Congress of Vienna

The essential question for this lesson was: What should people in power do when their power is threatened? In groups, we read a background reading, then had each group member find a characteristic of the Congress of Vienna, such as the mood, the attendees, the circumstances, and the questions they were addressing. We learned that representatives from France, Prussia, Russia, Austria, and Great Britain convened to figure out how to reconstruct the continent after the war, make up to those who lost family by Napoleon's hands, and correct the wrongs of the past. We also watched a video on Klemens von Metternich, the prince of Austria, conversing with Napoleon.

The first issue Metternich and the other Europeans dealt with was changes to the map of Europe. They wanted to reverse the changes of Napoleon's conquest. Prussia, Russia, Austria, France, and Great Britain all gained land and restored their old borders. The changing of the map restored a balance of power between the five major European leaders. Many countries were disappointed, however, because they lost land and power. The balance of power destroyed any threats to France, Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, and Austria's power, but left the rest of Europe disappointed.
I believe that if all the Congress of Vienna wanted to do was prevent their power from being threatened, then the balance of power was the right way to go. However, the whole purpose of the Congress of Vienna was to help those who suffered under Napoleon and correct the wrongs of the past. That they failed in doing because the balance of power only benefited the five European powers. There were no wars between them until 1853, but there were many revolutions, including the Revolution of 1848, which caused Metternich to flee Vienna. In order to benefit the whole continent and keep peace, the Congress of Vienna should have sacrificed some of their power.