Throughout the nineteenth century three political ideals began influencing states and their citizens like no other ideals had done before. These ideals were liberalism, socialism and, the most important, nationalism. Each one possessed its own uniqueness which inspired mass followings of people that would last thoroughly into the twentieth century. Each one also proved to form a catalyst for the modernisation of many European countries. However, in comparison, none of these ideals had the impact that the nationalistic approach had. This is due to many reasons which ranged from the fact that not everyone was affected by socialism or that ninety percent of people in eighteenth century Europe lived in a ‘nationstate’ which acted as a …show more content…
The conscription of soldiers into the military, created an environment that relied on the connectedness that the soldiers felt for their country since there was a lack of other motives for individual soldiers to fight for a specific cause. This selfdetermination to fight for one’s country was inspired by the immense nationalistic and patriotic pride that existed within Europe; no other political ideal could inspire such unwavering loyalty. Empires that contained many nations could not survive in the total war state that characterises modern warfare during the Great War. The Great War, as it did with every country currently riding the nationalism tidal wave, aided the growth of the ideal in France through the increased government control, propaganda, and ethnocentrism among French citizens. Although we can discuss the nationalist culture and might that France contained, it was dwarfed by our next country, Germany. Eugene Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France ,1870-1914 (Stanford: CA, Stanford University Press, 1976) 3 Hudson Meadwell, The Long Nineteenth Century (New York: NY, Routledge, 2002) 2 At the beginning of the century, Germany was not a united nation, a combination of duchies and principalities, perhaps with a common purpose, and a common language and culture, but separated politically. However, by the time of German unification in 1871 the traditional European balance of power had shifted with
What events or trends contributed to the relationship between the forces of Nationalism and Sectionalism?
Germany joined the League of Nations in 1926. This League was integral in ensuring European government’s peace during that critical period. Later in 1928, 65 nations signed the Kellogg Briand Pact, in that war would be rejected as a means of policy. In 1934, Russia joined the League of Nations. Germany, following Italy with a leadership of Fascism, included racist superiority, lessened individual rights, secret police, censorship, and propaganda; a militaristic and aggressive foreign policy; perhaps should have never been trusted in any such type of treaties and pacts. It is obvious it is like “making a deal with the devil(s)”.
The democratic ideals of equality and liberty are the main values of a democracy. With immigration and innovation, many felt that America was heading in the opposite direction of the democracy’s values. Through the new ideas that came along with the Second Great Awakening, reform movements including education, women’s rights, and abolition attempted to expand and revive democratic ideals. The Second Great Awakening called for a revival in not only religion, but also in society.
The first democratic ideal that was tried to expand was the right to individuality. The United States of America
Total war is the idea that there are no restrictions on weapons used, territory or people involved, and the laws of war are generally disregarded. In total war, “there [is] no difference between civilian and soldiers” (118). Many people believed that since, “It was war and we had to expect it” (117) and by it they meant the worst.
Nationalism played a huge role in this event due to the Middle Eastern countries longing for independence for their own nation.
The French Revolution directly affected the nineteenth century through the creation of many ideologies, one important one being nationalism. Nationalism is a very controversial ideology because of the many diverse approaches towards its true definition. A broad definition of nationalism could be perceived as a strong devotion towards the culture and identity of a nation. As well as the idea that nations will benefit more from acting as an independent nation opposed to multiple states working together as a collective. Its emergence completely changed the political map of Europe and resulted in the birth of many new nations. There are many different views towards the true reason for the emergence of Nationalism in Europe. Many historians believe the emergence can be credited to the French Revolution and later the continuation of ideas under Napoleon Bonaparte. While others believe the Industrial Revolution held more importance for the widespread arrival of nationalism. It seems better to encompass both and argue that the emergence of nationalism in Europe was caused by the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte’s rule, and the Industrial Revolution.
Held accountable for the additional significant influence of decolonizing European Empires, was the sentimentality upheaval of nationalism throughout Europe. For instance, it can be seen regarding the conflict which
Another long term impact of Nationalism was the Frankfurt Constitution, this was a long and detailed document, and it entailed the boundaries of Germany and its enforcement of its provisions, and was written for all of Germany, which was mostly consisted of Liberals. Examples of the Frankfurt Constitution are: All Germans are treated equal before the law, all special class privileges are abolished, no citizen shall accept a decoration from a foreign state, and Public office shall be open to all men on the basis
Nationalism was used by Napoleon to make France a great power in Europe. Nationalism helped France to develop a national language which was taught in schools to replace local dialects. This unification of language helped the people of France to feel closer to each other, with
Before the war, nationalism had swept through the world, most notably playing a role in other
The comprehension of the term ‘total war’ has had great significance towards the understanding as to how wars are fought, affect society and differ from other conflicts. The main issue that arises is conclusively defining total war and is continually differing between both historians and military combatants alike. Roger Chickering defines states “total war is distinguished by its intensity and extent. Theatres of operation span the globe; the scale of the battle is practically limitless” all the while adding “total war requires the mobilisation not only of armed forced but also of whole populations” This definition, while not quintessential is a good starting point for a definition due to its broadness and acceptance of the idea of the incapability to fully mobilise a society’s entire resource. David A. Bell states that it is often defined as ‘a war involving the complete mobilization of a society’s resources to achieve the absolute destruction of an enemy, with all distinction erased between combatants and non-combatants’ . However, he notes the limitations of such an idea including the inability for societies to meet such criterion, in particular, the ability for a society to completely utilise its resources towards the war effort. Ultimately, Jeremey black, while not giving a conclusive definition for the term, total war, does acknowledge different definitions by various individuals distilling many of their arguments and consequently outlining main characteristics of
The political and social conditions of Europe before the onset of the World War I were extremely unstable and undergoing a rapid transition that was driven by national interests of different nations living in the region. Nationalism was endorsed to promote patriotism among masses and to achieve political objectives that were in alignment with the national or political interests of countries. As the time passed, the growing influence of imperialism and the ideology of nationalism manifested multifaceted
One of the earliest forms of nationalism in the 1700’s in Europe show many of the positives of Europe. Europe during this time was still a feudal society run by an absolute monarchy. With only the monarchy and the nobility with political power the largest part of the populations had not political control over their lives. The idea of nationalism was to make these different classes equal all having the same rights. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was a law adopted during the French revolution which was an early example of a human rights declaration. Article one said that all men were born with the rights of Life, Liberty and fraternity. This means that all men were born with rights that could not be violated by the government. Article 6 of the declaration it said that all citizens were able to participate in government activities “All citizens were equal before the law and were to have the right to participate in legislation directly or indirectly.” (Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2011) Unlike the previous government all people have the equal right to participate in government. Disregarding the past where you social rights were decided at birth by what class you were born into. Now every man was born with the same rights and they are unalienable.
A transformation was needed to change nationalism from an elitist to mass movement, a change from the French revolution which was based on legalistic concepts to emotional links. It was done by making it