Revolutions in Europe and North America - Conservatism

REVOLUTIONS IN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA HIST 1301 | History Conservatism The growth of conservatism was a response to the increasing freedoms and intellectual shifts brought about by the eighteenth-century revolutions, whereas liberalism and nationalism stood for the preservation of Enlightenment ideas of inherent rights and liberty. Conservatives realised they could not go back to the pre-revolutionary period and instead tried to restrain the forces of nationalism and liberalism in order to uphold the newly established ideals of democracy and republicanism. Relying on the idea that abrupt transformation in the form of a revolution was unjustified, conservatism promoted deference to the rule of law and allowed religion teaching to be a major factor in preserving societal stability and order. Furthermore, conservative thinkers like Edmund Burke maintained that the rights of the society came before the rights of the individual and that progressive rather than revolutionary change was the best way to bring about political reform. The primary objective of conservative European politicians in the early 1800s, such as Austria's foreign minister Klemens von Metternich, was to avert more revolutions and preserve a balance of power that would prevent any one country from subjugating another. In reaction to the Napoleonic Wars, which took place at the start of the nineteenth century and saw Napoleon attempt to establish a Grand Empire that would extend French dominance over a large portion of Europe, Metternich and his allies set up conservative political regimes in an effort to contain France and bring about order. Following Napoleon's defeat, Metternich and envoys from Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom decided to cooperate in order to preserve peace and security throughout Europe. Members of this Quadruple Alliance gathered at the Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815 to cement their peace accord. In principle, it was a team effort, but Metternich controlled the process. He claimed that restoring the legitimacy of fallen kings, who would uphold conventional values and institutions, was the only way to preserve stability in Europe. Furthermore, monarchs would impose strict rules on their subjects and turn the democratic ideals of individual liberty and the social compact on their head. The powers in Vienna also believed that the political balance and equilibrium of Europe would be preserved by bringing back the monarchy. They decided to more fairly distribute military and political power among themselves so that no nation could conquer another. For instance, Poland was claimed by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Prussia and Austria were allowed to retain a portion of their Polish territories in order to maintain a fair distribution of power, while other Polish territories, including the Duchy of Warsaw, were given over to Russian rule. After that, sovereignty over extra territory in the German and Italian kingdoms was given to Austria and Prussia as compensation for the loss of their Polish domains. Furthermore, before the French monarchy was restored in 1814, France was forced to surrender whatever territory it had gained under Napoleon. Conservative leaders like Metternich underestimated the extent of popular support for these ideologies, which had become irreversible in places like the United States and France. Vienna's peace settlement of 1815 was meant to curb the liberalism and nationalism of the revolutionary era. For instance, Greek proponents of national sovereignty were inspired by revolutionary ideals to pursue and win their independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821 and 1830. However, after 1815, conservatism kept gaining ground among those who upheld the authority and privilege of the nobility, organised religion, and hereditary monarchy.