Compare And Contrast The American Revolution And Giuseppe Mazzini

During the nineteenth century, Giuseppe Mazzini and Ernest Renan ranked among some of the great political figures, among the likes of Karl Marx. Both of these political theorists had widely influential views that help explain the European revolutions throughout the nineteenth century. Mazzini was not only known for his influential views; in fact, he was more commonly known for his active role in the Italian Unification. Today, it is commonly believed that Mazzini was the chief proponent of the democratic revolutions of 1848 through the advocacy of his political agenda. Renan, on the other hand, believed that it was not Mazzini’s agenda that influenced the revolutions, but instead a much different set of values that resonated with the people.

One of these movements was the Revolutions of 1848. In 1848, liberal beliefs of equality that Mazzini promoted were reawakened in the midst of a nationalist movement. Mazzini clearly believed that the spread of democracy and national self­-determination would be a powerful force for peace in the long run, although the change could be violent under certain circumstances. So when oppressive regimes such as the ones in power during the 1848 Revolutions made peaceful political contestation impossible, violence was the only resort, and thus began the 1848 Revolutions. Not only were the lower class citizens of numerous European nations, including France, Germany, Italy, and Austria fed up with the European monarchical system that denied them Mazzini's ideals of democracy and self-determination, they longed for a sense of unity and national identity. These combined factors led to a series of patriotic uprisings with its advocates ready to fight for their rights and their beliefs and their brethren. Although the vast majority of these Revolutions were completely suppressed by the Austrian Empire through military force, the growing desire for democracy and unity of individual countries was growing in modern Europe. The new excitement of nationalism paired with the awareness of possible equality

Although Mazzini is more commonly associated with Italian Unification because of his involvement, Renan’s reasoning behind nationalist movements explains the force behind the unification. When most of what is Italy today finally became a unified in 1850, it was not because of a common language, an idea that Mazzini accredited to the definition of nationalism; only 2% spoke the language that would become Italian at the time. It was also not because of common customs, loyalties, or birthplace as Mazzini also believed, for there were numerous states with different cultures and heritage. Instead, this phenomenon was caused by the widespread advocacy of sharing an political agenda and a common sense of injustice by the government that was shared among the people. Just as Renan believed, Italy was able to come together because of their common sufferings from the past and their common goals for the future. In the past, the Italian states had been dominated by Austria and Spain, given no rights by the foreign