs a large population and extensive natural resources to function. These include water, coal, iron, transportation networks, and wealth available for investment. Together, the factories of Europe began producing more goods than their country could use, increasing trade and lowering costs to make products available for citizens of all classes and social standing.
Due to its vast resources and expanding economy, the first nation to adopt industrialization was Great Britain. The first industry to become mechanized was the textile industry. British cloth merchants boosted their profits by speeding up the process by which spinners and weavers made cloth on new machines such as the spinning jenny which allowed one spinner to work eight threads at a time. These new machines were powered by water-power from rapid streams and rivers which flowed near the new factories. These new technological developments allowed Britain's textile industry to clothe the world in wool, linen, and cotton.
Improvements in Transportation
Progress in the textile industry spurred other industrial improvements. The first such development, the steam engine, stemmed from the search for a cheap, convenient source of power. As early as 1705, coal miners were using steam-powered pumps to remove water from deep mine shafts. James Watt, a Scottish inventor, figured out a way to make the steam engine work faster and more efficiently while burning less fuel.
It was not long before inventors began to use the steam engine to revolutionize transportation. Robert Fulton built a steamboat called the Clermont, which made its first successful trip in 1807. In England, water transportation improved with the creation of a network of canals, or human-made waterways. By the mid-1800s, 4,250 miles of inland channels slashed the cost of transporting both raw materials and finished goods.
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In the early 1800s British engineers also began to develop the steam engine for locomotives. George Stephenson began work on the world's first railroad line in 1821. It was run 27 miles from the Yorkshire coal fields to the port of Stockton on the North Sea. News of this success spread quickly and entrepreneurs built lines to connect the network of cities which dotted the English map. The invention had four major effects. First, railroads spurred industrial growth by giving manufacturers a cheap way to transport materials and finished products. Second, the railroad boom created hundreds of thousands of new jobs for both railroad workers and miners. Third, the railroads boosted England's agricultural and fishing industries, which could now transport their products to distant cities. Finally, by making travel easier, railroads encouraged country people to take distant city jobs which helped fuel industrialization.
Industrialization Brings Urbanization
Rapid industrialization brought plentiful jobs, but it also caused unhealthy working conditions as well as air and water pollution. By the 1800s, people could earn higher wages in factories than on farms. With this money, more people could afford to heat their homes with coal from Wales and dine on Scottish beef. They wore better clothing too, woven on power looms in England's industrial cities. Cities swelled with waves of job seekers. Between 1800 and 1850, the number of European cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants rose from 22 to 47. Most of Europe's urban areas at least doubled in population; some even quadrupled. This movement of people to cities is known as urbanization.
Because the cities grew rapidly without planning, they lacked adequate housing, education, police, and sanitation. Most of the unpaved streets had no drainage, and garbage collected in heaps along the roads. Workers lived in dark, dirty, and over-crowded shelters. These congested domiciles became breeding grounds for disease. Epidemics of deadly diseases such as cholera regularly swept through the slums of industrial cities. But not everyone in urban areas lived miserably. Well-to-do merchants and factory owners often built luxurious homes with their new burgeoning wealth.
To increase production, factory owners forced their workers to work long hours, with few breaks. Industry also posed new dangers for workers. Factories were seldom well lit or clean. Machines injured workers. A boiler might explode or a drive belt might catch an arm, crippling the worker. Furthermore, there was no government programs to provide aid or protect workers. If a worker was injured on the job it threatened his ability to provide for his family and could result in him losing everything. The most dangerous conditions of all were found in coal mines. Frequent accidents, damp conditions, and the constant breathing of coal dust made the average miner's life span ten years shorter than that of other workers. The industrial revolution also brought women and children out of the home to work in the factories and mines because they were the cheapest source of labor. Child workers as young as six joined their parents in the factories. There, for six days a week, they worked from 6 A.M. until 7 or 8 at night . To keep the children awake, mill supervisors beat them. Tiny hands repaired broken machinery and often maimed them in the process. Government chose not to regulate these factories for much of the nineteenth century and there was little improvement of work conditions until the late in the century and the beginning of the twentieth century with the progressive movement.
Capitalism & Socialism
Industrialization had created enormous wealth for the countries of Europe and the United States, however, that wealth was not shared equally. The Industrial Revolution had opened a wide gap between the rich and the poor. The rich of these countries lived luxurious lifestyles which were far better than the masses who labored long hours in factories, performing unfulfilling and monotonous jobs. Over time this ever-widening gap created resentment among the working class who began to question capitalism and traditional attitudes regarding the role of the government in the economy. These reformers felt that government needed to play an active role to improve conditions for the poor. Workers also demanded more rights and protection and began to form labor unions to increase their influence. Together they created a movement for social reform and would eventually inspire a radical revolution.
Capitalism and Laissez Faire
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The Law of Self-Interest- People work for their own good.
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The Law of Competition- Competition forces people to make a better product and sell it at lower prices.
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The Law of Supply and Demand- Enough goods would be produced at the lowest possible price to meet demand in a market economy.
According to Smith and other enlightenment philosophers, government regulations interfered with the production of wealth. They argued that if government allowed free trade the economy would prosper. They therefore supported the economic policy known as laissez faire, or letting owners of industry and business set working conditions without interference. During the nineteenth century governments embraced this hands off approach, allowing for the gap between rich and poor to spread and working conditions to go unchecked. Capitalists opposed government efforts to help poor workers. They thought that by creating minimum wage laws and better working conditions it would upset the free market system, lower profits, and undermine the production of wealth in society.
The Rise of Socialism
The economic system of capitalism defined the industrial revolution. In a capitalist economy individual private owners known as entrepreneurs own the factors of production and use them to make a profit. Entrepreneurs invested in factories with bank loans which produced mass quantities of goods which could be sold in a market. There were three central principles of capitalism defined by the premier economist of the enlightenment Adam Smith:
As a result of the industrialization brought on by the industrial revolution, some began to see the effects of laissez faire policy as detrimental to society. They saw the growth brought by unchecked capitalism as uneven and unfair. Instead they began to make demands that the government act to improve life for all citizens by adopting socialist policies which would aid the working class. In socialism, the factors of production are owned by the public and operate for the welfare of all.
Socialism grew out of an optimistic view of human nature, a belief in progress, and a concern for social justice. Socialists argued that the government should plan the economy rather than depend on the free-market capitalism to do their job. They asserted that government control of factories, mines, railroads, and other key industries would end poverty and promote equality. Public ownership, they believed, would help workers, who were at the mercy of their employers. Socialism therefore grew out of a utilitarian approach to government. They believed that government should try to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Socialists generally came from the lower classes, particularly within the growing unions of the cities of Europe who joined together to fight for higher wages and better working conditions. Unions engaged in collective bargaining and would strike if factory owners refused their demands. The union movement underwent slow, and painful growth but ultimately forced political leaders to look into the abuses of industrialization and eventually adopt socialist measures which limited work hours and improved work conditions. Over time countries such as Britain even began to take control of key industries such as coal and railways under the leadership of the Labour Party in the twentieth century, culminating in the establishment of the welfare state following World War II.
Karl Marx and the Radical Socialism
The writings of a German journalist and historian named Karl Marx introduced the world to a radical type of socialism called Marxism. Along with Friedrich Engels, Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto which argued that human societies have always been divided into warring classes. In their own time , these were the rich bourgeoisie who owned the factories and means of production, and the poor workers which they called the proletariat.
According to Marx and Engels, the Industrial Revolution had enriched the wealthy and impoverished the poor. The two writers predicted that the workers would overthrow the owners in a violent revolution due to the excesses of the wealthy bourgeoisie. Following this revolt, the large proletariat would seize the factories and mills from the capitalists, and produce what society needed. Workers, sharing in the profits, would bring about economic equality for all people. The workers would control the government in a "dictatorship of the proletariat." After a period of cooperative living and education, the state or government would wither away as a classless society developed. Marx called this final phase pure communism. Communism was a form of complete socialism in which all the means of production- all land, mines, factories, railroads, and businesses- would be owned by the people. Private property would in effect cease to exist. All goods and services would be shared equally.
Although The Communist Manifesto produced few short-term results, Marxism would reshape the way academics and political revolutionaries viewed the world. In the 1900s, Marxism inspired revolutionaries such as Russia's Lenin, China's Mao Zedong, and Cuba's Fidel Castro. These leaders adapted Marx's beliefs to their own specific situations and needs. Marx had stated his belief that economic forces alone dominated society. Time has shown, however, that religion, nationalism, ethnic loyalties, and a desire for democratic reforms may be as strong influences on history as economic forces. In addition, the gap between rich and poor within the industrialized countries failed to widen in the way Marx and Engles predicted, mostly because of the various reforms enacted by governments.
The Reform Movement Spreads
The reform movement which supported socialist programs as a result of industrialization eventually began to spread to other areas of life. Slavery, which had been the major form of work in the Western Hemisphere, came under attack not only for its moral implications but also its threat to industrial workers which provided the backbone of the modern economy. The British acted first by outlawing the slave trade in 1807 and later abolishing slavery in the empire in 1833. The United States fought its Civil War in large part to ending slavery from 1861-1865. The last country to finally abolish slavery was Brazil who finally outlawed slavery in 1888.
The Industrial Revolution proved a mixed blessing for women. On the one hand, factory work offered higher wages than work done at home. Women spinners in Manchester, for example, earned much more money than women who stayed home to spin cotton thread. On the other hand, women factory workers usually made only one-third as much money as men did. Women led reform movements to address this and other pressing social issues. During the mid-1800s women formed unions in trades where they dominated. The abolitionist movement also inspired many women to demand political rights of their own, particularly the right to vote. Slowly, industrialized countries began to extend voting rights to women after years of protests of suffragettes.
As you can see, the slow movement away from laissez faire capitalism to socialism resulted in greater democratization of Europe and the United States. The Industrial Revolution had fundamentally altered Western culture by emphasizing a more egalitarian society which would later be tested by reformers and revolutionaries of the twentieth century seeking to undo the injustices of capitalism.
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