Chapter 24: The Age of Nationalism

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Ch 24. The Age of Nationalism

1850-1914

Napoleon III in France

·      Early nationalism was generally liberal and idealistic and often democratic and radical as well

·      In 19^th c, ideas of nationhood and popular sovereignty posed a revolutionary threat to conservatives like Metternich

·      Yet from the vantage point of the 21^st c, it is clear that nationalism wears many masks

o   May be narrowly liberal or democratic and radical

o   Can also flourish in dictatorial states, which may be conservative, fascist, or communist, and which many impose social and economic changes from above

·      NAP’s France had already combined national feeling with authoritarian rule

·      Significantly, it was NAP’s nephew, Louis NAP who revived and extended this merger

France’s Second Republic

·      Louis NAP played no role in French politics before 1848, but universal male suffrage and widespread popular support gave him three times as many votes as the four other candidates combined in French election of Dec 1848

·      Why did Louis NAP win by a landslide

o   Louis Nap had the great name of his uncle; romantics made NAP a demigod

o   As Karl Marx stressed, middle class and peasant property owners feared the socialist challenge of urban workers, and they wanted a tough ruler to provide protection

o   Late in 1848, Louis NAP had a positive “program” for France, which had been elaborated in widely circulated pamphlets before the election and which guided him through his reign

·      Above all, Louis Nap believed that the gov should represent the ppl and that it should try hard to help them economically

o   NOT Through PLMTs and political parties

§  French politicians represented special interest groups, particularly the middle class

o   The answer was a strong, even authoritarian, national leader, like NAP who would serve all the people, rich and poor

o   This leader would be linked to each citizen by direct democracy, his sovereignty uncorrupted by politicians and legislative bodies

§  These political ideas meshed well with Louis NAP’s vision of national unity and social progress

o   The states and its leader had a sacred duty to provide jobs and stimulate the economy, which would benefit all classes

·      Louis NAP’s political and social ideas were at least vaguely understood by large numbers of French peasants and workers in Dec 1848

·      To the many common ppl who voted for him, he appeared to be a strong man and a forward looking champion of their interests

·      Elected to a four year term by an overwhelming majority, Pres. Louis NAP had to share power with a conservative National Assembly, according to the constitution

o   With some misgivings, he signed a bill to increase greatly the role of the Catholic Church in primary and secondary education, and approved a law depriving many poor ppl the right to vote – in accordance with conservative means?

·      Took these conservatives measures for two reasons

o   Wanted Assembly to vote funds to pay his personal debts

o   Wanted to change the constitution so he could run for a 2^nd term

·      But in 1851, after the Assembly failed to cooperate, Louis NAP began to conspire with key army officers

o   December 2, 1851, he illegally dismissed the Assembly and seized power in a coup d’état

o   There was some armed resistance in Paris and widespread insurrection in countryside in s. France, but these protests were crushed by the army

·      Restoring universal male suffrage and claiming to stand above the bickering and divisive political, Louis HNAP called on the French ppl, as NAP had done, to legalize his actions

·      They did: 92% voted to make him Pres. For 10 yrs

·      A Year later 97% in a plebiscite made him hereditary emperor

Napoleon III’s Second Empire

·      Louis NAP, who was proclaimed Emperor NAP III, experienced both success and failure between 1852-1870

·      His greatest success was with the economy, particularly in the 1850s

o   His gov encouraged the new investment banks and massive RR construction that were at the heart of the IR on the continent

o   Gov fostered general economic expansion through an ambitious program of public works, which included rebuilding Paris to improve the urban environment

o   The profits of business soared with prosperity, the wages of workers more than kept up with inflation, and unemployment declined greatly

·      Louis NAP always hoped that economic progress would reduce social and political tensions

o   This hope was partially realized

o   Until mid 1860s there was considerable support from France’s most dissatisfied group, the urban workers

o   NAP III’s regulation of pawnshops and his support of credit unions and better housing for the working classes were 3evidence of helpful reform and positive concern in the 1850s

o   In the 1860s, eh granted workers the right to from unions and strike – important economic rights denied by earlier govs

·      At first, political power remained in the hands of the emperor

o   He alone chose ministers, and they had great freedom of action

o   At the same time, NAP III restricted but did not abolish the Assembly

o   Members were elected by universal male suffrage every six years, and Louis NAP and his gov took parliamentary elections very seriously

o   Tried to entice notable ppl, even those who had opposed the regime, to stand as gov candidates in order to expand the base of support

o   Moreover, the gov used its officials and appointed mayors to spread the word that the election of the gov’s candidates, and the defeat of the opposition, was the key to roads, tax rebates, and thousands of other local concerns

·      In 1857 and again in 1863, Louis NAP’s system worked brilliantly and produced overwhelming electoral victories

·      In 1860s, NAP III’s electoral system gradually disintegrated

·      A sincere nationalist, NAP had wanted to reorganize ERP on the principle of nationality and gain influence and territory for France and himself

·      Instead, problems in Italy and the rising power of Prussia led to increasing criticism at home from his Catholic and nationalist supporters

·      With increasing effectiveness, the middle class liberal who had always wanted a less authoritarian regime continued to denounce his rule

·      NAP III was always sensitive to the public mood

o   Public opinion always wins the last victory

o   In 1860, he responded to critics by progressively liberalizing his empire

o   Gave the Assembly greater powers and the opposition candidates greater freedom, which they used to good advantage

o   In 1869, the opposition, consisting of republicans, monarchists, and liberals, polled almost 45% of the vote

·      The next year, a sick and weary Louis NAP again granted France to a new constitution, which combined a basically parliamentary regime with a hereditary emperor as chief of states

·      In a final great plebiscite on the eve of disastrous war with Prussia, 7.5 mill French men voted in favor of the new constitution, and only 1.5 million opposed it

·      NAP III’s attempt to reconcile a strong national state with universal male suffrage was still evolving and was doing so in a democratic direction

Nation Building in Italy and Germany

·      Louis NAP’s triumph in 1848 and his authoritarian rule in the1850s provided the old ruling classes of ERP w/ a new model in politics

·      How would urban middle classes and working classes rally to a strong conservative national state that promoted change?

Italy to 1850

·      Italy had never been united prior to 1850

o   Divided up in Middle Ages into city states

o   Battleground for great powers after 1494

o   Reorganized in 1815 at congress of Vienna

o   Lombardy and Venetia taken by Metternich

o   Sardinia and Piedmont: Italian monarch

o   Tuscany and n-c Italy ruled

o   Central Italy and Rome: papacy, an indep political existence necessary to fulfill its spiritual mission

o   Naples and Sicily: Branch of the Bourbons

·      Italy was a “geographical expression”

·      1815-1848: goal of unified Italian nation captured imaginations of many Italians

·      Three approaches

o   Giuseppe Mazzini: centralized democratic republic based on universal male suffrage and the will of the ppl

o   Vinzo Gioberti: Catholic priest who called for a federation of states under presidency of progressive pope

o   Those who looked to leadership to autocratic kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont

§  Strengthened by failures of 1848, when Austria smashed Mazzini’s republicanism

·      Sardinia’s new monarch: Victor Emmanuel retained the liberal constitution granted by his father in 1848

o   Combined a strong monarchy with a fair degree of civil liberties and parliamentary gov, with deputies elected by a limited franchise based on income

o   To some of the midd classes, Sardinia appeared to be a liberal, progressive state ideally suited to drive Austria out of n. Italy and lead a free Italy of indep states

o   Mazzini’s democratic republic seemed quixotic and too radical

·      As for papacy, initial cautious support for unification by Pius IX had given way to fear and hostility after he was temporarily driven from Rome during the upheavals of 1848

o   Papacy would stand resolutely opposed to national unification but also to most modern trends

o   1864: Syllabus of Errors, Pius IX denounced rationalism, socialism, separation of church and state, and religious liberty, denying that the “Roman pontiff can and ought to reconcile and align himself with progress, liberalism, and modern civilization”

Cavour and Garibaldi in Italy

·      Sardinia was led by brilliant statesman: Cavour

o   Dominant figure in Sardinian gov from 1850-1861

o   Came from a noble fam, made a fortune before politics

o   His national goals were limited and realistic

o   Until 1859, he sought unity only for the states of northern and perhaps central Italy in a greatly expanded kingdom of Sardinia

·      1850s: Cavour worked to consolidate Sardinia as a liberal constitutional state capable for leading n Italy

o   Program of highways and railroads, civil liberties and opposition to clerical privilege, increased support for Sardinia throughout n. Italy

o   Realized he could not drive Austria out of n. Italy w/o help of a powerful ally

o   Worked for a secret diplomatic alliance with NAPIII

·      June 1858: Cavour goaded Austria into attacking Sardinia in 1859

o   NAPIII came to Sardinia’s defense

·      After victory, NAP III, worried about criticism from French Caths for supporting the declared enemy, abandoned Cavour

o   Made a compromise peace with Austria in July 1859

·      Sardinia received only Lombardy, rest of map remained virtually unchanged

·      Cavour resigned in a rage

·      Cavour’s plans were salvaged by the maneuvers of his allies in the moderate nationalist movement

o   Pro-Sardinian nationalists in Tuscany and other small states of c Italy fanned popular revolts and toppled their ruling princes

o   Using and controlling the popular enthusiasm, the middle class nationalist leaders in c Italy called for fusion with Sardinia

o   This was not what France and other Great Powers wanted, but the nationalists held firm

·      Cavour returned to power in 1860 and gained NAPIII’s support by ceding Savoy and Nice to France

·      PPl of c Italy then voted to join a greatly enlarged kingdom of Sardinia under Victor Emmanuel

·      Cavour achieved his original goal of a northern Italian state

·      For superpatriots such as Garibaldi, unification was only half done

o   Romantic, revolutionary nationalism and republicanism of Mazzini

o   Emerged as an indep force in Italian politics

·      Partly to use him, partly to rid of him, Cavour secretly supported Garibaldi’s bold plan to “liberate” the kingdom of the Two Sicilies

o   May 1860, landed on shores of Siciliy, Garibaldi’s guerrilla band of 1,000 Red Shirts captured the imagination of the Sicilian peasantry, which rose in bloody rebellion against their landlords

o   Outwitting the royal army, Garibaldi won battles, gained volunteers, and took Palermo

o   Crossed to the mainland, marched toward Naples, and prepared to attack Rome

·      Cavour sent Sardinian forces to occupy Papal states (not Rome) to intercept Garibaldi

o   Realized that an attack on Rome would bring a war on France

o   Feared Garibaldi’s radicalism and popular appeal

o   Organized a plebiscite in the conquered territories

o   Garibaldi did not oppose Cavour

o   The ppl of the south voted to join the kingdom of Sardinia

o   Sealed union of north and south, of monarch and nation state

·      Cavour succeeded

o   Controlled Garibaldi and turned popular nationalism in a conservative direction

·      New kingdom of Italy was a parliamentary monarchy under Victory Emmanuel, neither radical nor democratic

·      Politically unified, but only some had the right to vote

·      Propertied classes and common ppl remained divided

·      A great and growing social and cultural gap separated progressive, industrializing north from stagnant, agrarian south

·      New Italy was united on paper, but profound divisions remained

The Growing Austro-Prussian Rivalry

·      In aftermath of 1848, German states were locked in political stalemate

·      After Austria and Russia blocked FredWill’s attempt to unify Germany, tension grew between Austria and Prussia as each power sought to block the other within the German confederation

·      Powerful economic forces contributed to Austro-Prussian Rivalry

o   Austria was not included in German customs union, Zollverein

o   By 1853, Austria was the only state in the German Confederation that had not joined

o   Middle class and business groups in the Zollverein were finding solid economic reasons to bolster their idealistic support of national unification

o   Prussia’s leading role within the Zollverein gave it a valuable advantage in its struggle against Austria’s supremacy in German political affairs

·      Prussia emerged from upheavals of 1848 with a PLMT of sorts, which was in hands of wealthy liberal middle class by 1859

o   Middle class reps wanted to establish once and for all the PLMT, not the king, had ultimate political power and that the army was responsible to Prussia’s elected reps

·      National uprising in 1859 of Italy caused William I to be convinced that great political change and war (with Austria or France) would be possible

·      William I and his top military advisors pushed to raise taxes and increase the defense budget in order to double the size of the army

·      The Prussian PLMT reflecting the middle class’s desire for a less militaristic society, rejected the military budget in 1862 and the liberals triumphed completely in new elections

·      King William I called on Otto von Bismarck to head a new ministry and defy the PLTM

Bismarck and the Austro-Prussian War

·      Bismarck is the most important figure in German history from Martin Luther to Hitler

·      Hero and villain, Bismarck was a master of politics

·      Born into Prussian landowning aristocracy

·      Strong personality and desire for power

·      Flexible and pragmatic

·      Kept options open

·      Moved with skill and cunning toward his goal

·      First honed his political skills as a high ranking diplomat for Prussian gov

·      Took office as chief minister, made a strong impression

o   Speeches were a sensation and scandal

o   Declared that gov’t would rule without PLMT’s consent

o   Lashed out at middle class opposition

·      Denounced for his view that “might makes right”, Bismarck had the Prussian bureaucracy go on collecting taxes, thought PLMT refused to approve the budget

·      Reorganized army with continued opposition from liberal majorities

·      Opposition at home spurred the search for success abroad

o   Question of Schleswig-Holstein, provinces that belonged to Demark but were part of the German Confed, was a welcome opportunity

o   1864 when S-H tried to consolidate against German Confed, Prussia joined Austria n a short and successful war against Denmark

·      Bismarck was convinced that Prussia had to control completely the northern, predominately Prot part of the German Confed, which meant expelling Austria from German affairs

·      After victory over Denmark, Bismarck’s skillful maneuvering would have to be a localized one that would not provoke a mighty alliance against Prussia

·      By neutralizing France and Russia, he was in a position to engage in a war of his own making

·       Austro-Prussian War of 1866 lasted 7 weeks

o   Using RRs and mass troops and new needle gun, the reorganized Prussian army proved itself

o   Overran n. Germany and defeated Austria at Battle of Sadowa

·      Anticipating future Prussian needs, Bismarck offered Austria realistic, even generous peace terms

o   Austria paid no reparation and lost no territory, though Venetia was ceded to Italy

·      Existing German Confederation was dissolved, and Austria agreed to withdraw from German affairs

·      Prussia conquered and annexed several small states north of the Main River and dominated the remaining principalities of the newly formed North German Confederation

·      The mainly Catholic states of the south remained independent while forming alliances with Prussia

·      Bismarck’s fundamental goal of Prussian expansion was being realized

The Taming of the Parliament

·      Bismarck had long been convinced that the old order he defended should have peace with the liberal middle class and the nationalist movement

·      Realized that nationalism was not necessarily hostile to conservative, authoritarian gov

·      Believed that because of the events of 1848, German middle class could be led to prefer a national unity under conservative leadership rather than a long, uncertain battle for truly liberal institutions

·      During attack on Austria in 1866, he identified Prussia’s fate with the national development of Germany

·      In the aftermath of victory, Bismarck fashioned a federal constitution for the new North German Confed: Each state retained its own local gov, but the king of Prussia became president of the confederation, and the chancellor, Bismarck, was responsible only to the president

·      The federal gov controlled the army and foreign affairs

·      There was also a legislature with members of the lower house elected by universal, single class male suffrage

·      With this radical innovation, Bismarck opened the door to popular participation and the possibility of going over the head of the middle class directly to the ppl, much as NAPIII had done

·      Ultimate power rested in the hands of the dominant state of Prussia and its king and army

·      Bismarck held out an olive branch to PLMT opposition

o   Asked PLMT to pass a special indemnity bill to approve after the fact all the gov’s spending

o   Most liberally jumped at the chance to cooperate

o   With German unity in sight, they repented their “sins”

·      Constitutional struggle in Prussia was over, and German middle class was accepting respectfully the monarchial authority and the aristocratic superiority that Bismarck represented

·      Values of aristocratic Prussian army officers replaced middle class liberal in esteem and set the social standard

The Franco-Prussian War

·      Final act of German unification

·      Bismarck realized that a patriotic war wit France would drive south German states into his arms

·      The issue of whether William I’s relative would become king of Spain was a pretext

·      Goaded by Bismarck and alarmed by their new neighbor on the Rhine, France decided to teach Prussia a lesson

·      As soon as war began in 1870, Bismarck had the wholehearted support of the south German states

·      With other gov’s maintaining their neutrality, Bismarck’s neutrality aid off: German forces under Prussian leadership decisively defeated the main French army at Sedan

·      Louis NAP was captured and humiliated

·      French patriots in Paris proclaimed another French republic and vowed to continue fighting

·      Starving Paris surrendered, France accepted Bismarck’s harsh peace terms

·      S. German state had agreed to join a new German Empire

·      Victorious William I was proclaimed emperor of Germany in Versailles

·      King of Prussia and his ministers had ultimate power in the new German Empire and the lower house of the legislature was elected by universal male suffrage

·      Bismarck and the German Empire imposed a severe penalty on France

o   Indemnity of 5 billion francs

o   Cede Alsace and Lorraine

·      French men and women of all classes viewed the seizure of Alsace and Lorraine as a terrible crime; could never forget nor forgive; relations between France and Germany after 1871 were tragically poisoned

·      Franco-Prussian War released an enormous surge of patriotic feeling in Germany

·      Bismarck’s genius, the invincible Prussian army, the solidarity of king and ppl in a unified nation were trumpeted endlessly during and after the war

·      The weakest of the greatest powers in 1862, Prussia had become, in less than a decade, the most powerful state in ERP

·      Most Germans were enormously proud, seeing themselves as the fittest and best ERPNs

·      Semi-authoritarian nationalism and a “new conservatism” based on an alliance of propertied classes and support of working classes, triumphed in Germany

The Modernization of Russia and the Ottoman Empire

·      Russian and Ottoman Empires experienced profound political crises in mid 19^th c

·      Either Russia nor Ottoman Empire aspired to build a single powerful state out of a jumble of principalities

·      Aspired to build a single powerful state out of a jumble of principalities

·      Vast multinational states built on long traditions of military conquest and absolutist rule by elites by dominant ethnic groups – Russians and Ottoman Turks

·      Early 19^th c, governing elites were strongly opposed to rep govs and national self determination, and continued to concentrate on absolutist rule and competition with other Great powers

·      Relentless power led to great troubles

·      It became clear that leaders of both empires had to modernize: the changes that enable a country to compete effectively with the leading countries at a given time

The “Great Reforms” of Russia

·      1850s: Russia was a poor agrarian society with a rapidly growing population
Industry was little developed, 90% of population lived off land

·      Peasant serf was basically a slave, and serfdom was the great moral and political issue of the 1840s

·      Crimean War of 1853056 brought crises

o   Fighting was concentrated in Crimean peninsular on Black sea, Russia’s weak transportation network of rivers and wagons failed to supply the distant Russian armies adequately

·      France, GB, Sardinia, and Ottoman Empire inflicted a humiliating defeat on Russia

o   Demonstrated that Russia had fallen behind the rapidly industrializing nations of western ERP in many ways

o   At least Russia needed RRs, armaments, and reorganization of the army to maintain an international position

·      Disastrous war caused hardship and raised the specter of massive peasant rebellion

·      Reform of serfdom was imperative

·      Military defeat forced Tsar Alexander II and his ministers along the path to rapid social change and general modernization

·      Freeing of serfs in 1861

o   Human bondage abolished forever

o   Freed serfs received half of the land

o   Had to pay high prices for land and peach peasant village was jointly responsible for payments of all families in village

o   Collective ownership and responsibility made it very difficult for individual peasants to improve agricultural methods or leave their villages

o   Old patterns of behavior predominated, and the effects of reform were limited

·      Most of later reforms were halfway measures

o   1864: go established new institution of local gov, the zemstvo

o   Members of this local assembly were elected

o   Zemstvo executive council dealt with local problems

o   Russian liberals hoped this reform would lead to an elected national PLMT, but they were disappointed

o   Local zemstvo remained subordinate to traditional bureaucracy and local nobility

·      Reform of legal system

o   Indep courts and equality before the law

·      Education and policies towards Russian Jews were relaxed

·      Until 20^th c, Russia’s greatest strides toward modernization were economic

o   Transportation and industry were transformed in 2 industrial surges

o   After 1860: govs encouraged and subsidized private RR companies

§  Enabled agricultural Russia to export grain and earn money for economic development

§  Industrial suburbs grew and a modern factory class grew

·      Strengthened by industrial development, Russia’s military forces began seizing territory to the south an east, greatly exciting ardent Russian nationalists and superpatriots, who enthusiastically supported the gov

·      Industrial dev and the growing prol class aided to spread of Marxian thought and the transformation of the Russian revolutionary movement after 1911

·      1881: Alexander II assassinated

·      Era of reform ended

·      Alexander III was a determined reactionary

o   Economic modernization sped forward again

o   Massive industrialization surge from 1890-1900

·      Key leader was Sergei Witte: tough, competent minister of finance

o   Inspired by writings of Freidrich List, believed that the industrial backwardness was threatening Russia’s power and greatness

o   Gov built state owned RRs, doubling the network

o   Established high protective tariffs to build Russian industry and put the country on the gold standard of the “civilized world” to strengthen Russia’s finances

o   Used Westerners to catch up with the West

§  Encouraged foreigners to build factories in Russia, believing that the inflow of foreign capital was the only way to supply Russia with abundant and cheap products

§  Westerners located their factories in Russia

§  Foreign capitalists and their engineers built an enormous and modern steel and coal industry

·      Russia was industrializing and catching up with the advanced nations of the West

The Russian Revolution of 1905

·      Catching up meant vigorous territorial expansion

o   By 1903 Russia had established a sphere of influence in Chinese Manchuria and was eyeing Korea

o   When diplomatic protests of equally imperialistic Japan were ignored, Japan launched a surprise attack in February 1904

o   Japan scored repeated victories, Russia was force in Sept 1905 to accept a humiliating defeat

·      Military disaster abroad brought political upheaval at home

o   Business and professional classes had long wanted a liberal, rep gov

o   Urban factory workers had grievances together in a labor movement

o   Peasants gained little from reforms and were suffering from poverty and overpopulation

o   Nationalist sentiment was emerging among the empire’s minorities, and subject nationalities, such as Poles, Ukranians, Latvians, were calling for sef rule

o   With army in Manchuria, all these currents of discontent converged in the revolution of 1905

·      January 1905: massive crowd of workers and their families converged peacefully on the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to present a petition to the tsar

o   Troops opened fire, killing/wounding hundreds

o   Bloody Sunday massacre turned ordinary workers against the tsar and produced a wave of general indignation

·      Outlawed political parties came out into the open, and by 1905 summer, strikes, peasant uprisings, revolts among minority nationalities and troop mutinies were sweeping the country

·      October 1905: revolutionary surge culminated in a strike that forced gov to capitulate

·      Tsar issued October Manifesto: granted full civil rights and promised a popularly elected Duma with real legislative power

o   Split the opposition

§  Middle class leaders helped gov repress uprising and survive as a constitutional monarchy

·      Before opening the Duma, the gov issued a new constitution, the Fundamental Laws

o   Tsar retained great powers

o   The Duma, elected indirectly by UMS and a largely appointive upper house could debate and pass laws, but the tsar had an absolute veto

o   The tsar appointed his ministers who did not need to command a majority in the Duma

·      Disappointed middle class liberals, the largest class in the Duma saw the Fundamental Laws as a step backward

·      Efforts to cooperate with the tsar’s ministers soon broke down and after months of deadlock, the tsar dismissed the Duma

·      He and his advisers unilaterally rewrote the electoral law so as to increase the weight of the propertied classes

·      When elections were held, the tsar could count on a loyal majority in the Duma

·      His ministers pushed agrarian reforms to break down collective village ownership and encourage more enterprising peasants

·      In 1914, Russia was a partially modernized, conservative constitutional monarchy with a peasant based but industrializing economy

Decline and reform in the Ottoman Empire

·      High point was under Suleiman the Magnificent in 16^th c

·      By 18^th c it was falling behind western ERP in science, industrial skill, and military tech

·      Russia’s westernized army was able to occupy Ottoman provinces on the Danube

·      Ottomans forced to grant Serbia local autonomy

·      1830: Greeks won indep

·      French under Charles X took Algeria

·      Rise of Muhammad Ali, Ottoman governor in Egypt

o   Occupied Ottoman provinces of Syria and Iraq and appeared ready to depose the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II

·      Sultan survived because ERPN powers forced Muhammad Ali to withdraw

o   ERPN powers, minus France, preferred a weak and dependent Ottoman state to a strong and revitalized Muslim entity under Muhammad Ali

·      Realizing their position, liberal Ottoman statesman launched in 1839 an era of radical reforms, which lasted till 1876

o   Culminated in a constitution and short lived PLMT

o   Tanzimat: reforms designed to remake the empire on a w. ERPN model

o   High point of reform in Imperial Rescript of 1857

§  Equality before law, modern administration and military, religious freedom for Muslims, Christians, and Jews

§  New commercial laws allowed free importation of foreign goods

§  Embraced western educated and accepted secular values to some extent

·      Intended to bring revolutionary modernization, the Tanzimat permitted partial recovery but fell short of its goals

o   Liberal reforms failed to halt growth of nationalism among Christian subjects, which resulted in crises and defeats that undermined all reform efforts

o   Ottoman initiatives did not curtail the appetite of Western imperialism, which secured a stranglehold on Ottoman economy

o   Equality before law for all citizens and religious communities increased religious disputes, which were exacerbated by interference of ERPN power

§  Embittered relations between religious communities, distracted gov from reform mission, split Muslims into secularists and religious conservatives

§  Many conservative Muslims detested the religious reforms which they viewed as an impious departure from Islamic tradition and holy law

§  Became the most dependable support of Sultan who abandoned model of ERPN liberalism in his long reign

·      Combination of declining international power and conservative tyranny led to a powerful resurgence of the modernizing impulse among idealistic Turkish exiles in ERP and young army officers in Istanbul

·      These fervent patriots, Young Turks, seized power in the rev of 1908 and forced sultan to implement reforms

·      Failed to stop rising tide of anti-Ottoman nationalism in Balkans, Young Turks helped prepare way for birth of modern secular Turkey after Ottoman defeat in WWI

The Responsive, National State, 1871-1914

·      For central and w. ERP, the unification of Italy and Germany by “blood and iron” marked the end of a dramatic period of nation building

·      After 1871 the heartland of ERP was organized into strong, national states

·      Only on the borders of ERP, Ireland, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, did subject ppl strive for national unity/polit indep

General Trends

·      Domestic policies after 1871 had a common framework

o   Firmly established national

o   Mass politics

o   Growing mass loyalty toward the national state

·      Ordinary ppl felt increasing loyalty to their govs

o   More ppl could vote

o   By 1914 UMS was the rule

o   Lots of psychological and political significance

§  Ordinary men felt they counted and could influence the gov in some way

§  They were “part of the system”

o   Women’s suffrage movement made some gains

§  1914 Norway gave vote to most women

§  Elsewhere, like in GB, heckled politicians and held public demonstrations

§  Generally failed before 1914 but paved the way for triumph after WWI

·      As right to vote spread, politicians and parties in national PLMTS represented the ppl more responsively

o   Multiparty system prevailed meaning that the PLMTy majorities were built on shifting coalitions of diff parties, and this gave individual parties leverage to obtain benefits for their supporters

o   Govs passed laws to alleviate genera problems, gaining greater legitimacy and appearing more worthy of support

·      Less positive side to building popular support for strong nation states after 1871

o   Govs found they could manipulate national feeling to create a sense of unity and to divert attention away from underlying class conflicts

o   Conservative and moderate leaders found that workers who voted socialist would rally around the flat in a diplomatic crisis or cheer when territory was seized in Africa/Asia

§  Govs used antiliberal and militaristic policies to help manage domestic conflicts, at the expense of increasing international tensions

·      Some fanatics and demagogic polit leaders sought to build extreme nationalist movements by whipping up popular animosity toward imaginary enemies, especially the Jews

o   Growth of anti-Semitism

The German Empire

·      New German Empire was a federal union of Prussia and 24 smaller states

·      Much of everyday business of gov was conducted by separate states, but there was a strong national gov with a chancellor and a popularly elected lower house called the Reichstag

·      Bismarck refused to be bound by  a PLMT majority, but he tried to maintain one

o   Gave polit parties opportunities

o   Bismarck relied on National Liberals who rallied to him after 1866 (olive branch)

o   They supported legislation useful for further economic and legal unification of the country

·      They also backed Bismarck’s attack on the Catholic Church

o   Kulturkampf: “struggle for civilization”

o   Middle class National Liberals were alarmed by Pius IX

o   Seemed to ask German Catholics to put loyalty to their church above their nation

o   Kulturkampf generally aimed at making the Catholic Church subject to gov control

o   But only in Prot Prussia did this have even limited success, because Caths throughout the country generally voted for the Center Party, which blocked passage of national laws hostile to the church

·      1878: Bismarck abandoned his attack on the church and courted the Catholic Center Party (Catholic small farmers)

o   Enacting high tariffs on cheap grain, won over Catholic Center and Prot Junkers

o   With tariffs, Bismarck won Catholic and conservative support

·      Many other gov’s followed Bismarck’s lead

o   1880-90s: widespread return to protectionism in ERP

o   France: high tariffs to protect agriculture, industry, peasants, and manufacturers from foreign competition

o   ERPN govs were responding effectively to a major economic problem and winning greater loyalty

o   Rise of protectionism was an example of the dangers of self centered nationalism: new tariffs led to international name calling and wars

·      BMK tried to stop Socialism’s growth in Germany cuz he feared its revolutionary language and allegiance to a movement transcending the nation state

o   Orchestrated a national outcry to ram through the Reichstag a law that controlled socialist meetings and publications and outlawed the Social Democratic Party, which was driven underground

o   German socialists continued to hold influence, and BMK tried again

·      To win the support of the working class, BMK urged the Reichstag to take action and enact state supported social measures

o   Big businesses and conservatives accused BMK of creating “State socialism” but BMK pressed his program through speeches

·      BMK and his supporters carried the day and his essentially conservative nation state pioneered in the provision of social welfare programs

o   Help wage earners, national sickness/accident insurance, old age pensions and retirement benefits

o   Sick, injured, retired workers could look forward to some regular benefits from the state

o   National social security system, paid for through compulsory wage contributions by wage earners and grants from the state was the first of its kind

·      BMK’s social security system did not stop workers from voting socialist, but it did give them a small stake in the system and protect them from some uncertainties

·      Enormously significant development was a product of polit competition and gov efforts to win popular support

·      Great issues in German domestic politics were socialism and the Marxian Social Democratic Party

o   New emperor, William II opposed BMK’s attempt to renew the law outlawing Social Democratic Party

o   Eager to rule in his own right and earn support of workers, William II forced BMK to resign

o   German foreign policy changed profoundly and most for the worst

·      William was no more successful than BMK in getting workers to renounce socialism

o   Social Democrats won more and more seats in the Reichstag

o   Became German’s largest single party in 1912

o   Shocked aristocrats and their conservative middle class allies, heightening fears of a socialist upheaval

o   “Revolutionary socialists” broadened its base by adopting a more patriotic tone, allowing for greater military spending and imperialistic expansion

o   German socialist concentrated on gradual social and political reform

Republican France

·      War w/ Prussia undid efforts to reduce class antagonisms

·      In 1871 France seemed hopelessly divided once again

·      Patriotic republicans who proclaimed the Third Republic in Paris after Sedan refused to admit defeat

·      Were starved into submission in 1871

·      National elections sent a large majority of conservatives and monarchs to National Assembly, France’s leaders decided they had no choice but to surrender Alsace and Lorraine

·      Traumatized Parisians exploded and proclaimed Paris Commune in March 1871

·      Vaguely radical, leaders of Commune wanted to govern Paris without interference from the conservative French countryside

·      National Assembly, led by Adolphe Theirs would hear none of it

o   Assembly ordered French Army into Paris and crushed Commune

o   French against French

·      French slowly formed a new national unity, getting considerable stability before 1914

o   Luck: Monarchists in the “republican” national assembly could not agree on who should be king. The compromise Bourbon candidate wanted absolute power, unacceptable to supporters of moderate, constitutional monarchy

o   Their’s destruction of the Commune showed the fearful provinces and middle class that the 3^rd Repub might be moderate and socially conservative

·      France retained the republic, though reluctantly

o   “The government which divides us least”

·      Skill and determination of the moderate repub leader sin the year years

o   Leon Gambetta

·      Moderate repubs sought to preserve their creation by winning the hearts and minds of the next generation

o   Trade unions legalized

o   France acquired a colonial empire

o   Series of laws between 1879-1886 established free compulsory elementary education for both girls and boys

o   Expanded state system of public tax supported schools

·      In France and throughout the Western world, the general expansion of public education served as a critical nation building tool in the late 19^th c

o   In France most elementary and much secondary education had traditionally been in the hands of the Cath, who were hostile to repubs and much of secular life

o   Free compulsory elementary education in France became secular republican education

·      Though the educations reforms of the 1880s disturbed French Caths, many rallied to the republic in 1890

o   Limited acceptance by more liberal Pope Leo XIII eased tensions between church and state

·      Dreyfus affair changed all that

o   Alfred Dreyfus: Jewish captain in French army, falsely convicted of treason

o   Dreyfus gained support of Emile Zola and republicans

o   Case split France apart

§  Army with anti-Semites and Catholic establishment vs libertarians and most of the more radical republicans

·      Dreyfus declared innocent, but revived republican feeling against the church

o   Gov severed all ties with Cath Church from 1901-1905

o   Salaries of priests and bishops were no longer paid by gov and all churches were given to local committees of lay Caths

o   Cath schools were put on their own financially and lost 1/3 of their students

o   State school system’s power of indoctrination was greatly strengthened

·      Only the growing socialist movement stood in opposition to patriotic, republican nationalism

Great Britain and Ireland

·      Brit in late 19^th c was not a peaceful transition that the 2 party PLMT went from classical liberalism to democracy

·      Right to vote was granted to males of the solid middle class in 1832

·      Benjamin Disraeli: Extended vote to middle class males and best paid workers to broaden the Conservative Party’s traditional base of aristocratic and landed support

·      The “lower orders” seemed to be able to vote as responsible as their “betters”

·      Third Reform Bill of 1884 gave the vote to almost ever adult male

·      House of commons was drifting toward democracy

·      The House of lords tried to reassert itself in 1901-1910

o   Acting as supreme court of the land, it ruled against labor unions

o   In 1906 After liberal party came to power, the Lords vetoed several measures passed by the Commons, including the People’s Budget, designed to increasing spending on social welfare services

o   Lords capitulated when the king threatened to create enough new peers to pass the bill, and aristocratic conservatism yielded to popular democracy once and for all

·      The extensive social welfare, slow to come to GB were passed in a rush between 1906 and 1914

o   During these years, the Liberal party, inspired by Welshman David Lloyd George raised taxes on the rich as part of the People’s Budget

o   This income helped gov pay for national health insurance, unemployment benefits, old age pensions, and other social measures

o   The state was integrating the urban masses socially as well as politically

·      Eve of WWI, question of Ireland brought GB to brink of civil war

·      After famine, English slowly brought concessions

·      William Gladstone: wanted to pacify Ireland, passed bills to give Ireland self gov

o   Failed to pass, but In 1913 Irish nationalists in the Brit PLMT gained a home rule bill for Ireland

·      Ireland was on the brink of self gov

·      Ireland composed of 2 ppl

o   Irish Catholic in south wanted home rule

o   Prots in Ulster (the north) didn’t

§  Refused to submerge themselves in Cath Ireland

·      Ulsterites vowed to resist home rule in northern Ireland

o   Army volunteers

o   Supported by much of English public opinion

·      1914: Liberals in House of Lords introduced a bill that gave south home rule

o   Betrayed promises made to Irish nationalists, was rejected

·      September: original home rule bill was passed but suspended by WWI

·      Irish developments illustrated the power of national feeling and national movements in the 19^th c

·      Proof that gov’s couldn’t elicit greater loyalty unless they could capture and control the elemental current of national feeling

·      GB had lots going for it but none of this availed in the face of the conflicting nationalisms created by Caths and Prots in n Ireland

·      Similar to Ottomans

The Austro-Hungarian Empire

·      1849: Magyar nationalism had driven Hungarian patriots to declare an indep Hungarian republic, which was savagely crushed by Russian and Austrian armies

·      1850s: Hungary was ruled as a conquered territory while Emp. Francis Joseph and his bureaucracy tried to centralize the state and Germanize the language and culture of the diff nationalities

·      Weakened Austria was forced to strike a compromise and establish a dual monarchy

·      Empire divided into two and nationalistic Magyars gained virtual indep for Hungary

·      Two states were only joined by a shared monarch and common ministries for finance, defense, and foreign affairs

·      In Austria and ethnic Germans were only 1/3 of the population, and in 1895 Germans saw their traditional dominance threatened by Czechs, Poles, and Slavs

o   Wanted their language in gov and education

·      PLMT was so divided that they used decree rather than majority

·      Efforts by conservatives and socialists to defuse national antagonisms by stressing economic issues that cut across ethnic lines was unsuccessful

·      Magyar nobility resorted constitution of 1848 and used it to dominate both peasantry and minority populations

o   Wealthiest ¼ of adults had right to vote

o   PLMT was creature of Magyar elite

·      Laws promoted Magyar language in schools and gov, and were resented by minority populations

·      Magyar extremists campaigned for separation from Austria, radical leaders of subject nationalities dreamed for indep from Hungary

·      Unlike most major countries that harnessed nationalism to strengthen the state after 1871, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was progressively weakened and destroyed by it

Jewish Emancipation and Anti-Semitism

·      Changes in Jewish Life in western and central ERP

·      1848: Jews formed regiment for Germany and Austria; Frankfurt Assembly endorsed full rights for German Jews

·      Abolished restrictions of Jewish marriage, choice of occupation etc

·      Exclusion from gov and discrimination socially remained

·      Widely accepted that disappearance of anti Jewish prejudice was inevitable

·      Jews thrived in new opportunities and were successful

·      By 1871 a majority had improved their economic situation and entered middle class

·      Most Jewish pl ID’d with their nation states and saw themselves as patriotic citizens

·      Vicious anti-Semitism reappeared after the stock market crash of 1873 in c ERP

o   Drawing on long traditions, this anti-Semitism was also a modern development, building on the reaction against liberalism

o   Whipped up resentment against Jewish achievement and Jewish financial control while fanatics claimed the Jewish race was a biological threat to the German ppl

o   Anti Semites: conservatives, extreme nationalists, business ppl threatened by Jews

·      Anti-Semites created modern political parties to attack and degrade Jews

o   Karl Leuger: “Christian Socialists”

§  Mayor of Vienna

§  Combined fierce anti-Semitic rhetoric with municipal ownership of basic services

§  Appealed to German speaking lower middle class

·      Theodore Herzl: Created Zionism and the creation of a Jewish state

·      Anti-Semitism was most oppressive in e. ERP where Jews suffered from poverty

·      Russia: officials used anti-Semitism to channel popular discontent away from the gov and onto the Jewish minority; Jews seen as foreign exploiters who corrupted national traditions

o   Violent pogroms

o   Police stood by as peasants looted and destroyed Jewish property

o   Some Jews turned towards Zionsts and a settlement in Palestine

o   Lots immigrated

Marxism and the Socialist Movement

·      Nationalism was the new unifying principle

·      Socialism grew rapidly in these years; dedicated to an international proletarian revolution

·      Prosperous/conservative citizens were troubled by socialist movement

·      Conflict between revolutionary socialism vs nationalist alliance and the conservative aristocracy an prosperous middle class

The Socialist International

·      Growth of socialist parties after 1871 was phenomenal

o   BMK couldn’t check the growth of the German Social Democratic Party

o   By 1912 it had millions of followers mostly from the working class and was the largest party in the Reichstag

·      Socialist parties also grew in other countries but not with as much success

·      Russian exiles founded Social Democratic Party; French; Belgium; Austria-Hungary

·      Marxian socialist parties were linked together in an international organization

o   Marx believed “working men have no country” and urged proles of all countries to unite

·      International working Men’s Association

o   Annual meetings spread his realistic, “scientific” doctrines of inevitable socialist revolution

o   Embrace radical Paris Commune as step toward socialist revolution, which frightened early supporters (Brit labor leaders)

o   First International collapsed

·      International Prol solidarity remained an important objective for Marxists

o   Socialist leaders came together to form the Second International, which lasted until 1914

o   Federation of national socialist parties, but had great psychological impact

o   Delegates from diff parties met to interpret Marxian doctrines and plan coordinated action

o   May 1 was annual one day strike day of marches and demonstrations

o   Permanent executive for the International was established

o   Many feared the rejoiced in power of socialism in the Second International

Unions and Revisionism

·      Was socialism radical and revolutionary? NO

·      Looked toward gradual change and steady improvement for the working class and less towards revolution

·      Became militantly moderate: combined radical rhetoric with sober action

·      Workers were less inclined to follow radical programs

o   Workers gained right to vote and participate politically, so they focused their attention more on elections than on revolutions

o   As workers won real, tangible benefits, this furthered the process

o   Responded positively to parades and loyally voted for socialists (more nationalist)

o   Workers were not a unified social group

o   Standard of living rose gradually but substantially

·      More militantly moderate: demanded gains, but were less likely to take to the barricades in pursuit of them

·      Growth of labor unions reinforced this trend

o   Modern unions were generally prohibited by law

o   Other countries had similar laws

o   Unions considered subversive bodies to be hounded and crushed

o   GB led way in 1824-25 when unions won right to exist but not the right to strike

§  New, more practical unions appeared

§  Highly skilled workers

§  New “model unions” concentrated on wining better wages and hours through collective bargaining and compromise

§  Paved way to full acceptance and unions for unskilled workers

o   Germany: anti-socialist laws removed in 1890, unions granted rights in 1869, harassed by gov; almost all legal harassment eliminated, union membership skyrocketed

·      Changing character of German unions

o   Focused on bread and butter issues: wages, hours, working conditions, rather than the dissemination of socialist doctrine

o   Collective bargaining recognized by German Trade Union Congress in 1899

o   Strikes made resolute employers change their minds

·      German trade unions and their leaders were thoroughgoing revisionists

o   Revionism: most awful of sins in the eyes of militant Marxists, effort to update Marxian doctrines to reflect realities of the time

o   Eduard Bernstein: Socialists should reform their doctrines and tactics and should combine with other progressive forces to win continued evolutionary gains for workers through legislation, unions, and further economic development

o   Denounced as heresy by the German Social Democratic Party and the entire Social International

·      Revisionist approach continued to gain acceptance of many German socialists, particularly in trade unions

·      France: Jean Jaures repudiated revisionist doctrines to make a unified socialist party

·      Split Russian Marxists

·      Socialist 1914: Russians and Austria-Hungarians MOST RADICAL; Germans with trade unions practice reformism and talked revolution; French talked revolution unrestrained by trade union weak and radical; England: Socialist, non Marxian Labour Party gradual reform: Spain and Italy: Anarchy dominated

·      Socialist policies and doctrines varied from country to country

·      Socialism was “nationalized” behind the imposing façade of international unity