German nation-states pressed for unification while some Italian nation-states resented the foreign rulers imposed on them at the Congress of Vienna of 1815. Nationalism also played a significant factor in the Revolutions of 1848. Workers clamored for more economic rights. Discontent with political leadership led to demands such as republicanism, constitutional governments, and universal manhood suffrage. Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century and with the growth of the popular press, ideas such as liberalism, socialism, and nationalism took root. ![]() Political cartoon of economic conditions in the 19th century, via Chicago Sun Times The bourgeoisie, or middle classes, feared these new arrivals, and the effect of industrialization meant that cheaper, mass-produced goods replaced traditional artisans’ products. ![]() Social change gave rise to an increase in urban populations, where unskilled laborers worked from 12 to 15 hours a day, barely able to buy food to eat or pay rent for the slums they lived in. States issued bonds and shares to raise money for railways and industries this credit expansion precipitated financial panics and crises in several countries, including Britain, France, and the loose confederation of German states. The growth of industrialization led to decreased investment in agriculture. These failures most affected peasants and the growing urban working classes. The failure of barley, wheat, and potato crops led to mass starvation, migration, and civil unrest. Many regions of Europe experienced harvest failures in 1839, which continued throughout the 1840s. In many of the affected countries, nationalism was another catalyst for the revolutions. Others have argued that social and ideological crises cannot be discounted. ![]() Some historians have argued that the Revolutions of 1848 were largely caused by two factors: economic crisis and political crisis. Given that the revolutions occurred in so many places and in so many countries, it is nigh on impossible to attribute a single general reason or theory as to why they transpired. With no central coordination or cooperation, over 50 countries were affected. The revolutions that swept through Europe in 1848 still comprise the most widespread revolutionary wave Europe has ever seen. Causes of the Revolutions in 1848 Lithograph by Frédéric Sorrieu, Universal Democratic and Social Republic: The Pact, 1848, in the Musée Carnavalet, Paris, via
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