Nationalism Spreads
Driving Question: What caused nationalism to spread around the world in the nineteenth century?
Discover how people around the world started to embrace nationalism for a variety of reasons, among them a growing sense of ethnic pride, a response to multiethnic regionality, and a pathway for economic and political independence.
Learning Objectives:
- Analyze the causes and consequences of world revolutions such as those in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East to understand the growth and spread of nationalism.
- Evaluate the reasons behind the successes and failures of the revolutions of 1848.
- Compare the emergence of nationalist movements in Italy, Germany, and Japan.
Art was an important tool for supporting the ideas of nationalism. Nationalist artists worked hard to kindle pride in the nation.
Canvassing a Nation
The revolutions of 1848 are sometimes called a “successful failure.” These revolutions united people across the political left in vast movements that shook the foundations of the status quo in Europe. But almost universally, the diversity of these coalitions proved to be their undoing. Historian Immanuel Wallerstein claimed that 1848 was a “world revolution” and that there has only ever been one other—1968. If you’re interested in learning more or having your students compare the two world revolutions, check out this blog post: “Back to the Barricades (Again): What 1968 Can Teach Students Today.”
This informal writing activity challenges students to use evidence to support their arguments. Explore this blog post to dive deeper into this and other essential writing skills.
The revolutions of 1848 were a flame that spread across Europe—and beyond. In this article, you’ll read about the dozens of countries where revolts erupted, and in the activity that follows, you’ll consider why they failed.
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Guiding Questions
The article on Italian nationalism is written in a different style than other articles your students are familiar with. Be sure to warn them ahead of time and to discuss afterwards how the second-person perspective that this story is written in affected their understanding of the events described.
Nationalist movements in Germany, Italy, and Japan forged powerful nation-states from divided and decentralized regions. Compare the strategies they used to achieve their ends.
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Guiding Questions
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Guiding Questions
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Guiding Questions
Nationalism emerged from ideas of the Enlightenment and political revolutions. Together, these forces reshaped our world. How have they reshaped your thinking?
Nationalism and political liberalism first emerged around the Atlantic world but quickly spread to new places. In each new place, people adapted the ideas to their local conditions.
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Guiding Questions
the ability of people to move up in wealth or status
Social mobility in early modern Europe was generally easier in cities than in rural areas.