After the conflicts against Napoleon in 1815, the outlook of nationalism permeated throughout entire Germany by middle-class liberals and was influenced by the French revolution. Soon Bismarck unified the German states under Prussia. Nationalism encouraged the German people to stand against conservatives and when Germany was finally unified as the German Empire it was very much an authoritarian and a combatant state as well. This is a significant notion to remember about this time period in German history because it was Bismarck's most important legacy since for a thousand years a variety of kings and rulers had tried to unite the German states without success until Bismarck made his claim. Bismarck’s success led Germany to become one of the most powerful nations in Europe.
Overall, Nationalism developed in Germany because of social and economic changes, the new ideas such as liberalism and the Romantic Movement, there were changing balance of powers in the German Confederation, and the hostilities with France.
Not only did liberalism have a foundation of a philosophy devoted to the idea of individual freedoms for religion, speech, and press but the ideas were appealing to many of the middle class who valued the right to be themselves. Liberalism was grounded in middle-class interests because it expressed an association with the ultimate success of capitalism. As society evolved, liberals more and more denounced the aristocracy.
The Industrial middle class accepted liberalism and became the pinnacle majority. Liberalism, intellectually, represented an inspiration from the fundamentalist Whig mores and basis in the Commonwealth men.
Another paramount notion in the changing family life and urban society was the Industrial ag...
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...erchandise, and traveled around western countries to learn the ways of the west while China decided it would be best to adopt just a few western technologies. But technological development was not produced in China. At the same time as the Japanese was busy building an improved navy, the Chinese decided that finances would be better spent on luxury materials.
Consequently, Japan built itself an increasing economy and a dominant military while, on the other hand, China had isolated itself from trade and failed to defend the British opium invasion; within time, Japan effortlessly overran the Chinese in battle to seize territories such as Korea.
The aftermath of the two separate courses of actions were obvious. Japan, who held on and adopted westernization, became an imperial power while the Chinese were diminished to poverty, foreign control, and illiteracy.
When Otto von Bismarck was recalled from Paris to become Minister-President of Prussia in 1862, German nationalism was already more than 40 years old. First apparent in the opposition to Napoleon´s occupation of the German states, national feeling grew into a movement after 1815. This feeling was encouraged by a growth of interest in German literature and music and by increased economic cooperation between the north German states. By 1848 it was strong enough to make the creation of a united Germany one of the main demands of the revolutionaries. Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian patriot who inherited the traditions of love of king, army and country from his family.
The fundamental contradiction of Liberalism is that it produces inequality. In order to guarantee individual rights, in fact, a liberal government cannot force its citizens to promote equality. Furthermore, in a capitalist economy there is an incentive to produce on a mass scale, and the best way to increase productivity is to reduce the cost of labor; by reducing the cost of labor, the owners of the factories become richer, while the actual workers earn less money than they ought to. According to Karl Marx, this is the main problem of Liberalism: it somehow legalized inequality among people. So, in The Communist Manifesto, Marx explains why a total revolution of the society is inevitably going to happen.
The nationalists sought to form new countries or to restore a nation to the original people by forcing the controlling powers out. Nationalists also wanted a common language in each nation instead of many different languages and dialects. Nationalism was a threat to multi-national empires like the Austrian Empire as it contained many different ethnic groups. If those groups were to all breakaway, then there would be no more Austrian Empire. Nationalists movement happened all across Europe. The major movements took place in Ireland, Germany, Poland, and Italy. Nationalism was not an ideology that was confined to the 19th century, however. It was used to great success by the National Socialist Party in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s as they desired a unification of all the German-speaking people. All of this shows that nationalism was indeed one of the most important and power ideologies of the 19th and 20th
For several centuries the Europeans were always trying to have the best of the best in their country. Because they were so greedy they went of on several voyages to trade and gain those products they desired like silk, porcelain, tea, and lacquer-ware. With this the Europeans were always trying to out due and impress the Chinese with their clocks and their scientific gadgets. But they were never impressed, the Chinese always believed they were better and never wanted much to do with the Europeans. The Chinese were always very advanced in every skill; they believed that they had all that they needed to be a strong nation.
In the middle of the 19th century, despite a few similarities between the initial responses of China and Japan to the West, they later diverged; which ultimately affected and influenced the modernizing development of both countries. At first, both of the Asian nations rejected the ideas which the West had brought upon them, and therefore went through a time period of self-imposed isolation. However, the demands that were soon set by Western imperialism forced them, though in different ways, to reconsider. And, by the end of the 19th century both China and Japan had introduced ‘westernizing’ reforms. China’s aim was to use modern means to retain and preserve their traditional Confucian culture. Whereas Japan, on the other hand, began to successfully mimic Western technology as it pursued modernization, and thus underwent an astounding social upheaval. Hence, by the year 1920, Japan was recognized as one of the world’s superpowers, whereas China was on the edge of anarchy.
There are two countries that flourish due to Nationalism, Germany and Italy. The creation of Germany was possible through nationalism. Nationalism brought German community to unify and create a nation. On the other hand, the rivalry of the great powers to control other territories grew more as countries were wanting to influence past their borders. “The great powers had come into conflict over spheres of influence in China and over territories in Africa, and the Eastern Question, created by the decline of the Ottoman Empire, had produced several disturbing controversies.”(“World War I” 2015) Militarism was another aspect of these ideologies where countries would increase military spending to get new weapons and increase the military size. This gave people the idea that war was the only solution to their problems and also intensified nationalism because it increased their confidence in the military, thinking their country could win any battle against any foe. “Imperialist and nationalist, resulted in a hardening of alliance systems in the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente and in a general armaments race.(“World War I”
Moral, political, and social are the three cores of liberalism, and the ideas in each core have a very similar resemblance to the ideas the feminist movement was trying to promote in the 19th century. Liberals believe that individuals had the right to personal liberties, which included the freedom to think, talk, and worship. Feminist believe women had the right to think, to have an opinion different from that of their husband, or fathers. The faith in total freedom, and equality for the individual that liberals, and feminist shared came from their faith in education. Their theory was that if individuals were educated, then they could be trusted to make the right decisions, decisions which would then in return helped make a better society. Adam Smith, writer of "The Wealth of Nations" considered the bible of liberal economics, believed in that theory, he expressed that "each person,.
Prussia was well prepared for war, with three Prussian armies sweeping Bohemia, and the battle of Sadowa, Austria suffered defeat. Nationalism was viewed in so many different ways by so many different leaders and society. Many conflicts and wars had a long term impact on Nationalism, but some conflicts had a small impact on Nationalism. The Frankfurt Constitution was written and published and is a document of German History today. The article “On the Duties of Man”, by Giuseppe Mazzini and how the map of Europe was redrawn, which had a huge impact on Nationalism.
In spite of this, China, by not being able to withstand western influence, incorporated imperialism and obtained a modern military and technology from the favored nations. Albeit, the western powers forced imperialism in East Asia differently than the rest of the world. Modern East Asia still emerges with parts of its ancient culture still intact. The unequal treaties, extraterritoriality, and other forms of discriminatory decrees created the Westernization of China, Japan, and Korea and gave these nations hope for the future that Western dominance would soon pass. Works Cited Ebrey, Patricia, Anne Walthall, and James Palais.
...that used latest of technology. They made Japan a major trade area so they could have access to other goods.
The Battle for Shanghai was part of a much wider war fought between China and The Empire of Japan. These two rivals had a mutua...
The Manchurian incident was a turning point in Japanese history in which it abandoned its somewhat general policy of cooperation and peace and instead chose to pursue their personal interests in Asia (S,191). The Japanese interest in China was evident even before its invasion in 1931. In both the Sino Japanese war from 1894 to 1905 as well as the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905 Japan secured specific locations in Manchuria and other areas in China (U,351). Overall, the consensus for the extensive needs of the empire ultimately drove its policy making until the end of World War 2. To take control of what they believed to be the most mineral rich section of China in which they controlled expansive holdings in such as the South Manchurian Railroad, officers part of the Kwantung Army that were stationed there hatched a plan that would become to be known as the Manchurian Crisis. On September 18th 1931, Japanese soldiers located at the South Manchurian Railroad set off an explosive that they blamed on China (launching both nations into hostile relations for years to come.?? (P,115)) The Japanese invaded Japanese Invaded Chinese controlled Manchuria in 1931 because they wanted to accommodate the rising of the Japanese population, obtain more natural resources, and to stimulate their nearly collapsed economy.
Germany was disintegrated into as many as 300 separate states ever since the Investiture Struggle during the Middle Ages wrecked the power of the German emperors. During those following centuries, it had to suffer. Napoleon had recklessly done Germany two favors during the process of his rule. Diffusing a sense of nationalism to its people, he had to unify Germany into 38 states, which was a big step to unification. Ever since Napoleon was defeated in 1815 (in Waterloo), Austria and Prussia competed for leadership of Germany. At time the people would expect Austria to dominate, with its longer imperial tradition and larger territory. However it was Prussia that was destined to bring Germany together, with its better
Liberalism in the sense of a political philosophy was created on the ideas of equality and liberty for everyone. Basically liberalism is concerned with the notion of how individuals in political communities are able to maximize their freedom without violating the rights of other individuals. The liberalistic view on politics is that a legitimate government is necessary to protect the rights of individuals from being harmed by others. Liberalism also ensures that there is a higher authority which protects the freedoms and rights of individuals while also ensuring legitimacy of government. Liberalism is the founding base for much of the Western world’s government policies and constitution. Liberalism ensures tolerance and promotes acceptance between humans and their differences.
Prior to unification in 1871 the territory that would become Germany was comprised of thirty-nine independent states and city states joined together in a loose German Confederation. The most powerful among these states was Prussia, both geographically the largest state and that with the largest population. The influential politicians and policies that came out of Prussia were instrumental in the gradual formation of a united Germany. Beginning with the rise of Napoleon, the nineteenth century was a time of incredible change which dramatically altered the political balance of Europe. In order to understand the factors that culminated in official German unification on January 18 1871, it is necessary to examine the preceding decades. No single factor can be credited for the unification of the German states. Rather, the combined forces of social change, economic strength within a unified customs union, the moral justifications provided by nationalism, Bismarck’s careful manipulation of internal politics and the advantages gained through military action resulted in the unification of Germany.