The Viennese Revolution of 1848
- ISBN-10
- 0292724934
- ISBN-13
- 9780292724938
- Category
- History
- Pages
- 442
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2013-12-18
- Publisher
- University of Texas Press
- Author
- R. John Rath
Description
Liberalism, in the nineteenth-century sense of the term, came to Austria much later than it came to western Europe, for it was not until the 1840s that the industrial revolution reached the Hapsburg Empire, bringing in its train miserable working conditions and economic upheaval, which created bitter resentment among the working classes and a longing for a Utopia that would cure the ills of mankind. This new-found liberalism, largely self-contained and uninfluenced by liberal movements outside the empire, centered mainly in the idea of individual freedom and constitutional monarchism. In the end, the revolution failed because the moderates proved too weak to control the radical excesses, and the radicals in growing desperation tried to turn the rebel idea into a democratic and, at the extreme, a republican one. Fear of this extremism finally drove the moderates into the counterrevolutionary camp. Since the Viennese rebels fought to achieve many of the goals fundamental to democracy, historians have generally tended to idealize the revolutionaries and forget their shortcomings. R. John Rath has sought to evaluate the revolution from the point of view of the political ideologies of 1848 rather than those of the mid-twentieth century. Moreover, he has clearly and objectively stated the case for both the left and the right, pointing out the failures and shortcomings of each. At its publication, this was the first detailed English-language book on the Viennese Revolution of 1848 in more than a hundred years. The author has not confined himself to the bare bones of history. In his descriptions of the times and lively portrayals of the chief actors of the revolution, he has vividly restaged a drama of an ideal that failed.
Get the book
Similar books
-
Revolutionary Europe 1780–1850
By Jonathan SperberThe Russian Tsar Paul, who succeeded his mother Catherine the Great on her death in 1796, would only reign for five years before he was murdered in a palace coup and power placed in the hands of his son, Alexander I. As in the case of ...
-
Revolutions of 1848: A Social History
By Priscilla Smith RobertsonIn this book the author discusses revolutions in Europe in 1848 through the perspective of the common man.
-
1848: Year of Revolution
By Mike RapportA "lively, panoramic" history of a revolutionary year (New York Times) In 1848, a violent storm of revolutions ripped through Europe. The torrent all but swept away the conservative order...
-
The Revolutions in Europe, 1848-1849: From Reform to Reaction
By Robert John Weston Evans, Hartmut Pogge von StrandmannThese essays arose out of lectures given in Oxford to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 1848 revolutions in Europe. They comprise summaries of the existing state of knowledge, new insights and unfamiliar information.
-
The Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of Eastern Europe
By D. Hupchick, H. CoxTo help ensure Polish independence from the Germans, and to further solidify their loyalty to Rome, the papacy around the year 1000 granted the Poles their own Catholic archbishop under Rome's direct authority, thus removing any German ...
-
Europe in 1848: Revolution and Reform
By Jonathan Sperber, Heinz-Gerhard Haupt, Dieter LangewiescheTo commemorate the 1848 revolution in a spirit of renewed critical inquiry, an international team of prominent historians have come together to produce what must be the most comprehensive work on this topic to date and to offer a synthesis ...
-
European History: 1789 to 1848 Essentials
By John W. BarrettEuropean History: 1789 to 1848 includes the French Revolution, the era of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna, the Industrial Revolution, the impact of thought systems on the European world, the Concert of Europe, and the failure of the ...
-
Aristocrats and the Crowd in the Revolutionary Year 1848: A Contribution to the History of Revolution and Counter-Revolution
By Josef V. PolienskýThe Prague Uprising of 1848 was part of the powerful series of revolutions that shook practically the entire European Continent as the middle classes and urban and rural workers pressed against the rule of aristocrats and monarchs.
-
Revolution and Counter-Revolution; Or, Germany in 1848
By Karl Marx, Friedrich EngelsGood Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read.
-
The Revolutions of 1848: Germany, Austria, and Italy
The Revolutions of 1848: Germany, Austria, and Italy