Conservatism, Romanticism and Revolution

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Conservatism, Romanticism and Revolution

• -Key Concepts-

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I. Some Qualifications of the Dual Revolution

• Triumph of this revolution was by no means
  certain
• Not some gigantic, historical steamroller
• The influence of regional, cultural variance
• The Old Regime was very capable of defending its
  privileges
• The tremendous intellectual challenge of the
  Dual Revolution

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II. Reaction to Revolution Conservatism
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A. A Natural Order of Society

• Conservatism as a 19th century ideology
• Edmund Burke as the leading spokesman
• Society is the partnership of the living, the
  dead and the yet to be born

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A. A Natural Order of Society (cont)

• Civilization depends upon continuity and order
• Special privileges to higher classes to maintain
  social order
• Openness to gradual change

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B. Growing Distrust of Reason

• Foundation for the emergence of romanticism
• Essence of human experience is subjective and
  emotional
• Human knowledge is a puny thing compared to other
  great historical forces
• Society is an organic whole not suitable to
  piecemeal reform
• Individual Rights are dangerous efforts at
  selfishnesscommunity is more important

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C. Fascination with History and Christian
Philosophy

• People and society are not abstractions divorced
  from historical settings
• History is a stabilizing force for an unstable
  society
• The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars
  were evidence of human sinman is not good by
  nature
• The fear of God is a good way to curb mans sin

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D. A Special Home in Germany

• Reaction against Napoleons conquests
• Liberalism and Nationalism represented an extreme
  threat for Germany and Austria
• Quadruple Alliance Austria, Prussia, Russia and
  Great Britain
• This Alliance was interested in providing
  stability in all of Europe in the wake of the
  French Revolution

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E. Conservatism in Action The Congress of Vienna

• European Peace Conference, 1814-1815
• Symbol of Aristocratic Resurgence
• Conservatism Embodied Austrias Metternich
• Hates both liberalism and nationalism

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E. The Congress of Vienna (cont)

• The importance of the Balance of Power in
  European Politics
• Compromise with Revolution
• Growing conservatism 1820s and 1830s
• -- Peterloo Massacre (1819)

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III. The German Confederation

• Foolish to restore the Holy Roman Empire
• Sign of rising German nationalism
• 38 German states presided over by Austria
• Basic constitutional framework with
  representative assembly meeting in Frankfurt
• University Repression
• --Carlsbad Decrees (1819)

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IV. The Romantic Movement

• Began in 1790s and peaked in 1820s
• A movement of northern Europe, especially Great
  Britain and Germany
• Complex and varied movement
• A reaction against classicism

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A. Romantic Themes

• Rejected rigid artistic laws and ancient artistic
  rules
• Feelings and imagination as valid, if not more
  valid, than reason and order
• Individuals have unique, endless potential

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A. Romantic Themes (cont)

• Self-realization comes through artArtists are
  the true philosophers
• Inclined to extremes
• Drawn to danger and adventure
• Rejection of traditional society

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A. Romantic Themes (cont)

• Suicide and madness not uncommon
• Rejected materialism in pursuit of spiritual
  heights
• Yearned for the unknown and the unknowable
• Nature was both wild and awe-inspiring

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A. Romantic Themes (cont)

• Fascinated by color and diversity
• History is the art of change over time
• The uniqueness of cultures was emphasized

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A. Romantic Themes (cont)

• In rejecting society, romantics found a wide
  variety of escapes
• Loved the world of childrenspontaneity and their
  sense of wonder
• Special focus on the fantastic and unusual

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B. Romantic Literature

• Main genre poetry
• William Wordsworth (1770-1850) and Samuel Taylor
  Coleridge (1772-1834)
• Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
• Johann Goethe (1749-1832)

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B. Romantic Literature (cont)

• Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
• Mary Shelley (1797-1851)
• --Frankenstein
• George Sand (1804-1876)

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C. Romantic Music (cont)

• Free expression and emotional intensity realized
  most fully in music
• Music became a sublime end in itself
• Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827)

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B. Romantic Music (cont)

• Chopin and melancholy, exultation and dreaminess
  in his music
• Wagners operas were wild, earth-shaking,
  fantastic and extreme

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D. The Romantic Hero

• Definition
• Greatest Example Lord Byron
• Tremendously popular among the European reading
  public
• Youth imitated his haughtiness and rebelliousness

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E. Political Implications

• Romanticism could reinforce the great themes of
  political liberalism
• --Beethovens Third Symphony
• Romanticism could also reinforce the great themes
  of political conservatism

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E. Political Implications (cont)

• Contributed to growing nationalism
• --Johann Herder and historicism
• --The volk.
• Relationship of liberalism to nationalism
• Romanticism the great paradox

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V. Nationalism A Growing Threat to Conservative
Empires

• The nature of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
• --Hapsburg Monarchy
• Nationalism within the German Confederation
• Prussia Focus on Pan-Germanic Hopes

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V. Nationalism as a Threat (cont)

• The Hohenzollern Dynasty and Frederick William
  III
• Big Germany or Little Germany?
• Italian Nationalism
• --Joseph Mazzini
• --Young Italy Movement

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VI. Revolution in the 1830s

• An explosive mix liberalism and nationalism
• Revolution in Paris Again
• King Louis-Philippe
• Reform in Great Britain
• --Reform Bill of 1832
• Conservatism on the run

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VII. Revolutions in 1848

• Paris, Again
• -- June Days
• Shock waves spread over Europe
• Prussia and Austria
• Celebration in the streets
• Disunity The Revolutionary failure
• Return of a new Conservatism

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VIII. The Modernization of Western Governments
after 1848

• State-focused politics
• Public opinion now taken into account
• Alliance with nationalism and the middle class
• The Process in Action
• --Prussia
• --The Dual Monarchy of Austria and Hungary
• --The Ringstrasse

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VIII. Modernization of Western Governments (cont)

• A changing concept of economic and political
  liberalism
• Narrow and selfish for some
• Broad and humane for others
• --John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859)