The Revolutions of 1848 (July 31, 2024) (Grade 5, Language Arts)

            The Revolutions of 1848 happened in May, when several liberal ideas spread across Europe. The revolutions happened in France, Germany, Italy, and Austria, but mostly failed.   However, the revolutions did become a turning point in European history. 

 

            The revolution started in Palermo, Sicily, but quickly spread. The reason for this was the French Revolution. The French Revolution and subsequent Napoleonic Wars promoted nationalism and liberalism. France lost the Napoleonic Wars, but the ideas of the revolution remained for decades. 

 

            In Germany, there were attempts to unite the states that had been divided for almost a millennium. Despite the political divisions, they spoke the same language. In fact, Germany was one of the centers of these liberal ideas. Despite the failure, Germany would go on to be united under Prussia just a few decades later in 1871. In Italy, Sardinia-Piedmont declared war on Austria, but following defeat, they had to establish a new constitution. In Austria, there were not only liberal revolutions; there were ethnic revolutions.  That was because Austria occupied several foreign territories, and they were a German state in that revolution. In France, the House of Orleans was overthrown, ending the French monarchy, establishing the Second French Republic. In several countries like Denmark and the Netherlands, however, the institutions were placidly reformed, rather than radically opposed to and overthrown. Overall, despite the diverse locations, the revolutionaries all shared liberal ideas. 

 

            Despite these revolutions mostly failing, some reforms were made that made this a turning point. Otto von Bismarck, the Prussian chancellor, united Germany just a few years later, though he did not hold the liberal ideas of the revolution. In Italy, the state was united by 1861. In Austria, serfdom was abolished. And liberal ideas remain the foundation of several nations today. 

 

            Overall, the Revolutions of 1848 were a turning point in European history, and the mark of the resurgence of liberal ideas ever since the Napoleonic Wars, which ended in 1815. Liberal-nationalist ideas have origins in France and Germany, two countries affected by the revolutions. And due to the peaceful revolutions in some countries, they remain monarchies today, while still adhering to liberal ideas.