The Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews in 1848: Allies against French Revolution and British Democracy

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the Edinburgh and Quarterly reviews battled over the meaning of the French revolutions of 1789 and 1830, the former periodical commending and the latter condemning political progress. After the February Revolution of 1848, however, the opponents joined forces by scorning the French Republicans and by insisting that Britain was safe from a similar crisis. Yet their emphasis on British exceptionalism and security was accompanied by the admission that Britain was also progressing toward a democratic order. The two reviews thus contradicted both their former positions and their faith in the status quo.