Why were liberals limited in democratic expansion even while speaking of liberty?

Correct answer: They did not support suffrage for all adults and women

In the context of nineteenth-century Europe, liberals supported individual freedom, equality before law, representative government, and often a constitution. However, many liberals did not support political participation for every adult. Voting rights were commonly restricted by property, wealth, gender, or social status, and women were excluded from the franchise in many systems. Thus, liberty for liberals did not always mean universal democratic equality. Their position combined opposition to arbitrary rule with limits on who could exercise political power.

Option B is correct because many liberals opposed extending suffrage to all adults and to women. Option A is wrong because liberals generally opposed complete royal absolutism. Options C and D also misrepresent them: liberals commonly supported religious tolerance and law-based government. The important distinction is between constitutional liberty and universal suffrage. This limitation explains why liberal ideas could be progressive in one respect but restricted in another.