Constructing the Nation-State, c. 1850-1880

2.2. CultureOne of the most important cultural issues that was brought up in the newly constructed nation-states is the question of education. The building of a new nation entailed the need for the education that would be available for everyone. Besides, different professions such as a doctor or a lawyer required that a person should have a comprehensive education. It is noteworthy that Germany has become the most successful country in terms of industrial development alongside the USA due to its policy regarding education. Germany invested much money into research and education – the same amount of money as they spent on military (Hunt et al. 702). These investments helped Germany to educate highly skilled engineers who were able to produce those goods that were unavailable in other countries – therefore, they invested in their own success and technological progress. However, the emphasis on education was not only meant to produce skilled workers and best professional specialists. It is noteworthy that all ordinary people had the right for education and this fact could have at least two different consequences. On the one hand, education is considered to be the “way of bringing citizens to hold common beliefs and values” (ibid., 710). It can mean that education is “ideologized” to a certain extent, that is, it teaches people those versions of historical events and of “truth” that are profitable for the nation. In other words, such education may contain those national myths that were discussed in Chapter 1. So, in general, the history of the nation is meant to make people more patriotic and to have a coherent single representation of their nation’s standing in the world.On the other hand, the effect of education can be absolutely different. Many totalitarian governments tend to “ideologize”the education of people for a reason. An educated person is a person who is able to think critically. He or she can see beyond the imposed ideology and stereotypes and can evaluate the real expenses of the governmental policy. Actually, Hunt and others also note this fact: “In authoritarian countries such as Russia, advanced education, including education in science and technology, was often suspect because it empowered the young with information and taught them to think for themselves” (Hunt et al. 711). Therefore, the investment in education and research has been crucial since the times of constructing the nation-states till the present time, although even today, unfortunately, not all governments choose to invest in research and education as much as in the military.As far as the art is concerned, the main trend was realism as it paralleled the Realpolitik discussed above. It is obvious that some of the literary texts, art-works and exhibitions were supported by the states, while the authors of others were persecuted. While the works of Charles Dickens have been always considered an appropriate reading that formed the national heritage, such writers as Flaubert and Baudelaire were found guilty because they broke the “order” and did not follow the rules prescribed by the nation. Nevertheless, today the legacy of Baudelaire is as significant, influential and worthy of study as that of Dickens, for example.Finally, the role of religion was certainly challenged. For example, Bismarck rejected the authority of the church considering it the thing that made the development of the nation-state much slower. 2.3 SocietyOne way of bringing social order in was reconstruction of cities: they were meant to reflect the power of the nation but in many ways demonstrated the huge class differences with boulevards showing the boundaries between the poor and the rich sections.For many people these beautifications of the cities were the reasons to be proud of their nation and feel its superiority.Another thing that made people seem “more civilized” was the higher standard of sanitary systems and the level of public health. In the cities sanitation became a top priority and it was important for governments to invest into medical and biological research and improve sewages, reduce the impact of cholera epidemics and change bathing habits of people. Certainly, it was again due to education and the development of sciences to solve these kinds of problems.Education was also important for the campaigns for women’s rights. It is known that many respectable middle class women took jobs despite their being married (Hunt et al. 706). Of course, they wanted to support themselves and their children but the fact that they were given this right is amusing in itself. It is likely that giving women the right to work is not just a liberal gesture. Very often this is a sign of the economic downturn – it may show that government actually needs women to work in order to solve budget problems.It does not mean that the idea of a working woman was readily accepted: many people could not break with the idea of domestic sphere as the one where a woman belonged. Finally, it should be noted that education played a major role in forming protest movements in nation states. It was those people who attended public schools that were attracted by the theories of political protest. Such theorists as Proudhon or Bakunin claimed that the laws of nation-states were unacceptable because of being unjust and should therefore be deconstructed. Thus, in this chapter I have analysed the controversial consequences of the industrial development, the rise of education and societal changes during the period of constructing the nation-states. ConclusionThe main objective of the essay was to discuss the process of constructing the nation-states in Europe and the USA in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was important to analyse different consequences of the events of consolidation in the political, economical and cultural contexts. In the first chapter of the essay I have described the issue of Realpolitik and its major role in the construction of states by Germany and Italy. Moreover, other nations like Britain and the USA proved to use the means of Realpolitik as well. Even though Victorian Britain pretended to be stable and non-violent, its policy towards Ireland was rather brutal, as well as the policy of the USA against indigenous peoples.Thus, the issue of warfare appeared to be non-avoidable in the process of consolidating nation-states. I have also discussed the functions of creating national myths in order to inspire people to form national identities. In the second chapter I have presented an outline of economic, cultural and societal changes entailed by the construction of the nation-states. It is noteworthy that despite or rather due to the industrial growth, many states faced economic depression since the industrialists were not ready to relate their production to the consumption. However, the most interesting changes were connected with the emphasis on education. It is education that at the same time helped to consolidate people belonging to one nation and make them critically contemplate the politics of their national government. It is due to the education that people started to question social justice of the nation-states and the means by which the governments managed to construct the nation-states. To conclude, I would argue that the construction of the states in 1850-1880 has certainly brought a certain degree of order to the disparate fragmented kingdoms that used to be unrelated to each other and because of that could not develop neither economically, nor culturally. At the same time, the ways and means by which this order was established were often a complete disaster: Realpolitik involved wars, violence, “iron and blood”, while the seemingly tranquil states and empires also appeared to be negligent towards some of their parts or “colonies”. Thus, it can be said that the order in the newly established nation-states were achieved at the expense of bringing disorder to those states or people that can be called vulnerable.BibliographyHunt, Lynn, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. “Constructing the Nation-State, c. 1850–1880.” The Making of the West, Volume 2: Since 1500: Peoples and Cultures. Boston: Bedford, 2007. 683-727. Laqueur, Thomas. “Making and Reforming Nation States.” History 5: European Civilization from the Renaissance to the Present - Fall 2006. Internet Archive. Web. https://archive.org/details/ucberkeley_webcast_itunesu_461116162/21.+2006-11-07+-+Making+And+Reforming+Nation+States.mp3. Accessed April 11, 2018. Madley, Benjamin. American Genocide: The California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873. Yale University Press, 2012.Miller, Stuart T. Mastering Modern European History. 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