Download Reforms in Russia

The Third Republic in France
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After the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War, republicans initially set up a provisional
government, but Bismarck forced them to choose a government by universal male suffrage
Monarchists won 400 of the 630 seats in the new National Assembly
On March 17, 1871, Adolphe Thiers, who headed the government, ordered the dissolution of the Paris
National Guard.
In response the radicals of Paris established a republican government known as the Paris Commune
National Assembly responded by trying to crush the Commune which led to riots in Paris; last week of May
1871, government troops massacred thousands of the Commune’s defenders
Working class women had assumed a major role in the defense of the Commune, many were killed or
shipped off to the French penal colony of New Caladonia
An attempt to restore the monarchy failed as a result of rivalry between the Bourbon and Orleanist
claimants to the throne, and in 1875 the constitutional laws for the Third Republic were adopted.
Constitution of 1875 created the Third Republic which lasted 65 years
Bicameral legislature with upper house, Senate, elected indirectly and a Chamber of Deputies, elected by
universal male suffrage
President selected by legislature for term so 7 years who would serve as executive for republic; Marshal
MacMahon was elected president. French history since 1789 had taught the French that a strong
executive was likely to seek to establish his arbitrary authority. Thus the president was given little power.
New elections in 1876 and 1877 led to increased number of seats for republicans
In 1879 legislature enacted ministerial responsibility – prime minister not responsible to president, but to
Chamber of Deputies
Anticlerism – The RCC had generally supported the monarchist cause, and during the 1880’s the
republican leaders promoted an anticlerical campaign, designed to reduce the church’s influence in
national life. The government established a system of free secular elementary schools to compete with
schools controlled by the church. The Jesuit Order was expelled from France, and the name of God was
removed from oaths.
Boulanger Crisis
o General Georges Boulanger, a popular military officer, who attracted the attention of those who
opposed the republic, monarchists, Bonapartists, aristocrats, and nationalists who supported a war of
revenge against Germany. Just when it appeared he was in a position to stage a coup d'état, he fled
France
o Boulanger Crisis served to rally support for the republic
The Dreyfus Affair
o For several years around the turn of the century, France was torn apart by the Dreyfus Affair.
o In December 1894, an army court-martial convicted Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, of
conveying secret information to the Germans, and he was sentenced to imprisonment in the penal
colony of Devil’s Island.
o Some doubts remained about Dreyfus’s guilt, however. In early 1896, Colonel Georges Picquart, the
new head of the French intelligence service, developed evidence indication that Major Ferdinand
Esterhazy was the guilty party, although he was promptly acquitted by a court-martial. It was also
revealed that certain key documents used by the prosecution against Dreyfus had been forged.
o A bitter conflict developed. One on level, the issue involved the questions of Dreyfus’s guilt or
innocence. On another level, it was a conflict between the Dreyfusards, who supported both Dreyfus’s
innocence and the cause of the republic and anticlericalism, and the anti-Freyfusards, who insisted on
Dreyfus’s guilt and supported the cause of the monarchists, the army, and the church. The antiDreyfusards were often openly anti-Semitic.
o Zola’s “J’Accuse” – in 1898, the novelist Emile Zola, a Dreyfusard, published a newspaper article
entitled “J’Accuse.” Zola charged the army with forging the evidence that convicted Dreyfus and with
deliberately suppressing evidence that would vindicate him. A new court-martial found Dreyfus guilty
once again, although this time with “extenuating circumstances.” The French president pardoned
Dreyfus, and in 1906, the French Supreme Court invalidated the convictions handed down by the two
court-martials.
o The victory of the Dreyfusards was a decisive defeat for the ultraconservative offices who dominated
the French army and for the monarchists and the church, as well. The government now renewed its
anticlerical campaign, adopting laws to exclude member of Catholic religious orders from teaching. In
1905, the government abrogated Napoleon’s Concordat of 1801. Church and state were now
separated.
Formation of the Dual Monarchy
After the revolution of 1848, Germans in Austria had attempted to create a centralized German state, which
only served to aggravate the non-Germans in the Austrian Empire. Empire Francis Joseph had in 1859
attempted to create an imperial parliament, which in theory provided representation to the various nationalities
of the empire. However, in reality, the complicated formula for electing representatives allowed the Germans
to dominate the parliament. The Magyars were particularly disgusted.
October Diploma
 Issued by Franz Ferdinand in 1860
 Created a federation among the states and provinces of the empire
 Local diets to be dominated by landed classes and a single imperial parliament
 Magyar nobility of Hungary rejected the plan
February Patent
 Issued by Franz Ferdinand in 1861
 Established a bicameral imperial parliament, the Reichsrat
 Upper chamber appointed by emperor
 Lower chamber indirectly elected
 Magyars again refused to cooperate with system
 February Patent ruled empire for six years and it prevailed in Austria proper until World War I
After the failure of the Austro-Prussian War, the Austrians had to deal with the Magyars’ demands for
independence. The Ausgleich which created the Dual Monarch of Austria-Hungary provided both Austria and
Hungary its own
 Constitution
 Bicameral legislature
 Control of its own domestic affairs
 Capital (Vienna and Budapest)
 Control over the other nationalities within its territory.
Hold the dual monarchy together was a single monarch, Francis Joseph, a common army, a joint foreign
policy, and a unified system of finances. The Slavic people in each state continued to be dominated by the
minority. Slavic desires for independence will come only after WW I.
Czechs of Bohemia favored a policy of trialism or triple monarchy. The Magyars vetoed it lest they be forced to
make similar concessions to other nationalities.
Reforms in Russia
Alexander II made several reforms in Russia. However, many liberals/radicals in Russia were not satisfied and
ultimately Alexander was assassinated.
Alexander II’s reforms
 Emancipation of the serfs – creation of mirs – or communally owned lands; peasants free, but
had to have permission of others to leave the mir.
 Zemstvos – local assemblies, property based system of electing representatives permitted
nobility a larger role in local affairs provided public services; received inadequate funds thus
never very effective

Legal Reforms of 1864 – established a system of local and provincial courts; judicial code
established that all are equal before the law; people were entitled to representation and could
select their own lawyers
In the view of many reformers, Alexander’s reforms did not go far enough. One group were the nihilists who
wished to rid Russia of all things from the past. The past must be erased before true reform could begin.
Spent much time among the peasants who they believed would lead the revolution.
Alexander Herzen whose slogan was “land and freedom” believed the Russian peasant would be the chief
instrument of reform. His populism movement gained support among the students and intelligentsia. Herzen
wrote that the true and natural future of socialism lay in Russia because of the very weakness of capitalism in
Russia and the existence of a kind of collectivism already established by the mir. Members of Land and
Freedom, a radical society, took their message to the countryside in the early 1870’s. Most of the peasants
were bewildered and distrustful and turned the radicals over to the police. The tsar was not sympathetic and
urge heavy penalties for those found guilty.
As a result the revolutionaries decided to attack the tsar’s regime directly. Vera Zasulich attempted to
assassinate the military governor of St. Petersburg. She was found not guilty, which only server to encourage
more violence.
In 1879 Land and Freedom split into two groups. One, the People’s Will, was led by Bakunin who convinced
the members that Alexander II must be assassinated. After several failed attempts, members of the group
succeeded in killing the tsar. Four men and two women were sentenced to death the deed.
Alexander III who succeeded his father to the throne, was as autocratic as his grandfather and sought primarily
to roll back the reforms of his father. He strengthened the secret policy and imposed strict censorship on
published materials and written documents, including private letters. His secret police carefully watched both
secondary schools and universities. Teachers had to send detailed reports on every student. Political
prisoners were exiled to Siberia. He oppressed other national groups within Russia and forbade the use of
minority languages. He made the Jews targets of persecution. Jews could not buy land or live among other
Russians. University set strict quotas for Jewish students. A wave of pogroms broke out in many part of
Russia. Russian authorities stood by and watched as Russian citizens looted and destroyed Jewish home,
stores, and synagogues.
Great Britain and the Reign of Victoria
Remained the symbol of a confident liberal state. The general prosperity of third quarter of 19th century
mitigated the social hostility of the 1840’s. All classes shared a belief in competition and individualism.
Leaders of trade unions simply requested that the working class social respectability be acknowledged.
Parliament remained an institution through which new groups and interests were absorbed into the existing
political process.
Palmerston (PM 1855-1865)
 Primary interest was foreign policy
 Popular with people because of his chauvinistic defense of British worldwide interest
 No reformer he opposed expanding the franchise
By early 1860’s most observers realized that the franchise would have to be expanded to include the working
classes. Organizations such as the Reform League, led by John Bright, were agitating for parliament to take
action. In 1866, Lord Russell’s Liberal ministry introduced a reform bill that was defeated by a coalition of
traditional Conservatives and antidemocratic Liberals. Russell resigned and the Conservative Lord Derby
replaced him.
The Conservative Ministry led in the House of Commons by Benjamin Disraeli, introduced its own reform bill in
1867. Disraeli accepted one amendment after another and expanded the franchise well beyond the limits the
Liberals had previously proposed. When the final measure passed the number of voters had been increased
from @ 1,430,000 to 2,470,000.
Disraeli believed that the lower classes would defer to their social superiors when voting (Boy was he wrong).
The election of 1868 was a victory for the Liberals and William Gladstone became PM>
Gladstone (Liberal PM 1868-1874)
During his tenure,
 Competitive exams replaced patronage as a means to fill civil service positions
 Religious requirements for degrees at Oxford and Cambridge were dropped
 Purchase of officers’ commissions in the army were abolished.
 Ballot Act of 1872 introduced secret ballot for voting
 Education Act of 1867 made elementary education available for all children
A split among Liberal Party voters over religion, education, and the sale of alcohol allowed the Conservatives
to take back control of the government.
Disraeli (Conservative PM 1874-1880)
During his tenure
 Public Health Act of 1875 consolidated previous legislation on sanitation and reaffirmed the duty of the
state to interfere with private property on matters of health and physical well-being.
 Artisans Dwelling Act of 1875 forced the government to take an active role in providing housing for the
working class.
 New protection was granted to British trade unions allowing them to raise picket lines.
William Gladstone was returned to the office in 1880 after an agricultural depression and a foreign policy that
had undermined the Conservative government.
Gladstone (1880-1885)
During his tenure
 Reform Act of 1884 gave the vote to all men who paid regular rents or taxes, thus largely enfranchising
the agricultural workers, a group previously excluded.
 Redistribution Act eliminated historic boroughs and counties and established constituencies with
approximately equal populations and one representative each
Irish Problem
From late 1860’s onward, Irish nationals sought home rule for Ireland or Irish control of local government.
During Gladstone’s first ministry, he had disestablished the Church of Ireland, Irish branch of Church of
England. This freed Irish Catholics from having to tithe to the English church. He had also sponsored a
land act that provided compensation to those Irish tenants who were evicted and loans for those who
wished to purchase their lands. This did not appease the Irish who continued to agitate for Home Rule.
Irish Land League increased agitation throughout the 1870’s. Leader of this movement was Charles
Parnell.
1881 – Gladstone’s government passed another land act that strengthened tenant rights. It was passed in
conjunction with a Coercion Act to restore law and order to Ireland.