Chapter 22: Ideologies and Upheavals

New Ideas and Conflicts in Europe (1815-1850)

Introduction

This blog is about chapter 22. During this time period, we will see a similar rebellion as the first French Revolution. The people and government will collide and new opinions and ideas will form. Before this time, the economic and political aspects of development have been kept separate. However, in this chapter, they fuse together. Liberalism, socialism and nationalism became popular beliefs as well with leading thinkers who advocated their beliefs. Not to mention, the great cultural rise of Romanticism that also defined the era.

Chapter Objectives

• define romanticism and describe its characteristics
• explain the new beliefs of socialism and liberalism
• show how the second revolution was similar to the first revolution
• describe various events from the second revolution

Essential Question

What were the main ideas of socialism, liberalism and nationalism and how did their leaders get people to accept their beliefs?

These beliefs were basically all radical by the rejection of conservatism. In all of these ideas, they developed new visions of how things should be run and who should run them then tried to get the people to agree with them to start a movement. Leaders of this movement often tried to touch emotion to get followers, but ultimately just wanted success.

Individuals in Society

William Wordsworth

Poetry was a major factor in the Romantic literary period. William Wordsworth was a leader in English Romanticism, specializing in poetry. He got his influence from Rousseau and the early French Revolution. Ironically, Wordsworth rejected the classical rules of poetry, creating a whole new viewpoint on prose. 


Romanticism focused very much on nature and its power toward an individual. Wordsworth helped set that specific tenant of Romanticism. He wrote a lot on nature, always paying close attention to detail in the physical environment around him. He also described in his poems the ability of nature to speak to him and receive some sort of intellectual message or symbol from nature. 

One example of Wordsworth use of nature is in his poem "Daffodils". He describes how wonderful his experience is walking around in nothing else than a field of flowers. Wordsworth depicts simplicity and the love of nature trough out this poem, which are both reflections of the Romantic period. 


Wordsworth set the scene for other writers in Romantic England. He did this through his genius poems where nature and individualism were his focus. Wordsworth used a lot of emotion and feeling in his work which helped bring out his unique style. Overall, Romantic Literature would not be the same without Wordsworth's contribution. 

Count Henri de Saint-Simon

Socialism emerged
in France after 1815. It went against individualism and the fragmentation of society, moving toward cooperation and a sense of community. Economic planning and equality and state regulation of property were it's main goals. Count Henri de Saint-Simon was the most influential socialist thinker of that time. He was born into an aristocratic family who gave him an education through private tutors. At the age of seventeen, Saint-Simon enlisted in the military. Therefore, his socialist ideas came from his high profile background.

He believed strongly that a planned society would help the poor by improving their living conditions due to industrial development. He had a strict plan where the court, aristocracy, lawyers and churchman would give all the power to the leading scientists, engineers, and industrialists. With this power they would plan the economy toward success by not allowing the public to have their own projects and also establishing a controlled banking system. Saint-Simon was a strong moralist so his ideal society would have every social institution working to improve the conditions of the poor.

Saint-Simon's influence did not take off until after his death, but when it did it was tremendous. By 1826 a movement supporting his ideas began to grow. Eventually, his followers called themselves "Saint-Simonians" and held meetings in and around France. They demanded the common ownership of goods, called for the abolition of the right to inheritance, and advocated women's rights. Saint-Simon's ideas carried on throughout the years and eventually influenced Karl Marx and his socialist thinking.

Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin

Amanda Aurore Lucie Dupin is better know by her pen name, George Sand. She was a French novelist and memoirist, known for her independence and shocking subjects written in her books. Dauphin was married, but eight years and two children later she got divorced moved to Paris to be a writer. Dupin had many sexual and personal relations after her first marriage with both men and women, some formal and some informal. She is known for her quote, "There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved".

Dupin decided to become a women writer in a time when that was almost unheard of, Thus, explaining her pen name being a man's name. However, she did prefer to wear men's clothing and was known for her lesbian affairs. She wrote a lot about her childhood experiences yet also took her writing to the next level by writing about the quest for sexual and personal freedom. Not to mention, all her criticism of the political and literary scene of her society. Dupin proved that women could be successful writers in a time of male dominance even with her writing consisting of unaccepted topics.

 

What Happened in the US?

Building of the Erie Canal

The Erie Canal in New York state opened officially in 1825. It was 363 miles long, running from the capital, Albany down the Hudson to Buffalo, linking the Hudson River with Lake Erie. The cost is estimated at seven million dollars for total building expenses. This canal became the most effective way to ship bulk goods in recorded history. The Erie canal was also responsible for the growth of New York City, making it the largest city in the country, just passing Philadelphia. Eventually, New York City became the main US port. This was mainly due to the fact that the canal was the first transportation system from New York City to the Great Lakes without ports. Transportation costs were cut dramatically with the canal because carts pulled by animals were used previously.



The Erie Canal connects to the time period from 1815 to 1850 in Europe, and Great Britain especially, for a few reasons. First of all, the Erie Canal opened Eastern markets to crops raised by western farmers. That kept the trade and exchange of goods more nationwide instead of international. The Corn Law of 1815 reduced the importation of foreign grain immensely. Although the Erie Canal did not bring about any formal restrictions to foreign goods it did naturally cut back in foreign grain due to the connection to the east and west. The other connection bring in the Reform Bill of 1832, which bought about free trade in Great Britain. America already was practicing free trade but the building of the Erie Canal broadened it even more with the port in New York City. In those ways, Great Britain took on a few characteristics from America although in most other aspects in history, it is the other way around.

 

 

 

Indian Removal Act

The Indian Removal Act was an act, passed by President Andrew Jackson in 1830, forced the native American people to leave their homelands, which were spread throughout the east cost of America. This act was passed so Jackson would have complete control over the land they occupied. Although the removal was intended to be voluntary, the natives did resist. Eventually, they were all forced to leave in what is called the trail of tears. This was the name given to the process of making the Indians relocate to the west part of the country. The conditions of the journey were not good for many got sick or even died.

While trying to find an American history event that would relate to Chapter 22, I thought of this for a somewhat interesting connection. It reminded me of the Peterloo Massacre which was meant to eliminate "rotten boroughs". Although the circumstances of each event are somewhat different, both were meant to remove a group of people, in the way. The Indian people were not massacred but their way of life was due to the forced removal they endured.

Picturing the Past

The Irish Great Famine

The picture above depicts the Irish potato famine. The people here are rushing to take the potato crop of someone who has been evicted from their property. People were so desperate during the famine that they were willing to take such drastic measures to get a good meal. The potato was a staple item in the diets of the Irish people so the famine came a lot of hard times. Children, especially suffered without the proper nutrients needed to grow. Therefore, it is very likely the adults collecting the "used" potato crops above are parents trying to get a good meal for their under-fed children

Self Reflection

Chapter 22 was not the most exciting chapter for me. I think studying the first French Revolution previously, helped me get interested in this section because there was a lot of French history. That was neat to study because I was able to see how France progressed after such a dramatic era. However, I was interested in the culture aspect of this chapter when Romanticism was brought in. I do have some background of the literature, music and art of this time so it was fun to read and learn more about that aspect. Also, I like that I could relate the textbook history lessons to the types of music, art and writings done in this time. The characteristics of this time period are greatly reflected in the culture, which is cool to see.

Another thing I noticed while we were studying this chapter was how similar the revolutions of this time were to the first France Revolution. In both times the people went against the King for better conditions for themselves. It really does seem that history repeats itself and this is a prime example.