Over the course of the 19th Century, war increasingly became a concern of the 'people'. This concept had introduced itself amongst Europeans by the time of the French revolutionary wars. However, as nationalism developed, the applicability of war to the people of a nation took varying forms. At the most basic level of nationalism, war was seen as a defensive mechanism - a way of preserving the freedoms, liberties and ideals of a peoples. This was originally the nature of the French Revolutionary Wars - a response to the threat of oppression presented by the European coalition. The same ideas presented themselves in the Wars of German Liberation and the American Civil War - war as a form of protection and resistence against opression. However, the opposite end of nationalisms spectrum saw the development of a more aggressive prespective of war. War was increasingly utilised as more of a sword than a shield, and as promoting national interest rather than simply preserving it. This was seen in the Northen ideology of the civil war, and in the rise of Imperialsim - as seen in the Napoleonic Wars, the Japanese Wars, and the expansion of Great Britain.
The ways to think about war changed from a means to create to a way to save and improve and finally to expand a nation during the 19th century. In the French Revolution and the Unification of Germany, war was thought of a way to protect the Fatherland. The French saw war as a way to show patriotism and love for country. In the American Civil War, war was thought of a way to save the nation from falling apart, but evolved into a way to improve the nation by ending slavery and allowing everyone to be part of the nation, not just whites. In British Imperialism war was thought to be a means to expand the nation. British citizens believed they were the superior and honourable race and it was their duty and obligation to spread that race to the rest of the world. War was the way to do this, so war became their duty and obligation.
Over the course of the 19th Century, war increasingly became a concern of the 'people'. This concept had introduced itself amongst Europeans by the time of the French revolutionary wars. However, as nationalism developed, the applicability of war to the people of a nation took varying forms. At the most basic level of nationalism, war was seen as a defensive mechanism - a way of preserving the freedoms, liberties and ideals of a peoples. This was originally the nature of the French Revolutionary Wars - a response to the threat of oppression presented by the European coalition. The same ideas presented themselves in the Wars of German Liberation and the American Civil War - war as a form of protection and resistence against opression. However, the opposite end of nationalisms spectrum saw the development of a more aggressive prespective of war. War was increasingly utilised as more of a sword than a shield, and as promoting national interest rather than simply preserving it. This was seen in the Northen ideology of the civil war, and in the rise of Imperialsim - as seen in the Napoleonic Wars, the Japanese Wars, and the expansion of Great Britain.
ReplyDeleteThe ways to think about war changed from a means to create to a way to save and improve and finally to expand a nation during the 19th century. In the French Revolution and the Unification of Germany, war was thought of a way to protect the Fatherland. The French saw war as a way to show patriotism and love for country. In the American Civil War, war was thought of a way to save the nation from falling apart, but evolved into a way to improve the nation by ending slavery and allowing everyone to be part of the nation, not just whites. In British Imperialism war was thought to be a means to expand the nation. British citizens believed they were the superior and honourable race and it was their duty and obligation to spread that race to the rest of the world. War was the way to do this, so war became their duty and obligation.
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