The dual revolution was a term first coined by Eric Hobsbawm. It refers specifically to the time period between 1789 and 1848 in which the political and ideological changes of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

fused with and reinforced the technological and economic changes of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. The French Revolution, inspired by the ideals of Enlightenment philosophy, spread ideas of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

, and

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

. These political ideas were fused with the new technological advances of the industrial revolution such as the

spinning jenny The spinning jenny is a multi- spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Sta ...

, steam engines, and the puddling process. With the defeat of the French Revolution and subsequently the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

constructed a balance of power in Europe that would prevent one country from gaining too much power. This set the framework for a strong conservative, reactionary stance against the ideas of nationalism and liberalism spread by the dual revolution. The

Holy Alliance The Holy Alliance (german: Heilige Allianz; russian: Священный союз, ''Svyashchennyy soyuz''; also called the Grand Alliance) was a coalition linking the monarchist great powers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia. It was created after ...

, formed by Austria, Prussia and Russia in September 1815 became a symbol of oppression to the ideas spread by the dual revolution.

Industrial Revolution

Generally,

means transitioning from hand produced to machines. In the case of the dual revolution, the Industrial portion was more from social scientists like Count Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Louis Blanc, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, and Karl Marx who attempted to come up with ideas for “utopias”, conservative and socialist societies.

French Revolution

The

began in 1789 with the

Tennis Court Oath On 20 June 1789, the members of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath (french: Serment du Jeu de Paume) in the tennis court which had been built in 1686 for the use of the Versailles palace. Their vow "not to separate and to reas ...

, by which the members of the third estate, who had been locked out of the meeting the estates general, gathered together and swore not to disband until they had written a new constitution. Inspired by the ideas of Enlightenment Philosophers, most prominently

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

and his social contract, the National assembly, those who had sworn the tennis court oath, published the

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...

. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was very much an expression of Enlightenment ideals. A major portion of the Declaration was dedicated to the natural rights of man. According to the Declaration every man is entitled to life, liberty and property. This is a reflection of the beliefs of John Locke who wrote the 2nd treatise of civil government. The Committee of Public Safety, headed by Robespierre, which rose to power after using the sans culotte to imprison the other members of the Jacobin club, was based on Rousseau's Social Contracts idea of the general will. Rousseau states that at times people have to sacrifice their natural rights for the greater good which is represented by the

General Will In political philosophy, the general will (french: volonté générale) is the will of the people as a whole. The term was made famous by 18th-century Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Basic ideas The phrase "general will", as Rousseau ...

. The General Will is not necessarily represented by the majority, a far-seeing minority can represent the general will. Robespierre believed that the Committee of Public Safety represented the general will. Robespierre used an aggressive revolutionary purge of those who opposed the Committee called the Terror, a planned economy, and French Nationalism inspired by the revolution to increase French military size and push armies into most of western Europe.

Nationalism

Nationalism was a driving force for European politics after the French revolution. The ideas of Nationalism emphasized both national pride and that each nation, which consists of a people of the same culture and language should coincide with the boundaries of the state. Metternich, the Austrian Chancellor, was conservative precisely because nationalism was very dangerous to the massive, multi-ethnic Austria. Increased national identity and pride garnered from the successes of ones country were another reason for increased European colonialism during the later parts of the 19th century.

Liberalism

Liberalism was a major movement post French Revolution. It was an expression of enlightenment ideals. Liberals believed in freedom of the press, freedom of speech, civil rights, fair elections, capitalism, freedom of religion and private property. Ideas of liberalism greatly influenced the 1848 revolutions which were led by students and the middle class.

Conservatism

Conservatism is based on traditional strategies like absolute monarchies. It is a reactionary stance against the ideas spread by the dual revolution. Conservatism is closely linked to Classicism.

References