German Revolutions of 1848–49
German revolutions of 1848–49.
Fight for civil liberty and human rights.
Following the February Revolution of 1948 in France, the spirit of revolution spread right across Europe.
The German revolutions of 1848–49, also called the March Revolution, were a series of loosely coordinated protests and rebellions in the states of the German Confederation, including the Austrian Empire.
The revolutions, which stressed pan-Germanism, evolved from popular discontent with the traditional, largely autocratic political structure of the thirty-nine independent states of the Confederation that inherited the German territory of the former Holy Roman Empire.
There were violent protests in Berlin, Vienna and Dresden, which shook the old order and resulted in the first free elections and an all-German parliament in Frankfurt's Paulskirche.
In December 1848 the "Basic Rights for the German People" proclaimed equal rights for all citizens before the law. On 28th March 1849, the draft of the Paulskirchenverfassung constitution was finally passed.
In the end the revolution of 1848 failed in its attempt to unify the German-speaking states because the Frankfurt Assembly reflected the many different interests of the German ruling classes and subsequently its members were unable to form coalitions and push for specific goals. The Frankfurt Assembly was dissolved on 31st May 1849.
