History: Chapter 23

Female Suffrage

After 1860s, working-class activism + liberal constitutionalism expanded male suffrage rights across Europe Excluded from parliamentary politics, women pressed their interests thru independent organizations & direct action British, French, & German women gained access to education & won rights to control their own property + initiate divorce; the next step was the vote To suffragists, women enfranchisement meant political, economic, spiritual, & moral progress Middle-class women founded clubs, published journals, organized petitions, sponsored assemblies Feminist socialists (ex Zetkin, Braun) believed that only a socialist revolution would free women from economic & political exploitation

Church v State in various countries

After Italian unification, Pope Pius IX reacts to nationalism by declaring papal infallibility (Syllabus of Errors) In France, conflict b/w ultramontanism (loyalty to ideal of papal infallibility) vs laicite (secular state patriotism) In Russia, Russian Orthodox Church becomes central to Russian imperial identity Pope Pius IX said liberal catholics = worst enemies of the Church

Anarchism and Syndicalism

Anarchists = opposed to centrally organized economies & existence of the state; aimed to establish small-scale, localized, self-sufficient democratic communities that could guarantee a maximum of individual sovereignty Renouncing modern mass organization, anarchists fell back on conspiratorial violence; anarchists assassinated Tsar Alexander II in 1881 + 5 other heads of state in following years, believing that this "exemplary terror" would spark popular revolt Syndicalists embraced strategy of strikes & sabotage by workers; hoped that a general strike of all workers would bring down the capitalist state and replace it w/ workers' syndicates or trade associations Anarchism's opposition to organization kept it from making substantial gains while syndicalists' refusal to participate in politics limited their ability to command wide influence

Changes in nationalism in second 1/2 of 18th century

As age-old foundations of conservative politics (Catholic Church & landed nobility) weakened, more radical right-wing politics took shape; stung by defeat of 1870 & critical of republic & its premises, new right = nationalist, antiparliamentary, & antiliberal During first ½ of 19th century, nationalism = associated w/ left; not often invoked by right and linked to xenophobia & anti-Semitism

Literacy and the press

Diffusion of new ideas like Darwinism ) facilitated by rising literacy rates & by new forms of printed mass culture Countries introduced state-financed elementary and secondary education; by 1900 85% in Britain, France, Germany, etc. could read Commercial publishers (Harmsworth- Britain; Hearst- US) hastened to serve new reading public (ads lowered costs of papers, yellow journalism of penny presses merged entertainment and sensationalism w/ news)

Modern society

Flux, movement, & accelerating rate of change 2nd industrial rev -> new techniques for manufacturing + new sources of power (electricity, petroleum-based fuels) -> transformed infrastructure of Euro towns/cities At same time, Euro nation-states' electorates expanded & new blocs of voters began participating directly in shaping both parliamentary bodies & their legislative agendas New mass-based political parties brought new demands to political arena; national govs struggled to maintain order & legitimacy; socialists mobilized growing # of industrial workers; suffragists demanded franchise for women; ability of traditional elites to control political life sorely tested, even in nations that continued to be governed by hereditary monarchs New theories challenged older notions of nature, society, truth, & beauty

Secularization Trends

From religious rites to civil registrations Religion moves to private sphere Rise of fundamentalism

Media

Generated both pro and anti imperialistic feelings

Zionism

Herzl (Hungarian born journalist working in Paris) troubled by anti-Semitism post French Rev; despite Jewish emancipation and granting of civil rights, Herzl believed that Jewish ppl might never be assimilated into Western culture (answer to the Jewish question is a nationalist answer) Endorsed dif strategy of Zionism; building of a separate Jewish homeland outside Europe (not necessarily in Palestine) A small movement of Jewish settlers (mainly refugees from Russia) had already begun to establish settlements outside of Europe Herzl not first to voice these goals but most effective advocate of political Zionism; argued it should be recognized as modern nationalist movement capable of negotiating w/ other states During WWI, specific wartime needs prompted British to embroil Zionism in international diplomacy

What made mass politics possible?

-Expanding franchise (more men have vote; some cases universal male suffrage) -Expanding literacy- state-sponsored elementary education in 19th c leads to growth of literate reading public -Expanding press: new technologies & advertising revenue drive new production of penny press books

Effects of Mass Politics

-Formation of political parties (not just ideologies, but actual parties) -Both liberals and conservatives transform to embrace new mass participation (post-Bismarck and unification, now conservatives need to pitch a message for voters, not talking about hereditary being basis for sovereignty anymore; if there's a monarchy, they'd pitch it as good for the voters) -Challenges to status quo by socialist parties: demand workplace protections, some pro-liberal, some pro free market (not all Marxist, since some working in the system- Marxist calls for overthrow of the system)

Pan-Arabism

Colonel Ahmed 'Uraby Pan-Arabism: nationalist, religious and Islamic, anti-European, foreign Riots in Alexandria & other cities British bombardment to secure political situation (strategic interests)

Effects of science on religion

1864- Pope Pius IX issued a Syllabus of Errors (condemning what he regarded as the principal religious and philosophical errors of the time- materialism, free thought, indifferentism (idea that one religion is as good as another)) Pope also convoked the first Church council since the Catholic Reformation; in 1871 the council pronounced the dogma of papal infallibility (pop was infallible in regard to all matters of faith and morals)- accepted by pious Catholics but provoked protest and denounced by govs of several Catholic countries including France, Spain, Italy Death of Pius IX in 1878 and accession of Pope Leo XIII -> more accommodating climate to church New pope acknowledged that there was good and evil, added a scientific staff to Vatican, opened archives and observatories, made no further concessions to liberalism in the political sphere Since they were taught to understand God only w/ conscience and Bible, Protestants (unlike Catholics) had little in the way of doctrine to help defend their faith Some fundamentalists ignored implications of scientific & philosophical inquiry & continued to believe in the literal truth of the Bible, others willing to agree w/ American philosophers called pragmatists who said "truth" was whatever produced useful practical results (ex. If belief in God -> mental peace, then belief = true); other Protestants sought solace from religious doubt in founding missions, laboring among poor, etc. Many adherents to this social gospel = modernists, accepted ethical Christianity teachings but rejected miracles & original sin

The Commune

1870 Franco-Prussian War -> defeat for France; the Second Empire collapsed and a republic (France's third) declared in its wake Republic faced revolutionary challenge from militants in Paris; during 1870 war, city had appointed own municipal gov, the Commune, which broke w/ the politicians who negotiated the armistice w/ Germany, and refused to surrender to German troops who besieged the city March 1871 the national gov sent troops -> Paris to disarm Commune & its working-class supporters; Communards responded by declaring revolutionary socialist movement in the city; struggle took on violent class war After 50 days Commune finally defeated in bloody street fighting Many Commune supporters deported to penal colonies in South Pacific; Paris's working-class populations did not forget the repression of the Commune, and socialist leaders like Marx argued it showed the futility of older insurrectionary tradition (Marx argued in favor of organizing mass-based democratic movements founded on working-class unity)

New Science Discoveries

19th century liberals believed in individualism, progress, & science; science delivered technological & material rewards + confirmed liberals' faith in power of human reason to uncover/command laws of nature However, scientific developments defied these expectations- Darwin's theory of evolution, psychology, & social science introduced visions of humanity at odds w/ conventional wisdom Artists + intellectuals mounted their own revolt against 19th cent conventions; moral, manners, institutions, traditions, and all established values -> under question as self-consciously avant-grade; artists called for a radical break w/ the past The modern individual no longer = free, rational Enlightenment thinker; rather the product of irrational inner drives and uncontrollable external circumstances Positivism- things can be proved with scientific backing Disillusionment of the world (Max Weber said modern world is about disenchantment- vs reenchantment: , modernity produces an array of strategies for re-enchantment, each fully compatible with secular rationality. It has to, because God has many "aspects"—or to put it in more secular terms, because traditional religion offers so much in so many domains)

Cartels & Government Involvement

Cartels strong in Germany & America; less so in Britain where dedication to free-trade policies made price-fixing more difficult, & France where there was less heavy industry and family firms & laborers opposed cartels Though govs tried to stem power of cartels, dominant trend of this period = cooperation b/w govs & industry; contrary to laissez-faire mentality, corporations developed close relationships w/ states in West These efforts were so costly/unprofitable that private enterprise would not have undertaken them alone, but b/c they served larger political/strategic interests, gov funded them willingly

Scientists

Darwin had questioned the notion that humanity was fundamentally superior to the rest of the animal kingdom, and similarly discomfitting conclusions came from the new field of psychology Pavlov asserted that animal behavior could be understood as a series of trained responses to physical stimuli Pavlov insisted that such conditioning constituted a significant part of human behavior as well- Known as "behaviorism," this type of physiological psychology avoided vague concepts such as mind and consciousness, concentrating instead on the reaction of muscles, nerves, glands, and visceral organs (rather than being governed by reason, human activity was recast by behaviorists as a bundle of physiological responses to stimuli in the environment.) Another major school of psychology also suggested that human behavior = motivated by unconscious/irrational forces; psychoanalysis (founded by Freud) suggested that variety of unconscious drives & desires conflict w/ rational/moral conscience Freud's model of psyche: 1) the id (undisciplined desires for pleasure, sexual gratification, aggression, etc.) 2) the superego (or conscience) which registers the prohibitions of morality & culture 3) the ego (arena in which conflict b/w id and superego works itself out) Freud- most cases of mental disorder result from tension b/w natural drives & restraints placed on individuals; believed that by studying such disorders, as well as dreams & slip of tongue, scientists could glimpse submerged areas of consciousness & understand irrational behavior By stressing the irrational, his theories fed a growing anxiety about value and limits of human reason + brought critique of the constraints imposed by moral/social codes of Western civilization Nietzche- like Freud, believed middle-class culture dominated by illusions & self-deceptions; sought to unmask them Argued that bourgeois faith in science, progress, democracy, & religion represented a futile search for security & truth Ridiculed Judeo-Christian morality for instilling a repressive conformity that drained civilization of its vitality His philosophy resounded w/ themes of personal liberation (especially freedom from history and tradition); his ideal individual ("superman") was one who abandoned cultural conformity and created ind. set of values based on artistic vision & character strength

Credit & Consumerism

Department stores offering both practical & luxury goods to middle class = mark of urbanization, economic expansion, & new importance attached to merchandising; advertising also took off By 1880s new stores sought to attract working class by introducing credit payment These late 19th century patterns of consumption = mostly urban; in countryside, peasants continued to save $ and make, launder, & mend their own clothes/linens (retailers slowly whittled away at these traditional habits) Mass consumption remained difficult to imagine in still deeply stratified society

How did some liberal revolutions fail?

Some conserved managed to fold them into their programs (Bismarck ended up using it against the liberals)

Revolt on Canvas

First major breaks w/ traditional representational art came w/ French impressionists in 1870s Impressionists = realists, more interests in science of perception than w/ questions of accurate reproduction of objects in world Their paintings focused on transitory play of light on surfaces By developing new techniques w/out reference to past styles, impressionists like Monet and Renoir encouraged experimentation among younger generation of artists When their works rejected by conservative French army, they organized their own exhibitions (prestige enhanced by outsider status) Cezanne & Van Gogh picked up where impressionists left off, insisting on expressive capacity of paintings in vivid works that refused conventional techniques of perspective and composition Some modernists looked to non-Western cultures for inspiration; others embraced machine age, justifying this faith in modernity w/ hypermasculine & violent visual rhetoric that later emerged as hallmark of facism)

Pan-Germanism

Georg Schonerer German nationalism- unite w/ German empire Socialist welfare program (only for Catholic Germans) Anti-Semitism Self-determination -> politics of exclusion

SDP and Labour Party

German Social Democratic Party (SPD)- initially intending to work for political change w/in the parliamentary political system, it became more radical in face of Bismarck's oppressive antisocialist laws By WWI, German Social Democrats = largest, best-organized workers' party in the world; rapid + extensive industrialization, large urban working class, & a national gov hostile to organized labor made German workers receptive to goals & ideals of social democracy In Britain (first/most industrialized economy) socialist presence = smaller/more moderate b/c much of the socialist agenda = advanced by radical liberals in Britain, which forestalled growth of an independent socialist party Even when a separate Labour party formed in 1901 it remained moderate, committed to reforming capitalism w/ measures like support for public housing or welfare benefits (rather than complete overhaul of the economy) For the Labour party & for Britain's trade unions, Parliament remained legitimate vehicle for achieving social change, limiting appeal of revolutionary Marxism Militant workers seeking to organize themselves for political action found alternatives to Marxism in ideas of anarchists/syndicalists

Dreyfus Affair

Group of monarchist officers in army accused Alfred Dreyfus (Jewish captain on staff) of selling military secrets to Germany; he was convicted and deported for life to Devil's Island Later officer Picquart discovered that documents used to convict Dreyfus = forgeries; War Dept refused to grant him a new trial -> public scandal Republicans, socialists, liberals, & intellectuals backed Dreyfus, claiming case about ind. Rights and legitimacy of republic & laws Nationalists, Catholics, and socialists who believed case = distraction from economic issues, opposed Dreyfus (one Catholic member said question was not whether he was guilty but whether Jews and unbelievers were not the "secret masters of France") Anti-Semitism of anti-Dreyfus camp = combo of 3 strands of thinking: -long-standing currents of anti-Semitism w/in Christianity (damned Jewish as Christ-killers) -economic anti-Semitism (insisted that Rothschilds = representative of all Jews); -late 19th century radical thinking, opposed Aryan (Indo-Euro) race to inferior Semitic race Drumont's La Libre Parole (Free Speech)- anti-Dreyfus propaganda 1899 Dreyfus = pardoned & freed by executive order 1906 French Supreme Court declared him free of all guilt; reinstated in army as a major Major consequence of the controversy = passage of laws b/w 1901-1905 that separated church and state in France; convinced that church & army = hostile to republic, republican legislature passed new laws that prohibited any religious orders in France that were not authorized by state and forbade clerics to teach in public schools These right-wing nationalist forces spread thru Europe; mayor of Vienna (1897) elected on anti-Semitic platform; Russian secret police forged & published "The Protocols of Learned Elders of Zion"- imagined Jewish plot to dominate world, held Jews responsible for French Rec & dislocating effects of industrialization

WSPU

In Britain- women's suffrage campaign -> violence; Fawcett brought 16 dif organizations into the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies in 1897 (committed to peaceful reform, but when major political parties rejected their proposals they became exasperated -> Pankhurst 1903 founded Women's Social and Political Union which used militant tactics + civil disobedience) When arrested women went on hunger strikes in prison, they were tied down & force-fed thru tubes

The Balkans

In SE Europe, nationalism continued to divide disintegrating Ottoman Empire Russia intervened on behalf of uprisings in Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Bulgaria (1875-76); in Russo-Turkish War (1877-8) Ottoman sultan surrendered almost all his Euo territory (except for a portion around Constantinople) 1878- congress of great powers in Berlin divided the spoils 1908 Bulgars succeeded in wresting independence for Bulgaria from Ottomans (driving Austrians to outright annex Bosnia and Herzegovina) Balkans power strained Euro's imperial balance of power Educated Turks began to call for national rejuvenation thru intro of Western science + democratic reforms; reformers called selves "Young Turks", successfully forced sultan to establish a constitutional gov in 1908 Next year deposed Sultan Hamid II and placed his brother Mohammed V on the throne; powers of gov entrusted to a grand vizier & ministers responsible to an elected parliament Non-Turkish inhabitants not given the vote; Young Turks launched effort to "Ottomanize" all their imperial subjects (trying to bring Muslim and Christian communities under centralized Turkish control) to compensate for loss of Euro territories, which undercut popularity of new reformist regime

Crisis of liberalism

In these new nation-states, liberal ideal (people being the voice of the nation) starts to fall apart (attacks on capitalism, foreigners, Jews); first hints of the crisis of liberalism = new nation states Old political groupings -> new darker tone From conservatives, liberals, and socialists, now increasingly to "Christian socialists," "nationalists," and "Zionists" Crisis of liberalism: gives rise to "illiberal" politics

Destabilization

Increasingly dangerous power vacuum: Ottoman Empire becomes "sick man of Europe" Alliance system still works for now: Russo-Turkish War (1877-8); Balkan crises & regional war: 1908, 1912-13 Transformation of alliances: from "friends to benefits" to "marriages" Across Europe- nationalism no longer just channeled when convenient; now determines foreign policy

Christian Socialism

Karl Lueger Rejection of industrial capitalism in favor of Christian unity of workers Anti-Semitism From ideology of old conservatives (Austrian Catholicism) to new socialist anti-Semitism: conservatism populism from below

Marxists & Other Groups

Karl Marx's "Capital" attacked capitalism; claimed to offer a systematic analysis of how capitalism forced workers to exchange their labor for subsistence wages while enabling their employers to amass wealth and power His followers called for workers to ally w/ each other to create an independent political force; pushed strongly to secure civil liberties, expand conceptions of citizenship, & build a welfare state Marxists also made claims for gender equality (but this took a backseat to class politics) Not all working-class movements = Marxist; differences among various left-wing groups included issues of the role of violence & whether socialists should cooperate w/ liberal govs Some "gradualists" willing to work w/ liberals for piecemeal reform, while anarchists and syndicalists rejected parliamentary politics When Euro labor leaders met in 1864.Marx argued in favor of political mass movements that would prepare the working classes for revolution Opposed by anarchist Bakunin (who rejected state/party organizations and called for terror/violence to destabilize society)

Orientalism

Khoikhoi woman from South africa sold into human zoo exhibits in London and Paris Orientalist medicalization of human bodies Constructed as "Other" to white females Remains dissected & displayed until 1970s Some respectful, if still flattened, depictions

Darwin's Revolutionary Theory

Lamarck- inheritance of acquired characteristics -> new species) Darwin- variations w/in a population made certain individual organisms better equipped for survival, increasing their chances of reproducing & passing advantageous traits to the next generation His theory drew on work of Malthus, who argued that human pops grow faster than the available food supply -> fatal competition for scarce resources Darwin said Malthusian competition = general rule of nature (strong survive, weak don't); competition w/ other inds and struggle w/ env -> "natural selection" of some traits over others (-> gradual evolution of dif species over time) Darwin said human race had evolved from apelike ancestor (now extinct but probably a common precursor of existing anthropoid apes & humans)

Futurism

Marinetti introduced Europe to aggressive art movement called futurism- rebelling against conservatism of Italian culture, he called for a radical renewal of civilization through "courage, audacity, and revolt" Enamored by modern machinery and urban life; trumpeted "beauty of speed" + celebrated the heroic violence of warfare & disparaged moral & cultural traditions of 19th century liberalism

Social Darwinism

Natural selection influenced social sciences (just developing at end of 19th century) New disciplines like sociology, psychology, anthropology, & economics aimed to apply scientific methods to the analysis of society + introduced new ways of quantifying, measuring, & interpreting human experience These disciplines often strived to improve health of Euros, but, like Social Darwinism, could provide justification for economic, imperial, & racial discrimination Social Darwinists (most famous = Herbert Spencer) adapted Darwinian thought by applying his concept of individual competition and survival to relationships among classes, races, and nations (Darwin would have disapproved had he been alive) Spencer- "survival of the fittest"- used evolutionary theory to expound virtues of free competition & atack state welfare programs; supported individualism, condemned collectivism as primitive & counterproductive; advancement of civilization needed individual adaption & competition, not gov relief & big business constraints Supporters of laissez-faire & opponents of socialism used this to justify marketplace competition and "natural order" of rich & poor; nationalists embraced Social Darwinism to rationalize imperialist expansion & warfare; Spencer's doctrine also became closely tied to theories of racial hierarchy & white superiority (claimed white race had reached height of evolutionary development & had earned right to dominate/rule other races) Even some middle-class reformers used similar set of racial assumptions- their campaigns to improve welfare of society played to fears that Europe could move down the evolutionary ladder

Changes in technology

New technologies -> mass production of steel Power of electricity From coal to oil power Effects: Rise of heavy industry and marketing (media followed this); decline of food shortages, advances in medicine, population growth

Reasons for imperialism

Optimism, science/technology, spirit of discovery/commerce, and white man's burden

Darwin Theory w/ Religion

Popular critics denounced Darwin for contradicting literal interpretations of the Bible; those contradictions were not what made religious middle-class readers uncomfortable (work of theologians like David Strauss had helped Christians adapt their faith to biblical inaccuracies; they did not need to abandon Christianity simply b/w Darwin argued that the world/life forms had developed over millions of years, not 6 days) What they found difficult to accept = Darwin's challenge to their belief in a benevolent God & morally guided universe (Darwin said world governed not by order, harmony, & divine will but by random chance & constant undirected struggle) Darwinian view redefined notions of good and bad in terms of an ability to survive (robbing humanity of critical moral certainties) Darwin himself able to reconcile his theory w/ a belief in God, but others used his work to attack Christian orthodoxy (ex Huxley, earned nickname "Darwin's bulldog")

New mass politics

Previously, political power had rested on balance b/w middle-class interests & traditional elites; landed aristocracy shared power w/ industrial magnates, monarchical rule coexisted w/ constitutional freedoms During late 19th century, rise of mass politics upset this balance; expanding franchise & rising expectations brought newcomers to political stage Trade unions, socialists, & feminists challenged Euro's governing classes by demanding political participation be open to all; in turn, govs responded w/ conciliatory & repressive measures By WWI, traditional parliamentary politics crumbling; for both left & right, negotiating this unfamiliar terrain required creation of new modern forms of mass politics

Artists

Rather than accept classical artistic forms taught in academies & subsidized by wealthy patrons, new generation of artists began to think of themselves as cultural revolutionaries; cast critical eye on Euro society values Pioneered style called "modernism"- came to dominate 20th century art world Modernists spanned entire range of artistic creation (from painting to literature to architecture to theater and music); believed change should be embraced and experimental forms of expression essential to unleash human spirit creativity (saw their work as part of revolutionary or antiliberal movements of left or right)

Freud

Seduction Hypothesis (memory trigger is childhood sexual trauma) Oedipus Complex (repressed desires, not memories) Freudian Psychoanalysis: Id, Ego, Superego (all human development starts irrational)

Liberalism and Science

Since 18th century, science = ally of political liberalism (both liberals & scientists shared faith in human reason & openness to rational inquiry into laws of society & nature) Late 19th century- this common agenda = strained by scientific investigations in new fields like biology & psychology that challenged liberal assumptions about human nature New generation of artists/writers embraced innovation, rejected established conventions -> intense experimentation in arts, leading artists/writers to develop radically new forms of expression

Effects of industrialization on nation relationships

Spread of industrialization heightened competition among nations Search for markets, goods, & influence fueled imperial expansion & put countries at odds w/ each other Trade barriers arose to protect home markets; all nations (except Britain) raised tariffs, arguing that needs of nation-state > laissez-faire doctrine Changes in international economics fueled continuing growth of interlocking worldwide system of manufacturing, trade, finance (ex. Near universal adoption of gold standard in currency exchange facilitated world trade; meant currencies could be readily exchanged) The common standard also allowed nations to use a third country to mediate trade & exchange to mitigate trade imbalances (common problem for the industrializing West) Almost all European countries imported more than they exported; to avoid the mounting deficits that this practice would incur, European economies relied on "invisible" exports: shipping, insurance, and banking service (extent of Britain's exports in these areas was far greater than that of any other country- London was the money market of the world) Whole regions of Africa, Latin America, & Asia geared toward producing for the Euro market Push -> mass manufacturing & commodity production involved changes in patterns in consumption/production; changed landscape/habits of India & Britain; brought new rhythms of life to workers, from women in German clothing factories to porters helping build Senegal RRs

Britain & Ireland

The Second Reform Bill of 1867 in Britain extended the vote to > ⅓ of nation's adult males; in 1884 further legislation gave vote to > 3/4ths adult men Liberals and Conservatives competed to win support of this growing electorate; Parliament passed legislation that recognized the legality of trade unions, provided education for all children, commissioned large projects of urban rebuilding, & ended discrimination against religious dissenters at Oxford & Cambridge Conservative leadder (Disraeli) may have disagreed in Parliament w/ Liberal leader (Gladstone), but members of both parties drawn from same social strata- upper middle class & landed gentry (+ both parties offered moderate programs that appealed to voting pop) 1901 Independent Labour Party founded from coalition of trade unions & middle-class socialist societies; pressured Liberal gov to enact sickness, accident, old age, & unemployment insurance (which gov paid for thru progressive income and inheritance taxes) The House of Lords opposed these innovations and lost the debate about taxation + their ability to veto legislation passed by House of Commons Outside Parliament, militants began to challenge moderate pace of reform- coal/rail workers launched nationwide strikes against laboring conditions, city workers shut down transport networks in London/Dublin, women agitating for the vote adopted violent forms of direct action In Ireland, disagreements over Irish self-gov threatened to produce armed confrontations b.w nationalists & Protestants opposed to home rule British Parliament had ruled Ireland directly since 1800; previous efforts to re-establish Irish sovereignty had failed After 1880s, a modern nationalist party began to exert some political influence; but more-radical organizers who disdained the party as ineffectual eclipsed its agenda Newer groups promoted interest in Irish history & culture and support to militant organizations (Sinn Fein, Irish Republican Brotherhood) Opposed to nationalists = Protestant Ulster Volunteer force- determined to resist home rule by violence if necessary In 1913, as Liberal gov once more discussed home rule, Ireland = on verge of civil war (delayed by WWI)

Bismarck

Through foreign policy, 3 short wars (Danish, Austro-Prussia, Franco-Prussian), & national sentiment, Otto von Bismarck united Germany under Prussian conservatism during 1864-1871 In constructing a federal political system, he sought to create centralizing institutions of a modern nation-state while safeguarding privileges of Germany's traditional elites (including a dominant role for Prussia) Bismarck's constitution gave emperor full control of foreign & military affairs + power of Reichstag's (parliament's) lower house checked by conservative upper house whose members appointed by emperor Under a gov that neither genuinely federal nor democratic, building a nation w/ a sense of common purpose was not easy 3 things threatened to crack Germany's national framework: -division b/w Catholics and Protestants -growing SDP -potentially contentious economic interests of agriculture & history

Limited liability laws

To provide protection for investors, most Euro countries enacted or improved their limited-liability laws (ensured that stockholders could lose only the value of their shares in event of bankruptcy) Before such laws, investors could be held liable for company debt Many middle-class men & women now considered corporate investment a promising venture Companies now incorporated to attain necessary size for survival (tended to shift control from company founders/local directors to distant bankers & financiers whose concern for the bottom line encouraged more impersonal style of financial management) Demand for technical expertise undercut traditional forms of family management; university degrees in chemistry & engineering -> more valuable Emergence of white collar class (middle-level salaried managers who were neither owners nor laborers) Some industries combined vertically (attempting to control every step of production), while others went with horizontal alignment- organizing into cartels, companies in same industry would band tg to fix prices & control competition (or eliminate it)

Wage laborer and socialist complaints

Wage laborers (included men & women) resented corporate power b/c of the exploitation & inequalities they experienced on the job & b.c they lived "a life apart" in Euro's expanding cities Corporations & workers -> new methods of protecting & promoting their interests Labor unions (traditionally limited to skilled male workers in small=scale enterprises) grew into mass, centralized, nationwide organizations This "new unionism" emphasized organization across entire industries & included (for the first time) unskilled workers, including their power to negotiate wages & job conditions Creation of national unions provided a framework for the socialist mass party Parliamentary constitutional govs opened the political process to new participants (including socialists); now part of the legislative process, socialists in national assemblies led efforts to expand voting rights in 1860s/70s -> new constituencies of working-class men Traditional struggles b/w labor & management moved up to national level; govs aligned w/ business interests, legislators countered working-class agitation w/ antilabor and antisocialist laws To radical leaders, the organization of national mass political movements seemed the only effective way to counter industrialists' political strength; thus, during this prd, socialist movements abandoned their earlier revolutionary traditions (exemplified by romantic image of barricaded streets) for legal, public competition w/in Euro's parliamentary systems

The "new woman"

Women became more visible in workforce as they took up more job Expansion of gov + business, health care, & education brought middle-class women to workforce as social workers, clerks, nurses, teachers (logical choice b/c of shortage of male workers and need to fill new jobs cheaply) Changes in female employment began to deflate myth of female domesticity Reform groups brought women tg outside the home, encouraging them to speak their minds & to pursue political goals (a right denied them as ind. females) New social type- the "new woman" A new woman demanded education & job, refused to be escorted by chaperones when she went out, rejected restrictive corsets, claimed right to physically & intellectually active life and refused to conform to norms that defined 19th century womanhood An image, in part creation of artists/journalists (who used pix of women smoking, riding bikes, other emblems of consumerism)- very few women actually fit this- most too poor Middle & working class women demanded more social freedom & redefined gender norms For some ppl, this newfound independence = shirking domestic responsibilities; attacked women who defied convention as ugly half-men For supporters, symbolized social emancipation Men scorned women who threatened their elite preserves in clubs, universities, public offices Many female antisuffragists - ex. Mrs. Humphrey Ward said bringing women into political arena would sap virility of British empire Christian commentators called it moral decay thru selfish individualism Others believed feminism would dissolve the family- theme that fed into larger discussion on decline of West & growing cultural crisis

Bernstein and revisionists

Working-class movements had never gained full worker support (some workers remained loyal to older liberal traditions & religious parties, many others excluded from socialist politics by its narrow definition of who constituted the working class- male industrial workers) Some committed socialists questioned Marx's assumptions about inevitability of workers' impoverishment & collapse of capitalist order German group of so-called revisionists (led by Bernstein) challenged Marxist doctrine; called for shift to moderate/gradual reform, accomplished thru electoral politics Radical supporters of direct action angry at Bernstein's betrayal of Marxist theory of revolution (feared that the official reforms that favored workers might make working class more accepting of the status quo) The radicals w/in the labor movement called for mass strikes (hoping to ignite a widespread proletarian revolution) Conflicts over strategy peaked just before the WWI; on the eve of the war, govs discreetly consulted with labor leaders about workers' willingness to enlist and fight To disappointment of socialist leaders, Euro laborers (many of whom had voted for socialist candidates in previous elections) nevertheless marched off to war in 1914, proving that national identities & class identities not necessarily incompatible w/ one another