Powerful People Threatened: The Congress of Vienna

The congress of Vienna was held to resolve the problems that were currently taking over Europe. All of the countries were concerned by Napoleon, who was threatening to take over nearly all of Europe. The decisions made during the Congress of Vienna were to protect the nations and the people in power. The essential question for this lesson was "What should people in power do when their power is threatened?" To understand what exactly the people in power did to defend themselves, we went deeper into who made up the congress of Vienna and what decisions they made. From watching a video, we learned who Klemens von Metternich was, and his role in the congress of Vienna, as well as his relationship with Napoleon.  We then looked at three problems that Metternich had to face during the congress, and predict what he chose to do, based on the ideologies that Metternich believed in. We then learned what his decision actually was, and why he chose this decision. Finally, we saw the impacts that the Congress of Vienna had on Europe as a whole.


One problem that was handled at the congress of Vienna how to avoid future revolutions from happening. The solution was to set up a system of alliance, called the holy alliance. The Holy Alliance, created by the Russian Czar Alexander said that monarchs have a divine right to rule. It was made up of the four largest powers in Europe, Great Britian, Russia, Prussia and Austria, and gave these powers the right to send their own troops into another country to stop a revolution and restore a monarchy. An example of the Holy Alliance in action is when, in 1820, there was an uprising in Italy and the Austrian army came in and crushed it. The Holy Alliance impacted Europe by successfully crushing revolutions that happened and keeping monarchs in power. The Congress of Vienna as a whole had a very large impact on Europe. Although the reason the Congress was necessary was because of Frances leader, Napoleon, France was not viewed as the enemy, and therefore not punished for Napoleons wrong doings. Napoleon, and Napoleon alone, was punished for what he had done on behalf of his country.With that being said, artwork that was stolen during Napoleons conquest was required to be returned and France was required to pay fines for this.




The Congress of Vienna, in conclusion, was fairly successful, because until 1853 (38 years!) there were no wars between the 5 major military powers of Europe. Personally, I agree with the decisions that the people in power at the Congress of Vienna made, although I do think that they went to somewhat of an extreme to make sure that they would not be harmed, when the people might have benefited more if they focused more on how it would affect all of the people in Europe, and not just the ones in power. I think that the congress's decision to not blame France for what Napoleon did was the most admirable and just decision that was made during the congress. I believe that the congress handled that situation very well, and managed not to blame innocent people, which is something that powerful people sometimes do when trying to preserve their own power. In history, it should be noted that a lot of the time powerful people risk the lives of their people for their own gain, but I believe that the congress of Vienna is a good example of how powerful people can keep their power while still caring for their people.

Klemens von Metternich

the Austrian host of the Congress of Vienna

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Graf_Clemens_Metternich.jpg