ABSTRACT
After the trauma of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, conservative forces in Europe enforced tight control over all potentially revolutionary movements. After the Napoleonic Wars, the label "conservative" was applied to anyone who was supportive of European traditions, and especially of Europe's old political elite of hereditary monarchs, landed nobles, and established, that is, officially approved, churches. One of the most important challenges to conservative domination came in the form of a new ideological movement known as liberalism. More specifically, liberals believed in constitutional government—a system in which a foundational document clearly defines the powers of rulers. In the 1830s, as liberals were experiencing their first successes in challenging the conservative order, nationalism was also emerging as a serious threat to the status quo. Nationalism in many ways had begun with the French Revolution, which had stirred incredible pride and passion in the French people, who set out to conquer Europe.
