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Liberalism & Conservatism

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Thomas Briche                 History Essay

Liberalism and Conservatism (1780-1848)

"I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it", that is what John Stuart Mill, one of the most influential liberal thinker of the 19th Century wrote to Sir John Pakington, a British Conservative member of Parliament, in a letter on March 1866. This quote shows the tense relationship between Liberalism and Conservatism during the 19th Century. We might ask ourselves about the reasons for this conflictual relation between Liberalism and Conservatism.

Liberalism is a political philosophy based on the rights of men, of liberty and equality. Liberals thinkers thought that men’s rights were natural, God-given, unlike the Conservatives who thought that rights were inherited. Conservatism is a political philosophy based on the defense of the Old Regime and its values after the French Revolution. Conservatives are mostly landed gentry or members of the Aristocracy.

To study this subject, we will focus on the European continent and on the colonies of the different European powers of the 19th Century. Our analysis will start during the 1780s at the moment of the American Independence and will finish in 1848, during the ‘Revolutions of 1848’.

We shall try to cover the subject of this essay through the following problématique :

‘To what extent can we say that despite the shattering emergence of Liberalism on the political and social spectrum of the early 19th century Europe, Conservatism managed to be re-established and to fragilize Liberalism, notably with the help of arts, and how liberalism even weak figured to evolved?’

To answer this question, we will first consider the period between 1789 and 1815, which totally changed the face of Europe, by drastically transforming the former absolutism to new liberalism. Then we will examine, the return of Conservatism and the attempts, successes, and failures of Liberalism between 1815 and 1830. Finally, we will look at Europe between 1830 and 1848, when the Continent was divided between Liberal industrialized countries and when liberalism started to really evolve.

        On this first part, we will talk about the transformation from absolutism to liberalism that happened in Europe between 1780s and 1815, due to reforms, Revolutions, and arts.

        We will start by talking about the major changes in Europe starting in the early 1780s. In the early 1780’s, most European powers are monarchy. The Bourbons exercise an absolute monarchy in France with Louis XVI and in Spain with Charles VI. In Britain, the King George III is the head of a parliamentary monarchy. Most of these powers are colonials. For instance, Britain owns the Thirteen Colonies in North America, with whom it is at war. Indeed, the Thirteen colonies requested their independence. This war for independence was based on liberal claims. The people of the colonies wanted the drafting of a constitution, they wanted liberty and more freedom. On September 3rd, 1783, Britain officially declared that North America were independent with the Treaty of Versailles. This war of independence in which France was involved created a huge economic crisis in France who eventually led to the increase taxes in France. Louis XVI decided to convoke the General Estates, composed of the Clergy, the Nobility, and the Third Estate to raise new taxes to cover the deficit on May, 1st, 1789. During this gathering, the Third Estates declared that they did not have enough political power. The French clergyman Sièyes stated : ‘What is the Third Estate? Everything. What has it been until now? Nothing. What does it want to become? Something.’ in his book ‘What is the Third Estate in 1789. Louis XVI accepted to double the number of Third Estate’s representatives. The Third Estate also has liberal requests, they wanted the drafting of a constitution. The Tennis Court Oath (Sermet du Jeu de Paume) stated : ‘that all members of this Assembly shall immediately take a solemn oath not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established’. After that, The French Revolution happened. Louis XVI, made a lot of concessions and made liberal reforms such as the suppression of the ‘lettre de cachet’, or the abolition of the labor tax. On September 1791, the King eventually accepted the constitution, France became a constitutional monarchy. The constitution declared the Fundamentals rights, the States rights of liberty, property etc.  The Church power was also reduced. That was a liberal victory. But the others European monarchy started to fear the spread of the Revolution in their own territories. After the Battle of Valmy in 1792, the King, Louis XVI was convinced of treason by the National Constituent assembly in 1792, for his counter-revolutionary plans with Prussia and was put to death on January, 21th, 1793. After that the French First Republic will be created, and then Napoleon will do his coup of 18 Brumaire and he will proclaim himself Emperor in 1804 . During the First Empire, Napoleon deepened liberal and revolutionary principles by implementing revolutionary and liberal reforms such as higher access to education given by the State or the Napoleonic Code, which proclaimed liberties of individuals. The Napoleonic Code had also a big role on the abolition of serfdom all across Europe, indeed the Napoleonic Code was implemented in all the territories conquered by Napoleon, and abolished feudalism. Napoleon said: ‘What would eternally live, would be my Civil Code’ in ‘Memories of St-Helena’ of 1822. Napoleon left a revolutionary and liberal heritage, embodied the figure of the revolutionary statesman. But the way he governed, and his politics shows that he moved away from his fundamental revolutionary principles to tend to more conservatism principles. He reduced liberties, tried to reinstate slavery but failed, they were no place for women, a new aristocracy, a heredity regime. He also became an authoritarian leader : Consul for life in 1802, Emperor in 1804. Finally, during the Concordat of 1801, Christianism returned as the majoritarian religion in France. As we saw it, Liberalism was the basis of the Revolutions and was implemented across Europe due to Napoleon even if, at the end he became more authoritarian and conservative. Napoleon was eventually exiled in 1814.

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