Ideas of national unity in the early nineteenth century

"Ideas of national unity in the early nineteenth century Europe were closely allied to the ideology of liberalism." Examine the statement.

Answer

1. The term ‘liberalism’ is derived from the Latin word liber, meaning free.
2. For the new middle classes, liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law.
3. Politically, it emphasized the concept of government by consent.
4. Equality before the law did not necessarily stand for universal suffrage.
5. The right to vote and to get elected was granted exclusively to property owning men.
6. Liberals also stressed on the inviolability of private property.
7. In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of State-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital.