6.7 Intellectual Developments from 1815-1914

The 19th century is often regarded as the “Age of -Isms” and for good reason. During this century, many political ideologies appeared and had -isms at the end. The main political ones were conservatism, nationalism, liberalism, socialism, and feminism. This section talks about everything after conservatism. The last political -ism that arose during this time was feminism. It believed in universal suffrage for both men and women as well as natural rights for both men and women. 🗳️ This political movement emerged from rising protests for universal male suffrage and the cult of domesticity enforcing traditional gender roles. 🤰

As conservatism slowly, but surely, began collapsing, more and more liberal movements emerged. They emphasized problems with voting rights, the social hierarchy, economic stratification, and an overbearing government. Multiple groups arose to raise awareness of these issues and change the status quo, but they all had different views on how the problems should be solved.

The general liberal was anyone who went outside of the status quo. They were often considered radicals, but liberal was also a group as well. The Liberals believed in more economic freedom as well as some moderate political reform. 💸 They believed in individuality and natural rights. Liberalism was often supported by the bourgeoisie, not the working class.

Nationalism transcended social classes, unlike liberalism. Nationalists believed in uniting people of similar culture and being extremely proud of one’s own culture. This ideology was especially prominent in the German and Italian states who were trying to unify themselves and form independent nations.

Socialism also emerged during this time period, but it appealed to the proletariat much more than the bourgeoisie. They prized equality and fairness above all else and believed in working together which differs from liberalism’s belief in individuality. ⚖️ Despite how similar socialism is to liberalism, the two ideologies disliked each other quite a bit.