In 1825, there was a revolt in Russia called the Decembrists revolt. Nearing the end of his reign, an unpopular king named Alexander was prepared to hand the throne to his son, Constantine. The people of Russia loved Constantine, but not Alexander. Many people even plotted an assassination on Alexander. But their plan was not carried out, as he died of illness in 1825. The people were happy.
They were ready to have Constantine as their leader and make improvements to their country. But that's not how it went. Constantine didn't want the throne. It was pushed on to the lap of his brother, Nicholas. This enraged the people, and this was the start of the revolt. The people that were revolting were called the Decembrists because the revolt happened in December, which seemed to be the most sensible name for them. Nicholas used his new power to simmer down all of the people who were revolting. At the end, while they were given a new king, the people ultimately didn't get what they wanted because Constantine was not in the throne. A war veteran, named Yakushki, says “Seeing the insipid life in St. Petersburg and listening to the babbling of old men praising the past and depreciating every progressive step was unbearable. We were a hundred years from them.” He has been in war, and he knows how a proper government is run. The older people that he sees don't know any different, so they talk about their great past that they have had as a country. He thinks it is foolish that they think this way because of his experiences with new and improved government. A Decembrist named Dmitry Zavalishin, said “Russians were offended at the granting of a constitution to defeated and conquered Poland before one was given to Russia, which had vanquished it.” The people of Russia want a democracy with a constitutional monarchy, so this upsets them. A small country that they have defeated has made a constitution, but they had not. This made the people even more angry because Constantine was a democratic person that would likely have made a constitution, but they can't have this. Below are some results from our survey questions.
The revolt in France in 1848 was neither success nor failure. While some people got what they wanted, the majority did not. A new king was chosen, Louis Napoleon, and the people were excited that he would lead a powerful country. He gave the people the right to vote. They voted for him to create the second empire, the first being the one that Napoleon I had set up previously. Unfortunately, he used this power to try and imitate what Napoleon the first did; but Louis Napoleon was not as successful.
The revolt in Frankfurt in 1848 was unsuccessful. An assembly was held, where they talked about important things that would be on the new constitution. When they were deciding a leader, they chose Frederick William IV from Prussia. He declined because the request came from the people and not the German prices, and he described the offer "from the gutter." Outside of the assembly, many middle class and peasant families rioted. Some were killed, some went to prison, and some went to the United States because of their Democracy and economic opportunity.
The revolt is Hungary is 1848 was a partial failure. The revolution that emerged in Vienna took Metternich by surprise. He tried to silence the revolt, but was unsuccessful. He abdicated the throne fled away in disguise. This led the Hungarians to a revolt. They wanted the end to serfdom and a constitution to protect their rights. Overwhelmed by the revolts, the Austrians granted the people what they wanted. These gains were only temporary. Austrian troops regained control of Prague and Vienna. Many people were killed or exiled.
I don't think that these revolutions were failures because some good came out of most of them. They were able to use that as building blocks for what they wanted their country to be like. Even though these things may not have taken affect for a while, they were meaningful in the end.
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