How important was cultural nationalism in the growth of national
feeling in Germany between 1815-150?
Cultural nationalism was not actually that important. Thinkers, writers, poets and
well- educated Germans would write their views of German cultural and what
Germany should do regards the 39 states. The only problem with this was most
Germans could hardly read or write. These intellectuals Germans could only put
their ideas across to each other and not the broad masses. They would think of
what was meant by Germany. A German philosopher Hegel said at a lecture in
Berlin 1820s “In the history of the w o r l d , only those people can come under our
notice which form a state… the sate is the divine idea as it exists on earth.” But
Germany’s problem was the sheer number of states, 39 in total. Just because
these dreamers were German doesn’t really effect the growth of nationalism.
The most important reason factor in the growth of Germany was the economic
reasons. The customs union known as the zolverien, it allowed free trade
between member states. This greatly encouraged trade and made the economy
much stronger. Slowly but surly more and more states joined. Austria however
was not allowed to join. This made states look to Prussia as the dominant state
of Germany. The German railway, which was built in 1833 also, helped unite
Germany. It, along with the zolevirne helped the economy greatly.
The Prussian State grew stronger due to the advances in trade and economy.
While Austria influence diminished. This led to the other states look to Prussia as
the dominant state of Germany. The bund was also a factor in the uniting of
Germany. Representatives of each Germanic State would gather and discuss
matters. The only problem with it was Austria mainly dominated it. This brought
together a feeling of security and unity.
The armies from the various states were starting to work together after they had
defeated napoleon. They realized if they unite they can prevent themselves from
being attacked and over run so easily in the future.
In 1848 the liberals gathered to answer the question of what was Germany. They
decided to draw the boundaries on Austria and bohemia. They gave the vote to
all adult males. In success in European history 1815-1941 he states “It seemed
that, on paper, a united Germany now exists.” This shows that this was an
important factor towards the unification of Germany. To conclude there were a
few factors that led to the growth of nationalism, but the biggest factor without a
doubt had to be the economic factors. As Germany industrialized it brought the
country together.