The Age of Nationalism
1850-1914
Questions
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Why did nationalism become in one way
or another an almost universal faith in
Europe and in the US between 1850 and
1914?
How did nationalism evolve so that it
appealed not only to the middle class
liberals but also to the broad masses of
society?
France
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The 2nd republic- Louis Napoleon elected president in
December 1848
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Had a good name
Middle-class and peasant owners feared the socialist challenge
of urban workers
Louis had an effective program planned: Napoleonic Ideas and
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He believed that the government should represent the people
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The Elimination of Poverty
Elected to a 4 year term but wanted to run again
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National Assembly would not change the constitution for him to
run so he conspired with key leaders and seized power in a coup
d’etat
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The people supported him
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92% voted to make him president for 10 years
A year later 97% made him hereditary emperor
Emperor Napoleon III
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Great success with the economy
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Limited but did not disband the assembly
Wanted to gain influence an territory for France
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Banks, railroad, industrial revolution
Problems in Italy and the growing strength of Prussia
brought him trouble from Catholics and nationalists at
home
Middle class liberals denounced his rule
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He was forced to grant more authority to the
assembly to maintain a good image in the public eye
Italia
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Prior to 1850, the Italians had never been united
Divided into rival city-states
Reorganized in 1815
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Lombardy and Venetia- Metternich’s Austria
Sardinia and Piedmont- Italian monarch
North-central Italy- Tuscany
Central Italy and Rome- Papacy
Naples and Sicily- the Bourbons
Three approaches to unification
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Mazzini- centralized democratic republic
Fr. Gioberti- federation of existing states under the presidency of
the pope
Vittorio Emanuele, king of Sardinia- retained a liberal
constitution which granted parliamentary government
Italian Unification
Cavour and Garibaldi
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Count Camillo di Cavour- dominant political figure in Sardinia who sought
to unify north and central Italy as an expanded kingdom of Sardinia
Could not drive the Austrians out of Lombardy and Venetia so the count
formed a secret alliance with Napoleon III
Cavour lured Austria into attacking Sardinia so that France would come
to his aid
Napoleon defeated the Austrians but turned face against cavour granting
him Lombardy only
Garibaldi led forces against the Austrians in the war and gained a name
for himself
In 1860, with eh secret support of Cavour he led a guerilla army of 1000
Red Shirts that gained the support of Sicilian peasantry
They outsmarted the 20,000 men royal army, took Palermo and marched
into the mainland, took Napoli and prepared to attack Rome
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Cavour did not support this attack and sent his troops to stop garibaldi
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Didn’t want war with France
Garibaldi and Vittorio Emmanuelle rode through Napoli with cheering
crowds
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By 1866 the kingdom of Italy included Venice and by 1870- Rome
Germany
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After 1848 German states were at a stalemate
A new Germany excluding Austria was becoming a
reality
The Italian uprising in 1859 made an impression on the
German states
William I of Prussia became king in 1861 an wanted to
double the military
The wealthy were heavily represented in the electoral
system and wanted less military and wanted parliament
to have ultimate authority
Military budget was denied
King William then called on Otto von Bismarck to head a
new ministry and defy the parliament
Bismarck
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“The most important figure in German history between
Luther and Hitler”
Strong personality and a desire for power
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“one must always have two irons in the fire.”
Became chief minister in 1862 and declared the
government would rule without parliamentary consent
In 1864 a Danish king tried to bring provinces into a
centralized Danish sate against the will of the German
confederation so Prussia joined Austria in expelling the
Danish king
Bismarck then forced Austria out of the northern provinces
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After neutralizing France and Russia, Bismarck embark on the 7
week Austro-Prussian War
Austria lost no territory to Prussia but Venetia was ceded to Italia
German Unification
The Franco-Prussian War
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1870–71, conflict between France and Prussia that signaled the rise
of German military power and imperialism. It was provoked by Otto
von Bismarck (the Prussian chancellor) as part of his plan to create
a unified German Empire.
Under pretense of securing the Spanish throne for a distant relative
of Prussia's William I and Napoleon III
On Aug. 4, 1870, the Germans crossed the border into Alsace. They
defeated the French at Wissembourg
The Germans began their march on Paris, and on Sept. 1 the
attempt of Napoleon III and MacMahon to rescue Bazaine led to
disaster at Sedan. The emperor and 100,000 of his men were
captured
Napoleon was deposed, and a provisional government of national
defense was formed under General Trochu, Léon Gambetta, and
Jules Favre.
Franco Prussian War
Lasting Effects
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Thiers was named chief of the executive power in France, and provision
was made for the election of a French national assembly, which met at
Bordeaux. The assembly accepted (Mar. 1) the preliminary peace
agreement, which was formalized in the Treaty of Frankfurt (ratified May
21, 1871).
Alsace, except the Territory of Belfort, and a large part of Lorraine were
ceded to Germany, which on Jan. 18, 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at
Versailles had been proclaimed an empire under William I.
Paris refused to disarm and to submit to the Thiers regime, and the
Commune of Paris was formed. The French troops loyal to Thiers began the
second siege of Paris (Apr.–May, 1871). After the cruel suppression of the
commune, peace returned to France.
Third French Republic and the German Empire
Desire for revenge guided French policy for the following half-century.
Prussian militarism had triumphed and laid the groundwork for German
imperialistic ventures. The Papal States, no longer protected by Napoleon
III, were annexed by Italy, which thus completed its unification. These and
other effects were links in the chain of causes that set off World War I.