Front Page Authors (by Period) The 19th Century

Period: The 19th Century

Throughout the 19th century in Europe, North America, and parts of the British Empire, ideas about individual liberty, limited constitutional government, and free market were put into practice with varying degrees of success. The movement which promoted these ideas was called ’classical liberalism’. The major historical events and intellectual movements of that time, which influenced the development of liberty, include the following:

• the creation of constitutional limits on the power of governernments, the introduction of the rule of law, and electoral reforms in most Western European states
• the abolition of serfdom within Europe and slavery in the European colonies
• the introduction of free trade, especially in Britain with the Anti-Corn Law League which was the model for similar reforms elsewhere
• the emergence of the classical school of economic thought
• the gradual weakening of classical liberalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the return of economic protectionism, the expansion of European imperialism, and ultimately a devastating war between the major European powers

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