The+Emergence+of+Industrial+Society+in+the+West

The Age of Revolution:

MI: New ideas helped stimulate a wave of revolutions in the West from the 1770s to roughly 1848.Revolutionary patterns would gain international influence; and they also interacted with the effects of early western industrialization. Forces of Change: MI: Three main forces in conjunction allowed for such a widespread political upheaval to be possible. The American Revolution: MI: When Britain's atlantic colonies rebelled in 1775, it was primarily as a war for independance, rather than a full-blown revolution. Crisis in France: MI: The next steps of the revolutionary era took place in France. While America was first to rebel, it was france that truly began reshaping the political structure of Western Europe. Radical and Authoritarian phases of the French Revolution: MI: BY 1792, the initial push for refofrm began to turn more radical.Early revolts provoked massive opposition from the aristocracy and the church, with civil war breaking out in many parts of France. Conservative Settlement and Revolutionary legacy:
 * Against a backdrop of population pressure,commercial growth, and intellectual, challenges, the placid politics of the 18th century were shattered by the series of revolutions which took palce in the 1770s and 1780s.
 * This was the eve of **The Age of Revolutions**, a period of political upheaval beginning rouhgly with the Amerrican revolution in 1775, continuing in the french revolution in 1789, and other movements until roughly 1848..
 * This wave of revolutions caught up many social grou-ps with diverse motives, with some eager to use the period of instability to promote further change, with others attempting to use it to return to traditional values.
 * The first was a political and intellectual fermentation, which continuously challenged old traditions of aristocratic privelege, lack of common voice in the government, and lack of freedom of religion.
 * Secondly, along with cultural change, ongoing commercialization continued economic expansion. Self-made Businesspeople gianing more wealth and status in society challenged the idea of strict social class and the tradition that only the aristocrats may hold political power.
 * Lastly, Western Europe experienced a major population boom after around 1730. Within 50 years, the population of France rose by 50%, and the population of Prussia and ENgland rose by 100%. This was possible due to stricter border patrols preventing crossing of diseased products or animals.
 * A large minority of AMerican colonists resisted Britain's attempts to impose new taxes and trade controls on the colonies. Many settlers also resented the british prevention of expansion due to crowding and overpopulation.
 * With the start of the American Revolution, the rebel colonists began organizing a formal army after issuing the Declaration of Independance. The persistance of revolutionaries, combined with strategy blunders by british soldiers and massive aid from France allowed America to eventually win it's freedom.
 * Voting rights, though limited were widespread, and the political system of America was (at the time) the most advanced in the world. HOwever, there were far less social than political changes: slavery was utterly ignored, even in the face of declaring the equality of all men.
 * The French government and aristocracy proved incapable of reform. The upper class tightened their grip in respnose to population pressure, and the government proved to be increasingly ineffective in dealing with the country's problems.
 * The French king Louis XVI called a meeting of the traditional parliament to consider tax reforms. But representatives of the middle class argued (based on Enlightenment ideals) that the parliament should be reformed so that each representative had one vote, and the population majority would win(peasants). The fearful king agreed.
 * The New assembly that summer managed to devise a new political regime, and a "declaration of rights of man and the citizen" proclaimed similar ideals to the American DOI. A popular riot stormed the bastille, a political prison and symbol of royal power, however, few/no prisoners were there at the time.
 * Monarchs in Britain, Prussia, and Austria trumpeted their opposition to the revolution, and the posibility of international war(as well as civil war) loomed on th ehorizon. As a result, radical leaders fel t pressured to set up a more stable government, leading to the abolishment of the French Monarchy and beheading of the King.
 * Radicals continued executing any political rivals, lead by Maximilien Robespierre in a period of time called the Reign of Terror, though the problems only intensified afterwards.Believe dto be personally incorruptible, Robespierre came to symbolize th group thinking o f the revolution.This spirit of nationalism(the idea of loyalty because the people believed they had a part in creating the government) characterized the Reign of Terror.
 * While in power, Robespierre pushed revolutionary reforms. A new constitution, (whihc never actually came to fruition) was designed around the idea of universal male suffrage. The Metric system was also introduced as the standard weights and measures, and slavery was abolished in the French colonies.
 * After the fall of the radicals, Napoleon Bonaparte came into power,soon converting the revolutionary republic into an authoritarian empire.Napoleon greatly weakened the parliament and attempted to limit freedom of Expression, however, he did not discontinue liberal gains such as freedom of religion.

MI:The allies who defeated the forces of Napoleon met in hopes of designing a peaceful resolution so thta further revolution in France would be impossible.
 * Diplomats at the congress of Vienna did not try to punish France too sternly on the grounds that the European balance of power should be restored.However, this also meant the construcctin of powerful countries near france to keep it in check, meaning gains for Prussia, Germany, and Piedmont(in Italy).
 * Vienna negotiators were much less successful in promoting internal stability. THe idea was to link Europe's major powers in defense of church and monarchy, and to restore the monarchy in France.This was a key Conservative movement (characterizing people opposing revolutionary goals).
 * Liberals focused largely on ideals of political structure, thinking of ways to limit government strength, and urged equal representation of all propertied people in the government, with as little interference in daily life as possible. Radicals acknowledged the importance of liberal demands, but they also wanted wider range of voting rights. Ex->In britain, the reform bill of 1832 was a respnose to popular agitation, giving the parliamentary vote to most middle class men.