Nationalism & the Congress of Vienna
- Define nationalism and explain its emergence from the revolutionary era
- Explain the goals and principles of the Congress of Vienna
- Analyze the tension between conservatism and the forces of liberalism and nationalism
The birth of modern nationalism
Nationalism — the belief that people sharing a common language, culture, history, and territory form a nation that deserves its own self-governing state — became one of the most powerful forces of modern Europe. The French Revolution forged it: the levée en masse and the idea of the sovereign "nation" turned subjects into citizens who identified with France itself. Napoleon’s conquests then spread nationalism across the continent, both by example and by provoking resistance among Germans, Italians, Spaniards, and others who came to see themselves as peoples entitled to unity and independence.
The Congress of Vienna
After Napoleon’s defeat, the victorious powers — Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Britain — met at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815), guided by the Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich, to rebuild a stable order. They pursued three principles. Legitimacy: restoring the "legitimate" monarchies overthrown by the Revolution (like the Bourbons in France). Balance of power: redrawing borders so no single state — especially France — could again dominate, while not humiliating France. And containment of revolution: cooperating through the Concert of Europe to suppress future liberal and nationalist uprisings. The settlement was conservative, aiming to turn back the revolutionary tide.
Conservatism versus the revolutionary ideals
The Congress launched the age of conservatism — a movement, articulated by thinkers like Edmund Burke, that valued tradition, hierarchy, monarchy, and established religion, and distrusted abrupt, rationalist change. But the Revolution had unleashed rival ideologies that would not die: liberalism demanded constitutions, individual rights, and representative government, while nationalism demanded that peoples govern themselves. The Vienna settlement suppressed these forces but could not extinguish them; the tension between conservative order and liberal-national aspiration would erupt again and again in the revolutions of 1820, 1830, and 1848.
Remember the Congress of Vienna by its three "-cy/-ce" goals: legitimacy (restore old rulers), balance of power (contain France), and the Concert of Europe (cooperate to crush revolutions). All three served the master goal of conservative stability.
Briefly explain the primary goal of the Congress of Vienna and describe ONE revolutionary force it sought to contain.
- 1.Identify the context: the powers met after Napoleon’s defeat to restore stability to a Europe disrupted by revolution and war.
- 2.State the primary goal: to build a conservative, stable order based on legitimacy (restoring old monarchies) and a balance of power that prevented any state, especially France, from dominating.
- 3.Name a force it feared: liberalism (demands for constitutions and rights) and nationalism (demands for self-governing nations) threatened the restored monarchies.
- 4.Explain the containment: through the Concert of Europe, the great powers agreed to cooperate in suppressing liberal and nationalist uprisings.
Nationalism in the nineteenth century is best defined as the belief that:
The Congress of Vienna was conservative, not liberal. It sought to reverse revolutionary change by restoring monarchs and suppressing liberalism and nationalism — the opposite of promoting rights or self-determination. Its success was temporary.
The principle of "legitimacy" at the Congress of Vienna referred to:
Set up the next century as a struggle between two camps: conservative order (Metternich, monarchy, tradition) versus liberalism and nationalism (constitutions, rights, national unity). The revolutions of 1830 and 1848 are the recurring flashpoints of that struggle.
Answer the 2 checkpoints as you read.
Sign in to save your progress