Revolution of 1848

Before the revolution of 1848, class status defined every citizen's place in the social, political, and economic order causing problems throughout Germany. Due to the separation of the states, some Germans advocated German unification under a single constitutional monarchy; however, after the defeat of Napoleon, their dreams were crushed. Developing power was scattered among three hundred different states consolidated under the Holy Roman Empire. Powerful regions like Prussia and Austria gained increasing authority over other small city-states who had to make do with the limited power they possessed. This division of power among the states ignited a flame that eventually erupted when the aristocrats, the middle class, and the workers began to openly vocalize their beliefs. Not only was Germany separated by the borders between its states, but also by its citizens' political views on economic and social issues. A citizen's social status influenced their political voice as a conservative, liberal, or radical. The class statuses included the conservative aristocrats or wealthy class, the liberal middle classmen, and the radical workers. Even though hardships corrupted Germany's economy, with Napoleon's defeat, social and political order was restored; however, the German's hope for unification was not granted. The social, political, and economic tensions within Germany's divided states promoted the hope for unification among the working, middle, and wealthy classes.

Although the working class of Germany did not accumulate the voice to induce change, workers were regularly categorized as severe radicals. Times altered the economic and social order of the working class when factories replaced craft production. Johann Riegel, a bookseller, explains that nearly all the crafts are either in decline or "in grip of drastic changes in their shops" to meet the competition of industrialization. (document 6) An author of a pamphlet who remained anonymous declared his opinion that the working class forms the heart of the German people (document 11). This radical commanded the working class to fight the monarch's police so they could receive the respect they deserved as the proletariat. The police confiscated the pamphlet due to the aggression of the author. His radical point of view concerning the social status of the working class, and his threat against the political monarchs. In the newspaper's illustration, it depicted poor men, women, and children pleading for rations of food during a bread riot (document 9). When the economy struggled desperately due to a shortage of food, the starvation of the poor class soon followed. However, the rich never had to worry about the food supply because they could afford the prices. The lower class's need for nutrition resulted in harmful riots which only made the situation worse.

Middle class views varied across a range of social, political, and economic opinions which all ultimately led to liberal beliefs. Many middle class writers documented their beliefs in various sources. In Ernest Mortiz Arndt's poem, he portrayed a nationalistic political view of Germany as a land with only native German speakers (document 1). The middle class created a nationalistic society by looking down upon the foreigners who resided in German territories. They believed that only those who spoke the German tongue could prosper in Germany. In his pamphlet, Friedrich List complains about the economic system due to the high percentage price of custom borders that "cripple their internal commerce" (document 5). Since there are thirty-eight customs borders, the products of the Germans could not circulate in the country without putting the manufacturers into debt. While Ernest Mortiz Arndt and Friedrich List's nationalistic opinions covered the middle class's views on economics and politics, David Hansemann focused on the social issues of the middle class. In his private letters he documented his liberal ideas on social order, and thereby ridiculed the lower class as a "danger to the public safety" (document 4). Industrialists were prejudiced against helping the working class because they felt it would lead to "wastefulness and laziness" (document 4). Known for their conservative views of power, the aristocrats primarily ostracized the idea of change concerning the status quo. However certain high class