Jean-Jacques Rousseau• He was a philosopher whose

political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of both liberal and socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism.

• Rousseau saw a fundamental divide between society and human nature. Rousseau contended that man was neither inherently good nor bad when in the state of nature (the state of all other animals, and the condition humankind was in before the creation of civilization and society), but is corrupted by society.

Karl Marx/Communism• Communism is an ideology

that seeks to establish a classless (Everyone was equal and carried out the same work.), stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production.

• It is usually considered a branch of the broader socialist movement that draws on the various political and intellectual movements that trace their origins back to the work of Karl Marx.

Communist Manifesto

• The Communist Manifesto, was first published on February 21, 1848, and is one of the world's most influential political tracts. Commissioned by the Communist League and written by communist theorists Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, it laid out the League's purposes and program.

• The Manifesto suggested a course of action for a proletarian (working class) revolution to overthrow the bourgeois social order and to eventually bring about a classless and stateless society, and the abolition of private property.

Congress of Vienna • The Congress of Vienna was

a conference between ambassadors from the major powers in Europe that was chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich and held in Vienna, Austria, from late September, 1814, to June 9, 1815.

• Its purpose was to settle issues and redraw the continent's political map after the defeat of Napoleonic France the previous spring.

Germanic Europe/Otto von Bismarck

• Germanic Europe is the part of Europe in which Germanic languages are predominant. Countries or areas in which such language is officially recognized and/or de facto spoken as a minority language are sometimes included.

• As Minister-President of Prussia from 1862 to 1890, he engineered the Unification of Germany. From 1867 on, he was Chancellor of the North German Confederation. When the second German Empire was declared in 1871, he served as its first Chancellor, gaining the nickname "Iron Chancellor".

Otto von Bismarck

• Bismarck held conservative (favor tradition and gradual change ) monarchical views (Head of State in a nation ) in the tradition of Clemens von Metternich, the Austrian statesman who devised the diplomatic arrangements which governed Europe after the Napoleonic Wars–arrangements which Bismarck upset.

• Bismarck's primary objectives were to ensure the supremacy of the Prussian (most recently, a historic state originating in Brandenburg, an area that for centuries had substantial influence on German and European history. The last capital of Prussia was Berlin. ) state within Central Europe, and of the aristocracy within the state itself.

• His most significant achievement was the creation of the modern German state, with Prussia at its core, through a series of wars and political maneuvering in the 1860s. The final act, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, saw Prussia break France's power on the European continent.

Causes of WWI

Competition for Colonies• 1800’s and early 1900’s, European nations carved

nearly all of Africa and much of Asia into colonies.

• The race for colonies was fueled by Europe’s increasing industrialization.

• Colonies supplied European nations with raw materials for factories, markets for manufactured goods, and opportunities for investment.

• The competition for colonies strained relations among European countries.

• Incidents between rival powers flared up almost every year.

• Several of the clashes nearly led to war.

Nationalism • The French Revolution and the Napoleonic era had spread

throughout most of Europe the idea of political democracy, with the resulting idea that people of the same ethnic origin, language and political ideals had the right to independent states.

• The principal of national self-determination, however, was largely ignored by the dynastic and reactionary forces that dominated in the settlement of European affairs at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

• Several peoples who desired national autonomy were made subject to local dynasties monarchs or to other nations.

• These movements helped to facilitate the notion of self-determination and sovereignty of the nation-state.

Examples of nationalist movements in Europe

– German People: The Congress of Vienna divided the people into duchies, principalities, and kingdoms fostering a struggle for unification that lasted the majority of the 19th century.

– Italian People: These people were divided into many parts, some of which were under foreign control causing Giuseppe Garibaldi to lead a nationalist movement.

– French-speaking Belgians of the Austrian Netherlands: These people were placed under Dutch rule hence denying self-determination and autonomy.

Competition for Colonies• Revolutions during the 19th century nullified much of the anti-

nationalist work of the Congress of Vienna.

• 1831: Belgium won independence from the Netherlands

• 1861: Italy was unified

• 1871: Germany was unified

• At the close of the century, the problem of nationalism was still unresolved in other areas of Europe.

• This resulted in tensions between various European nations.

The Entangled Alliances

• 1871: Chancellor Bismarck (German Leader) united his country with the defeat of France. After the war against France, Bismarck created a system of international alliances designed to prevent France from finding future alliances.

• The occupation of Alsace-Lorraine created a longstanding animosity between France and Germany 1870-1914.

• 1879: Bismarck negotiated a Dual Alliance with Austria.

• 1882: Bismarck allied with Italy.

• 1882: The Triple Alliance was created (Germany, Austria, & Italy)

• 1887: Bismarck created the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia. This was renewed every three years.

• Only Britain resisted Bismarck’s web of alliances.

The Entangled Alliances• 1887: Bismarck felt secure on all sides and confident that Germany

need never go to war again.

• 1890: Major Problem: Kaiser Wilhelm II dismissed Bismarck and did not renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia.

• 1894-1895: Due to the actions of Wilhelm II, Russia drew closer to isolated France and the two countries signed a military treaty.

• 1904-1907: The British government made cautious agreements with France and Russia settling old differences and indicating there was to be a friendly understanding --- or entente--- between all three countries. The Triple Entente was established (France, Russia, & Britain)