The Coming of Mass Politics: Industrialization, Emancipation and Instability, 1870-1914

1
The Coming of Mass Politics Industrialization,
Emancipation and Instability, 1870-1914

• The West
• CHAPTER 22

2
Economic Depression and Industrial Expansion

• European economy declined, after 1873, and
  remained depressed into the 1890s
• The very success of industrialization resulted in
  production exceeding demand
• Breakdown of the cultural and social isolation of
  rural and non-industrial regions of Europe
• Dramatic expansion of railroads linked all of
  Europe into an industrial economy

3
The Second Industrial Revolution

• Increased mechanization and technological
  specialization
• Cheap and efficient production of steel
• Transformation of construction and architecture
• Development of electrical power
• Increasing state regulation and intervention
• Growth in the size and complexity of business
  organizations
• Development of department stores and the
  advertising industry

4
On the Move Emigration and Urbanization

• Dramatic growth in the size of European cities,
  after 1870
• Economic depression and industrial expansion
  fueled migration within Europe, and between
  Europe and the rest of the Western world
• Creation of an international, industrial workforce

5
Growing Social Unrest

• Rapid economic change, accelerated urbanization,
  and immigration heightened social tensions
• Increasing hostility between middle and working
  classes, and between industrial and
  non-industrial workers
• Urbanization and immigration heightened ethnic
  tensions in industrial cities

6
Making Nations

• Pressing need to create a national identity to
  overcome regional, social and political
  differences
• Use of education to instill a sense of a national
  community
• Observation and invention of nationalistic
  rituals and traditions

7
Russia Revolution and Reaction

• Repression of political dissent, and social and
  economic anxiety, fueled revolutionary discontent
• Tsarist autocracy survived the 1905 revolution
  intact, so discontent persisted
• The absence of strong ties between the régime and
  the broad mass of society prevented the growth of
  a national identity

8
Germany Identifying the Enemy

• Bismarck attempted to enforce national unity
  through the politics of exclusion
• First targeted Catholics, and, later, socialists,
  to achieve a political majority
• Kaiser William II (r. 1888-1918) sought, instead,
  to unify all Germans, by aggressive
  militarization and imperial expansion

9
Italy The Illusion of Transformation

• Papal hostility to Italian unification undermined
  the states legitimacy
• Profound economic inequality between north and
  south inhibited the creation of a national
  community
• Political system based upon coalitions and
  patronage stifled any real social transformation

10
France A Crisis of Legitimacy

• The Third Republic confronted an array of
  opposition from the left and the right
• The Dreyfus Affair (1894-1906) revealed the
  strength of anti-republican sentiment
• Republican government attempted to separate
  French citizenship from religious affiliation and
  social rank
• Slow pace of social reforms fueled working class
  violence and radicalism

11
Britain Nation, Class, and Religion

• Profound religious and economic divide fueled
  Irish nationalism
• British nation did incorporate most English,
  Scottish and Welsh men, by universal male
  suffrage, 1884, and by the foundation of the
  welfare state, 1906-1912
• Emergence of the Labour Party as an independent,
  working-class political voice

12
The Politics of the Working Class

• Development of a sharply defined working-class
  identity, culture and community
• The emergence and success of socialist political
  parties strengthened parliamentary systems
• Rejection of parliamentary politics in favor of
  violence by anarchist and syndicalist movements

13
Nationalist Mass Politics

• Emergence of right-wing, racist political parties
  that favored symbolism and emotional appeals over
  reason and debate
• Significant rise in anti-Semitic politics, across
  Europe
• Growth of Zionism in response to heightened
  anti-Semitism
• Development of legal, racial segregation in the
  southern United States

14
Changes in the Position of Middle-Class Women

• New public role as consumers in the retail
  revolution
• Decrease in family size freed women, from
  child-rearing, for other activities
• Expansion of state responsibilities and
  commercial organizations provided new jobs for
  women
• Emergence of an international womens movement to
  challenge gender discrimination

15
The Feminist Campaign

• Fought for improvement of womens legal rights,
  especially those of married women
• Sought to widen educational and employment
  opportunities to women
• Attempted to end sexual and moral double
  standards
• Fought for female suffrage
• Achieved limited success in the first two goals

16
The West in an Age of Mass Politics

• Struggles for access to political power prompted
  questions about the definition of the West
• Confrontations over whether Western identity was
  based upon gender and race, or upon democratic
  government
• Rise of a new style of emotive, irrational
  politics undermined faith in reason