Introduction
The 1848 revolution across Europe was a good time for liberalists and their quests for self-governance from conservatives. Primarily, the revolution was the greatest across Europe given the sheer number of the middle-class revolutionaries who mainly perpetrated the event. To the liberalists, the revolution was an opportunity to create a new world guided by liberty and justice phasing out the overwhelmed conservatives and their pre-existing political order. 1 The revolutions blanketed the entire Europe, and their impacts were felt in a similar manner. In this regard, this paper seeks to provide a discourse regarding the comparison of revolutions between Germany, Austria, and France.
Unlike other countries under discourse (France and Austria), the revolution in Germany hit a profound snag especially for the liberalists who led the revolution. As Hamerow elaborates, no other country in Europe experienced a much devastating defeat in their revolution quest than Germany did. To add insult to injury, owing to the debilitating blow that faced the liberalist revolution, liberalism not only lost faith in its mission but also the allegiance of the masses it had apparently led to defeat during the revolution. Comparatively, in France, the revolution successfully managed to discredit the Second French Republic. However, the revolution did not destroy the republican tradition. On the other hand, in the Austrian empire, the revolution caught ground and even though the results were not realized in the same year, 1918 saw the revolutionaries achieve their self-governance dream. 2 However, in contrast to all other revolutions, France was already unified under a liberal constitutional monarchy following an earlier revolution in 1830. To this end, the 1848 revolution was primarily aimed at consolidating the Republican state from the fragments left behind by the previous Monarchy.
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Whereas the revolution in Germany was sparked and propelled by socialists such as Karl Marx and Engels through their publications and writings, in Austria, the revolution was inspired by the French revolution by the Second Republic. The German socialists were hoping the revolution would overthrow the German conservative regime and usher in a new socialist state under the rule of the proletariat. In contrast, while Austrian and German revolutions were fighting to create a new state of liberalism or socialism, the French revolution was naturally social in the sense that, the revolution was an attempt to create a united Republican state. Despite its success, after a few months, the French revolution failed as a result of the conflicts between the rural and urban working class. To this end, the nation was left weakened than it was before. In Germany, the revolution failed due to the rising conservatism and the subsequent alignment of the Philistine bourgeoisie to the royalist forces. As such, the distrust between the German middle-class workers and the bourgeoisie left the nation divided whereby the German workers chose to adopt Marxian socialism and subsequently distrusted bourgeois liberalism. 3
However, unlike revolutions in Germany and France that eventually failed, the revolution in Austria was a success. Moreover, the Austrian revolution completely phased out the conservative government and leadership. To this end, under Emperor Franz Joseph, Austria was able to reassert its leadership in Germany through Russian military assistance. Additionally, the revolution managed to create a strong and effective political authority in the Austrian empire unlike the Second Republic in France. Ultimately, the revolution strengthened the country and the empire at large especially after thwarting the rebellion in Hungary. After the revolution, Austria achieved a centralized government with unified legal, political, and economic institutions across the entire empire.
Finally, in comparing the three revolutions, certain similarities become evident. For instance, all the revolutions were fighting for liberalism in their governance. In Germany and France, the revolutions were both led by the working class in achieving liberalism. Also, both revolutions in Germany and France were defeated or at last were not successful in their mission. Additionally, both the French and German revolutions left the countries divided and weakened.
Conclusion
All the three revolutions were significant with respect to the different issues that were facing the countries individually. Essentially, they seemed to be fighting for liberalism in their governance. Regardless of the failures in Germany and France, the upshot is that individuals in the countries became wiser regarding their loyalties and alignment of interests. For Austria, the revolution was particularly crucial in strengthening the nation and its subsequent prosperity.
Bibliography
Hamerow S., Theodore. "History and the German Revolution of 1848." The American Historical Review 60, no. 1, (1954): 27-44.
1 Theodore S. Hamerow, “History and the German Revolution of 1848.” (The American Historical Review 60, no. 1 1954), 27.
2 Theodore S. Hamerow, “History and the German Revolution of 1848.” (The American Historical Review 60, no. 1 1954), 28.
3 Theodore S. Hamerow “History and the German Revolution of 1848.” (The American Historical Review 60, no. 1 1954), 29.
