Carlsbad Decrees

Audience

The audience for the Carlsbad Decrees was threefold: the member states of the German Confederation; the general population of the German states, specifically those who would disrupt the peace by liberal or nationalist agitation; and the leaders of the European state system. Metternich sought to use the Carlsbad Decrees not only to suppress liberalism and nationalism but also to unify the German states. The decrees passed by the Federal Convention in September 1819 compelled the member nations to act in concert and to submit to the will of the majority. The decrees gave warning to those liberal and nationalist elements within the German states that activism would not be tolerated. Those who sought to disrupt the status quo would be punished. The decrees also gave notice to the European community that revolutionary agitation would not be tolerated in the German states, thereby encouraging other Europeans states to act similarly. This view was consistent with the conservative attitudes of the Great Powers of Europe.