1. THE 1848 REVOLUTIONS IN THE GERMAN STATES

2. PRUSSIA  King Frederick William IV – ruled 1840-1861  Autocratic ruler of Prussia  Loyalty to Habsburg royal family and Austria  1847 – Summoned Prussian Landtag (the United Diet) to discuss liberal reforms to the budget/law making  King refused to yield any power  March 1848 – Demonstrations in Berlin – triggered by demonstrations in France against monarchy  King’s troops attempted to break up the demonstration with violence  King ordered troops to leave Berlin

3.  May 1848 – King agreed to the formation of a constituent assembly  Liberal representatives  Nov 1848 – King used force to take back Berlin and to disperse the assembly  Dec 1848 – Frederick created own constitution  Bicameral legislature  Lower House – elected by universal manhood suffrage – wealthy votes weighted more to protect conservative interests  Upper House – reps appointed by the king

4. AUSTRIA  King Ferdinand I – Habsburg monarchy  Multinational / multiethnic empire  Germans, Magyars, Czechs, Poles, Rumanians, Croats  1848 – Louis Kossuth led movement in Budapest, Hungary – called for constitution for Hungary  Demanded political autonomy  1848 – Student movement in Vienna, Austria  Demanded free speech, free press

5.  March 1848 – Austrian army used force against student demonstration  Ferdinand called off army and removed army from Vienna  Allowed for more liberal constitution  Metternich resigned position and fled to London  Revolts in Vienna and Lombardy (Italian provinces)  Austrian army used to suppress uprisings  March 1848 - Hungarian parliament – adopted March Laws giving Hungary virtual autonomy  Removed labor tax for the peasantry

6.  Ferdinand – gave in to the demands of the liberals in Vienna and Budapest  Austrian army occupied in Italian provinces  Prague (Bohemia) – Czechs demanded constitution allowing for greater autonomy – like Hungary  Pan Slav Congress called to discuss political position of Slavic people in Austrian Empire

7.  Vienna, Austria – new constitution adopted  Peasant labor tax removed  Austrian army continued to remain loyal to royal family  Austrian army used to put down rebellion in Prague  Pan Slav Congress dissolved  Oct 1848 – army took back Vienna and ended liberal rebellion  Dec 1848 – Ferdinand abdicated throne in favor of Francis Joseph (son)  More conservative

8.  January 1849 – Austrian army invaded Hungary to end rebellion  Defeated  Tsar Nicholas I of Russia – invaded Hungary in support of Austria and to prevent rebellion in Poland  Hungarian forces defeated  Francis Joseph – more autocratic over empire once rebellions defeated to secure power  Liberalism = revolution  Austrian Constitutional Assembly dissolved and the draft constitution destroyed

9. THE FRANKFURT PARLIAMENT  Revolutions occurred in most German states  Liberal ministers occupied positions of power in most German state govts  Elections called for an All German National Parliament  Elected by universal manhood suffrage  Inspired by nationalism movement in Europe  Wanted to discuss German unification  May 1848 – 830 elected delegates met at Frankfurt (Free City)  Liberal university educated professional – professors, doctors, lawyers

10.  Drafted the Fundamental Rights of German People – statement of the liberal rights of German citizens  Free speech, press, religion  March 1849 – Drafted constitution for new unified Germany  Debate over unification  Kleindeutsch – “Small Germany” – Prussia and smaller German states  Grossdeutsch – “Large Germany” – Include Austria but not non-German Austrian territory  Francis Joseph I not interested in joining – removed delegates

11.  Kleindeutsch faction gained momentum after removal of Austrian delegates  Remaining delegates offer Crown of Germany to Frederick of Prussia  Refused  Prussian delegates withdrawn  Frankfurt Parliament moved to Stuttgart  Prussia used army to suppress uprisings in Saxony  June 1849 – FP disbanded – no support from Prussia and Austria

12. AUSTRIA VS. PRUSSIA  1849-1850  1849 – King Frederick William IV – began to lobby other German states to create a formal union of German states with the exclusion of Austria  Make the Zollverein a political union in addition to an economic union (the Erfurt Union)  1850 – Austria opposed Prussia’s attempt at breaking up the German Confederation  Threatened the use of force  Able to threaten Prussia after internal rebellions dealt with  Nov. 1850 – Agreement of Olmütz (“the Humiliation of Olmütz)  Prussia stopped attempting to reorganize the German States in the Erfurt Union – Prussian nationalists hated it  German Confederation re-established with Austria recognized as the primary member