Ferdinand I of Austria and Revolutionary Thinking

* In Vienna, 10 000 factory workers were recently laid off. * The young students were influenced by revolutionary thinking, they wanted democracy and liberty. The unemployed workers joined them.

* On March 12, when the crowd was campaigning, they were fired. This caused immediate reactions by the crowd. The crowd set up barricades. * Local guards joined the side of the rebellion. Even the State Council and police decided to voice against the government. * The revolutionaries went as far as storming into the imperial palace. * On March 15, the king decided to give in. He promised a constitution. * The people were so overjoyed that there were parties in the streets. * After weeks, the king abolished serfdom, and promised that more reforms were on the way. * The workers demanded voting rights, minimum wages, and working hours. This angered the local bourgeoisie. The competition between newspapers also angered the bourgeoisie. * There were actions done against Church activities. Priests, landlords, and shopkeepers that believed to be overcharging were attacked. This even included tavern keepers that didn’t dispense enough free drinks. * By late April, numerous citizens in Vienna were afraid of violence on their private property. They wanted the disorders in the streets to end. * The university students also wanted reforms. They started a second uprising. This frightened the Austrian emperor to such an extent that he fled. This created unrest among common people of Austria. * In mid June, men working on government projects rebelled. They demanded higher pay, or else they would join the rebellion force. This revolt was crushed by the government. Their leaders were also arrested. * In October, the Austria’s Minister of War ordered an army to march to Hungary. Some people were against being sent to Hungary. * Pretty soon the campaign turned into battles on the street. There was blood everywhere. The Austrian