My group had the French Revolution of 1848. We learned that the working class liberals wanted a French Republic where everyone could vote. They opposed Louis Philippe and his government because there was a recession in Paris. The February days began, in which people overturned carts and toppled trees. Demonstrators were killed by troops. Louis Philippe stepped down from the throne and the Second Republic was created by a group of liberal, radical, and socialist leaders. By June, middle and upper class citizens had taken over the government. They shut down national workshops built by socialists because they thought they were a waste of money. Thus the June days began. There were violent protests that left at least 1,500 dead. But by the end of 1848, the National Assembly set up a constitution for the Second Republic in hope to restore control. A president and one-house legislature was created. The right to vote was also given to all adult men, creating the largest suffrage in the world at the time. Napoleon III was elected to the throne. The revolution was not a complete success or failure. It was successful in that Napoleon III became emperor; however, liberals, socialists, and radicals could not agree on government and led to revolts.
results from our survey
Before the French Revolution of 1848, there was the French Revolution of 1830. Charles X took the throne after his brother, Louis XVIII, died. He was a supporter of absolutism, the exact opposite of what his brother was for. In 1824, he took a lot of rights away from the people, like the right to vote and the press. This did not make the liberals and radicals happy, so they resorted to violence, causing Charles X to flee to England. Louis Philippe then took the throne, extending suffrage, but only to the upper classes. The other people suffered, meaning this revolution was in the middle of the success/failure scale. Another revolution that was researched by a different group was the Decembrist Revolt of 1825. After Tsar Alexander died, it was assumed that Constantine would take the throne. He had the same ideals as the people, which is why they wanted him to rule. Much to their dismay, Tsar Nicholas instead took the throne. He felt strongly about the military, didn't believe in democracy, and didn't want lower classes to have any say in the government. The people wanted to overthrow Tsar Nicholas and put Constantine in, which would give them a constitution and put an end to the widespread poverty. They gathered in crowds around guards, and when stopped by Tsar Nicholas, they told him they wanted Constantine as a ruler. He had no choice but to fire on his own people. This revolution was considered the only complete failure because the people did not get what they wanted.
I don't think that the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 were failures. There was only one complete failure and the good effects outweigh the bad. While mostly the upper classes prospered, some of the lower classes got something good out of the revolutions.
