Nationalism and the Rise of Nation-States
Aligned to C3.D2.His.3 — C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Nationalism is the belief that people who share a language, history, or culture should govern themselves as one nation. In the 1800s this idea broke apart old empires and fused scattered states together, most dramatically when dozens of German and Italian territories each united into a single country.
Worked example
Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor of Prussia, used a series of carefully planned wars to unite the German states, and in 1871 he had the German Empire proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at the palace of Versailles.
Practice questions
- Define nationalism in your own words.
- Explain how nationalism led to the unification of either Germany or Italy.
- Analyze how nationalism could both unite people and create new conflicts between nations.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
El nacionalismo y el surgimiento de los Estados-nación
El nacionalismo es la creencia de que las personas que comparten un idioma, una historia o una cultura deben gobernarse a sí mismas como una sola nación. En el siglo XIX esta idea desintegró viejos imperios y unió Estados dispersos, sobre todo cuando decenas de territorios alemanes e italianos se unificaron cada uno en un solo país.
Ejemplo: Otto von Bismarck, canciller de Prusia, usó una serie de guerras cuidadosamente planeadas para unir los Estados alemanes, y en 1871 hizo que se proclamara el Imperio Alemán en el Salón de los Espejos del palacio de Versalles.
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