Essay on Nationalism and Nation-States in the 19th Century

This essay delves into the multifaceted nature of 19th-century nationalism, examining its political and historical foundations and the concept of nation-states. The essay highlights the emergence of nationalism, driven by the romantic exaltation of identity and the need for legal states to be based on the people. It explores the diverse manifestations of nationalism across Europe, including the 'inclusion' method of France and the cultural and ethnic perspective of Germany. The essay further discusses the late entry of nationalism into Slavic nations, the shift from cultural to liberal and triumphal nationalism, and the challenges in defining a nation. It references the political views of Rousseau, the philosophy of Gottfried von Herder, and the impact of local conditions on the development of national identity. The essay also touches upon the experiences of various groups like the Jews, the struggles for independence and the varying forms of nationalism including cultural values, liberal statements and chauvinistic claims. The essay concludes by acknowledging the utilization of national eloquence by Marxist ideologies in the 20th century.

HISTORY ESSAY

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What were some of the political and historical underpinnings of 19th-century nationalism
and the idea that nations should have stated?
Nationalism has been the political force which was the most successful in the 19th century. Two
main reasons for its emergence- the romantic exhalation of “identity’ and the wide ranging need
that a legal state needs to be positioned on a ‘people" rather than on "succession" or ancestry.
Both these revolutionary movements were undertaken by a middle class section of society then.
Europe holds no more unity in beliefs, in their targets or goals. This kind of unity is
indispensable, and lack of it only led to the emergence of crisis. There were two main examples
to define the movement- the ‘inclusion' method of France under which anyone who accepted
loyalty towards French civil state was identified as a ‘citizen". In reality, this meant the
imposition of the significant level of homogeneity involving elimination of all the linguistic
distinctions.
Another method of distinction by Germans was portrayed the nation in cultural and ethnic
viewpoint. Ethnicity ultimately meant using German as your language and adapting a German
name to be called with. Only at the end corners of the 19th century, nationalism started to enter
Slavic nations, out of which some have vanished as political institutions for around hundred
years, and these were the region where the language (that had been quite undiscovered or less
used) existed. Among these, development of a feeling of nationalism happened to be in uniform
and homogeneous manner. The music here defines gradual shift from cultural nationalism to
liberal nationalism holding political features and then moved towards triumphal nationalism.
These developments are portrayed in order of levels rather than the date of their happenings.
The biggest task of nationalist was to state what was their definition of a nation. People feel
belongingness to their family, group, districts or town but they fail to see through the broader

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view of belonging to a nation (internet History Sourcebooks Project. 2017). The political view of
Rousseau during revolutionary era of France acclaimed that people were the means of
sovereignty and identity. In 1789, most residents of France used some other language like
Breton. French identity at national level constructed by including such people into France and
making them aware about the French Language and speak that only. In France, England, Spain
and Russian Empire most of Europe had no sense of the terminology of ‘nation.' Individuals of
different religions, castes, cultures, and backgrounds lived heterogeneously with each other
under f/different categories of states and sub-states, kingdoms, dynasties and different cities.
One of the German political activist made the use of intellectual views of Gottfried von Herder
from his philosophy about the mankind history that has put up the issues of romantic philosophy
about the nation, because as the residence of Latvia (part of German) he highlighted the
importance of local background of Latvia and how it got disturbed because of suppressive issues
on account of international culture that has been flowing into.
The major law prevailing for all historically grand events might be that in all the corners of the
earth all the prospects of growth were determined partly by the power and the needs of the local
areas and partly by situations and conditions of age and also by the already existing and self-
prospering traits of the locals. All the events that prevail to the human sphere are affected only
by time, local conditions and their national identity or it can be said that by synchronization of all
the features of life in their most optimum levels. Energetic human positions are the basics of
human historical events and as a man emerges from one race to another so does his knowledge,
manner of thoughts.
Therefore the important nationality traits, that affected the traditional individuals is portrayed in
all their tasks and activities on earth. As the water obtains its important features, its working

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capacity and its taste from the soil along which it flows so the traditional traits of the locals
emerges from the features of their forefathers, the weather and their trend of living life and
knowledge attainment that were specific to them. The cultures and values of a person become the
inherited trait of his off-springs. The way of Jewish thinking that was evident from their writings
and activities are the demonstrations – in the country of their forefathers as well as in the middle
of other nations. They did not change and even when they got heterogeneously mixed with other
people they could be easily recognized for some future generation to come onward. This was the
similar case with Chinese, Arabs, Hindus, etc. More desolated and separately they would live
more were the chances of their oppression. To keep someone detached from the language of their
forefathers is to deprive them of their dynasty and devotional powers. It was not for any
materialistic issue that the locals of Vienna took a battle in 1848, in fact in their power getting
weak they would only lose their authority and power. Also, the locals of Lombardy fought in the
very same year not for any additions to be made in the wealth.
Only a year ago the government of Austria made it possible to provoke the farmers to face and
confront landlords although it could not succeed. They faced troubles, and they will keep on
facing such problems as do Poland and Germany for the nation and the independence, for
upholding their words and for the care, love, and incentive for all. They followed an idea that
whosoever either by the hold of their position, power , geographical location could harm them
had been proclaimed as their enemy and whosoever were their well-wisher and had not caused
them any harm could be considered as their national ally. Hence the map of Europe had to be
remade leading to the movement of nationalism.

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Nationalism has taken many forms- it has called for cultural values, assertive liberal statements
of nationalist of the rights to the self-government and male-dominant or we can say chauvinistic
claims of nationalist superiority. In the twentieth century, national eloquence had been used by
Marxist.

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REFERENCE
Internet History Sourcebooks Project. (2017). Sourcebooks.fordham.edu. Retrieved 1 April
2017, from http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu