Big Era 8 Essay

Nationalism in Big Era 8 helped united people of a “common culture” into one political body. Nationalism helped enforce the idea of cultural superiority, which created violence throughout this period. Even though nationalism was present throughout history; ultimately, nationalism played its largest role in the development of Big Era 8 and became one of the main forces that shaped this time period. Nationalism was a primary catalyst for WWI, interwar revolutions, and for the rise of fascism in Germany just before WWII. Nationalism lead to the assassination of Arch Duke Franz-Ferdinand, which was the initial stimulant for WWI. Additionally, nationalism lead to many countries, such as Russia, India, and China, creating reforms and uniting under

This rise in nationalism created tension between the different cultural groups in Europe who all wanted their own political body. This nationalism made Serbs desire a “Pan-Serbia” where all the Serbs would be united. This yearning caused different nationalist groups to arise, such as the Black Hand, which used violence to achieve their goals. One action the Black Hand took in order to try to achieve their goals was assassinating Arch Duke Franz-Ferdinand. The assassination of this important political figure caused Austria-Hungry to send a list of demands to Serbia, and when these demands were denied, the war started. Although there were a multitude of factors that caused WWI to expand to become the destructive war it was, the nationalist group Black Hand played an important role and ultimately started the war. Additionally, nationalism was increasingly present on the home front. When WWI became a total war, the struggle was not limited to the battlefield. WWI established a home front and made people realize that to outlast the enemy, countries must mobilize their population and make them support their country’s cause. Citizens preserved and produced products in order to support their country. Nationalism on the home front caused the line between a soldier and a civilian to become