What were the considerations during deliberations at the Congress of Vienna? In your estimation, was the settlement made at Vienna sound? Why or why not? 2 paragraphs

progression of the human mind torvards the perfecting of so many things. This it is whlch at the present day leacls so many individuals astray, for it has become an almost universal sentiment.

Religion, rnorality, legislation, economy, politics, ad. ministration, ai1 have become common and accessible to everyone. Knowledge seems to come by inspiration; ex- perience has no value for the presumptuous man; faith is nothing to him; he substitutes for it a pretencled individ- ual conviction, and to arrive at this conviction disper-rses with all inquiry and with all study; for these means ap. pear roo trivial to a mind which believes irself strong enough to embrace at one glance all questions and all facts. Laws have no value for him, because l-re has not contributed to make them, and it would be beneath a man of his parts to recognise the iimits traced by rude and ignorant generatior-rs. Power resides in himself; why should he submit hirnself to rhar which was only ,lsefui for the man deprived of light and knowledge? That which, according to him, was required in an age of weak- ness cannot be suitable in an age of reason and vigour amounting to universal perfection, whlch the German in- novators designate by the idea, absurd in itselfl of the Emancipation of the Peoplel Morality itself he does not attack openly, for without it he could not be sure for a single instant of his own existence; but he interprets its essence after his own fashion, and allows every other per- son to do so likewise, provided that other person neither kills nor robs him.

In thus tracing the character of the presumpruous

man, we believe we have traced thar of the society of the day, composed of like elements, if the denomination of society is applicable to an order of things which only tends in principle rowards individualising all the ele- ments of which society is composed. presumption makes every man the guide of his own behe( the arbiter of laws according to which he is pleased to govern himsel( or to allow some one else to govern him and his neighbours; it makes him, in shorr, the soie judge of his own faith, his own actions, and the principles according to which he guidesthem....

The Governments, having lost their balance, are frightened, intimidated, and thrown into confusion by the cries of the intermediary class of sociery which, piaced be- tween the Kings and their subjects, breaks the sceptre of the monarch, and usurps the cry of the people-the class so often disowned by the people, and nevertheless too much listened to, caressed and feared by those who could with one word reduce it again to nothingness. \We see this intermediary class abandon itself with a blind fury and animosity which proves much more its own fears than any conlidence in the success of its en- terprises, to all the means which seem proper to assuage its thirst for power, applying itself to the task of p*-

suading Kings that their rights are confir-ied ro sirting upon a throne, while those of the people are to govern, ancl to attack all that cenruries have bequeathed as holy and worthy of man's respect-denying, in fact, the value of the past, and declaring themselves rhe masters of the future. \We see this class take all sorts of disguises, uniting and subdividing as occasion offers, helping each other in the l-rour of danger, and tl-ie next day .l"p.iuir-rg each other of all their conquests. It takes possession of the press, and employs it to promote impiety, cjisobedl. ence to the laws of religion and the State, and goes so far as to preach murder as a duty for those who desire what is good.

The Carlsbad Decrees, 1819:

Conservative Repression

One way political leaders tried to a"ssert conserq)dtism against un1 perceived threats such as liberalism or na"tionalism was through international cooperation and action, a policy known as the Concert of Europe. Another wdJ was through mking internal measures against tl-te same threats, such as occurred in Germany in 1819 with the issuance of the Carlsbad Decrees. These decrees were pushed through the Diet of tl.te German Confederation by Austria and prussia, but paiticu-

larly b1 Prince Metternich, in reaction to nationalist stud.ent mouements against the princifies of the Congress of Vienna. The following excerpts from those deuees concern the uni+ter- sities, the press, and all "reuolutionary plots.,,

Coxslorir: The purposes of these decrees and the means used to effect these purposes; whether these decrees dre con- sistent with attitudes expressecl by Metternich in the ,,confes-

sion of faith" he makes in hls secret memoranclum to 'Iiar

Alexander I; the consequences of the effecti,te enforcement of these decrees.

{ri?*V{Si{ i1AL }}Lilt{.ij: t{L}-A'f i:\{i'{'{} "f}{}l

I , X j\,i fl 1l! iT li: 5, i-'. A 3, j,\{ { } l, } i,y,4 I XJI}] }:i} 51:f].itt4:)i-1{ :*, i,t{ i ii

$2. The confederated governments mutually pledge themselves to remove from the universities o, oth.. prl- lic educational institutions all reachers who, by obvious deviation from their duty or by exceeding the limits of their functions, or by the abuse of their legitimate influ- ence over the youthful minds, or by propagating harmful doctrines hostile to pubiic order or subversive of existing

SouRcr: From James Harvey Robinson, ed., "The Reaction after.lg15 and European Policy of Metternich,,' in Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, uol, l, no. 3, ed. Department of History of the University 0f pennsylvania (philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1898), pp. 16-20. 102 CHAPTER 23

governmental institutions, shall have unmistakably

proved their unfitness for the important of{ice intrusted

tothem....

$3. Those laws which have for a long period been di-

rccted against secret and unauthorized societies in the

universities, shall be strictly enforced. These laws apply

especially to that association established some years since

rrnder the name Universal Students'Union (Allgemeine

Bursclrcnschaft), since the very conception of the society

irnplies the utterly unallowable plan of permanent fellow-

sl-rip and constant cotnmunication between the various

universirics. The duty of especial u'atchfulness in this

matter should be impressed upor-r the special agents of

the government.

fi1l 1. 1;!a 1 .1,'t!.:! l;;"f;.) i:ii..ii., !,r::.:ii.ia

$1. So long as this clecree shall remain in fbrce ncr

publication which appears in the form of daily issucs or as

a serial not exceecling twenty sheets of printed matter

shall go to press in any state of the Union without the

previous knowledge and approval of the state oflicials.

$6. . . . The Diet shall have tl-ie right, moreovel to

suppress on its own authority, r,vithout being peti-

tioned, such writings included in Section 1, in what-

ever Ge rman state they may appear, as in the opinion of

a commission appointccl by it, are inirnical to the honor

of the Union, the safety of inclividual states or the

maintenance of peace and quiet in Germanv. There

sha11 be r-io appeal from such clecisions and the govern'

ments involved are bound to see that they are put into

execution.

ir :1 i- ;1 li i.:iil :1'1 i:l!; "j.' i.ri:,: li i ];!' lra'i :{ ;,'i-:': :

Anrtclr I. Within a fortnight, rcckctned from thc pas-

sage of this decree, there shall convene, under the aus'

pices of the Confederarion, in the city and federal fortress

of Mainz, an Extraordinary Commission of Investigatitrn

to cor-rsist of seven members including the chairman.

Anrtclc II. The oblect of the Commission shall be a

joint investigation, as tl-rorough and exterisive as possible,

of the facts relating to the origin and manifoid ramifica-

tions of tl-re revolutionary plots and demagogical associa-

tions directed against the existing Cor-Lstitutional and

internal peace both of the Union and of the individual

states: of the existence of which plots more or Less clear

evidence is to be h:rd alreadl', or lnay be produced in the

coLrrsc oI the investrgatitln.

3-ir: gE"i s it H,{ h * r*[i s ra:

.Fe;',::; r'r' Ll* ;ll Jer ;;;i

The roots of liberalism are deep and uaried, stretching back

to the writings of Jolm ktcke in the seq'tenteenth century and

furtl'ter. By the time liberdlism started to fTourish dtLring tl'te

nineteenth century, it lwcl a particular$ srrong t-ngllslt tradi'

tion. Perhaps the most influential rf the ear\-nineteenth'

centurJ Enghsh liberals was Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832).

He is best known as the uutlwr of tlrc thectry of utilitarianism

and for aduocating refonn of many English institr,ttictns. The

ideas and efforts of Bentlwm and his followers, who include

Jumes Mill and John Stuart Mill, formed one of the main'

streams of English liberalism and liberal reform in the nine-

teenth century. The first of the followtng ttur.r selectiotts comes

fromBentham's An Introduction to the Principles of Morals

ar-rd Legislation (1789) and foarses or-t tlrc principle of ntility.

Tlrc second is from his Manual of Political Economy (1798)

and indicdtes /ris c,iews toward gouemmentctl economic policl.

L-'{-,";u;i;i,i...: Wat exactll Bentlwm means by the principle

of utility; what, according to the princtple of utility, the proper

role of gouernment in general is; his explanation for tlrc proper

role ol the goucrnmcnt in economic uft'airs.

L Nature has placed mar-rkincl under the governance

of twcr sovereign masters, paln and pleasure.It is for them

alone to poir-rt out what we ought to do, as well as to de'

termine what we sha1l clo. On tl-re one hand the standarc{

of rigl-rt and rvrong, or-L the other chains of causes and ef'

fects, are fastened to their throne. Thcy govern us in ail

rve do, in all we sa1', in all we think: evcry effort we can

n"iakc to throw off otrr subjectior-r, will serve to demon-

strate and confirm it. In tvords a l-nan may pretend tcl

abjure their empire: but in le:rlity he rvi1l remain subject

to it all tl-rc rvhile. Tl-re prlrrciple of utility recognizes tl-ris

subjection, and assumes it for the for-rndation of that sys-

tem, the object of lvl-rich is to rear the fabric of felicity by

the hands of reason and of lar'l'. S1'stems which attempt to

question it, deal in sounds lnsteacl of sense, in caprice in'

stead of reason, in darkr-ress instead of light.

But enough of metaphor ancl tleclamation: it is not by

such means tl-iat moral science is to be in-rproved.

II. The principle of utility is thc founclation of the

present work: it u,ili be propcr therefore at the oLltset to

give ar-r cxplicit nnd determinate account of rvl-rat is

meant by it. By the prir-iciple of utility is tneant that prin-

ciple which approves ttr disapproves of every acti(rn

whatsoever, according to ti-re tenclency rvhich it appears

SouRcrs: Jeremy Bentham , An lntroduction to the Principles of Morals

and Legislation (0xford: Clarendon Press, 1876), pp. 1-3; John

Bowring, ed., Bentham's Works, vol. lll (Edinburgh: William Tait, 1 843),

pp. 33-35. Reaction, Reform, Revolution, and Romanticism: 1g1S_1g4g 103

to have to augnent or diminish tl-re happiness of rl-re party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words, ro promote or ro oppose that happi_ ness. I say of every action whatsoever; and therefore not only of cvery action of a private individual, but of every nleasure of government.

III. By utility is meant that property in any object, r.vhcreby it tends ro produce ber.reflt, advanrage, pl.nru.., good, or happiness (a11 this in the presenr case comes tc) thc same thing) or (wl-rat comes ug"ir-, tn the same thing) to prevent tfie happening of mischie( pain, evi1, or un- h:rppincss to thc party whosc intcrest is c.nsiclereci: if that party bc the community in general, then the happi- ness of the commr:nity: if a particuiar incliviclual, t'hen the happiness of that individual.

IV The interest of the community is one of the most general expressions that can occur in the pl-rrase- ology of morals: no wonder that the mcaning of it is often lost. When it has a meaning, it is rhis. The com- nruniry is a fictitious body, composecl of the individual persons wl-ro are corisidercd as constituting as ii were its members. The interest of tl-re community tl.rcn is, wl-rat?-tire surn of rhe iriterests of the several mernbers whcl compose it.

V It is in vain to talk of the interest of the comn.runity, without understanding what is tl-ie interest of the incli- vidual. A tl-ring is said to pronote tire interest, or tcl be /or the interest, of an ir-rdividual, r.vhcn it tentls to add to the sum total of his pleasures: ol what comes to the same thing, to diniinish the sum total of his pains. VI. An acrion rhen may be said to be conformable tcr t1-ie principle of utility, or, for shortness sake, tcl utility (meaning with respect to rhe community at largc) when the tendency it has to aLrgment the happiness of the com- munity is greater than any it has to dimir.iish ir. VII. A measure of governmenr (which is but a partic- uiar kincl of action, performed by a particular person or persons) may be said to be conformable to or clictated hv thc principie of urilit1,, when in like manner the rendency which it has to augment rhc l-rappiness of rhe communiry is grearer than any -"vhich it has to dimir.iisl.i it. . . .

The practicai questions, therefore, are how far the er-id in view is best pronroted by indivicluals acting for them- selvesl and in what cases thesc encls may be promoted by tl-re hands of government/

With thc view of causing an increase to take place in the mass of national rvealth, or with a vierv to increase of the means eithcr of subsisterice or enjoyment, rvithclut some special reasor-r, tire general rule is, that nothing ought to be done or irttempted by government. The motto, or watchword of gctvernment, on these occasiuus, ought to be-Be quiet.

For this quietism there are two main reasons:

1. Generally speaking, any interference for this purpose on rl'ie parr of governmcnr is needless. Thc wlalih of the whole community is composed of the rvealth of tl're several inclividuals belonging to it taken together. But tct increase his particular portion is, ger-ierally speaking, among the constanr objects of each incli- vidual's exertions and care. Generally speakirig, there is no one who knows rvhat is for yt.rur interest so well as yourself-no onc who is rlisposecl with so much ardour and constancy tcl pursue it.

2. Gencrally speaking, ir is moreover likely to be pcrni- cictus, viz. by beir-rg uncoirducive, or cven obstruc_ tive, u,ith rcference to thc attainn.rent of tl.re encl in view. Each individual bestowing morc rime ancl at- tention upon the fireans of preserving ancl ir-rcreasing 1'ris portion of wealth, than is ,,. .nr-, b. besto.e.l b| government, is likely to take a more efTectual course than what, in his instancc and or-r l.iis behald rvoulcl be taken by government.

It is, moreover, universaily and constantly pernicious in another wa1,, by ti-re restrair-rt or constrainf irnposed on the free agency of the individual. . . .

- _. . . With few exceptions, arid those not very consider- able ones, the attair-rment of the maximum of enjoyment will be most efTecruaily secr-rred by leaving each inciivid- ual to pursue l-ris own maximum of enjoynient, in propor- tion as he is in possession of the n-rear-rs. L.iclir-ratior-r in this respect wili not be wanting on the part of any one. poweq

the species of por.ver applicable to this s25s_12i7. wealth, pecuniary power-could not be given by the hand of gov- ernment to one, without being taken from another; so that by sucl-r interference rhere would not be any gain of porver Llpon the whole.

The gain to be producecl in this article by the inter- position of government, respects principally the l-icad of knorvledgc. There are cases in which, iu. ,h. benefit of the public at large, it may be in the power of government t,, :ryr_: rhis or that portion of knowledge to be proclucccl and diffused, which, without the demancj for it proclucecl by governrnent, would eithcr not have becn producecl, clr rvould not have been diffusecl.

We have seen above the grounds on which the ger-ieral rule in this behalf-B e quiet-rests. \Tharever measures, therefore, cannot be justificcl as cxceptions tc, that r.,lc, nray bc considered as nctn agendrl on the part of govern_ ment. The art, therefore, is reduced r.vithin a srnall compass: security and freedom are all that industry re- quires. The request wl-rich agriculture, manufactures arLcl commerce present to governlnents, is r.nodest and rea- sonablc as that which Diogenes macle to Alexancler: "Stand out of my sunshhrc." We have no neecl of favorrr_ we require only a secure ancl open path. 104 ,r+ CHAPTER 23

Liberalism: Progress and Optimism

TheEcononist, l95l

I -iberals usually belieued in progress and were optimistic about their own times and the future. By mid-cent;ury, liberalism was most widespread in England, Europe,s dominant eco- nomic power. English liberals liuing in the mid-nineteenth century were therefore particularly confident and. proud., as indicated by the following excerpts from two 1B5l articles published in The Economisr. This journal appealed to Eng- land's prosperous middle class.

CoNsmnR: What liberals considered" the great improue- ments.of the first half of the nineteenth ,entury; *ho benefitec) most from these changes; how conseruatiues or socialists might respond.

Economists are supposed to be, by nature and occupa- tion, cold, arithmetical, and unenthusiastic. We shall not, we hope, do discredit to this chapter when we say that we consider it a happiness and a privilege to have had our lot cast in the first fiftyyears of thi, cenrury. . . . It has witnessed a leap forward in all the elements of material well-being such as neither scientific vision nor poetic fancy ever pictured. It is not too much to say that, in wealth, in the arts of life, in the discoveries of science and their application to the comfort, the health, the safety-, and the capabilities of man, in public ancl private morality, in the diffusion if not in the advancemenr of knowledge, in the sense of social charity and justice, in religious freedom, and in political wisdom,_the period ofthe last fifty years has carried us forward faster and fur- ther than any other half-century in modern times . . . in many of the particulars we have enumerated, it has witnessed a more rapid and astonishing progress than all the cenruries which have preced"d li. ^t., "several vital points the difference between the lBth and the 19th cen. tury, is greater than between the first and the lBth, as far as civilised Europe is concerned.

\X/hen we refer ,o , f"r'It, of rhe extraordinary im- provements of the half century just elapsed_such as the 35 years' peace, so far as morals ".. ao.r."arl"d; such as the philanthropic and jusr conviction thar the welfare of the multitude, not of one or two classes, is the proper ob- ject of social solicitude; the humane direction which the mind has received towards the abolition of slavery; the amelioration of all penal systems, and rhe doubts that have been generated of their utility; the advances in re. Iigious toleration, and in forbearing one with another:

and such as the application of steam to locomotives on water and land, and the consequent vast extension of communication all over the world, so far as physics are concerned;-such as the invention and generai intro. duction of gas; the use of railroads and electric telegraphs; the extended application of machinery to ail the arts of life, almost putting an end to very severe inju- rious bodily toil, except in agriculture, in which, though the. labourers are speedily doubled up with rheumatisi, and become, from poverty ancl excessive labour in aii kinds of weather, prematurely old, great improvements have nevertheless been made,-when we refer to a few events of this kind, we become convinced that the haif century just elapsed is more full of wonders than any other on record.

The First Chartist Petirion:

Demands for Change in England

Moc)ements for reform occurred throughout Europe be- tween 1815 and 1B4B despite the efforts of conseruatio,tes to quash them. Eventually almost all countiies in Europe ex- perienced the reuolutions conseruatiues feared. so much. One exception was England, but even there political mo,ue- ments thredtened to turn into violent reuobs igainst the fail- ure of the gouernmefi tu change. The most important of these was the Chartist mouement, mad.e up piinarily if members of the working class who wantid" ,"for*i fo, themselues. The following is an excerpt from the"first ch"ar- ter presented to the House of Commons in lB3B. Subse_ quent charters were presented in lB42 and 1848. In each case the potential existed for a mass mor)ement to turn into a uiolent req.,olt, and in each case parliament rejected the Chartist demands. Only later in the centurJ were most of these demands met.

Contsmrn: The nature of the Chartists' d.emands; by wlwt means the Chartists hoped to achiec,e their ends; how Metter- nichmight analyTe these demands.

Required, as we are universally, to support and obey the laws, nature and reason entitle ,, to d"*ur-rd that in the making of the laws rhe universal voice shall be im. plicitly listened to. We perform the duties of freemen; we must have the privileges of freemen. Therefore, we demand universal suffrage. The suffrage, to be exempt from the corruption of the wealthy anJ the violence of the powerful, must be secret. The assertion of our right necessarily involves the power of our uncontrolled exercise. We ask for the reality of a good, not for its

SouRcE: From R. G. Gammage, History of the Chartist Movement,2nd ed. (Newcastle,on-Tyne, England: Browne and Browne, 1 g94), pp. 88_90.

Souncs Ife Econlmist (London), vol. lX, January 4, j gsj , p. 5; January 18,1851, p.57. Reaction, Reform, Revolution, and Romanticism: 1g1S_1g4g 105

:'.:llffi*l:l"ii:".[*Tili,:ff;T;:;::,::1, *" Eveu,irness Acconnt or the be beneficial, must be intirnate. rr"," r"eirr;,ilH Rcsr*lutions af 1S4S in Ge11nany constituent powers, for correction anci for instruction, Awttxilfte.gisfel; trg4g ought to be brought into frequent contact' ,Errors In 1B4B reuoludons broke out throughout Europe. The Feb- wl-rich are comparatively light' wheri susceptible,of ^ ;';;rReuorutioninFron rr,rr^etltoactasasparkforreuo- speedy popular remedy' may produce the most clisas- l*T.n, ,rrr*hur, po,ti.riortl in th, German st..tes. Ind.eed, :l:::J'T:::, :?";ff:il::T'.^?,,::T ;::llf i,iin,, " i* ;,;:,';;;;';;,L,,ok in Frdnce, ,he es,abtishecl safety, as well as public confii.r.., f;;;;;"r'j.ffi, gouernments of the German states were faced with demands are essenriar. rhererore, ," ,j._u.,J;"",,j';;;i,I: ,:,,*Trf:rli\:r",#:ff;,,1:!,,:i"r;fr":rTl: ,r:::X;i

iT::il"Yi::"':[:iH*:':i?ii'::1:],,']ii* 'a::;",, du,in[ MonL tB;48, a, repo*ect in ,t,e London are compettecl, by the "*i,tr"g iu*,,;;;i;";;;:;;: Annuai Register.

resentatives men who are incapable of appreciati,g our cr:r+stuLll: wether tris indicates an. pattent to the reuo- difficulties' or have little sympathy 'iih th"*; ir..- ir)lr'oru, actirities; the nature of the demands for change; char-its who have retired from tracle'ancl no longer feel t *'rn" estahlished go,ventments reacted.. irs harrassings; proprietors of land who are aiike igno- 'i^)w L

rant of its evils and its cure; iawyers by whom the noto- I, order to give a clear ar-rci ciistir-rct narrative of the com.

:::L:r,,1",t""::",iT:H..r;tyfi:il"1, of obtaining ,i*,.0 .uJ,.,,, *r.,i.n r**,taken ptace cturi.g rtre pres-

who is seclulous ir-r it-r" air.nrrge of his or:Presentative ent year in Germanl', we have l-roi tu .orrrrde-..r..frlly

ous and burdensome- rt is neitie.;",i, ,"l,xl,ilU; :|i.?ff.,,x,],"1:T:[Tx':Tl H:':j;:**t*r::*: nor safe' that they should continue to be gratuitousiy tl-r... h* been a rong-susrained attempt to constrlrcr a renclered' we dema,d that in the future "i"ttio'-' of ""* c".-u. natio,ality on the basis of a confederation members of yclur honourable house' the approbation of .irir ,n" ,r"tes, with one great parriament or Diet, anc{ a tire consriruency shall be the ,ut. q*i#i.ation, and 6"",."f Execurive at Frankfort. . . . that to every representative "' tl-tu'en, shail be as- "-il;",

i. the southwesrern states of Ge.nany that signed out of tire public taxes' a fair and adequate re- ,t-r" "n .,, of th. F."r-,ln n"uotr,ro,-, began first ro man- munerative for the time which he is called upon to ,r"r, ,r-r",,r.1".r. o; ;h"')qrr, or February the Grand devote to the public service' The managerneni of his orr." "rBacren....iu"J n.r.pr,nrior-, from his subjects mighty kingdorn has hitherto bee, a "Ei"t' for con- *nui",rn,-,aecl liberry of the press, the establishment tending factions to try their selfish "tp"ti-"'-"r ,por-r' of a national guard, and rrial by jury. They succeeclecl in We have felt the consequences in our sorrowfulerieri- Jfrr.'"U..r, ,ra V. W;l:;., who hac{ clistinguishecl ence' short glirnrnerings of uncertain enjoyment, swal- irr-r.ir as a Libertrr leacler, was appointed one of the lowed up by long and dark seasons of r;uil".i,_,g. tf th" minisrers. self-government of the peopie shoLrld not remove their or-r,n" 3cl of Marcir, trre Rhenish provinces, headecl distresses' it will' at ieast' remove their repi.ings. Uni- by -ulugr-r", followed ,h" ,"-" exampie. o. the 4th versai suffrage will, and it alone can, bring t.ue ar-,.i ,i_iir. Jem.nsrati.;" ;;J piace at ril/iesbaclen and lasting peace to the nation; we firmly believelhat it will e.",r[ro.,, and on the 5th ar Dilsserdorf. At cologne, aiso brir-rg prosperity. May it th"."fore pl*r. your hon. ",-, ,ir" :a of March, the populace asembled lr_, c.c*d, ourabie house' to take this our petition into your most before the Sradthaur, u. tow. i-ialr, where the town serious consideration' and to use your utmost encleav' ."rrr"r rvere sitting, ancl demanded the coricession of ours, by ail constirutional means, to have a law passed, ;;;;; rights, whiJh *".. ir_,r..ifed on slips of paper granting to every male of lawful age' sane mind, ancl ,"J n".ra"a about amongst the mob. Trrey were as f.r- unconvicted of crime' the right of voting for members [rrr,'iil Universal ,rtr."-g",-rri legislation anc.r govern- of parliarnenr, and directi,g all future' "l.ctiun, of n .,_,, ,o proceerJ from the people. (2) Liberty of rhe members of parliament to be in the way of secret ballot, ,.".1 ""a freedorn uf ,p"e.h. (3) Abolirion of the and ordaining that the duration of p"li'-"'-'t, so cho- ,*rar^* army a,cr t1-," orn-,n.,r",t of the people, wr-ro

;:L:i,1"i1ffi[:::::i^"::m:l'"*J[*?fl:X "J," "i".,,1'"i. n*,,urr,."., r+r Furl .,gh* iii,ir,.

for their due remuneration while in attenclance on thcir parlianrenl Jry Juries. ,And your peritioners shallever pray.,, ;LTffi:i:fti,i,1JlLl;,1;,ffiT:::,i:nr{:;{lr,o::{,*,_ -

I 110 11* CHAPTER 23

F,

l

\ Tire Cangress of Vienna

FIrijo Flolborrr

Hindsight allows historians to eudludte diplomatic euents with a shafily critical eye. Often great settlements between nations haqte been criticized for not taking into account the historical

forces that would soon undo the stabilitl that the peace treaties were supposed to establish. Ahhough this critical q,tiew

applies to the Congress of Vienna, there arehistorians who see it as relatiorcly successful, particularly in comparison with the settlement after WorldWar I. One of these historians is Hajo Holborn of Yale Uniuersity. In the following selection Holborn evaluates the Congress of Vienna from the point of uiew of what. was realistic for the parties at that time.

CoNSi*sn: Why Holbornfeels that the Congress of Vienna produced a constructiq.)e peace treaty; how oiher historians might criticize this uiew.

The Vienna setrlement created a European political sys- tem whose foundations lasted for a fuil century. For a hun- dred years there occurred no wars of world-wide scope like those of the twenry-odd years after 1792. Europe experi- enced frightful wars, parricularly between 1854 and 1-878, but none of them was a war in which all the European states or even all the great European powers participatecl. The European wars of the nineteenth century p.oduced shifts of powet but they were shifts witl-rin rhe European political system and did not upset that system as such. The peace settiement of Menna has more often been condemned than praised. The accusation most fre- quently levelled againsr the Congress of Vienna has been that it lacked foresight in appraising the forces of modern nationalism and liberalism. Foresight is, incleed, one of the main qualides that distinguishes the sraresman from the mere political professional. But even a staresman can only build with rhe bricks at hand and cannor hope ro construct the second floor before he has modellecl the first by which to shelter his own generarion. His foresight of future developments can often express itself only"by cautious attempts at keeping the way open for an evolu- tion of the new forces.

It is questionable how successful the Congress of Menna was in this respect. None of the Congress representatives was a statesman or political thinker of the first historic rank. Al1 of them were strong partisans of conservatism or

Sounce: Hajo Holborn, The potitical Cottapse of Europe. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf , lnc. (New york, 1 965), pp. 27 _28. Copyright O 1 965 by Atfred A. Knopf, tnc.

outright reacrion, and they found the rectirude of their convictions confirmed by the victory of the old powers over the revoiutionary usurper. Stili, they did not make a reac. tionary peace. They recognized that France could not live without a constitutional charter, and they knew, too, that the Holy Roman Empire was beyond resurrection. The new German Confederation represented a great improvement of the poiitical conditions of Germany if one remembers that in Germany as well as in Italy the national movements were not strong enough to serve as pillars of a new order. In eastern Europe, furthermore, the modern ideas of national. ity had hardly found more than a smail academic and liter- ary audience. A peace treaqr cannot create new historical forces; it can only place the existing ones in a relationship most conducive to the maintenance of mutual confidence and least likely to lead to future conflict. The rest musr be left to the ever continuing and never finished dailv work of the statesmen

In this light the Venna settlement was a constructive peace treaty.

Western Liberalism

E. K. Branrsterl and K" J. NLellvtish

Although liberalism uaried throughout Eurctpe in accor- dance with the circumstances facing each countrl, there were broad similarities qmong the uarious liberal icl.eas and

fmqnds during the first half of the nineteenth century. ln the following selection E. K. Bramsted and. K. J. Melhuish summariTe the common elements of tiberal doctrine and. ctttitudes in Europe.

CoNstot R: How these doctrines and attitud.es differ

from conservatism; why liberalism wouldbe more appeaiJing to the middle class than tu the aristocrdcJ or the'workini class.

In spite of the variations in the three main strands of lib. eralism, the features which classic liberals from Locke to

John Stuart Mill had in common should nor be over. looked. Rooted largely in the outlook of Enlightenmenr there was a constant emphasis on man,s fundamental ra- tionality and reasonableness. privileges of the ruling strata based on mere tradition and custom were ques- tioned and often rejected. Everywhere we encounter a strong urge ro expand the rights of the individual and to

Sounce: From E. K. Bramsted and K. J. Melhuish, eds., Western Liberalisn: A History in Documents frlm Locke to Croce, pp. 35_36. Copyright @ 1978 Longman Publishing Group, UK. Reprinted by permission.