The Origins of Nationalism

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The Origins of Nationalism
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What is nationalism?
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Possible definitions

• Patriotism, allegiance to a nation varying
  degrees, from pride to hatred of all other
  nations
• a force that makes one willing to die for a
  nation
• the belief, conviction, or principle that each
  national culture should be conterminous with
  state borders
• Sometimes this is associated with the struggle
  for independence, more accurately called a
  national movement
• Underlying all the belief that nations are the
  main organizing group of humanity

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Long-term causes of the rise of nationalism

• 1. Printing press
• 1451 Johannes Gutenberg (1397-1468) and Johannes
  Fust
• Movable metal type
• Gutenberg bible
• Led to
• More, cheaper books (1500-gt)
• Newspapers (1800-gt)

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Long-term causes (cont.)

• 2. Reformation
• 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses against
  indulgences
• 1522 translated New Testament
• Led to
• Secularization of culture
• Vernacularization of language

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Long-term causes (cont.)

• 3. Mass education
• Baron von Humboldt,1767-1835
• Prussian reforms begin
• led to growing literacy

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Shorter-term political causes

• 1. American Revolution

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Political causes (cont.)

• 1. American Revolution
• If the people are sovereign (not the king), then
  who are the people?
• Declaration of Independence
• U.S. Constitution

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Political causes (cont.)

• 2. French Revolution
• National Assembly
• Cut off Louiss head
• Nation became sovereign
• Levee en masse Why fight?

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Political causes (cont.)

• 3. Partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, 1795)

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Political causes (cont.)

• 3. Partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, 1795)
• Russia, Austria and Prussia gobbled Poland up
• Constitution of 3 May 1791
• Poland became THE NATION WITHOUT A STATE

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Thinkers on nationalism

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
• Regenerated nation
• More just (equality)
• More powerful

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Thinkers on nationalism

• Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
• Classical conservative
• Against French Revolution
• Proclaimed rights of historically developed
  nations

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Thinkers on nationalism

• Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803)
• language is at the core of human beings
• we speak different ones
• affirmed the primacy of culture over politics