Liberals and Nationalists

In the spring of 1848, a wave of uprisings swept across Europe, as people in many countries sought to push away the Old Regime of monarchy, nobility and church and to bring liberal reforms associated with the French Revolution of 1789 and the the British Chartist movement to their countries. Because of the great hope for change raised across Europe by these uprisings, the months from February through June of the year 1848 are often referred to as "the springtime of peoples."

Each of these uprisings involved a combination of people and ideas. The first and largest uprising, in February 1848, took place in France. There, the leaders were middle-class liberals seeking to end the monarchy that had been restored in 1815 (and only slightly reformed in 1830) and establish a republic. In addition to seeking reforms such as the right to vote for elected representative assemblies and freedom to associate and express themselves freely, the 1848 Revolution in France also involved workers seeking better pay and working conditions. For a few months, these two groups cooperated and established, for the second time in French history, a Republic. Later they would find that they had serious disagreements on economic issues, leading to violent conflict.