Liberalism Dbq

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Pages: 5

The concept of Liberalism has experienced countless fluctuations in history in terms of influence and control. In France, the ideas associated with Liberalism encompassed the overarching goals of Revolutionaries and other individuals alike. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, France was bombarded with several ideologies that initiated a struggle for power. Liberalism was a large part of this influence and steered many goals, even achieving some major goals such as universal suffrage and the establishment of other fundamental rights. In this way, liberals were successful in many of their goals, and this can be observed through the development of France as a whole. Liberal notions such as protection of the individual, political stability, …show more content…
This led to opposition to forms of rule that constricted these rights and, inevitably, revolution ensued. Working people became self-identified liberals and voiced a collective dissatisfaction with the rulers of France. While revolution was officially recognized in France with the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, the fight lasted decades for political-minded middle and lower class citizens. French revolutionaries such as Robespierre would propagate the necessities of abolishing the monarchal system in France [Doc 2]. Maximilien Robespierre shares many commonalities with Thomas Paine, an American writer and revolutionary who published The Crises and Common Sense; both of which spread inflammatory rhetoric that served to incite revolution and discontent with the British crown. They both believed that the monarchal system only facilitated the spread of inequality and internal conflict. Nearing the mid 1800’s, the working class and liberals became increasingly restless with the constitutional monarch, King Louis Phillipe; many even portraying him as a useless fool who was clueless to France’s problems [Doc 6]. The King’s minister, Francois Guizot, did not ease the tensions by openly opposing electoral reform [Doc 5]. The February Revolution of 1848 forced the King to relinquish his power as the constitutional monarch. This shows how effective liberals actually were in spreading fiery and iconoclastic notions. Liberal movements actually can be credited with the initiation of many revolutions in France, and the abdication of King Louis