REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF THE 1848 REVOLUTION IN PRUSSIA

REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF THE 1848 REVOLUTION IN PRUSSIA

1. Lack of a strong revolutionary army rendered the 1848 Prussian revolution a failure. The revolutionaries were poorly armed, trained and co-ordinate yet they had no support from the Prussian army. On the other hand, the Prussian and Austrian armies were properly armed, well trained, disciplined and loyal to their kings. This is why the revolution was easily suppressed by Prussian and Austrian troops.

2. The political and economic strength of the Austrian empire also contributed to the failure of the Prussian revolution. The Austrian empire was the biggest in Europe and the most influential in European politics. She had dominated and exploited the Germans, Italians, Hungarians, and Bohemians etc. She also had a big population and hence a big army that was maintained by the exploited resources. This rendered the Prussian revolution a failure. It should be noted that Austrian strength is what bullied King Fredrick William IV and made him to reject the offer to lead the revolution and appeal for Austrian intervention against the revolution.

3. The impact of the Metternich system made valuable contribution to the failure of the 1848 Prussian revolution. By 1848, Metternich had disorganized the Germans through his policy of spy network, Carlsbad decree, divide and rule and force. He created a confederation parliament, which was led by an Austrian. He also imposed different rulers to lead the various 39 German states. These undermined nationalism and explains why the Prussians were not united in the revolution. It should be stressed that although Metternich was overthrown, his system was effectively used by his successor Schwarzenburg against the revolution in Berlin.

4. Racial difference was another setback to the 1848 Prussian revolution. This was responsible for the failure of the Frankfurt parliament, which was to decide on the future of Prussia, it was dominated by intellectuals and middle class with very limited peasants and workers representatives. This is why the workers and peasants in Berlin started agitating for communism, which in turn forced the middle class to support King Fredrick to suppress the revolution.

5. The Prussian revolution also failed because of ideological conflict. This was revealed in the Frankfurt parliament. The delegates conflicted over whether Austria should be part of a united Germany or not.

There were also other groups who were advocating for federal and republican governments. This explains why the Frankfurt parliament wasted a lot of time and failed to embark on crucial issues like raising an army. This disagreement and confusion provided a line of weakness for King William IV to use force and dissolve the parliament, leading to the failure of the revolution.

6. The influence of religion in politics was also responsible for the failure of the revolution in Prussia. It made the Catholics in Prussia to sympathize and support King William and Austria against the revolution. This is why the revolution in the German states was more concentrated in Prussia, which was a stronghold of the Protestant religion.

7. Lack of capable and reliable leadership also contributed to the failure of the Prussian revolution.

The revolutionaries had hopes in King William IV who unfortunately was a coward and afraid of fighting Austria. He refused the Frankfurt assembly's proposal to lead a united Germany saying that he was not ready to be serf of the revolution" "nor pick a crown of mud and wood from the gutter".

He turned against the assembly remarking that, "The assembly wished to take from me my divine right. No power on earth is strong enough to do that. I shall hold it as I have inherited it from my ancestors (Years of Nationalism by L.W. Cowie and R. Wolfson, P 173)

Eventually, William IV withdrew Prussian delegates from the parliament, which was followed by other delegates. This marked the end of the Frankfurt assembly, which was a devastating blow to the revolution.

8. The political miscalculation of the liberals and intellectuals was yet another contributory factor to the failure of the revolution. The liberals and intellectuals who dominated the Frankfurt parliament blundered by falsely hoping that they could succeed through speeches and parliamentary resolutions yet the complexity of the Prussian problem needed a field where bullets not views would fly.

Consequently, they vetoed important and crucial issues like raising an army, foreign assistance and using kings against Austria. The liberals wasted time on non issues instead of taking advantage of the downfall of Metternich and the weakened Austrian empire to unite the Germans. This was opposed by Prussian representatives led by Bismarck, which paved way for the success of Fredrick William and Austria against the revolutionaries.

9. The failure of the 1848 revolutions in other parts of Europe also contributed to the failure of the revolution in Prussia. By November 1848, revolutions had failed in other states. In Austria, the Austrian troops recaptured Vienna on 31^st Oct, 1848 and ended the revolution. In Italy, the Italians were also failing to succeed. All these gave the Prussian king, William IV confidence to use force against the Frankfurt Assembly and the revolution in Prussia. The failure of the revolution in Austria also reduced Pressure on Austrian authorities and made it possible to release troops who suppressed the revolution in Prussia.

10. Poor mobilization also account for the failure of the 1848 revolution in Prussia. The revolution was urban based and confined to a few large towns and cities like Berlin and Frankfurt. The rural peasants were not mobilized and that is why there was only one peasant out of 586 members in the Frankfurt assembly. This denied the revolutionaries mass support leaving them confined to urban centers e.g. Berlin, which were easily suppressed.

11. The Austrian intervention against the revolution was also significant in the failure of the revolution in Prussia. The revolution was against Austrian influence in German states, which provoked Austria and Prince Windischgratz to send troops that brought the revolution to an end.

12. Opposition by conservative Prussian Junkers led by Bismarck also rendered the 1848 revolution a failure. The Junkers opposed the revolutionary aim of integrating Prussia in Germany and wanted Prussia to absorb other German states. They had dominated key government positions in Prussia and encouraged King William IV to use force against the revolution. It should be noted that Prussia was the strongest of all the German states and her moves against the revolution made its failure inevitable by 1849.

13. The nature and composition of the constituent assembly (of May in Berlin) also contributed to the failure the Prussian revolution of 1848. There were 400 members but the representatives of peasants and workers were only about 100 while the rest were representatives ofthe conservative middle class and Junkers. The middle class and Junkers who dominated the constituent assembly were against the revolution and influenced the king to suppress it.

14. The influence and interest of foreign powers in German states made the failure of the 1848 revolution a foregone conclusion. The big powers of Europe had selfish interests to defend or pursue in the German states, which made them to oppose the revolution in Prussia. Russia had the ambition to expand to central Europe and Prussia's leadership of a united Germany would frustrate her ambitions.

Denmark was in control of Schleswig and Holstein, Holland was in possession of Luxemburg, Britain had political influence in Hanover and Austria's influence in German states was legalized by the Vienna settlement of 1815. All these powers were opposed to the revolution partly because they were signatories of the Vienna settlement of1815 and partly because of the need to protect their influence in the German states. This explains why the Prussians did not get foreign assistance but intervention from Austria, which made the revolution to fail.

15. The dismissed of liberal ministers by king William JV also contributed to the failure of the Prussian revolution. The king had appointed liberal minded men to ministerial positions in the initial stage of the revolution. However, he dismissed them in Sept 1848 and replaced them with conservative anti liberal and anti revolutionary men. It was these new set of ministers who pressurized King William IV to use force to recover his authority and suppress the revolution.

16. The outbreak of epidemic diseases also contributed to the failure of the 1848 revolution in Prussia. The success of the revolution was hindered by the outbreak of epidemics such as cholera, potato and animal diseases. These led to famine, which weakened the revolutionaries and made it easy for Austria to suppress the revolution. It should be emphasized that the desperate conditions provided by epidemic diseases is what partly made king William IV to cowardice and support Austria against the revolution in Prussia.