Chapter 23 Nationalism Triumphs in Europe Section 1 Building a German Nation

Chapter 23 Nationalism Triumphs in Europe Aim: should nationalism be seen as a force for unity or a cause of division and hatred? Do Now: Faces of Nationalism, 1-7

1. What is a Nation? -not a state -not a political entity Usually thought of as combining: -common history -common language [problem in Eastern Europe] -common religion -self-awareness of group status

Impact of the French Revolution: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity French revolutionary ideas stressed the rights of the people. The people come to have their own significance as a unit

Reaction to French Revolution . The French spread their ideals all over Europe. But they dominated the other countries.

People in these other countries took up the ideals of the French Rev People in these other countries took up the ideals of the French Rev. and applied them to their own situation, especially in Germany.

Romanticism An intellectual reaction against the Enlightenment emphasis on reason. Looked more to emotion and feeling as sources of truth. This had been growing up in Germany in the late 18th/early 19th Century.

Liberal Nationalism Nationalism was initially linked with Liberals who, especially in Germany and Italy lead the call for unity versus the old rulers.

Liberal Nationalism The idea of the people making up the nation and nationalism can go well together - idea of popular sovereignty.

Failure of Liberal Nationalism in 1848

I. Steps Toward Unity In the early 1800s, German-speaking people lived in a number of kingdoms, Prussia, and the Austrian Hapsburg empire

I. Steps Toward Unity Between 1807 and 1812, Napoleon organized many German states into the Confederation of the Rhine

I. Steps Toward Unity 1815 - The Congress of Vienna created the German Confederation, a weak alliance headed by Austria

I. Steps Toward Unity In the 1830s, Prussia created an economic union between German states called the Zollverein

I. Steps Toward Unity 1848 – The Frankfurt Assembly demanded a united Germany under Prussia, but were turned down by Fredrick William IV

II. Bismarck and German Unity 1862 - Otto von Bismarck, a diplomat from Prussia's Junker class, was named as chancellor Chancellor of Germany Period in office: 1871–1890 Date of birth: 1 April 1815 Date of death: 30 July 1898

II. Bismarck and German Unity As Chancellor, Bismarck succeeded in uniting the German states under Prussian rule

II. Bismarck and German Unity Bismarck was a master of Realpolitik – realistic politics based on the needs of the state This 1887 American political cartoon depicts Bismarck balancing the figures of war and peace on a teeter-totter made up of a powder keg and a board named "European politics". At the same time, he is juggling the great powers of Europe. An artillery piece lies in the foreground.

The less people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they'll sleep at night. -- Otto von Bismarck

"Never believe in anything until it has been officially denied "Never believe in anything until it has been officially denied."     -Otto von Bismarck

“The great questions of the day will not be settled by speeches and majority decisions – that was the mistake of 1848 and 1849 – but by blood and iron.” Otto von Bismarck

II. Bismarck and German Unity Bismarck built up the army and fought three wars, increasing Prussian power and paving the way for German unity Franco-Prussian War

The Danish War, 1864

II. Bismarck and German Unity 1864 - Bismarck formed an alliance with Austria and seized the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark

The Austro-Prussian (7 Weeks) War

II. Bismarck and German Unity 1866 - Bismarck attacked Austria annexed several other north German states

II. Bismarck and German Unity Bismarck dissolved the German Confederation and created a Prussian dominated confederation

The Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71

II. Bismarck and German Unity A growing rivalry between France and Prussia led to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870

II. Bismarck and German Unity Napoleon III declared war on Prussia after the “Ems dispatch” but was defeated within a few weeks Stone of Benedetti - Ems dispatch A memorial stone reminding of the fatal correspondence between King Wilhelm I of Prussia and the french ambassador Earl Benedetti. The telegraphic message of the prussian king to Berlin, which entered history books  under the name of "Ems Dispatch" and the shortened version of the contents, which was published in the press by Otto Graf of Bismarck on July 13, 1870, led to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War 1870/1871.

The Prussians surrounded Paris, set up their HQ at the Palace of Versailles, to the SW, and were able to bombard much of the city with Krupps' big new cannons.

Germans abusing French

III. The German Empire January 1871 - William I of Prussia took the title Kaiser and German nationalists celebrated the birth of the Second Reich On the 18th January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, King William I of Prussia was proclaimed by all the states of Germany to be their emperor.

III. The German Empire A constitution drafted by Bismarck set up a two-house legislature - the appointed Bundesrat, and the elected Reichstag