Why Nationalism Grew

The Zollverein and expansion of the railways
1. The zollverein was a customs union, an agreement between 25 of the 39 states to allow free trade
2. by 1836 there was 25 members
3. Set an example of the benefits of working together as produced much more coal and became economically stronger than Austria
4. Did not include anti-nationalis Austria
5. Carr feels that it is inappropriate to say the zollverein was the for runner of German nationalism as the states did not join for a love of Prussia, but to escape their own economic difficulties. However it is surely what the states gained from the zollverein that really matters, not why they joined. They gained fresh new nationalist ideas thus making the zollverein one of the main reasons for the growth of nationalism.
6. "the railways were of great political significance as they helped break down provincial barriers" stiles
7. Railways helped ideas to spread as when people traveled on the railways, their ideas traveled with them.
The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars
1. Napoleon's french empire ( 1804-1815) took over the old 400 German states of the Holy Roman Empire, and merged them into 39 called the confederation of the Rhine. This was later renamed the German confederation when napoleon's empire fell after 1815.
2. The states were united by an early from of negative nationalism as they were brought together by their hatred for the french
3. The ease at which napoleon took over the states showed them that they were weak standing alone, and would be stronger when united.
4. The French Revolution (1789-1799) brought new liberal and nationalist ideas to Germany.
5. Showed the German people that they did not have to be lowly subjects, they could be citizens with rights.
1848 Revolutions
1. The 1848 revolutions were a series of uprisings against european monarchies.
2. In Germany the peasants were angered by poor working conditions, a bad harvest and extreme poverty. The middle classes where angered by a lack of top jobs and political say as they were the ones bringing money into the economy.
3. The street fighting got so bad that chancellor Metternich was forced to flee vienna like a common criminal
4. Lead to the Frankfurt parliament, however this failed for a variety of reasons, and the 39 princes used their armies to crush any other nationalist supporters.
5. Showed there was a need for change, and rallied nationalist support.
Cultural nationalism
1. States united through language, literature and music.
2. 25 million people all speaking the same language meant the states already felt as one.
3. Stiles "those who speak the same language are joined by a multitude of invisible bonds"
4. HOWEVER not the most important factor as the working class were mostly illiterate so were missed out of the rise of cultural nationalism. This lead to Golo Mann stating that "most Germans seldom looked up from the plough"
Population increase and industrialisation
1. Germany's population saw a massive boom rising from 25 to 34 million between 1816 and 1840.
2. Many were moving to the cities to work in factories due to industrialisation.
  1. This lead to squalid over crowded cities and appalling living conditions.
3. The German people started to demand change HOWEVER they wanted political change, not specifically nationalism making it the least import and factor.

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Why Nationalism Grew

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	Created by Beth Mickel over 8 years ago

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