Chapter 36 Consolidation of the National States

1
Chapter 36Consolidation of the National States
2
Russia

• Defeat in the Crimea
• Crimean War was first failure of the Vienna
  international treaties
• General debacle for all concerned
• Russia unable to get naval access to
  Mediterranean
• Problem of the serfs
• Czar Alexander II was determined to solve this
  problem
• Still lived in illiteracy, ignorance,
  superstition
• Growing resentful of landlords
• Huge drag on Russian economy

3
Emancipation of the Serfs

• Based on certain principles
• Free serfs from landlord control, make them
  legally equal
• Give serfs part of land they had been working
• Making serfs responsible for fixed taxes,
  military service
• Was only limited success
• Serfs only got tentative title to land
• Could not mortgage or sell land
• Actually worse off than before

4
Great Reforms

• Some important reforms
• Local government re-organized, allowed election
  of county board (zemstvo)
• Judicial system completely overhauled
• Army reformed, made more of an educational and
  engineering facility
• Some things NOT done no constitution, elected
  legislature or strong local government
• Intelligentsia (intellectuals and activists)
  emerging with revolutionary doctrines

5
France

• Louis Napoleon and the Second Empire
• Second Empire lasted 20 years authoritarian
  regime gradually liberalized
• Beginnings of industrial development, especially
  in smaller cities
• Franco-Prussian War
• French miscalculated badly
• Louis was captured, had to abdicate

6
France

• Paris Commune of 1871
• First attempt at socialist revolution
• Extremely unpopular with most French
• Third Republic
• Republicans able to get into power
• Liberal state with strong legislature, weak
  executive
• Complete spectrum of political parties

7
Unification of Italy
8
Unification of Italy

• Done over opposition of Austria and Pope Pius IX
• Camillo Cavour father of Italian unification
• Wanted constitutional monarchy, rejected radical
  social change
• Built Piedmont into leading economic force in
  Italy
• Defensive alliance with France forced Austrians
  out
• Kingdom of Italy now held about half of peninsula
• Giuseppi Garibaldi
• Led volunteer army through southern Italy
• Conquered Naples, brought Sicily into nation
• Venetia and Papal States annexed
• Rome made capital
• Papal resentment, condemnation

9
A Very Mixed Success

• Italy was weakest of European powers
• Actually, two different countries North and
  South
• South
• Agrarian, rural, feudal
• Reactionary aristocrats, impoverished peasants
• All-powerful Catholic Church
• No modern industry or transportation
• North
• Industrial, urban, liberal
• Controlled by wealthy landowners, large
  commercial middle class
• Rapidly industrializing, creating proletariat
• Contempt for South

10
Unification of the Germans
11
German Unification

• Most important politico-economic development of
  late 19th century
• Germany became most important military force
• Passed Britain as industrial power
• Otto von Bismark, Chancellor
• Architect of modern Germany
• Nationalist but not liberal
• Just wanted to unify all Germans under leadership
  from Berlin

12
Austria and German Unification

• Austria insisted on role in any unification
  arrangement
• Prussians did not consider Austria to be German
• Kleindeutsch and Grossdeutsch
• Bismark determined to remove Austrians from
  German affairs
• He provoked Austro-Prussian War, won, insisted
  Austria withdraw any interests

13
German Unification

• Franco-Prussian War fanned nationalism against
  traditional enemy
• German Empire
• Prussian king now emperor of Germany
• Decidedly conservative state
• Bismark ran everything

14
Austria-Hungary

• Austria had played major role in international
  affairs
• Economic, cultural progress under Franz Joseph
• Hurt by foreign policy setbacks, refusal of
  Hungarians to take part in central government
• Ausgleich of 1867 Dual Monarchy
• Compromise divided empire into Austria and
  Hungary
• Mutually independent except for foreign policy,
  defense
• Held together by ruler, Catholic Church,
  bureaucracy
• Minorities were unhappy

15
United States

• Industrial progress
• Manufactures, industry were competitive
• Centered in New England power sources, labor
  pool
• Mill towns became common, offered degree of
  democracy, social mobility
• Nature of US industrialization
• Enormous advantage of abundant natural resources
• Could use British know-how, avoid their pitfalls
• Rugged individualist nature of capitalism free
  from government interference

16
New Nations, New Imperialism

• Modern nation state
• Ethnic group (nation) controls territory (state)
• Mass political parties
• Mass school system
• Labor unions
• Individual becomes less important
• New imperialism
• Africa, Asia, Pacific islands
• Europeans believed state must expand power or
  else shrink in size and importance
• Ocean-going steamship
• Assumed colonies would use excess consumer goods
• White Mans Burden duty to civilize Asians,
  Africans0

17
Discussion Questions

• The unification of Italy and Germany produced
  significantly different results. How would you
  compare and contrast the unification efforts and
  the resulting new countries? What parallels do
  you see with the United States Manifest Destiny
  after the Louisiana Purchase? Or does the US
  experience more resemble the new imperialism?
• When Peter the Great ruled in the 17th century,
  his primary goal was the modernization of Russia.
  Was he successful? If so, why did Russia so
  badly need another dose of modernization with the
  Great Reforms? Did those reforms solve the
  problem would Russia have to be forcibly
  modernized again? Why/why not?