AP Thematic Project

Avondale Kendja/ Group 9

Thematic Essay: 2003; Analyze three examples of the relationship between Romanticism and nationalism before 1850.

Critical Trigger Words: Relationship; Analyze; before 1850

Two (Actually Three )Step Direction Phrase: Speaking about how Herder and Hegel’s philosophies had shaped Nationalistic thought Romantically, next how the Romantic poet’s views on the Greek nationalistic revolution and finally discussing why the Italian radical revolutionaries (Mazzini and Garibaldi) advocated for a Republic of Italy

Introduction:

Three Examples of the collision

of Nationalism

and Romanticis

m

A split in groups concerning many

views: Conservatism, Liberalism and Nationalism;

Define Romanticism and

Nationalism before 1850

A development of one’s mysterious history; What do

they do about it?; A new sense of identity. What

about it in its most “natural” state?

Herder and Hegel’s conclusions about

culture and history; Lord Byron’s

devotion to Freedom and the Greek Rev.;

and Italian Unification

(Garibaldi and Mazzini) / all have

shown that history is a HUGE factor of both nationalism and Romanticism

Introduction

Three ideologies were presented in the early 19th century in Europe: Conservatism, Liberalism and Nationalism. However it was nationalism that had changed Europe’s mindset, shifting in the course of history. Before 1850, nationalism rose as a more philosophical ideology as it stressed the importance of a specific ethnicity that is tied to its historical region. Romanticism itself arguably correlated to nationalism as it had also rose with it, with writers and artists stressing the important mystery of history. Both ideas had the theme of going back to history to achieve a man’s most natural state. Examples of how nationalism and Romanticism were related could be stressed through the German philosophers Herder and Hegel’s ideas about the significance of culture and history; Lord Byron’s participation in the Greek nationalist revolution; and Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi’s cause for Italian unification.

Body One

Herder and Hegel

The Beginning of Nationalism and its sister Romanticism

Herder: Romantic rejection of the mechanic

explanation of natureThe Preservation of one’s language = Important!

Hegel: Through the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis=

different cultures are important b/c events lead to Humans’ development

Linking History to an

Nation’s meaning; the

past contributes to Humans’

lives

Body One

Romanticism and nationalism had involved how important it was to wonder about the past and what it meant to individuals develop a sense of origin. Through Herder and Hegel, nationalism truly began to grow in the early 19th century. For instance, Herder (a German Romantic author) believed that the prior enlightened philosophy that gave a logical and mechanical explanation of nature was a fallacy. To Herder, every single human was completely different from each other, and were further specialized depending on the time period and region. He especially, for this reason encourage people to preserve their folklore an language, a major theme of nationalism. Hegel developed a thesis, antithesis, an synthesis regarding history; all different periods of history were equally special and significant because the present actions were so dependent on the it. Different cultures were also important since each contributes to the development of humans. From Herder particularly, one can see that Romantics can relate as it is given as an explanation to how nature was really like, leading to a pride in one’s culture while with Hegel, the past of that same culture was made indispensable.

Body Two

Lord Byron/ Greek

Nationalism

The Greek Revolution

of 1821

1) Lord Byron= very skeptical of authority

and advocated fro liberty in all aspects2) Greeks= Orthodox

Christians3) Lord Byron

volunteers to fight against Turks 4) Europeans’

Admiration of ancient Greek culture

Nostalgia for the past => sympathy for nationalistic movements

Body Two

In 1821, a nationalistic revolution in Greece occurred against the Muslim Ottomans and one would see that most Europeans had a respect for the past because of how it affected the present, as they look at Lord Byron. Lord Byron himself is an excellent model of Romanticism as scholars today study use his various works as models for the representation of the beauty am mystery of nature. However, the poet also had a devotion to liberty and was skeptical of authority and tradition, obviously not conservative. Therefore it makes perfect sense for the writer to advocate the Greek independence movement and even fight in the battles. Plus Romanticism had admired the Medieval form of Christianity close to the Orthodox Christianity of the Greeks and in the present the Europeans had revered the ancient Greek civilization as they believe that they received its “gift” of democracy, especially in Britain, where Lord Byron had originated from. From this event, one could observe that both Romanticism and nationalism had provided people a sense of identity so that they had become even bolder; now unification of the similar ethnic groups came into question.

Body Three

The Italian Romantic Republica

ns

The Prime Model of

Romanticism applied to

Nationalism/ Unification

1) What about a true unified

“Italian” state? 2) What type of

Government?3) Mazzini and

Garibaldi look to the Great Roman Republic of the

Ancients

Now there is pride in an individual enough for him to do

something for his/her

country, a return to the

original, natural past

Body Three

The best example of the correlation between Romanticism and nationalism would probably be the issue of Italian unification and Mazzini and Garibaldi. A true unified state of Italy had now been sought for in the early 1800s after the Austrians occupied the northern Italian states as growing resentment had increased. As an answer to the problem two leaders emerged, Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi came up to the plate, with the notion that after the fighting a new Italian republic would be formed, modeled after the ancient Roman Republic (before the empire). Romantically, it’s obvious that they had looked back to how the republic had become a great ancient power and wished to push forward the Roman ideas of the representation of the people and universal power in order to create an individual identity of what was really “Italy”. Synthesizing all this, both nationalism and Romanticism had created an idea of an Italian identity and returning to the natural form of looking back in the past.

Conclusion:

Germany?

The significance of history leads to

pride and the struggle between the government and the people

As a result: 1) a shift in power

exists=>unification 2) Austrian students

want a unified German State

3) Prussian conservative Otto von

Bismarck=> realpolitik and the

new kind of nationalism

A newly unified “German” state leads to conflict

between the European powers

Conclusion

The significance of history to an ethnic group now led between the government and the people as having insight on being what it actually meant to be German, Italian, British and so forth. Succeeding this mentality was a new shift in power in Europe as the question of German unification was formed. Austrian students is an example of this struggle, as they demanded a unified German state and took o the streets to push their nationalistic beliefs. However nationalism had changed after 1848, as the Prussian conservative government leader Otto van Bismarck made the decision to unify Germany (without Austria) to expand Prussia’s own influence. Through his realpolitik beliefs, Bismarck would switch nationalism into one of flags and national anthems- its Romantic meaning- to one of a “blood and iron” element; in other words in order to et unification or independence one had to get it through any means necessary, particularly through necessary wars. In 1870 a newly formed “Germany” forever changed the European balance of powers as a very successful state came to existence.