Nation State Dbq

During the 18th Century, anger against the French king, King Louis XVI, turned into a very violent revolution, as the French people attempted to defend their country against anyone who they saw as being for the king and against the revolution. This idea of nationalism would spread across all of Europe, and would eventually lead to the idea that each nationality should have its own nation. The modern idea of a nation-state is based on many arguments. Some examples are that a nation-state should consist of people with a common nationality, and the people should be willing to protect the state. A nation state also needs a strong economy to function properly.

A nation-state should consist of people with a common nationality. In Johann Gottfried

von Herder’s document Materials for the Philosophy of the History of Mankind, he claims that “the most natural state… is… [made] of one people” and that “the wild confusion of races and nations under one scepter… is a monstrosity” (DOC 1). In this passage, he is arguing that Germany is suffering due to its people being split into different states.

Germany, at the time, was only a group of states held together by the incredibly weak Holy Roman Emperor. Because Herder was German, he probably witnessed the consequences of the weak and decentralized Holy Roman Empire which is why he believes that nation-states should consist of one united nationality Herder’s document was most likely influenced by the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a philosophe from the Enlightenment. Rousseau believed that the state of nature was very peaceful. Men in the state of nature lived very happy lives and treated each other kindly; however, when men invented government and society, they became corrupt and morally poor. In the beginning of Herder’s document, he claims that because “nature brings forth families” which share genetic and cultural similarities, the state should also consist of people who share the same culture and ethnicity (DOC 1). His argument claims that being closer to the state of nature is better, just like Rousseau. The argument that a nation state should contain people with a common nationality can also be seen in Thomas Davis in Ireland. Unlike Herder, who wanted the Germans from many different states to unite, Davis wanted the two states of England and Ireland to be seperated, for they were two different

nationalities. This can be seen in his poem Lament for the Death of Eoghan Ruadh O’Neill, where he curses the man who poisoned Eoghan Ruadh O’Neill, asking God to “wither up their hearts.” He then tells the story of how O’Neill “against Cromwell,... marched up to measure swords: But the weapon of the Sassanach met him on his way” (DOC 3). During the seventeenth century after Cromwell overthrew the Stuarts in England, he had to deal with Catholic Irish uprising, for the Irish were extremely unhappy that the English were trying to impose Anglicanism on them. Cromwell invaded Ireland and brutally crushed the uprisings; this angered many Irish people, including O’Neill. O’Neill stood by his fellow Irishmen against the invasion, and he was assassinated because of it. Davis’ account of O’Neill’s death is somewhat credible, though it may be exaggerated to increase the reader’s anger against the British. Davis was also not there to witness O’Neill’s death; in fact, he never met him or anyone who knew him because O’Neill died about 200 years before Davis wrote his poem. Davis and O’Neill, like Herder, argued that each nationality should have its own individual state.
The citizens of a nation-state should be willing to defend their nation. According to Herder’s Material for the Philosophy of the History of Mankind, “No greater injury can be inflicted on a nation than to be robbed of her national character, the peculiarity of her spirit and her language,” and many others thought the same (DOC 1). In 1870, the French rebelled against their monarch for the second time. This rebellion was called the July Revolution, and it was depicted in a painting by Euguène Delacroix called Liberty Leading the People. The painting is an extremely nationalistic painting, for the French tricolour is in the center and held above all the people. The painting also shows people from all classes taking arms to defend their country against their king. This revolution was caused by King Charles X, who imposed a set of edicts, called the July Ordinances, which dissolved the legislative assembly while revoking the people’s freedom of speech and the press. The people were angered by this, and replaced Charles X with his cousin, Louis-Philippe. Because the people felt that the king was working for his own personal gain instead of helping the people and the state, they rebelled against him and replaced him. Delacroix’s painting is a very trustworthy source for it was painted in 1830, the same year as the revolution. He was most likely there to witness the revolution take place. Another example of the citizens defending their nation is in mid to late 19th century, when the Prussians fought the Franco-Prussian War in order to become a nation. Bismarck mentions this war in his speech to the Reichstag in 1888 when he claims that “[i]f Germany wish[es] to wage a war” then “[i]t must be a national war, a war carried on with the enthusiasm of 1870” (DOC 11). Bismarck feels that the German people should have so much national pride that the whole country should be willing to go to war to protect Germany with as much enthusiasm as the army in Franco-Prussian War. During this war, France, who was opposed to German unification, declared war on Prussia. Even though the Prussians were outnumbered and the French had better guns, the Prussians managed to destroy the French in battle and captured their Emperor, Emperor Napoleon III. Because their nationality was incredibly important to them, Europeans were willing to do anything to protect their state.
A strong economy is necessary to run a nation-state.

George Friedrich List in his National System of Political Economy states that “[t]he civilization, political education and power of the nations, depend chiefly on their economical condition and reciprocally; the more advanced their economy, the more civilized and powerful will be the nation” (DOC 4). List probably witnessed this in his own country Germany. The Prussians had set up a commons union called the Zollverein in 1834, six years before List wrote this passage. The Zollverein brought great prosperity to all of the German states, and would eventually cause them to look up to Prussia to unite Germany into a single country. The importance of a good economy can also be seen in France. In France, workers complained about finding “it impossible to earn a livelihood” because “[f]or fifteen years, ten thousand foreign workers have arrived to bring misery to trade” (DOC 5). Because of the increase in foreigners and other agricultural and industrial problems, the French people were unable to find jobs; they complained to their king, Louis-Philippe, but the king did not help. The people’s discontent with their king would eventually lead to a third French Revolution and the removal of King Louis-Philippe. A stable economy was necessary for a strong

nation.
In conclusion, the people in 19th century Europe believed that a nation-state should consist of people with a common nationality. They also believed that the people of a nation-state should be willing to protect the state, and that nation-state also needs a strong economy to function properly.