Nationalism and Napoleon

Nationalism in the 1800s The 1800s were an age of revolution for most parts of the world. To open the 1800s Napoleon conquers Italy, U.S negotiates Louisiana Purchase from France, and Haiti declares independence from France. Although, a big revolutionary change was the idea and rise of nationalism. According to dictionary.com, nationalism is marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries. Nationalism came into effect after the hard years of the 1840s, the 1850s and 1860s followed by good times and prosperity. Nationalism played a major role in the 1800s by Napoleon's reign, nation building in Italy, nationalism in Germany. Before considering nationalism, it is important to note that Europe’s government was still weak after undergoing the French Revolution. In 1800 when Napoleon came to power as the emperor of France, he immediately took control of the government. The idea of nationalism ran high in the government when Napoleon took over the majority of Europe. Early nationalism was mainly liberal and idealistic, although nationalism was known to take many different forms. It wasn’t until Louis Napoleon, Napoleon’s nephew, started believing that the government should represent the people and the government should help their people economically. Both Napoleon and his nephew had a vision of national unity and social progress. The unity of the government would result in providing jobs to all classes and steady the economy. Europe then started to build on the principle of nationality and strive on the territory of France. Napoleon III’s attempt to build a national state with strong unity and universal male suffrage was continuing to grow. Napoleon’s nationalism helped bring the French government to power, which overall helped France become a sturdy country with a sturdy economy and powerful army. Without nationalism or Napoleon in France, their government would of still been weak which would of made their country an easy target. Nationalism played a big