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Nationalism Overview

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Nationalism Overview, History & Examples
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Author
Michael-Ann
Cerniglia
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Instructor
Amy Troolin
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You are viewing lesson 6 in chapter
12 of the course:

Learn about the history of nationalism. Discover examples of
nationalism in the French Revolution, and trace the development of
nationalism in the 1800s and 1900s.

Table of Contents

• What is Nationalism in World History?
• History of Nationalism
• Lesson Summary

What is Nationalism in World History?

In the 21st century, it is hard to imagine a world without nations.
However, the concept of a nation-state did not come to fruition until
the late 18th century. Up until the French Revolution, political unity
coalesced around empires, fiefdoms, and tribal affiliations. In the late
18th century into the 19th century, a political concept called
nationalism developed. The nationalism definition in world history
centered on societal unity around shared ethnic traits such as
language, beliefs, and traditions. This is known as classicalnationalism.

The concept of nationalism also grew out of 19th century liberalism,
which supported republican governments over monarchies and put
political authority in the hands of citizens that recognized a national,
multicultural state. In this latter case, it is known as liberal nationalism
and focused on the unity of a nation based on shared allegiance to a
political representative, rather than unity based on shared ethnicity.

Patriotism vs. Nationalism

Patriotism and nationalism have similar meanings, in that they both
speak to citizen support for their nation; however, the difference lies
in the reason for the support. Patriotism has a long history of usage
since Roman times (patria means "fatherland") and expresses
enthusiasm for representative government in a republic. Patriotism
unites people to a system of government, not necessarily an inherited
cultural trait.

Nationalism celebrates a nation by focusing on a specific and often
privileged ethnic or cultural narrative. Nationalism also began much
more recently in the late 18th century and was used to draw
boundaries of nation-states based on ethnic traits and behaviors.
Nationalism aligns with classical nationalism, while patriotism aligns
with liberal nationalism. More recently, due to historic events that
have arisen from extreme nationalism (such as fascism during WWII),
there tends to be a more positive connotation with patriotism than
with nationalism.

History of Nationalism

Throughout the last two centuries the history of nationalism includes
notable patterns. In an effort to unite people across territory, leaders
use a range of strategies to unify groups under one nation-state.
Development of national symbols, common identity, and expressions
of loyalty are all visible in nation-states with strong nationalism. The
eagle, for example, was a symbol of power in ancient Rome that was
resurrected with Christian meaning into use by both Germany and the
United States.

World history has examples of countries in which nationalism has led
to multicultural democracies, such as India, Ghana, and Kenya, though
it should be noted that these nations also endured various degrees of
intercultural violence. At its most extreme, fascist Nazi Germany
appropriated and modified the ancient Hindu swastika. While theoriginal symbol originally meant "good luck" (and in parts of India,
continues to mean this today), the German Nazi party changed both
the direction of the symbol and the meaning to represent inaccurate
notions of a perfect Germanic (via Aryan) bloodline. Taking this
further, Nazi Germany also focused oppression and violence on non-
Aryan German people (e.g., Jews), and demanded loyalty to the Nazi
party regardless of whether or not German citizens sympathized with
their actions.

Nationalism in the French Revolution

The Enlightenment of the 18th century led people to republicanism,
the idea that people should have a voice in their government, and
encouraged the French people to demand the ideals of Liberty,
Equality, and Fraternity. This nationalist slogan swept up the French
people, who were ruled by a monarch and divided into three classes
called estates. When the First and Second Estates locked the Third
Estate out of the National Assembly, they reconvened on the tennis
court at Versailles to make The Tennis Court Oath, which promised
unity until a new constitution was approved by King Louis XVI.
Although the king came through on those reforms, he then dismantled
them almost as soon as he put them in place. This led to the storming
of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, which officially began the French
Revolution.

As with other examples of nationalism in world history, the French
Revolution was marked by national symbols, common identity, and
expressions of loyalty. Specifically, the French Revolution used
symbols such as the tricolor flag of red, blue, and white, which
represented Paris and the country of France as a whole. They also
used a red hat known as the liberty cap, which denoted unity and
allegiance to a new regime. The liberty hat was also worn by Marianne,
a female symbol of the revolution and new France. Even with nations,
self-identity can begin with the recognition of others' identity;
therefore, as France gained status as a nation, so did other regions of
Europe on its borders. Following the French Revolution, these other
regions of Europe united in nationalism as Napolean, the new leader
of France, sought to expand France's territory.Liberty Leading the People by Delacroix

Napoleon and Nationalism

Napoleon was a French military leader during the French Revolution
who gained power as First Consul during the post-Revolutionary
period. In 1800, he seized power back after a brief coup and initiated
reforms that came to be known as the Napoleonic Code. This code of
laws allowed freedom of religion and the ability to obtain jobs based
on merit, re-establishment of Roman Catholicism as the state religion,
and prevention of citizens from gaining privileges from simple
birthright. It was also known to withhold rights from women, which led
many women of the time, such as Germaine de Staël, to lead
opposition against Napoleon. However, despite some resistance, the
Napoleonic Code was overwhelmingly popular and led to his election
as First Consul for life in 1802.

By 1804, Napoleon had crowned himself emperor through a papal
decree and blessing. Broad French support for Napoleon and his code
went a long way in uniting France in a nationalist movement. Likewise,
Napoleon's imperialist goals encroached on other countries
surrounding France through the Napoleonic Wars between 1803-1815.
During this time, other nations developed their own identities in
resistance to French domination, while also adopting some of the laws
that gave liberty and freedom to its people.The Coronation of Napoleon by Jaques-Louis David

Nationalism in the 1800s

Following the Napoleonic Wars and France's defeat, European
countries met at the Congress of Vienna to determine the fate of
Napoleon and establish closer boundaries with France, to minimize its
threat to surrounding Europe. Napoleon was initially exiled to the
Mediterranean island of Elba, while Spain restored the Bourbon
monarchy, and countries at the eastern and southern border of
France were established, such as the Netherlands and the Italian
Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. The purpose of these countries was to
provide strength by stopping any potential incursion by an imperial
France.

By disempowering France and empowering other political regions
around it, the Congress of Vienna sought to create a balance of
power and maintain peace in Europe. It was not until the 1870s that
nationalism in Germany and Italy led to unification in each of these
respective countries. However, symbols, cultural unifiers such as
language, and loyalty to region developed nationalism in the regions
of Prussia, the Holy Roman Empire, and Italian city-states, which
eventually led to the nation-states seen today.Vienna Congress by Jean-Baptiste Isabey

Nationalism in the 1900s

Following the development of large nation-states in Europe, continued
feelings of unity among smaller ethnic groups fueled calls for
nationalism in areas of the Balkans, where multiethnic tensions had
existed for decades. Tensions between Serbian nationalists and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire gave rise to WWI, when Serbian nationalist
Gavrilo Princip killed the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
in what became known as the shot heard round the world. Feelings of
nationalism at the time continued to fuel alliances that developed in
the early stages of WWI.

Subsequently, WWII evolved from the ashes of WWI's Treaty of
Versailles, which led Germany to feel diminished politically and
economically due to reparations demanded of them in the treaty. This
fed into an extreme version of German nationalism, known as fascism,
which developed under Adolf Hitler to justify his genocidal rise to
power and domination of Europe. Likewise, Italy's own brand of
fascism rose under Benito Mussolini. In both Germany and Italy, there
were symbols of the fascist government that unified people through
cultural traits and demanded unquestioned loyalty. In the case of Italy,
fascism was represented by the symbol of ancient Rome's fasces, a
bundle of wooden sticks with a blade sticking out to show unity and
power. The Blackshirts were a group of armed squads turned national
militia who were loyal to Mussolini and ensured that people supported
traditional Italian culture while opposing communism.C

Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirt youth in 1935 in Rome

Lesson Summary

In the late 18th century, regions of Europe began to identify political
boundaries based on shared ethnic traditions and loyalties; this is
known as nationalism. While classical nationalism relied on these
ethnic traditions, liberal ideas from the Enlightenment sparked liberal
nationalism, which focused national unity on shared political
representation in a multicultural state. Sometimes patriotism is
confused with nationalism because they have similarities such as
support for one's country. However, patriotism has a longer history
back to Roman times, providing support for a representative republic,
while nationalism typically focuses on a specific cultural group.

The first example of nationalism emerged during the French
Revolution, when the Third Estate demanded a voice in government.
Following the Revolution, Napoleon took power and initiated the
Napoleonic Code, which unified French laws, further reinforced
feelings of French nationalism, and fed alternative nationalism in the
countries bordering France. Following Napoleon's defeat, the
Congress of Vienna exiled Napoleon and sought to create a balance
of power in Europe. Despite this, nationalism continued to cause
conflict into the 20th century, beginning with the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and WWI. While the Treaty of Versailles
ended WWI, it left an opening for an extreme version of nationalism
known as fascism to take root under Adolf Hitler in Germany.
Meanwhile, Benito Mussolini also took advantage of circumstances in