The Age of Realpolitik: 1848-1871 study guide summary

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The Age of Realpolitik: 1848-1871 study guide summary

The Age of Realpolitik: 1848-1871

Main Theme: Nationalism became a dominant force in
Western society after 1850.
I. Failure of the Revolutions of 1848
A. Germany
1. Nationalists and liberals of the Frankfurt Parliament
failed to get the support of Prussian king Frederick
William IV for a unified Germany
· Frederick William refused to “accept the crown
from the gutter” and instead claimed “divine right”
2. “Humiliation of Olmutz”: Frederick William IV
proposed a plan for German unity.
a. Austria would accept a plan for German unity only if Prussia accepted the leadership of the German Bund (which Austria dominated)
b. Prussia could not accept its loss of sovereignty
and stepped back
B. Italy
1. Austrian forces were driven out of northern Italy
while French forces were removed from southern
Italy and Sicily.
2. Mazzini (with the protection of Garibaldi) established the Roman Republic in 1849
3. Failure of Italian revolutionaries to work together
effectively resulted in Austria and France forcefully
taking back control over Italy.
C. Austrian (Hapsburg) Empire
1. Hungarian forces led by Louis Kossuth went to war
against Austria and penetrated to the very gates of
Vienna.
2. The Austrian army, with the help of ethnic minorities
in the empire, defeated the Hungarians and
preserved the empire.
D. France
1. The February Revolution resulted in the overthrow of
King Louis Philippe and established the Second
French Republic led by Alphonse Lamartine
2. The “June Days” Revolution pitted the bourgeoisie
against the working class and conservatives
(supported by the army) restored order.
3. Louis Napoleon (a conservative) was elected
president overwhelmingly
E. Emergence of “Realpolitik” after 1848
1. Failure of the Revolutions of 1848 for liberals and
romantics demonstrated that strong idealism was not
enough to accomplish revolutionary goals.
a. The “age of Realism” replaced Romanticism as the dominant philosophy after 1850.
b. A political outgrowth of realism was the notion of realpolitik: the accomplishing of one’s political
goals via practical means (rather than having
idealism drive political decisions)
2. A new political era emerged where nationalist goals
were achieved step-by-step in Machiavellian fashion
(e.g. German unification, Italian unification, and
Hungarian autonomy)
3. In France, emperor Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon)
would have to cater to liberals in order to maintain
effective control.
II. Crimean War (1853-56)
A. Failure of the Concert of Europe
1. Its credibility was undermined by failure of the Great
Powers to cooperate during revolutions of 1848-49.
2. Between 1848 and 1878, peace in Europe was
interrupted by the Crimean War and the Russo-
Turkish War of 1877-78.
B. Causes of the Crimean War
1. Major cause: dispute between two groups of
Christians over privileges in the Holy Land (Palestine)
a. 1852, Turks (who controlled Palestine) agreed to Napoleon III’s demands to provide enclaves in the Holy Land for the protection of Roman Catholic religious orders.
b. This agreement seemed to jeopardize existing
agreements which provided access to Greek
Orthodox religious orders (that Russia favored)
c. Czar Nicholas I ordered Russian troops to occupy several Turkish-controlled provinces on the Danube River.
· Russia would withdraw once Turks had
guaranteed rights for Orthodox Christians
2. Turks declared war on Russia in 1853, when Nicholas refused to withdraw from Danubian provinces
3. 1854, Britain & France declared war against Russia
a. To some this was a major surprise as the Turks
were not Christians, yet were supported by Britain
and France who were Christian countries.
b. “Four Points” included the following provisions:
· Russia had to renounce claims to the occupied principalities on the Danube
· Navigation in the mouth of the Danube River (on the Black Sea) was internationalized.
· Russia had to renounce its special role of Greek Orthodox Christians within the Ottoman Empire
4. 1855, Piedmont joined in the war against Russia
5. Austria agreed to the “Four Points” and gave Russia
an ultimatum to comply or Austria would join the war
6. The new czar, Alexander II, agreed to accept the Four Points and end the war
· Unlike Czar Nicholas who had died in 1855, Alexander was opposed to continuing the war.
C. Fighting the war
1. Most of the war was fought on the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea
· Over 50,000 British and French troops fought in
the Crimea against Russian forces, seeking to take
the Black Sea port city of Sebastopol
2. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
a. British nurse who became a pioneer in modern
nursing
b. During the Crimean War more men died of disease rather than by combat wounds.
c. Nightingale’s “Light Brigade” superbly tended to wounded men during the war, although fatalities due to disease remained high.
D. Peace of Paris: Russia emerged as the big loser in the conflict
1. Russia no longer had control of maritime trade on the Danube, had to recognize Turkish control of the mouth of the Danube, and renounced claims to Moldavia and Wallachia (which later became
Romania)
2. Russia renounced the role of protector of the Greek Orthodox residents of the Ottoman Empire.
3. Russia agreed to return all occupied territories to the Ottoman Empire.
4. The Black Sea was made neutral
5. Independence and integrity of the Ottoman Empire was recognized and guaranteed.
E. Aftermath of the war
1. Russia was shocked that it had fallen so far behind in
military power
2. Russia began its move toward industrialization and
modernization of its army.
III. France
A. Second French Republic (1848-1852)
1. Constitution: unicameral legislature (National
Assembly); strong executive power; popularly elected
president of the Republic
2. Universal male suffrage
3. President Louis Napoleon: seen by voters as a
symbol of stability and greatness
a. Dedicated to law and order, opposed to socialism and radicalism, and favored the conservative classes—the Church, army, property-owners, and business.
b. Had lived much of his life outside France and thus had little political baggage to rally opponents
c. Voters perhaps swayed by the Napoleonic legend of greatness and stability and desired to have another Bonaparte in control
4. In return for support of conservatives, Louis Napoleon had to make concessions
a. Falloux Laws: Louis Napoleon returned control of education to the Church (in return for its support)
b. Minimized influence of the Legislative Assembly
c. Supported policies favorable to the army
d. Disenfranchised many poor people from voting
e. Destroyed the democratic-socialist movement by jailing or exile its leaders and closing down labor unions.
5. The Legislative Assembly did not grant Louis
Napoleon either payment of his large personal debt or
allowance for a 2nd presidential term.
· In response, Louis Napoleon plotted a coup to
become emperor
B. The Second Empire (or Liberal Empire)
1. Emperor Napoleon III: took control of gov’t in
coup d’etat (December 1851) and became emperor
the following year
a. Restored universal suffrage in 1852 and 92% of
the people voted to make him president for 10
years
· France was the only country in Europe at that time to provide universal suffrage
b. 1853, 97% of voters agreed to make him
hereditary emperor
c. 1851-1859: Napoleon III’s control was direct and authoritarian.
· Strengthened centralized power
· An imperial aristocracy emerged consisting of wealthy businessmen
· Censorship of the press
· The gov’t sponsored “official” candidates in elections
d. 1859-1870: Napoleon III set out to build the
“liberal empire” by initiating a series of reforms.
e. Napoleon III’s rule provided a model for other
political leaders in Europe.
· Demonstrated how gov’t could reconcile
popular and conservative forces through
authoritarian nationalism
2. Economic reforms resulted in a healthy economy
a. Infrastructure: railroads, canals, roads; Baron
Georges von Haussmann redeveloped Paris
b. Movement towards free trade
· French exports doubled between 1853 and
1864.
· Signed a liberal trade treaty with Britain in
1860.
· Perhaps the first time that any modern state
had played such a direct role in stimulating the economy.
c. Banking: Crédit Mobilier funded industrial and
infrastructure growth
d. France’s metallurgical industry rivaled Britain’s
e. French investors financed large infrastructure
projects in Russia, Spain and Italy.
· Suez Canal in Egypt was completed in 1869
3. Political reforms
a. Extended power of the Legislative Assembly
· Members elected by universal suffrage every 6 years
· Opposition candidates had greater freedom
b. Returned control of secondary education to the
government (instead of the Catholic Church)
· In response, Pope Pius IX issued Syllabus of Errors (1864), condemning liberalism.
c. Permitted trade unions and their right to strike
(1864)
d. Eased censorship and granted amnesty to political prisoners
e. Supported better housing
f. Supported credit unions and regulation of pawn
shops
4. Foreign policy struggles resulted in strong criticism of Napoleon III and demonstrated his weakness as ruler
a. Sent French troops to Italy to rescue and restore
Pope Pius IX (troops remained between 1849-70)
· Act condemned by republicans (though
supported by conservatives and moderates)
b. French involvement in the Crimean War angered republicans and liberals (although much of Europe saw Napoleon III as the victor in the war).
c. Issue of colonialism in Algeria and other colonies in Africa, Indochina and Mexico became a contentious political issue with anti-imperialists
d. Napoleon’s liberal reforms were done in part to
divert attention from unsuccessful foreign policy
5. Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) and capture of
Napoleon III resulted in the collapse of the 2nd French
Empire
IV. Italian Unification
A. After collapse of revolutions of 1848-49, unification
movement in Italy shifted to Sardinia-Piedmont under
King Victor Emmanuel, Count Cavour and Garibaldi
1. Replaced earlier leaders Mazzini, the once-liberal
Pope Pius IX, and Gioberti.
2. Realpolitik instead of romanticism for unification:
Machiavellian approach—practical politics
B. Count Camillo Benso di Cavour (1810-1861) of
Sardinia-Piedmont led the struggle for Italian unification
1. Served as King Victor Emmanuel’s prime minister
between 1852 and 1861
· Essentially a moderate nationalist and aristocratic liberal
2. Replaced the earlier failed unification revolutionaries
such as Mazzini and the Young Italy Movement.
3. Did not employ romantic illusions of a unified Italy
(such as those of Mazzini) but rather carried out
realpolitik
4. Editor of Il Risorgimento, a newspaper arguing
Sardinia should be the foundation of a new unified
Italy.
5. Guided Sardinia-Piedmont into a liberal and
economically viable state
a. Modeled on French constitution of 1830: some
civil liberties, parliamentary gov't with elections
and parliamentary control of taxes.
b. Reformed the judicial system
c. Built up infrastructure (roads, canals, ports)
d. The Law on Convents and Siccardi Law sought to reduce the influence of the Catholic Church.
e. In response, Pope Pius IX issued his Syllabus of Errors (1864) warning Catholics against
liberalism, rationalism, socialism, separation of
church and state, and religious liberty.
· Also a response to France’s secularization of education during the same period
6. Cavour sought unity for the northern and central
areas of Italy
a. 1855, joined Britain and France in the Crimean
War against Russia (as a result, gained France as
an ally)
b. Plombiérès (1859)
· Cavour gained a promise from Napoleon III that France would support a Sardinian war with Austria for the creation of a northern Italian kingdom (controlled by Sardinia)
o Sardinia would annex a number of Italian
states such as Venice, Lombardy, Parma,
Modena and part of the Papal States
· In return, France would get Savoy and Nice
· Austria declared war on Sardinia in 1859 after being provoked
C. Unification
1. Sardinia-Piedmont gained Lombardy (but not
Venetia) as a result of its 1859 war with Austria
a. France briefly came to Sardinia’s aid in 1859
b. Yet, France soon backed away from Plombiérès
agreement: fear of war with Prussia, Austria’s
strength in military power, revolutionary unrest in
northern Italy, and French public's concern over a
war with Catholic Austria.
2. 1860, Cavour arranged the annexation of Parma,
Modena, Romagna, and Tuscany into Sardinia
· France supported Cavour in return for receiving
the territories of Nice and Savoy
3. Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) liberated southern
Italy and Sicily.
a. Garibaldi exemplified the romantic nationalism of Mazzini and earlier Young Italy revolutionaries.
b. May 1860, Garibaldi and his thousand Red Shirts landed in Sicily and extended the nationalist activity to the south
c. By September, Garibaldi took control of Naples
and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
· Although Cavour distrusted Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel II encouraged Garibaldi’s exploits in the south of Italy
· Cavour insisted that Sardinia be the foundation of the Italian nation.
d. Garibaldi thus allowed his conquests to be
absorbed into Sardinia-Piedmont
4. February 1861, Victor Emmanuel declared King of
Italy and presided over an Italian Parliament which
represented all of Italy except for Rome and Venice.
5. 1866, Venice was incorporated into Italian Kingdom
as a result of an alliance with German chancellor
Bismarck
· Sardinia had agreed to open up a front against
Austria during the Austro-Prussian War (1866) in
return for its annexation of Venice.
6. 1871, Rome captured by Italian troops and became
capital of Kingdom of Italy
· France had just been defeated by Germany in the
Franco-Prussian war and could no longer defend
the Papal States
D. Though politically unified, a great social and cultural gap
separated the progressive, industrializing north from the
stagnant, agrarian south
V. German Unification under the Hohenzollerns
A. After 1815 Prussia emerged as an alternative to a
Habsburg-based Germany
1. 1849, Austria had blocked the attempt of Frederick
William IV of Prussia to unify Germany “from above”
a. This was known as the “Humiliation of Olmutz”
b. Thus, the "grossdeutsch plan" failed: plan for
unified Germany including Prussia and Austria.
2. Zollverein (German customs union), 1734: biggest
source of tension between Prussia and Austria.
· Excluded Austria; Austria thus tried unsuccessfully to destroy it
3. "Kleindeutsch plan": a unified Germany without
Austria was seen as the most practicable means of
unification among various German states, particularly
Prussia.
B. Otto von Bismarck (1810-1898) led the drive for a
Prussian-based Hohenzollern Germany
1. Junker background; obsessed with power
2. "Gap theory" gained Bismarck's favor with the king
a. Army Bill Crisis created stalemate between king & legislature over reforms of the army.
b. Bismarck insisted Prussian constitution contained a “gap”: did not mention what was to be done if a stalemate developed.
c. Since the king had granted the constitution,
Bismarck insisted he ignore liberals (middle class)
in the legislature and follow his own judgment
· “The great questions of the day will not be
decided by speeches and resolutions—that was the blunder of 1848 and 1849—but by blood and iron.”
· Gov’t continued to collect taxes even though the parliament refused to approve the budget.
· Voters countered by sending liberal majorities to the parliament between 1862-1866.
d. Oversaw a number of reforms that improved the Prussian military
C. Prussian-Danish War, 1863
1. Germany & Austria defeated Denmark and took
control of the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein
2. The provinces were jointly administered by Prussia
and Austria but conflicts over jurisdiction would lead
to a major war between Prussia and Austria
D. Austro-Prussian War (7 Weeks’ War) or (German Civil
War), 1866
1. Bismarck sought a localized war
· Made diplomatic preparations for war with Austria by negotiating with France, Italy, and Russia for noninterference
2. Prussia’s use of railroads to mass troops and use of
the breech-loading rifle proved superior to Austria’s
military efforts.
3. Prussia’s victory unified much of Germany without
Austria.
a. The “kleindeutsch plan” prevailed
b. Austria was given generous peace terms
c. Italy received Venice from Austria
E. 1867, the North German Confederation established by
Bismarck with King William I as president.
1. Included all the German states except Baden,
Wurttemberg, Bavaria, and Saxony
2. The federal constitution allowed each state to retain
its own local government
3. The parliament (Reichstag) consisted of two houses
that shared power equally.
a. The upper house (bundesrat) included
representatives from each state
b. The lower house (bundestag) had
representatives elected by universal male suffrage
4. The new gov’t structure gave Bismarck the ability to
circumvent the middle-class by appealing directly to
the working classes (as Napoleon III had done in
France)
· Thus, the German middle class did not regain its
influence until World War I
F. Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
1. Ems Dispatch
a. Bismarck sought to provoke a war with France in order to further unify Germany and annex Alsace and Lorraine
b. Thus, Bismarck boasted that a French diplomat
had been kicked out of Germany after asking
William I not to interfere with the succession to
the Spanish throne.
· The alleged snub was exaggerated by Bismarck intentionally in order to provoke France.
c. An infuriated France declared war against
Germany
2. Bismarck used the war with France to bring 4
remaining southern German states into the North
German Confederation
· Bavaria, Baden, Wurttemberg, and Saxony
3. The apparent ease with which Prussia defeated
France sent shockwaves throughout Europe.
4. Paris fell to the Germans in January, 1871: Napoleon
III was captured
· The battles of Sedan and Metz were particularly
decisive in Prussia’s victory.
5. Treaty of Frankfurt (May, 1871): Alsace and
Lorraine ceded to Germany
G. The German Empire was proclaimed on January 18,
1871 (Germany now the most powerful nation in Europe)
1. William I became Emperor of Germany (Kaiser
Wilhelm)
2. Bismarck became the Imperial Chancellor.
3. Bavaria, Baden, Wurttemberg, and Saxony were
incorporated into the German Empire
4. The German Empire’s government was essentially the same federal structure established in 1866.
· In reality, the Reichstag had little power as the
German Empire became a conservative autocracy
with the nobility allied with the monarch.
VI. The Austro-Hungarian Empire
A. After the Austro-Prussian War the Austrian gov’t had to
address national aspirations of its ethnic groups:
1. The Hungarians and Czechs continued to demand
self-determination, or at the very least, for a semiautonomous state.
2. Austria’s defeat by Germany in 1866 weakened its
grip on power and forced it to make a compromise
and establish the so-called dual monarchy.
B. Ausgleich (or Compromise), 1867
1. Officially created the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
2. Hungarians now had their own assembly, cabinet,
and administrative system, and would support and
participate with Austria in the Imperial army and in
the Imperial gov’t.
3. Results
a. Austria assimilated the Hungarians (Magyars)
and nullified them as a primary opposition group.
b. Also led to more efficient gov’t.
C. Managing the empire
1. Government was not integrated due to differences
among ethnic groups
a. The language used in government and school was a particularly divisive issue.
· In Bohemia, the issue of whether schools
should use the Czech or German language
became a sticky issue
b. Efforts by both conservatives and socialists to
defuse national antagonisms by stressing
economic issues proved unsuccessful.
c. Universal male suffrage not until 1907.
2. Anti-Semitism was profound in Austria.
a. Jewish populations in Austrian cities grew rapidly after Jews obtained full legal equality in 1867.
· By 1900 Jews comprised 10% of the population
b. Many Jewish business people were successful in banking and trade while Jewish artists,
intellectuals, and scientists emerged (e.g. Freud).
c. German extremists charged Jews with controlling the economy and corrupting German culture with alien ideas and ultramodern art
D. Magyar rule in Hungary
1. Magyar nobility in 1867 restored the constitution of
1848 and used it to dominate both the Magyar
peasantry and the minority populations until 1914.
2. Only wealthiest 25% of adult males had right to vote.
3. Laws promoting use of Magyar language in schools
and gov’t were especially resented by Croatians and
Romanians.
E. After 1871, the Hapsburg leadership lost the initiative to
resolve the empire’s important divisive issues.
· Unlike most major countries, which used nationalism
to strengthen the state after 1871, the Austro-
Hungarian Empire was progressively weakened and
destroyed by it.

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