Main Point - The idea of nationalism was invented as part of the conflicts in Europe in the nineteenth century.
Main Point - The idea of nationalism resulted in new countries being created and older countries being torn apart.
Main Point - Nationalism and democracy do not always work together - it was supported by both French Republicans and German Imperialists.
Reading on How Nationalism Reshaped Europe - Click Here
Printable Copy of Homework Questions - click here
Source # 4 - Political and Linquistic Maps for 19th Century Europe
Source # 5 - Map of Ethnic Groups in the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Primary Source # 1 - In 1806, when Berlin was under French occupation, German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte said,
“The first, original, and truly natural boundaries of states are beyond doubt their internal boundaries. Those who speak the same language are joined to each other by a multitude of invisible bonds by nature herself, long before any human art begins; they understand each other and have the power of continuing to make themselves understood more and more clearly; they belong together and are by nature one and an inseparable whole."
Primary Source # 2 - Johann von Herder said both, "spew out the ugly slime of the Seine [River in Paris]. Speak German, O You German" and “What a treasure language is when kinship groups grow into tribes and nations. Even the smallest of nations…cherishes in and through its language the history, the poetry and songs about the great deeds of its forefathers. The language is its collective treasure.”
Primary Source # 3 - Preface to the Second Edition of the Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm (1819)
After a storm has knocked an entire field of growing crops to the ground, it is possible that near some low hedges or bushes a small safe place can be found where a few growing spikes remain. If the sun shines again, they begin to grow, lonely and unnoticed. No harvests them for the great store houses. But in late summer, when they are ripe and full, poor hands come to search for them. Gleaned one by one, carefully bound together, and valued more than whole bales, they are carried home. They provide sustenance for the winter and are perhaps the only seeds for the future.
That is how it appeared to us when we saw how nothing more remained from earlier times. Even the memory of it all was almost completely lost among the people, but for a few songs, books, legends, and these innocent fairy tales. Gatherings around the oven, around the kitchen stove, on stair landings, holidays still celebrated, grazing pastures and forests in their silence, and above all the unspoiled imagination – these were the hedges that protected these seeds and passed them down from one age to another.
It was perhaps the right time to grab hold of these fairy tales, for those who preserved them were becoming ever rarer. Admittedly, those who still know them usually know quite a bit, because it is the people who die off, not the tales. But the custom itself is becoming less and less common…
… There, in the famous old regions of German freedom, legends and fairy tales have been preserved as a regular feature of holidays and the country is still rich in inherited customs and songs. There, partly because written language is not yet disturbed by the introduction of outside influences, especially among peoples whose literature is not very significant, oral traditions prove themselves to be stronger and more unsullied replacements...
Hesse [ a region in Germany], as a hilly land far away from the grand boulevards and mostly occupied with farming, has the advantage of being better able to preserve old tales and customs. One perceives as well that regions which are rougher but also magnificent has a lifestyle of strictness and poverty. The Hessians must certainly be counted as those among our Fatherland's peoples who have held on most firmly through the changing times to the unique features of their essence as well as to their old dwelling places.
A perspective diagram is a variation on the comparison diagram - the comparison being made is about how different people or groups see the same event. The differences between how people see the same event can be a source of conflict between people.
In this activity you will think about how the people of France and the people of the region of Germany saw several historic events and why they have differing perspectives on the events. These are the events you are looking at: Napoleonic Wars, Congress of Vienna, Revolts of 1849 and the Franco-Prussian War.
In this assignment, you will be working to develop an answer to the question, “Did French nationalism make the nation of Germany?"
In the first part of this activity, you will build two process diagrams showing how different events led to the creation of the nation of Germany.
You will then use information from these graphs to develop and answer to the question and the reason that supports your answer. You will turn this into your topic sentence.
Finally, you will use your topic sentence to select the best evidence to support your answer.