Chapter 25: Nationalism
I.
The Second Republic & Louis Napoleon III
A. Louis Napoleon was elected president of France in 1848
3 Reasons Napoleon is elected by universal male suffrage:
1. Great name of his uncle
2. Property owners want protection of a tough leader against the Marxist
socialist.
3. His “positive program” for France
a. 2 pamphlets – Napoleonic ideas, The elimination of poverty.
b. Napoleon believed that the government should represent the
people and that it should try hard to help them economically.
B. Napoleon’s coup d’etat
1. Dec. 2, 1851 – Napoleon illegally dismissed the National Assembly.
2. Napoleon used universal male suffrage in plebiscite to gain support for his
actions and promotion to hereditary emperor.
3. Emperor Napoleon III – Economic gains
a. encouraged new investment banks and massive railroad
construction. Industrialism grew in France as well as employment.
b. by 1860’s lost support of middle class liberals – slowly relinquished powers to
the National Assembly.
II.
Nation Building in Italy
A. 1815 – 1848: Theories of Italian Unification developed
1. The radical program of the idealistic patriot Giuseppe Mazzini –
which included a centralized democratic republic based on universal male
suffrage and the will of the people.
2. Vincenzo Gioberti, a Catholic priest, called for a federation of existing states
under the presidency of a progressive Pope.
3. The leadership of the autocratic kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont.
B. Sardinia leads the way to unification
1. Count Camillo Benso di Cavour – late 1850’s worked to consolidate Sardinia as a
liberal constitutional state capable of leading Northern Italy.
a. attempted military expansion into Austrian controlled N. Italy
through an alliance with Napoleon III of France.
b. with the sudden withdraw of Napoleon III’s support – Sardinia made
peace with Austria – gaining Lombardy in 1859.
c. 1860 – Cavour made a deal with Napoleon III in exchange for Nice &
Savoy – France would not interfere with the unification of Italy.
1) People of central Italy voted overwhelmingly to join with the
kingdom of Sardinia and Victor Emannuel.
2. Giuseppe Garibaldi – Red Shirts: led a private army in the fight to liberate
southern Italy, starting at Sicily.
a. success led to his siege of Rome and the Vatican
b. Garibaldi hands the south over to Cavour and Emanuel in an open vote
to join Sardinia.
C. Consequences of Unification
1. parliamentary monarchy under Victor Emmanuel where only a small minority of
males had the power to vote, dividing the propertied class form the common
people.
a. a gap separated progressive, industrialized northern Italy from
stagnant, agrarian southern Italy.
b. economic failure in the south led to massive immigration to the United states.
III.
German Unification
Realpolitik: refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical
and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or
ethical premises. In this respect, it shares aspects of its philosophical approach with those
of realism and pragmatism.
A. Austro-Prussian rivalry
1. Both battled over economic and political influence of the 38 German
Confederation States.
a. Zollverein – Developed under Prussian leadership – founded to
stimulate trade and increase revenues of member states – did
NOT include Austria.
b. William I wanted to double the size of the Prussian army and reduce the
importance of the militia.
 Changes = bigger defense budget and more taxes
 Parliament rejected William’s military budget in 1862.
 William I called on Count Otto von Bismarck to head a new ministry
and to defy Parliament.
c. Count Otto von Bismarck – Junker heritage, basic goal was to
build up Prussia’s strength and consolidate Prussia’s great power
status.
1) Goal was to bring the northern, predominantly Protestant states of
Germany under the control of Prussia.
 3 possible methods:
i. work with Austria to divide up the smaller
German states between them.
ii. join with one or more foreign nations against
Austria.
iii. ally with the forces of German nationalism to
defeat and expel Austria from German affairs.
2) Bismarck chose to join forces with German nationalism
 trade mark: “by blood and iron”
 opposed by a liberal parliament – Bismarck continued to
spend on the development of the army.
B. Austro-Prussian War, 1866
1. 7 week war ended with a decisive Prussian victory at the battle of
Sadowa. (map pg.833)
a. Prussia utilized railroads to mass troops, the new breechloading needle gun to
maximize fire power.
b. Generous peace terms for Austria – paid no reparations and lost no territory to
Prussia (Venice was ceded to Italy), but the German Confederation was
dissolved and Austria agreed to withdraw from German affairs.
c. A new North German Confederation led by an expanded Prussia formed.
(Bismarck’s gain)
C. Bismarck gained control of Parliament
1. New federal constitution created by Bismarck – made the king of Prussia
(William I) president of the New North German Confederation & the
chancellor (Bismarck) was only responsible to the president.
a. government also consisted of a representative two house assembly who’s
membership in one house was elected by universal male suffrage.
1) Liberals joined with Bismarck and his new government because it
was succeeding in unifying Germany and it allowed them
participation in the new state.
D. Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1871
1. Bismarck used a war with France as a strategy to force the southern German
states into the arms of Prussia.
a. Sept. 1, 1870 – Prussian & German army defeated the French at
Sedan, capturing Napoleon III himself.
b. French patriots declared France a Republic and continued the war
effort until Jan. 1871 – Paris surrendered.
2. Bismarck established harsh peace terms
a. required France to pay an indemnity of 5 billion francs & surrender
rich eastern provinces of Alsace & Lorraine to Germany.
E. The nation of Germany is born
1. With the addition of the south German states to the German Empire – William I
was proclaimed emperor.
a. 1866 Constitution – King of Prussia & his ministers had ultimate
power, and the lower house of the legislature was elected by
universal male suffrage.
b. Germany had become the most powerful nation in Europe in less
than a decade.
b. ruled by semi-authoritarian nationalism and a “new conservatism”
The German Empire (1871-1914)
I. New German Empire: Federal Union of Prussia & twenty-four smaller states
A. Political Structure & Powers – Germany was an autocracy based on the alliance of
throne and aristocracy
1. Every day business of government conducted by the separate states (Particularism)
2. Strong national government included:
a. Reichstag: German parliament which had little real authority – members elected
by a franchise system that over represented the landed aristocracy, and
members
could NOT hold cabinet posts.
b. Chancellor: Bismarck until 1890 – was not responsible to the Reichstag, but
rather to the emperor.
1) Reichstag could not propose legislation
2) Foreign policy & military affairs remained in the hands of the emperor and
the chancellor.
3) Reichstag control over the budget could NOT limit the prerogatives of the
throne.
c. Bundestrat: federal council which comprised of a delegate from each of the 25
German states – which was presided over by the chancellor.
d. Military& Civil Service – dominated by the Junkers who in exchange for their
loyalty were exempt from most taxation, and received subsides from the state for
their immense estates.
e. Middle-Class: remained outside of political life, willing to accept imperial authority
and noble influence. (loyalty to the empire based on their opposition to the rising
Social Democrats)
3. Political Parties in the German Empire (Reichstag)
a. National Liberals – supported legislation useful for further economic & legal
unification of Germany.
b. Catholic Center Party – blocked passage of national laws hostile to the church.
c. Social Democratic Party (SDP) – opposed military spending & imperialist
expansion – favoring socialist reforms based on Marxian philosophy.
4. Bismarck’s Social Reforms
a. Kulturkampf – Bismarck’s state campaign against Catholics in the German
Empire.
1) triggered by Pope Pius IX’s declaration of papal infallibility in 1870 – a
dogma which appeared to ask German Catholics to put loyalty to the
church above loyalty to their nation.
2) German priest were required to complete a secular curriculum in order to
be ordained, and the state would now only recognize civil marriages.
3) Subsequent laws permitted the expulsion from Germany of members of
the Catholic clergy who refused to abide by discriminatory laws against
Catholics.
4) Bismarck’s resolve hardened by an attempted assassination against him
by a Catholic in 1874 & the continual threat of France to retake Alsace
and Lorraine which was overwhelmingly Catholic.
5) Bismarck surrendered his war on the Catholics by 1878 – needing the
support of the Catholic Center Party to oppose the growing influence of
the SDP in the Reichstag.
b. Economic concerns due to the world financial crash of 1873:
1) German agriculture could not compete with the cheap grain prices of foreign
grain from the United States, Russia, and Canada.
2) Germans favored high tariffs to protect their agriculture & industrial interest
(“iron and rye”)
3) 1879 – Bismarck issued a new protective tariff which merged the Catholic
Center Party, Conservative Party of Prussian landowners, and the National
Liberals in support of Bismarck.
- Protectionism became the widespread policy of European
nations that was characterized by self-centered nationalism,
resulting in international name-calling and nasty trade wars.
c. Bismarck’s war on the Socialist: he genuinely feared the socialist revolutionary
language and international allegiance beyond the borders of Germany.
1) Using the Reichstag – Bismarck influenced new laws that outlawed the
Socialist Democratic Party along with any socialist meetings or publications in
Germany.
2) Unable to destroy the Socialist (who had gone underground)
Bismarck’s essentially conservative nation-state pioneered new social
measures to win the support of the working-class people:
 1883 & 1884 laws: established national sickness and accident
insurance
 1889 law: established old-age pensions and retirement benefits.
First form of a national social security system in the world
5. Emperor William II (1888-1918) – succeed the short reign of Frederick III who only
ruled one hundred days dying of throat cancer.
a. William II – Prussian autocrat who believed that “democratic principles can only
create weak and often corrupt pillars of society”
1) he believed in his divine right to rule
b. When Bismarck sought to launch another campaign of repression against the
Social Democrats – but the new emperor wanted to cultivate as much popularity
as possible by sponsoring more legislation that would improve working
conditions.
1) differing opinions led to Bismarck’s resignation in 1890
“dropping of the pilot”
2) In Bismarck’s absence – William II supported the rise of aggressive
German nationalism and the emergence of an Anglo-German naval
rivalry.
c. German Conservatives became increasingly nationalistic and anti-Semetic:
1) Jews used as scapegoat for accusers following the economic crash of
1873.
2) Richard Wagner (operatic composer) – outspoken anti-Semitic
3) Jews were identified with liberalism and socialism
d. Social Democrats – more members elected to the Reichstag in 1890’s and then
again in 1912 when the Party broadened its base and adopted a more patriotic
tone.
1) Socialist became less radical in Germany – identifying increasingly with the
German state, and concentrating on gradual social and political reform.
The Modernization of Russia (1853-1914)
I. Russian Empire was an enormous multinational state – thus Russia’s rulers saw
national self-determination as a subversive ideology in the early 19th century.
A. Pre-1850’s: Russia was a poor agrarian society with a rapidly growing population.
1. 90% of the population bound to serfdom working in agriculture:
a. backward agricultural techniques (ancient open-field system)
b. hereditary serfdom – could be sold, forced to provide labor or money payments
at the request of the lord, free to be recruited into the army as needed, and could
be punished with deportation to Serbia.
B. Humiliating defeat of Russia in the Crimean War (1853-1856)
1. Marked the turning point in Russian history because it demonstrated that Russia had
fallen behind the rapidly industrializing nations of Western Europe.
a. Reform of serfdom was now imperative (fear of massive peasant rebellion)
C. Modernization of Russia “The Great Reforms”
1. Tsar Alexander II (r.1855-1881) – reform from above
a. The first and greatest of the reforms was the freeing of the serfs in 1861!
1) human bondage was abolished & emancipated serfs received about half of
the land (at a high cost & collectively owned – where each peasant village
was responsible for the payments of all families in the village)
2) government hoped that collective ownership would strengthen the peasant
village as a social unit and prevent the development of a class of landless
peasants.
In reality: collective ownership made it difficult for individual peasants to
improve agricultural methods or leave their villages.
b. Zemstvo – 1864, the government established a new institution of local
government.
1) The zemstvo executive council dealt with local problems.
2) Russian liberals hoped that this reform would lead to an elected national
parliament.
- In reality: the zemstvo remained subordinate to the traditional bureaucracy
and the local nobility.
c. Successful reforms: reform of the legal system which established independent
courts and equality before the law.
1) Russian Jews were liberalized somewhat and censorship was relaxed
-
II. Industrialization of Russia – until the 20th century Russia’s greatest strides toward
modernization were economic rather than political.
A. Industry and transportation were transformed in two industrial surges:
1) First in 1860 – the government subsidized private railway companies, and
construction boomed (1860 = 1,250 miles of railway by 1880 = 15,500 miles)
- railroads allowed for the exportation of Russian grain – earning
money for further industrialization.
- industrial development strengthened Russia’s military forces & gave rise
to territorial expansion to the South & East.
- Industrial development also contributed to the spread of Marxian thought
& the transformation of the revolutionary movement after 1890.
2) Second surge in 1890’s – followed the assassination of Tsar Alexander II
- Alexander III (r. 1881-1894) reactionary
- Sergei Witte: minister of finance from 1892 to 1903 – inspired by the
writings of Friedrich List, Witte believed that the harsh reality of industrial
backwardness was threatening Russia’s power and greatness.
B. Industrial reforms of Sergei Witte:
1) government built state-owned railroads rapidly, doubling the network to
thirty-five thousand miles by the end of the century.
- trans-Siberian railway connected Moscow (western Russia) to
Vladivostok on the Pacific (5,000 miles long)
2) established high protective tariffs & put Russia on the gold standard to
strengthen Russian finances.
3) Witte used the West to catch up with the West:
- encouraged foreigners to use their capital and technology to build
factories in backward Russia – successful in the Ukraine where foreign
capitalist built a modern steel and coal industry in a decade.
III. Revolution of 1905
A. Russo-Japanese War (1904)
1) In 1903 Russia established a sphere of influence in Chinese Manchuria & was
seeking to gain control of northern Korea.
2) Imperialist Japan attacked the Russians in 1904 winning a decisive victory on
land in Manchuria and at sea in the Sea of Japan – destroying a modern
Russian naval fleet.
3) Russia was forced to accept a humiliating defeat in 1905
B. Military defeat abroad brought political upheaval at home.
1) business & professional classes wanted to turn the last of Europe’s absolutist
monarchies into a liberal, representative regime.
2) factory workers and peasant farmers gained little from the earlier reforms.
3) minority ethnic groups called for self rule and autonomy (Poles & Ukraine)
C. “Bloody Sunday” – Sunday, January 1905: massive crowd of workers and their
families peacefully assembled at the Winter Palace of the tsar in St. Petersburg
to present a petition to the tsar.
1) The tsar’s troops opened fire on the crowd killing and wounding hundreds
2) The massacre turned ordinary workers against the tsar & triggered strikes,
peasant uprisings, revolts, and troop mutinies across the country.
3) By October 1905 – a paralyzing strike forced the government to capitulate.
D. October Manifesto – granted full civil rights and promised a popularly elected duma
(parliament) with real legislative power.
1) the manifesto split opposition – frightened the middle-class who helped to
suppress the uprising and to maintain a constitutional monarchy.
2) Duma – May 1906, the government issued the new constitution – The
Fundamental Laws:
- tsar retained great powers & the ability to veto Duma legislation
- Duma was elected indirectly by universal male suffrage
- the liberal Duma was dismissed due to clashes with the tsar & then
again in 1907
Republican France (1871-1905)
I. Third Republic – established in 1871 following a defeat by the Prussians in the
Franco-Prussian war.
A. National Assembly – members included a majority of conservatives and monarchists:
1. Decided to surrender Alsace & Lorraine to Germany
2. Parisians protested by establishing the Paris Commune in March 1817
a. wanted to govern Paris without interference from the conservative French
countryside
3. Adolphe Thiers – leader of the National Assembly ordered the army into Paris &
crushed the Commune (20,000 people died)
B. A new national unity was established under the stable leadership of the Third Republic
for different reasons:
1. First was luck – Monarchists in the Assembly could not agree on the king that they
wanted to rule France – the Bourbon candidate that they compromised on would not
accept the throne unless he ruled under the white flag of his ancestors, an
unacceptable condition.
a. Thiers’s destruction of the Commune convinced the provinces and middle class
that the 3rd Republic could be moderate and socially conservative – therefore
willing to retain the republic.
2. Another stabilizing factor was the skill and determination of moderate republican
leaders:
a. Leon Gambetta – master of emerging mass politics, he preached a republic of
truly equal opportunity.
1) he was instrumental in establishing absolute parliamentary supremacy from
1877-1879, forcing the autocratic president of the republic (Marshall
MacMahon) to resign in 1879.
2. Moderate republicans worked to gain support of the next generation of the French
under the leadership of Jules Ferry:
a. Trade unions were legalized
b. France acquired a colonial empire
c. Free compulsory elementary education was established for both girls and boys
1) building block for national unification & the schools were based on secular
republican education – not parochial (church based)
2) married female teachers were hire for the first time – for 3 reasons:
1. married female teachers with their own children would serve a as a
contrast to the celibate nuns and priest.
2. married teachers would better cope with the lonely conditions of rural
towns and villages
3. worried about the low birth rate in France – politicians hoped that married
teachers with children would stand as a positive example
- all in attempt to create a secular, and republican education
3. Dreyfus Affair – Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish captain in the army was falsely accused
and convicted of treason.
a. Defended by Emile Zola – Dreyfus proclaimed his innocence
b. The case split France apart in 1898-1899: the army supported by anti-Semites
and most of the Catholic establishment vs. civil libertarians (many of whom were
radical republicans)
b. The case revived republican distrust against the Catholic Church in France
1) from 1901-1905 the government severed all ties b/w the state and the
Catholic Church, ending centuries of close relations.