Title: Europe (1815-1848): Germany and Prussia in 1848 | SparkNotes
Headings: Europe (1815-1848)
Europe (1815-1848)
History
Germany and Prussia in 1848
Summary
Prussia
Germany
Commentary

Content: Europe (1815-1848): Germany and Prussia in 1848 | SparkNotes
Search all of  SparkNotes
Search
Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Julius Caesar
Much Ado About Nothing
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Taming of the Shrew
Things Fall Apart
Menu
No Fear Shakespeare
Literature
Other Subjects
Teacher
Blog
Help
Search all of  SparkNotes
Search
Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Julius Caesar
Much Ado About Nothing
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Taming of the Shrew
Things Fall Apart
No Fear Shakespeare
Literature
Other Subjects
Teacher
Blog
Help
Europe (1815-1848)
History
Study Guide
Study Guide
Summary
Brief Overview
Overview
Timeline
Britain's Industrial Revolution (1780-1850)
Europe After Napoleon
Metternich and his Congresses (1815-1822)
Battling Ideologies (1815-1830)
Romanticism
Change in the 1830s (1827-1832)
Bourgeoisie and Chartism (1830s and 1840s)
1848 Revolution: Paris
1848 Revolutions: The Austrian Empire
Germany and Prussia in 1848
Key People
Key Terms and Events
Further Study
Review Test
Study Questions
Further Reading
Writing Help
Glossary of Literary Terms
How to Cite This SparkNote
Teacher's Handbook
Summary
Germany and Prussia in 1848
Summary Germany and Prussia in 1848
Page 1 Page 2
Summary
Prussia
In Prussia, the old king, Frederick William III, had always been opposed to giving the Prussian people a constitution. Frederick William IV, who was generally as weak and unskilled as his father, similarly feared giving the people a constitution. However, the success of Prussia in the last few decades had been almost entirely due to the skilled group of bureaucrats and administrators serving the government, and all of these administrators were pushing hard for a constitutional monarchy. In March 1848, rioting began in Berlin, as the 1848 revolution fever crossed from Austria into Prussia. Frederick William IV quickly mobilized the disciplined Prussian army to suppress the revolution.