Western
Civilization II
Chapter
Twenty-three
The Age of
Nation States
Liberalism and Nationalism
After the revolutions of 1848, it looked as if the
cause of liberalism and nationalism had been lost.
During the 1850s, conservatives dominated Europe.
However, developments occurred throughout Europe that
compelled conservatives to embrace some of the ideas of liberalism and
conservatism.
Events within Europe and international affairs
compelled some governments to pursue new policies.
Conservative leaders had to find novel means of
maintaining the loyalty of their subjects.
Some carried out popular policy on their own terms.
Able to take the credit instead of liberal leaders.
Others acted as they did not have a choice in the
matter if they were to maintain their status.
Nationalism, laced with liberal ideas will spread
rapidly throughout Western Europe during the last half
of the 1800s.
The Crimean War
In order to quiet discontent at home, Napoleon III
tried to win glory abroad.
Napoleons biggest foreign problem involved Russia
and Nicholas I.
Nicholas considered Napoleon an upstart and was slow to
recognize him as the real ruler of France.
Napoleons goal was to gain the support of Britain
in his opposition to Russia.
His chance to do so came about through the weakening Ottoman
Empire.
The Ottoman Empire was known as
The Sick Man of Europe.
the government was weak, corrupt, and inefficient.
Religious and nationalist groups were dissatisfied
Because of earlier agreements, Russia
claimed to right to protect all Orthodox Christians living under the rule of
the Ottoman Turks.
France
was the protector of Catholics there.
In the 1850s, both France
and Russia
claimed jurisdiction over certain holy places in Palestine.
Napoleon took a firm stand against Russia
and gained the support of Britain.
Britain
feared a strong Russian presence in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Ottoman Turks, backed by France and Britain
resisted Russian claims in the Palestine dispute.
In 1853, the three allies went to war with Russia.
Full scale fighting did not begin until later in 1854.
The fighting took place mainly in the Crimean area,
thus giving the war its name.
The Crimean War has been called the most unnecessary
war in history.
fought inefficiently and wastefully
Charge
of the Light Brigade (Lord Alfred Tennyson)
600 British cavalry cut down by Russian cannon fire
The most memorable military action was the 11 month
siege of Sevastopol (Russian naval base).
Almost the only constructive result of the war was the
establishment of modern field hospitals and nursing staffs.
Florence Nightingale
International Red Cross
After two years of fighting, with huge losses from
battle and disease on both sides, Russia was defeated. (Treaty of Paris, 1856)
Gave up its claims to protect the Christians in the
Ottoman Empire.
Forbidden to build up a navy in the Black Sea.
The Ottoman Empire was to be protected as a member of
the European family of nations.
France won glory but little else from the Crimean War.
None of the peace terms benefited France.
Costly in number dead, and financially.
Unifying Italy
Italy of the 1800s had a long history of independent
states.
Frequent warfare and foreign rule had led people to
identify with local regions.
Just as in Germany, Italian nationalism was affected by
Napoleons invasion.
After the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna
kept Italy divided and ruled by various powers.
In response, nationalists organized secret patriotic
societies, which concentrated on expelling the Austrians from Italy.
Between the years of 1820 and 1848, several revolts
occurred in Italy, but Austrian forces put them all down.
Mazzinnis Young Italy
In the 1830s, a young nationalist leader named Giuseppi
Mazzinni founded Young Italy.
The goal of this society was to create a republic in
Italy.
In 1849, Mazinni helped set up a revolutionary republic
in Rome, but French forces soon put it down.
Mazinni spent the next several years in exile.
Nationalists such as Mazinni promoted a unified Italy
not only because of geography, but also a common language and culture.
Others believed it made economic sense. A unified Italy would promote trade between
the various Italian states, encourage the building of railroads, and stimulate
industry.
The Struggle for Italy
After 1848, the small province of Sardinia led the
leadership of the Italian nationalist movement, called Risorgimento.
Piedmont Sardinia led by Victor Emmanuel II.
In 1852, Victor Emmanuel II appointed Count Camillo
Cavour as prime minister.
Cavour would use his diplomatic ability to work for
Italian unification.
Cavour believed in Realpolitik like Bismarck.
Intrigue with France
Cavour first improved Sardinias economy, but his long
term goal was to expel Austria and united Lombardy and Venetia under Sardinian
rule.
In 1855, Sardinia aided Britain and France in the
Crimean War against Russia.
Sardinia gained an ally in France and Napoleon III.
In 1858, he negotiated a secret treaty with France
gaining their support in case of war with Austria.
In 1859, Cavour provoked a war with Austria and with
French aid, was victorious.
From the victory, Sardinia annexed Lombardy.
At the same time, other northern Italian states gained
their independence from Austria and voted to join with Sardinia.
An important result of the battles was the creation of
the International Red Cross.
A Swiss banker named Jean-Henri Dunant, created the Red
Cross after witnessing 40,000 casualties in one battle of the Crimean War.
Garibaldis Red Shirts
The nationalist movement next focused in the Kingdom of
the Two Sicily's.
The leader of the movement was Giuseppi Garibaldi.
In 1860, with weapons provided by Cavour,
Garibaldi led 1,000 Red-shirted volunteers into Sicily.
With relative ease, Garibaldi conquered Sicily and then
Naples.
Unity at Last
Even though he had aided Garibaldi, Cavour feared the
nationalist hero would set up a republic in the south.
To prevent this, Cavour sent troops to defeat
Garibaldi.
In a patriotic move, Garibaldi turned over Naples and
Sicily to Victor Emmanuel.
In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was named king of Italy.
Two areas remained outside of the new Italian kingdom:
Venetia and Rome.
Venetia became part of the new kingdom as part of the
peace treaty of the Austro-Prussian War.
During the Franco-Prussian War, France was forced to
withdraw troops from Rome.
Italian troops moved in and Rome became the capital of
the new nation.
Trials of the New Nation
Italy faced problems due to its long history of
disunity.
The greatest regional division was between the wealthy,
industrial north, and the poorer, agricultural south.
Another conflict involved the new government and the
Catholic Church. The Church resented the
seizure of the Papal States.
The government granted the Church a small section of
land called the Vatican, which still exists today.
Another problem involved the structure of the new
government. Though it had a bicameral
legislature, power rested with the king.
During the late 1800s, radicals fought against the new
government.
Socialists organized worker strikes.
Anarchists used sabotage and violence as a means to end
all forms of government.
Government reforms came slowly, but the unrest
continued. To distract attention at
home, Italy set out to win an overseas empire.
Despite its problems, Italy grew economically and
socially.
By 1914, Italy was much better off than it had been in
1861, but it was not ready to be drawn into World War I.
German Unification
France Instills Nationalism
During the First and Third Coalitions, Prussia was
defeated by Napoleon.
Napoleon dominated Prussia from 1806 to 1812.
The restrictions placed on Prussia by the French helped
stimulate patriotic demands for nationalism.
Wanted to regain the greatness of Prussia under
Frederick the Great.
German nationalism favored Prussia over Austria.
After 1812, Prussia began to rebuild its army and
helped defeat Napoleon at the Battle of the Nations.
German Unity
After 1815, Napoleons Confederation of the Rhine was
replaced with the German Confederation.
Prussia gained territory in Saxony and along the Rhine.
The new government was well-organized and efficient,
with a strong economy.
The population contained some minorities, but the vast
majority of people were of Germanic origin.
The first step towards German unification came in the
economic field.
In 1831, the Junker class (aristocratic landowners)
convinced the king to abolish tariffs, within his territories.
The next year several German states agreed to the
establishment of a customs union called the Zollverein.
Abolished tariffs in all territories.
The Zollverein benefited members by making prices lower
and more uniform.
It provided the German states with a large variety of
products at lower prices,
The Revolutions of 1848
In the years after the Congress of Vienna, there were
strong nationalistic and democratic movements within the states of the German
Confederation.
Though professors and students had been stopped in
1819, by Metternich and his Carlsbad Decree, they continued to work underground
for limited constitutional monarchies.
In the revolutionary year of 1848, the uprisings in
France touched off political agitation in much of Germany.
Everywhere there were demands for constitutions,
establishing representative, democratic governments.
In general, German rulers agreed to these demands, and
there was little bloodshed except for a disturbance in Berlin.
Elections were held in most of the German states for
representatives to a National Assembly to meet in Frankfurt in an attempt to
unify Germany.
The Frankfurt Assembly met for a year, beginning in
1848.
In 1849, the princes gathered troops for a bloody
repression of the liberals.
In an act of desperation, the National Assembly tried
to save national unity by offering a German crown to the Prussian king, William
IV.
William, however, refused to accept the crown from
revolutionaries (which he called a crown from the gutter).
The Assembly was disbanded and many liberals realized
that military force would be necessary to unite Germany.
Bismarck and the Prussian State
Bismarck was a conservative landlord (Junker).
His loyalty was above all Prussian; he was not a
nationalist, and hated liberalism, democracy, and socialism.
In 1862, William called upon Otto von Bismarck, to
direct the political course of Prussia, as prime minister of the cabinet.
Bismarck believed it was the destiny of the Prussian
people to unify the German states.
Bismarck was a realpolitik ( politics where success
matters more than legality and ideals
For years, Bismarck was virtually the ruler of Prussia
and had the cooperation of the king and the two top generals of the army, Count
Melmuth von Moltke and Count Albrecht von Roon.
They agreed that it was necessary to reorganize the
Prussian army and strengthen it even more.
First, however, an increase in taxes was needed.
The Prussian parliament refused to appropriate money
for a military expansion
Bismarck dismissed the Parliament
Collected taxes without their authorization.
His plan was to stop any criticism with military
victories.
Bismarck proceeded to make the Prussian army a great
war machine.
Breechloading rifles
Army reorganized to make it the most efficient in
Europe.
Detailed military planning executed to meet any future
invasions.
Out of Three Wars: Prussia Created a United German Empire
Bismarck had to overcome two major obstacles to
increase the power and size of Prussia.
Drive Austria out of its position of authority in the
German Confederation
Overcome Austrias influence over the southern German
states.
Bismarck went at these objectives carefully.
Instead of attacking Austria directly, he chose a
roundabout way.
The Danish War
The duchies of Schleswig and Holstein lie between
Denmark and Prussia.
Many of the inhabitants there were German
In 1863, Denmark tried to annex these two states.
Both Prussia and Austria protested.
When Denmark continued and war was declared.
Denmark had hoped for aid from France and Britain
After three months of fighting, Denmark was defeated.
Prussia administered Schleswig
Austria administered Holstein.
The Seven Weeks War
Bismarck was now ready to drive Austria out of the
German Confederation.
Persuaded Napoleon III to remain neutral if war
developed between Prussia and Austria.
Form an alliance with the new nation of Italy.
In return for fighting, Italy would receive the Austria
territory of Venetia.
By various complicated moves, Bismarck provoked war
with Austria in 1866.
Austria was supported by Bavaria, Saxony, and Hanover.
The efficiency of the Prussian army amazed the world.
Use of railroads and the telegraph
Prussian initiative led to victory over Austria in only
seven weeks.
The war ended with the Treaty of Prague (1866)
Austria approved the dissolution of the German
Confederation and surrendered its rule of Holstein to Prussia.
The Italians gained Venetia.
Many Prussians wanted Bismarck to crush Austria.
However, Bismarck was a shrewd diplomat.
Wanted Austria out of the Confederation, not as a
permanent enemy.
Wanted the southern German states to join Prussia
willingly.
In the north, Prussia gained Hanover, Hess-Cassel, and
Nassau along with the free city of Frankfurt.
The North German Confederation
In 1867, the North German Confederation was formed.
Each state had self-government
The king of Prussia was hereditary president of the
Confederation
Because of its superior army and industry, and with the
greatest number of representatives, Prussia dominated the legislature of the
Confederation.
Only Bavaria, Baden, and Wurttemberg and the southern
part of Hesse-Darmstadt remained outside the Confederation.
If they could be persuaded to join Prussia, German
unity would be complete.
However, Catholic and Austrian influence was strong
there, it would take some great outside danger to persuade the states to unite
willingly.
Franco-Prussian War
Bismarck now felt that a war with France would be to
the benefit of Prussia.
Bismarck used diplomacy to provoke a war.
Ems Dispatch was the tool necessary to lure France into
a war with Prussia.
France declared war on Prussia in 1870.
Bismarck showed a document (1865) listing Napoleons
demands for the southern states of France.
Within a few months the French were totally defeated.
France was not treated as leniently as was Austria.
Occupied by German forces.
Lost Alsace and part of Lorraine.
Had to pay a huge indemnity.
The Birth of the Second Reich
In 1871, at Versailles, the formation of a new German
Empire was declared.
Its new capital was Berlin
William I was proclaimed German emperor
Bismarck was named Chancellor of the new German
Empire.
Because of his policy of blood and iron he was called
the Iron Chancellor.
A two house legislature was established
Bundesrat (upper house)
Reichstag (lower house)
France and the Third French Republic
The Second French Republic
Louis Napoleon
became the President of the Second French Republic in December, 1848.
It was evident
that he was not committed to the Republic.
In May, 1849,
elections for the Legislative Assembly clearly indicated that the people were
not bound to its continuance either.
In this election,
the Conservatives and Monarchists scored significant gains, the republicans and
radicals lost power in the Assembly.
During the three
year life of the Second Republic, Louis Napoleon demonstrated his skills as a
gifted politician through the manipulation of the various factions in French
politics.
His deployment of
troops in Italy to rescue and restore Pope Pius IX was condemned by the
republicans, but strongly supported by conservatives.
Louis Napoleons Policies
Louis Napoleon initiated a policy which minimized the
importance of the Legislative Assembly, capitalized:
on the
developing Napoleonic Legend
courted the support of the army
the Catholic Church
and a range of conservative political groups.
The Falloux Law returned control of education to the
Church.
Coup d etat
Article 45 of the constitution stipulated that the
president was limited to one four-year term.
Napoleon had no intention to relinquishing power.
With the assistance of a core of dedicated supporters,
Louis Napoleon arranged for a coup d etat on the night of December 1 2,
1851.
The Second French Republic fell and soon replaced by
the Second French Empire.
The Second French Empire
Louis Napoleon drafted a new constitution which
resulted in a highly centralized government centered around himself.
He was to have a ten year term
Power to declare war
To lead armed forces
To conduct foreign policy
and to initiate and pronounce all laws.
The new Legislative Assembly would be under the control
of the president.
On December 2, 1852, he announced himself as Napoleon
III, Emperor of the French.
Domestic History of the French Empire
The domestic history of the Second Empire is divided
into two periods;
1851-1870
Decade of the Liberal Empire.
During this period, the empire was liberalized through
a series of reforms.
Living conditions improved during this period.
The French economic system was also improved.
Credit Mobilier and the Credit Focier.
The arts also prospered during this period.
Victor Hugo, Gustav Flaubert,
Renoir and Monet.
During this period the legislature gained control of
education from the Church and promoted trade unions.
Decline of the Second French Empire
In a large part,
this liberalization was designed to divert criticism from Napoleon IIIs
unsuccessful foreign policy.
The Crimean War
benefited France little.
Italian
Unification.
Establishment of
colonies in Africa and Indochina.
The short lived
reign of Maximillian in Mexico resulted in increased criticism of Napoleon III
and his authority.
The Second French
Empire collapsed after the capture of Napoleon III during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).
Victory gained by
the Prussian after the Battle of Sedan.
After a
regrettable Parisian experience with a communist type of government, the Third
French Republic was established.
It survived until
1940 with the invasion of Nazi Germany.
Decline of the Eastern European Empires
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman
Empire
Russia
Austria-Hungary
Austria: Early Reforms
After Austrias defeat to Sardinia in 1859, Franz Josef
realized he needed to make some reforms from within his country.
He granted a constitution and set up a legislature.
The body was dominated by German speaking Austrians and
did little for the other nationalities of the empire.
The Hungarians were most determined to obtain
self-government.
The Dual Monarchy
Hungarians saw their chance for autonomy when Austria
lost its war with Prussia in 1866.
In 1867, under the leadership of Francis Deak a
compromise (Ausgleich) was established and the Dual Monarchy of
Austria-Hungary.
Each country was separate with its own constitution,
but shared the same monarch. (Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary)
The Hungarians would have their own assembly, cabinet,
and administrative system.
The Slavic people of the empire still pursued
independence, causing conflict.
A Cultural Revival
Though Austria was losing power to Prussia as the
leader of the German states, it enjoyed a cultural revival in which its
scholars, painters, and writers were renowned throughout the world.
Scholars
Sigmund Freud (psychology), Carl
Menger (economist), and Heinrich Friedjung (historian/politician)
Painters
Writers
Stefan Zweig (biographer) and Rilke
(philosopher / poet)
Ottoman Empire
Balkan Nationalism
Like the Hapsburgs, the Ottomans ruled a huge
empire. It was home to many ethnic
groups.
Among them were Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians, and
Romanians.
During the 1800s, groups in the Balkans rebelled.
Serbia gained their autonomy in 1817.
Greece gained its independence in 1836.
These nationalist movements allowed other European
powers to try to obtain lands in the Balkans.
European powers saw the Ottoman Empire as the sick
man of Europe.
Austria-Hungary gained control of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Russia fought several wars with the Ottoman Empire over
territory in the Balkans because they believed they were the protectors of
Orthodoxy. (Russo-Turkish Wars: a series of 12 wars)
Because of European countries wanting to dominate the
Balkans as well as the ethnic inhabitants wanting national independence, the
territory became known as the Powder Keg of Europe.
Russia
Three Pillars of Russian Absolutism
Orthodoxy:
Russian Orthodox Church
Autocracy: Their
Father the Czar
Nationalism: Mother Russia
Reign of Alexander I
Came to the
throne in 1801.
Tried to instill
some reforms.
When Napoleon
invaded in 1812, Alexander was forced to give up on many of his reform ideas.
When Alexander
died a group of military officers tried to take over the government.
This was called
the Decembrist Revolution.
Reign of Nicholas I
Believed in
absolutism and would not tolerate liberal ideas.
Sent 150,000
people to Siberia for their ideas.
Knew his country
needed to modernize but the old structure made it difficult.
When he died to told his son, Im handing you
command of the country in a poor state.
Reign of Alexander II
Came to the
throne in 1855.
Russia had just
begun the Crimean War.
Russias loss in
this war showed how far behind it was in comparison to the other Western
powers.
Alexander began a
series of reforms
emancipated the
serfs.
Established the
Zemstvos (local assemblies)
Radicals believed
that not enough was being done and in 1881, terrorist bombs killed Alexander.
Reign of Alexander III
Responded to his fathers assassination by reviving the
harsh methods of Nicholas I.
Launched a plan called Russification.
Promoted one language and one Church for Russia.
Muslims and Jews were often targeted for persecution.
Pogroms: official persecution/mob attacks
Many Russian Jews became refugees and fled to the
United States.
Nicholas II
Alexander III
died in 1894 and was succeeded by the last of the Romanovs to hold power,
Nicholas II (1894-1817).
Nicholas
displayed his lack of intelligence, wit, and political ability, and the absence
of a firm will throughout his reign.
From assertive
ministers to his wife, Alexandra, to Rasputin, Nicholas tended to come under
the influence of stronger personalities.
The crisis
confronting Imperial Russia required extraordinarily effective and cohesive
leadership, with Nicholas II, the situation became more severe and, in the end,
unacceptable.
Opposition to the Czar
In the latter part of the 19th century
several socialist groups could be found in Russia but none had any real power.
In 1899, with the impact of a depression, and the
horrors associated with the Russo-Japanese War were realized, groups advocating
revolutions commanded more support.
However, even when the Revolution of 1905 occurred, the
Marxist groups did not enjoy any political gains.
Bloody Sunday
By the winter of 1904-05, the accumulated consequences
of inept management of the economy and in the prosecution of the Russo-Japanese
War reached a critical stage.
A group under the leadership of the radical priest
Gapon marched on the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg (Jan. 9, 1905), to submit
a list of grievances to the Czar.
Troops fired on the demonstrators and many causalities
resulted.
Nicholas earned the title of Bloody Nicholas.
Strikes & Mutiny
In response to
the massacre, a general strike was called.
It was followed
by a series of peasant revolts through the spring.
During these same
months, the Russian armed forces were being defeated by the Japanese and a lack
of confidence in the regime became widespread.
In June 1905,
naval personnel on the battleship Potemkin mutinied while the ship was in
Odessa.
With these
startling developments, Nicholas II issued the October Manifesto creating a
Duma (legislative assembly) to help advise the czar.
Nicholas also
extended civil liberties to include freedom of speech.
Failure of the Duma
The leading revolutionaries forces differed in their
responses to the manifesto.
The Octobrists indicated that they were satisfied with
the arrangements.
The Constitutional Democrats (Cadets) demanded a more
liberal representative system.
The Duma convened in 1906 and, from its outset to the
outbreak of WWI, was paralyzed by its own internal factionalism which was
exploited by the Czars ministers.
By 1907, Nicholas IIs ministers had recovered the real
power of government.