The Ever-Lasting Power Struggle (aka. Europe)

            After Napoleon’s long conquest of Europe, and his subsequent exile, the many countries of Europe were left in turmoil. Napoleon had gotten rid of all titles of nobility and serfdom, and redrawn the borders of Europe so that the entire continent was part of France save England. While the other European powers did eventually manage to defeat him, he had been in power for too long to easily go back to the way things were, and through many of the better things he had done for Europe a good portion of the population preferred Napoleon to just about everything else they had known. After all this upheaval of the entire political, social, and economic structure of Europe, the former European leaders needed an equally radical change to keep the peace and make sure this never happened again. This change was made in the 10 month meeting between some of the most powerful people in Europe known as the Congress of Vienna. However, would they be willing to change their ways now that their power is threatened? In class, we worked in groups acting as the Austrian representative at the meeting, and figured out how he would suggest they proceed. Many of his ideals were the ones chosen for how Europe should be ruled hereafter.

            Many different concepts were utilized by the leaders of Europe in order to ensure that something like this conquest would never happen again. They extended the borders of Prussia and Austria to surround France in order to prepare for any future ideas of expansion, and created a few principles should other countries attempt to create a revolution. One such principle was the Holy Alliance, which stated the now reinstated kings had a divine right to rule their territory, and such any attempt at a revolution against them was not only a treason against the country, but one against God. While England did not take part in this alliance, most of the rest of Europe did, and the idea stood. This was meant to scare people from starting revolutions, stating that it would anger God.

            This was a terrible way to try to quell future rebellions. For one, you need not look past historical evidence. Even after saying that revolutions were against God, people were still perfectly willing to start them. Secondly, how could the people of the Congress of Vienna know how God feels? First of all God may not actually care how humanity rules itself, and secondly there was no way for them to know that God preferred monarchy over everything else. People in power should always be willing to do what is best for those they rule, even if doing so means them losing most or all of that power. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Prince Klemens von Metternich
Portrait of Prince Metternich, Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1815.

 

Napoleon's History

                Napoleon has gained a bit of a bad connotation throughout the course of history. For one, he was never actually that short. As an emperor he was a ton better than many others that have existed, and he was nearly indestructible on the battlefield. His love of micromanaging even had him stand on the same lines as his soldiers and share the same dangers they felt. Much of the bad characteristics associated with him were created from British propaganda, and most of the rest comes from the fact that he called himself an emperor. In truth, Napoleon made many economic, political, and social reforms still present in Europe today, and most of them weren’t all that bad.

            In terms of economics, Napoleon had many ways of making his country richer. For one, he sold America the Louisiana Purchase, which consisted of most of the land France had owned in the Americas, which not only helped America prosper but gave France a good deal of money. He achieved the monumental task of balancing the budget, something that America had hardly managed to do, and established the Bank of France. When he conquered Italy, he took vast amounts of money and used it all for France. While this may not be the best way to achieve economic prosperity, it was at least effective.

            Much of Napoleon’s success was based on politics. The French Directory actually hired him for their own uses, but somehow he managed to turn the idea around them getting all five members to quit. With France under his control he conquered nearly all of Europe, save England, Portugal, and Western Russia. While much of Europe was taken through military might, a lot of it was still politics. He had to have many allies, and somehow he managed to hold his territory, which according to him was all of Europe except England. Being able to hold such a large amount of territory alone is a feat worthy of the history books.

            Perhaps Napoleon’s greatest reforms took place in the social sector. He is often seen as a strict ruler, as he did call himself emperor, but in reality he gave the people a lot more rights than they’d previously had. He gave more citizens the rights to own property and get an education. When he took over Egypt he established the Institute of Egypt, which began the study of ancient Egypt. But perhaps most important of all, he took away the titles of lords, kings, and serfs alike, and put nearly everyone on an equal playing field. While at the time European nobility hated this, seeing as they had all the power, this idea seemed to linger, and much of Europe had kept the idea. While Napoleon’s image has been somewhat destroyed over history, let it not be forgotten that he did more good than bad in his short time ruling the continent. 

Fake Luddite Letter

            Luddites were people in the early 19^th century who fought against the effects that Industrialization had on the population. In England, factory owners would use orphans to do the work in their factories, usually for absolutely no pay. This incredibly cheap labor force created no need for the artisans and merchants who had once held a prominent position in society. The artisans and merchants, who became to Luddites, revolted because they believed that the people working in the factories should have knowledge of their craft and not just be children off the streets, and that they should be paid accordingly. While in America they at least paid the girls working in factories, and they got time off, things were still much the same. What follows is a mock letter from one American factory worker, a young girl, to her cousin explaining what she felt during this time.

Dear Mary,

            These are fearful times indeed. It is with much anxiety that I write you from my mill in Lowell, and try to explain my predicament. Last night, a group of Luddites, I believe they were all skilled weavers, broke into our mill and broke almost 20 machines. We girls were just leaving the room, and a few of the girls actually went with them to help. I had heard talk of striking, but this was the first action anyone had done about it. The wages here aren’t the best but they are enough to get by, and we are fed, decently rested, and kept busy. Many girls this age have next to nothing, so I feel that we should at least be thankful we have this. If the overseers cannot catch the men who did this they will likely blame us, and it is us who would be punished. I do not hate my job here in the mill, but that could easily change if our wages are taken away or we are given less time off, as I am quite tired as it is. I pray that these Luddites may stop, or be caught, so that we may continue our work uninterrupted and maybe more girls will come to appreciate that they are much better off here than a lot of girls out on farms or wherever. I would ask any advice you may give to play my part, as I am new to this and have no clue if saying anything would help us or just hurt my position among the other girls.

Love,

Rebecca

The Downside of the Industrial Revolution

            When people think of the Industrial Revolution, they often think of many of the inventions involved in it. Cars, computers, mass-produced clothing, processed foods, and even things like paper were made possible by this revolution, but such inventions didn’t come without a price. Terrible conditions, hours, food, illness, and accidents were all characteristic of factory work at the time, and in some cases still are today. While these conditions existed in both England and America, England most certainly had it worse. While the English seemed to turn a blind eye, the Americans at least made an attempt to address such issues.

            Many of the inventions in the early Industrial Revolution made transportation and access to goods significantly easier. This access caused a huge population growth. However, England only had limited space, and most of it was already used up. This overpopulation caused people to lose jobs and sometimes houses, and so when factories opened up people were desperate for work, and could be hired at little pay. Orphans, with their population growing as well, were sometimes hired for no pay. Their food was atrocious and innutritious, children could often be beaten, sometimes within an inch of their lives; near non-stop work could cause multiple deformities, such as losing the arches of their feet, and there were several accidents where people could break their neck, be crushed, scalped, or sometimes even deformed so much that they could hardly be identified. Even with the knowledge of all this the English government did nothing to try to stop it, seeing as it was them getting all the money.

            While significantly better than England, America was certainly not exempt from their share of problems. The Lowell experiment, an attempt to create an industrialized town without all the issues found in England, did succeed somewhat in creating better conditions, but the conditions there weren’t the most desirable either. The same population boom that existed in England also happened in America, except that America had the space to support the population. Thus the factories had to make work desirable. They pandered to younger girls, and while they did inflate what work in the factories was actually like it was still better than England. The girls got breaks for lunch, and had time on Sundays and in evenings, and did get paid decent though not amazing wages. When the wages started dropping the factory girls actually went on strike in order to raise them back up. The first time they struck the factory owners were able to hire new girls, but the second time not enough were left, and the factory workers were forced to raise wages. And unlike England, America did have regulations on child labor and working conditions, though they weren’t enforced that strongly. While both England and America had bad working conditions, it was clear that America had a much safer and more humane work setting.