WAW: Lesson - The Rise of Nationalism

A political cartoon satirizing Otto Von Bismarck. More details in text on page. Image Text: A crushing load.The Rise of Nationalism

Nationalism

The Enlightenment and Age of Revolutions began people thinking about society differently than they had before. Earlier historians wrote that empires and civilizations were the products of powerful leaders; people were conquered and reconquered as passively as the land itself. But as Enlightenment thinkers emphasized a government of, by, and for the people, suddenly “the people” mattered and had agency.

They differentiated themselves by their culture, language, and religion and emphasized their right to sovereignty (self-rule). The anti-colonial wars in the Americas were the first nationalist movements. As Napoleon conquered Europe, Europeans experienced national movements that (decades later) resulted in the creation of Germany, Italy, and Belgium. Waves of nationalism inspired people to work harder for the benefit of their country.  

The Industrial Revolution Spreads to Germany

You may have noticed that the Industrial Revolution was also around the time that Napoleon controlled France and invaded Europe (1799-1815). Napoleon embargoed Great Britain, which meant that the Industrial Revolution wouldn’t spread across Europe until after his defeat. Germany experimented with industrialization from 1815 until the mid-1840s (when famine and warfare sent Germans fleeing to America). They sent children to Britain to study industrialism and brought British engineers to Germany to teach them. Once Germany unified in 1871 due to the efforts of Otto Von Bismarck, the people experienced a surge of national pride, and industrialism took off. German industrialism focused on military development. Soon, Germany realized they were only limited by their resources.

Image note: The image above is from a satirical US magazine. This political cartoon shows a small Otto Von Bismarck riding on top of a very oversized German military helmet that has been refitted with several weapons – bayonets, cannons, swords, guns, etc. The helmet is strapped to a peasant woman’s back. The cartoon has the subtitle “A crushing load” indicating that the poor of Germany struggle to keep up with Germany’s demand for a large, industrialized military.

The Industrial Revolution Spreads to Japan

An illustration showing a Japanese man in a Western suit lecturing another Japanese man in a traditional outfit.Industrialized European nations would soon look for resources in Africa and Asia (more on that soon!), and you may remember from Module 5 that the Japanese felt threatened by Japanese-US trade negotiations in the 1850s.

The Japanese people could not stop the influence of the outside world, but they did overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate. The new government was called the Meiji Restoration. It was a constitutional monarchy with a parliament. They modernized the country’s education system and military, then turned towards industrialization. Unlike German, American, or British industrialization (which were led by private investors), Japanese industrialization was led by the government. But like earlier industrial movements, Japan realized they needed more resources.

Image note: In the illustration to the left, a Japanese man who was a champion for Japan’s Westernization, dressed in a Victorian 3-piece-suit, sits on a chair and teaches the young samurai (representing previous eras in Japan) how to be “civilized”, therefore equal to the powerful countries. This demonstrates the educational and cultural changes of the Meiji Restoration.

The result of these innovations, and others, was the replacement of human labor with machine labor. Even more farmers and craftsmen moved to the city (called urbanization) to work in factories.

Effects in Germany and Japan

A photograph of the philosopher Karl Marx.

Just like the Industrial Revolution impacted Great Britain and the United States, so too did it impact German and Japanese societies.

Karl Marx, a German philosopher, believed nationalism and capitalism led to depressed, alienated, and exploited workers. In his most famous work, The Communist Manifesto, Marx believed that around the world, workers would revolt against business owners and the government, take control, and eventually, the world would be a classless, stateless society under Communism. His ideas will become very influential later in this Module.

Image note: The photograph to the right show a seated Karl Marx. Karl Marx would be so important to the political development of the USSR (the Soviet Union) later that this photograph would be included in one of the USSR’s space missions.

Meanwhile, the Japanese defeated the Chinese (1895) and Russians (1904), which demonstrated to the world the importance of a modern, industrialized military. It also simultaneously propelled Japan to world-power status, while deflating China and Russia’s influence. This will also be important later in the Module.

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