Why did the revolution of 1848/49 fail?

Background to the revolution of 1848/49

• The German revolution of 1848/49 failed for various reasons. As for the background, it must be said that the revolution as an independence movement was against the restoration that the ruling houses of the time wanted to pull through. So it was a popular movement against the aristocracy.
• Initially, the movement achieved visible successes: in the individual states, so-called March cabinets, So called small, liberal governments that held elections to a constituent assembly. Furthermore, the press censorship was lifted and the peasants were liberated.
• Towards the end of 1848, however, the movement wavered. In July 1849 the attempt to found a unified nation-state failed because troops from Austria and Prussia beat down the activists with violence.

Reasons why the movement failed

• The revolution of 1848/49 failed in advance for several reasons. When the Austrian and Prussian military forces defeated the activists, the movement was over. In the run-up, there were several factors that caused the failure.
• On the one hand, the movement lost its comrades-in-arms as the farmers turned away from it. They formed a large group with many members with their own demands. They wanted to improve their social situation. However, their demands were of no interest to the Liberals and Democrats in the movement. Without them, the Liberals and Democrats were left alone.


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• On the other hand, the liberal and democratic supporters of the movement did not ambush the bourgeoisie. This was satisfied with the economic and social situation. In addition, they were rather critical of the revolution, as they were afraid that their good situation could change for the worse.
• Furthermore, there was no homogeneity among the group of conservative and liberal supporters that could have pushed the movement forward. As fighters for the movement, they should have been a unit with common goals and demands in order to advance it. However, there were different points of view and demands among them, which led to conflicts and no cohesion to the outside world.
• Another reason the movement failed in 1948-49 was that it did not take place in any central location. The activists were in different states, which made it difficult to organize and plan the movement. Something about the movement took place in different places energy took and their demands went under.