Chapter 22


1.) Chapter 22 focuses on the dual revolution of politics paired with industrial progress. Strong conservative forces after the French Revolution meet in the Congress of Vienna where one key figure emerges from Austria, Klemens von Metternich. Although peace is maintained in the years 1815-1850, political strife (coming from the main forces liberalism, nationalism and socialism) is mounting within most European countries creating great tension.

Chapter Objective: Understand the political forces at work during this time period and relate them to the types of legislation and movements made during the period.

Essential Question: What were the three main forces behind political strife during this time period? Give a explanation of all three.

Liberalism- The principal ideas of this movement were equality and liberty; liberals demanded representative government and equality before the law as well as individual freedoms such as freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of arbitrary arrest. Although liberalism focused mainly on the interests of just the middle class, the idea still spread and would come to threaten the status quo.

Nationalism- The idea that each people had its own genius and its own specific unity, which manifested itself especially in a common language and history, and often led to the desire for an independent political state. Nationalism’s significance lies in its effect on all peoples. The belief in a cultural identity captures all peoples and differences between nations leads to the classic “we-them” mentality which causes conflict, but also encourages growth within any particular nation.

Socialism- A backlash against the emergence of individualism and the fragmentation of society, and a move toward cooperation and a sense of community; the key ideas were economic planning, greater economic equality, and state regulation of property. Socialism has had an effect on the working class since its beginning, forcing workers to view their struggle in terms of a broken class system which brought many workers to unite and lash out at established governments.
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2.) J. M. W. Turner- Joseph Turner was an English landscape watercolorist during this time period. The Romantic movement affected his style largely by making him look at the power of nature. He is responsible for inventing a new watercolor technique which by one  pours slightly diluted color on to an area and then merges it into other colors. The traditional mix uses red, yellow, and blue to achieve a striking effect of light in darkness. He is significant because his paintings reflect the romantic movement of the time period through emotion carried through a natural scene.


<- Joseph Turner

                                Sir Walter Scott                  

Sir Walter Scott- Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet. One of his important quotes talks about the Irish potato famine- 

"The poverty of the Irish peasantry is on the extreme verge of human misery; their cottages would scarce serve for pig styes even in Scotland; and their rags seem the very refuse of a sheep, and are spread over their bodies with such an ingenious variety of wretchedness that you would think nothing but some sort of perverted taste could have assembled so many shreds together."

His work helped illustrate the clear horrid living conditions of the Irish poor during the Irish Potato Famine. His normal works become Scottish classics as well as English literature classics.



Mary Shelley- Mary Shelley was a Romantic period English novelist who is most famous for her work Frankenstein. Her work would become a classic and illustrated the fears of the scientific revolution through the creation of Frankenstein's monster. She is sometimes considered both the founder of the "spooky horror scene" and the literary genre of science fiction. She is remembered as an excellent female writer during a time  when most women were looked down upon, although Enlightenment thoughts changed that to some degree.


<- Mary Shelley              




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3.) 1854- Henry David Thoreau publishes his most famous work Walden. It centers on Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond. This piece comes to define a lifestyle often enjoyed where a person finds comfort through nature. This is characteristic of the Romantic movement in Europe at this time because a great sense of peace is seen through Nature to an extent that rationalism can not account for. It also promotes that one look through themselves to find deeper meaning in life and also be self-sufficient and live simply. This would be the direction of a strand of Romantic thought during the time that is termed Transcendentalism that emerged in America in the 19th century. It was mainly limited to America as it was a nation built upon the woods.




The period in America known as the Age of Jackson lasted from 1829 to 1837. Andrew Jackson was the first modern Democratic president of the United States. Although he was a rich slaveholder, he had a wide base of support from the common man because he fought against the aristocratic political system of America as he saw it since most of the power of the country laid in the hands of the rich. Some key aspects of his presidency were the expansion of the spoils system, the destruction of the national bank, and the passing of the Indian Removal Act. Jackson was responsible for expanding the powers of the President to enforce national laws against the States. This relates to Europe at the time because there was a great pressure against the conservative aristocracy in most countries though the three forces liberalism, nationalism and socialism. Jackson's support of the common people reflects the efforts of the people to gain rights against the previous power structure.
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4.) Picturing the Past: The watercolor painting by Joseph Turner was characteristic of his style of painting the sea. His work illustrated the power of Nature both in terms of its destructive forces, but also its emotional power. One technique employed uses color pouring where color is dropped and then mixed with other colors to create cleaner transitions in terms of gradients. Specifically in this picture Turner uses blue, yellow and a small amount of red to achieve his effects, such as light in darkness when viewing the lantern on the boat.

Analyzing the Image: How does this picture illustrate the power of nature. How does this picture portray the power of man?

Connections: Where can this style be viewed in modern art? How is the power of nature portrayed in movies?
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5.) 3-2-1

-There were three main forces behind political tension during this time and these were liberalism, nationalism and socialism.
-Klemens von Metternich defense of the status quo made him an enemy to the eyes of many progressives, but his thoughts can be understood better through his pessimistic view of human nature.

-The Great Irish Potato Famine ravaged the Irish population and made many emigrate the country.

-Peace during this time was maintained by the Great Powers because they were all conservative and were apt at repressing revolutionary thought.
-Romanticism burst on to the scene as a reactionary period to rationalism starting a new view that Nature possessed an inherent beauty that was past what can be rationalized.

-How will Germany and Italy both form a solid nation after this period?