Ideologies

During the 19th century, many new ideas of government were floating about, and people had different opinions based on their positioning in life.  There were three main ideologies; Liberalism, Conservatism, and Nationalism, and each of these expressed their own ideas.  Liberals believed that the middle class should have a say and that they have God given natural rights, but the poor or women were excluded from these rights.  Conservatives believed that revolutions result in violence, chaos, and bloodshed, so nothing good, and they are looking to preserve the aristocracy, social classes, and monarchy. Nationalists wanted to drive out foreign rulers and turn the country into a place where the country as a whole was the most important.  These varying viewpoints caused many disruptions in the social structure through these changes, such as the switch to Liberalism that Napoleon brought with his reign.

A Link to our Video on Liberalism http://video.videolicious.com/04b66400-ca54-491e-99fe-b42dfdb35ad8
Our project best describes Liberalism as the idea that the middle class should have more of a say in politics, not just the upper class and nobility.  Liberals believe that it is their natural right to be able to have a voice and that they should be able to help mold the country into what they want it to be.  Even though they thought that the middle class should have a say just like the nobility, they did not consider the poor or women to be their equals.  Liberalism influenced the 19th century politically by giving the average man the right to vote and help determine the future of his country.  It took away the absolute power of the monarchy, and enforced a type of democracy where the people choose what happens.  

Liberalism wasn't the only ideology that was around in the 19th century. There were also Nationalism and Conservatism. Nationalists believed that the country should be in control of itself and they wanted to drive out foreign rule.  They believed that, even if the foreign rule was good, the country should still be united under a person who is from that country in order to maintain the name and honor of it. Nationalism effected the social classes because it focused on creating a common good for the people and country, and gave people more pride in their nation. Conservatives were people who believed that the country should return to its original state of monarchy, and they wanted to preserve the social classes, monarchy, and aristocracy.  Conservatism effected the social and political structures of the 19th century by inspiring the people to revert back to older ways and traditions.  This caused the people to try and keep the aristocracy and monarchy intact, and allow the country to function as it did previously.  These ideologies helped to influence the many different perspectives of the way people thought that their countries should be run, and defined the lives of millions of people.