Constituting Modern Spain: Old Topics

On this page are the essay topics and examination questions from earlier versions of this course. They are made available here to stimulate discussion. If you have questions or comments, send them to J. B. Owens (owenjack@isu.edu) or if your system will support the operation, you may send me a message now. If you use the latter option, be sure to include your name and e-mail address in the text of your message.

To get on-line information about any of the issues raised below, you may wish to consult several of the e.g., political parties), cultural factors, the place of the country in global interactive networks-- served to render constitutional provisions ineffective or to shape the political communities in ways unforeseen or opposed by the constitution drafters.

1. Why were the Bourbons able to win the War of the Spanish Succession?
2. Why was there such interest in institutional and technological innovation in 18th-century Spain?
3. Why were the economic and religious programs of the 18th- century Bourbon governments often so generally unpopular?
4. Why did the governments of Spain's first three major Bourbon monarchs (Philip V to Charles III) give so much attention to administrative changes?
5. Why did the great reforming bureaucrats of 18th-century Spain feel that their kingdom had failed to maintain its status as a European great power?
6. Why did king Charles III return to a policy of involvement in international military conflicts after starting his reign with a peace policy?
7. Why did so many Spaniards refuse to accept the abdications of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII in favor of Joseph I?
8. Certain principles associated with the Enlightenment tradition of the eighteenth century were embodied in the French Revolution (for example, in the French Constitution of 1791). Napoleon had some of these principles written into the Spanish Constitution of Bayonne of 1808. Explain which they were and why were they included.
9. Why did Napoleon meet such serious opposition in Spain?
10. Throughout the Hispanic and Portuguese world and in Central Europe, the Hispanic Constitution of 1812 became the model around which a generation of Liberals developed their political program. Discuss this constitution's debt to the French and U.S revolutionary traditions, both in terms of what was borrowed and what was rejected, and explain why the deputies of the Cortes of Cádiz positioned as they did their contribution to the developing constitutionalist culture.
11. In what ways do the particular economic and political circumstances in which the French Constitution of 1791 and the Hispanic Constitution of 1812 were drafted account for their distinctive peculiarities?
12. Why was the political life of Spain so unstable in the 19th century?
13. Why did Ferdinand VII have such difficulty restoring absolute monarchy after the fall of Napoleon?
14. Why did Ferdinand VII lose control of most of Spain's American empire?
15. How do you account for the form and content of the Estatuto Real of 1834?
16. Why did the regency government of Isabella II bring into power the groups which had organized a revolution against her father?
17. While the coup of August 1836 forced the regent to restore the Constitution of Cádiz, the resulting Cortes drafted a substantially different Constitution (promulgated in 1837). Note both what was rejected and what was taken from the 1812 constitution by the drafters of the 1837 one (which included Agustín de Argüelles [1776-1844] who helped write the 1812 one), and explain their choices.
18. Why did the central government find it so difficult to control the Carlist movement?
19. Why did the Spanish government attack Church control of property in the late 1830s?
20. Why did generals become so prominent in political life in the 19th century?
21. One document with which the drafters of Spain's 1837 Constitution were familiar was the Belgian Constitution of 1831. Note what the constitutional commission members of 1836-37 accepted and rejected from the Belgian document, and explain the choices that were made. Show how the particular circumstances in which each constitution was written help account for their distinctive peculiarities.
22. The Constitution of 1837 was largely a product of the political program of the Progressives, while that of 1845 was the work of the Moderates. Explain both the similarities and the differences between these two Liberal constitutional models.
23. Why did the government sign the Concordat of 1851 with Pope Pius IX?
24. Why in the 1850s did the Moderate Liberals want to settle their differences with the Catholic Church?
25. Why after the Glorious Revolution of 1868 was it so difficult to establish a viable system to replace the Bourbon Monarchy?
26. Why did the First Republic fail?
27. Discuss federalism/regional autonomy as an issue of constitutional debate from 1787 on. Bring out the factors that contributed to the degree of centralism or regional autonomy in constitutional regimes.
28. Discuss the importance of the doctrine of "separation of powers" (or the lack thereof) in constitutional settlements.
29. Discuss the issue of political participation and the ways in which constitution-makers sought to establish or maintain the authority and effective power of certain groups.
30. Discuss the principle of freedom of religion/expression as a constitutional provision. Bring out the factors that contributed to the wide variety of positions we have found in the constitutions studied.
31. Discuss attempts to guarantee rights other than religion/expression, including those associated with arrest and searches. Bring out the factors that contributed to the forms such guarantees have taken or to their relative absence in some of our documents.
32. Why did Antonio Cánovas del Castillo succeed in building a broad oligarchic base for constitutional monarchy when Gen. Leopoldo O'Donnell had failed?
33. As in the Ateneo debates of the time: Why did caciquismo become a dominant characteristic of the Spanish parliamentary system?
34. Why was municipal government such an important issue in the Restoration monarchy?
35. Why did high percentages of the electorate fail to vote in Restoration era elections? Be sure to discuss the matter both before and after the electoral legislation of 1890.
36. Why was educational policy such a divisive issue in 19th- century Spanish parliaments?
37. Why did military defeat in 1898 so damage the Restoration political system?
38. Why was the defeat of 1898 such a shock to Spanish intellectuals?
39. Why did economic growth in Spain fail to produce real economic development which would have increased the purchasing power of the vast majority of Spaniards?
40. Why did regional nationalist movements begin to play an important role in Restoration Spain (to 1923)? Be specific about the leaders and organizations involved.
41. Why did regional nationalist movements develop in Catalonia and the Basque Region?
42. Why was the Spanish labor movement so seriously split in the late 19th and early 20th century (to 1931)? Be sure to include specific details on the groups involved.
43. Why did Anarchism gain such a large working-class following in Spain? Be sure to include specific details about the regions and organizations involved and to compare the Anarchists to other groups.
44. Why was Socialism able to develop as an important force in Spanish life? Be sure to extend your discussion through the post-Franco transition to parliamentary democracy.
45. Why were Catholic programs of social reform begun after the papal bull Rerum novarum (1891) of Pope Leo XIII (r. 1878- 1903) so ineffectual?
46. Why was there a Catholic religious revival in Spanish upper- class society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
47. What was the biggest threat to the monarchy in the Restoration political system worked out by Cánovas del Castillo? Defend your thesis.
48. Why did the constitutional monarchy of the Restoration period break down?
49. Why were the two great parties of the Restoration period (1875-1923) unable to maintain a stable political regime?
50. Why were the attempts between 1898 and 1923 to redeem the parliamentary system of the Restoration such a failure?
51. Why did the army again become a factor in Spanish political life after Cánovas del Castillo had been so successful in establishing civilian dominance in government?
52. Why did Spain experience such serious problems in the sphere of labor relations in the period 1919-1923?
53. Why was Gen. Miguel Primo de Rivera (1870-1930) able to stage a successful coup against the parliamentary system in 1923?
54. Why was Gen. Primo de Rivera able to run a dictatorial regime which claimed to be based on popular sovereignty?
55. Why did Primo de Rivera lose the loyalty of the army and the support of Alfonso XIII on which his regime depended?
56. Why did the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the UGT come to oppose the dictatorial regime?
57. Why did Alfonso XIII abdicate his throne in April 1931?
58. Why, after the disasters of 1873-74, had republicanism again become so popular by 1931?
59. Why were such high levels of anticlericalism tolerated in the early years of the Republic in a country where such a high percentage of the population was Catholic?
60. Why did the Anarchists not provide more direct support to the Republic in the early 1930s?
61. Why did the Anarchists not give greater support to the Republic?
62. Why did the first Republican Cortes put such severe attacks on the Church's position into the Constitution?
63. Why didn't Republican governments act more vigorously to discipline the army and the Civil Guard?
64. Why did the Radicals support Catalan autonomy in 1932, having been its great enemy prior to 1923?
65. Why was it so difficult for the Republic to deal with land reform?
66. Why was the Right so successful in the elections of 1933?
67. Why did the Azaña Coalition fail to sustain its governing majority in the elections of 1933?
68. Why did the Left call the general strike and revolt of October, 1934? Why did Companys bring Catalonia into the struggle?
69. Why was it possible to put together a Popular Front for the election of 1936 when nothing similar occurred in 1933? In your essay, be sure to discuss the aspirations and intentions of all the important groups and individuals involved.
70. Why did the government have so much trouble establishing order after the election in February, 1936?
71. What role did press censorship play in the deterioration of the Republic?
72. Why were there no Socialist ministers in the cabinet after the Popular Front electoral victory in 1936?
73. Why do so many Spaniards (and others) still mourn the death of the Second Republic?
74. Why did the government fail to order provincial governors to distribute arms to civilians in time to defeat the military mutiny of July 1936?
75. Why did the Air Force remain loyal to the Republic?
76. Why did the Republic have such difficulty getting international support against the rebellion?
77. Why did the Republican government receive such tremendous popular support to take on the generals?
78. After losing every battle in the southwest, why were Republican forces able to defend Madrid against Franco's crack units?
79. Why wasn't the Army able quickly to take control of the entire country as the rebellious officers had planned?
80. Why did the rebel generals fail to win a quick victory?
81. Why were teachers and doctors regarded with suspicion in the Nationalist zone?
82. Why did so many foreigners volunteer to fight for the Republic?
83. Why did the Spanish Communist Party (PCE) gain such tremendous strength between July 1936 and March 1937?
84. Why did the CNT representatives join the Catalan government in September 1936 and the Largo Caballero government in November 1936?
85. Why did the Soviet Union press the Republican government to suppress social revolution in Spain?
86. Why did Republican officials decide to base hopes for victory in the Civil War on winning the support of foreign democracies, which had abandoned them in the early months of the Nationalist revolt, instead of unleashing the revolutionary enthusiasm of workers and peasants? In your essay, be specific about both the external and internal events which influenced this policy choice throughout the war and about the groups and individuals involved in the decision.
87. Why did the Republican central government seek to crush the CNT and POUM in May 1937?
88. Why did Largo Caballero's government fall in May 1937?
89. Why did the conservative Basque Nationalist Party fight for the Republic?
90. Why were Basque Nationalists and Carlists so hostile to each other?
91. Why would Spanish Catholic leaders like Cardinal-Archbishop Gomá y Tomás so enthusiastically embrace fascist and racist ideas?
92. Why was the Republican army never able to sustain an initiative?
93. Why were Republican forces able to mount offensives at Brunete and Belchite (summer 1937), Teruel (winter 1937-1938), and the Ebro (summer-fall 1938)?
94. Why did the Communists gain such a preponderant role in the Republican war effort?
95. Why was Franco able to take Catalonia?
96. Why was the Munich Pact such a blow to the Republic?
97. Why did Franco promote the Falange?
98. Why did Franco adopt fascist ideology for the Nationalist movement?
99. Why did the western democracies opt for a policy of non- intervention?
100. Why was direct Italian intervention in the Civil War so much greater than direct German intervention?
101. Why did the Nationalists win the war?
102. Why did the Republicans lose the war?
103. Why was Franco able to avoid much Spanish involvement in World War II?
104. Why did the early Franco regime adopt an economic policy of autarky?
105. Why did Franco's government promote football (soccer) and movies as the major cultural contributions of the regime?
106. Why, in the 1940s and 1950s, did the Franco regime increasingly move away from its initial reliance on fascist ideology as a justification for its policies? In your essay, be specific about both the international and domestic factors involved.
107. Why was Spain able to arrange a Concordat with the Vatican in 1953?
108. Why was Spain able to arrange a military treaty with the United States in September 1953?
109. Why was Spain able to gain admission to the United Nations in December 1955 after having been excluded in an agreement reached at the Potsdam Conference at the close of World War II?
110. Why did Franco in 1947 declare Spain to be a monarchy while postponing any decision about who would be monarch or when the person would come to power?
111. Why did Franco's government adopt the Stabilization Plan of 1959?
112. Why were Franco and his supporters unable to establish a stable political system during almost forty years of rule? Be specific about the failure of specific programs.
113. Why did the Franco dictatorship last so long?
114. Why was Franco able to retain his position of leadership down to his death in 1975?
115. Why did Franco name Juan Carlos de Borbón as heir to the throne and future head of State in 1969?
116. Why did Franco in 1969 select Juan Carlos as the future monarch instead of Juan Carlos' father Don Juan, who was the legitimate heir of Alfonso XIII and still alive?
117. Why did the Spanish Communist Party (PCE) become so important in the opposition to Franco?
118. Why did the Catholic Church increasingly cease to be a reliable support for Franco's regime?
119. Why did Basque nationalism become an important focus of opposition to Franco's regime?
120. Why did the Franco regime loosen censorship laws in the 1960s?
121. Spain is probably the first modern country to move from dictatorship to democracy without experiencing a revolution or a foreign invasion. Why did such a transformation take place?
122. Why were those who favored a ruptura democrática unable to achieve their ends?
123. Why did King Juan Carlos move to establish a democratic regime?
124. Why was King Juan Carlos important to the development of democracy in Spain?
125. Why did the royal government make use of the institutions of the dictatorship to establish democracy?

All contents copyright © 1996-98.
J. B. Owens
All rights reserved.

Revised:  11 January 1998

URL:  http://www.isu.edu/~owenjack/conmodsp/topics.html