Liberalism and Nationalism: The Age of Revolutions

Posted on Jun 27, 2025 in History

The Era of Revolutions

The Eighteenth Century witnessed several political developments that transformed Europe and America, marking the beginning of the modern world.

  • The birth of the United States, stemming from the American Revolution, was deeply influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment.
  • France led the Great Revolution (1789), which ended the Ancien Régime. Napoleon Bonaparte subsequently subdued most of Europe with his armies, simultaneously spreading revolutionary ideas.
  • The Congress of Vienna attempted to restore the pre-revolutionary situation, but the revolutionary and liberal spirit was reborn in 1820, 1830, and 1848.
  • The expansion of the Napoleonic Empire also gave rise to nationalist movements, notably in Italy and Germany.
  • In the cultural field, Neoclassicism developed.

The Birth of the United States

In the late 18th century, a revolutionary wave swept the American continent and influenced European revolutionary processes. This had its origin in the independence of the Thirteen Colonies of North America.

Reasons for American Independence

  • Many English colonists had settled in the Thirteen Colonies along the North American Atlantic coastal strip since the early 17th century. They enjoyed significant political autonomy and economic prosperity.
  • Enlightened ideas favoring the political representation of citizens and the separation of powers (legislative, executive, and judicial) had spread among them.
  • The conflict began when Great Britain established new taxes. The colonists refused to pay, claiming they had no representation in the British Parliament.
  • Britain attempted to subdue the colonists with its army, making war inevitable.

Key Events of the American Revolution

  • On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies was proclaimed in Philadelphia, embodying the principles of Enlightenment philosophers.
  • The U.S. Army, led by George Washington, defeated British troops (with assistance from France and Spain).
  • Peace was signed in 1783, recognizing the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, which were then called the United States of America. George Washington became its first president.

The U.S. Constitution

In 1787, the U.S. Constitution was approved. It established popular sovereignty and enshrined the separation of powers:

  • Legislature: Congress
  • Judiciary: Supreme Court
  • Executive: The President of the Nation

The French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire

In the 18th century, during the reign of Louis XVI, the outbreak of the French Revolution marked the end of the Ancien Régime and the beginning of the Contemporary Age.

Causes of the French Revolution

  • Economic: The French state faced a severe financial crisis caused by immense debt due to wars (including assistance to the American colonists) and crop failures, which led to bread prices rising to unattainable levels.
  • Social: Attempts to raise taxes and extend them to the privileged classes (nobility and clergy) failed, leading to a fiscal crisis. The bourgeoisie, despite their economic power, desired access to political power.
  • Politico-Ideological: The ideas of the Enlightenment provided the necessary ideological foundations to challenge and overthrow the Ancien Régime.

Phases of the French Revolution

In 1789, the king was obliged to convene the Estates-General to seek approval for new taxes.

  • National Assembly and Early Riots (1789): The Third Estate, feeling neglected by the traditional Estates-General, formed the National Assembly with the aim of providing France with a constitution.
  • Constituent Assembly (1789-1791): The National Assembly transformed into a Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting a constitution. Feudal privileges were abolished, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was drafted, establishing the separation of powers and the rights to liberty, property, and equality. National sovereignty was declared to reside in the people, and France became a constitutional monarchy, ending absolutism.
  • The French Republic and War (1792-1795): A new assembly, called the National Convention, abolished the monarchy and proclaimed a republic. This period marked the triumph of the Jacobins, supported by the Sans-culottes.