Category Archives: HIST107-Archive

Bismarck & German Unity

Posted on by

Author: Otto Von Bismarck. He was once known for starting multiple wars against neighboring nations, most of the wars he started (against France and Austria) were done so when he was in power in Prussia. He would eventually become Germany’s Chancellor/leader.

Context: Most of his writing was written after Prussia’s war against Austria. Prussia had essentially won the war against Austria. While most of his fellow Prussians were writing about continuing the campaign of the annihilation of Austria, Bismarck’s writing indicated he felt a need to unify both factions.

Language: His writing seems to be clear but at the same time merciful, yet powerful. He stresses the importance of the unification of Germany and how its their destiny to flourish.

Audience: It seems that the audience is other German nations and the anyone willing to listen to his statements. Essentially anyone who feels the need for unity in Germany.

Intent: Within  the text, he indicates he writes to simply unify Germany under a Prussian ruler… obviously indicating he wishes to stay in power after the unification of Germany.

Message: The message Otto von Bismarck makes clear is that it is pointless to fight against people who are basically from the same background (Austria) and that the feud between Prussia and Austria will allow nations around Prussia or Austria to strike. He wants there to be peace so they could eventually fight off any nations threatening this ideal unified nation.

… But why?: It is clear he wrote most of this in order to make Prussia/Germany even more powerful and the easiest way would be to make a very sympathetic message about unifying with Austria. It is clear he wants to be part of a bigger and more powerful country and proclaims God will grace him/the country.

Mazzini and Nationalism

Posted on by

Author: Giuseppe Mazzini, 1805-1872. Founder of Young Italy (1831), Mazzini was an Italian activist and politician and one of the most significant figures in the push of nationalism and democracy.

Context: Published in 1852, in a time when revolutions such as the French (1848) and others were happening with comparable frequency, the ideas of nationalism and unification were picking up steam.

Language: Mazzini wrote in a very “matter of fact” tone. It read optimistically in the sense that if everything he stated was followed, Italy would be in a great position. This piece exuded a great deal of confidence and grabs the intended audience’s attention.

Audience: The European people.

Intent: Inspire Europeans to come together and unite as one, increasing pride in their respective countries.

Message: He states, “They speak the same language, they bear about them the impress of consanguinity, they kneel beside the same tombs, they glory in the same tradition.” Having said this, he questions why these people with so much in common do not unite as one and reap the benefits from such behavior. He alludes to the fact that not many European countries have such unity and how advantageous it would be.

Why: To respond to the uprisings and revolutions of the prior few years. He determined that one of the main issues in Europe was a lack of unity and explained how he felt they could improve their situation.

Bismarck’s Ideas

Posted on by

Author: Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian political figure. He had a large influence in German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890. He helped unite Germany in to what it is today.
Context: He wrote this during his rise to power. He describes the events that took place while Austria was attempting to negotiate terms of surrender. The majority of the council wanted to continue with military action but Bismarck advised against it and wanted peace.
Language: Informative and clear. He is recalling memories and writing them exactly has he remembers in order to let people know the events that occurred.
Audience: Writing for the people of Germany and Prussia. He feared that if military action continued there would be a desire for revenge by Austria.
Intent: Inform the people of the events that took place and why he thought it was necessary to stand for peace instead of further military action.
Message: He is attempting to conclude the best way for Germany to rise to power while not creating unnecessary enemies. War is inevitable but in time, Austria would be a better ally than adversary.
Why?: Bismarck wants to let the people know that he was the one that wanted peace with Austria in order to prevent any future tensions.

Bismarck’s Memoirs

Posted on by

Author- Otto von Bismark was the first Chancellor of Germany, he created this post for himself after he started three short wars against France, Denmark, and Austria from his seat as Minister President of Prussia. By provoking these three wars he aligned and united the multitudinous German states behind himself and Prussia. Von Bismarck earned himself the nickname “The Iron Chancellor” for his notoriety to rule with a decisively and powerfully.
Context- Bismarck wrote his memoirs after the events which he describes, as it is with most memoirs. He is recalling the end of the war against Austria, a war which the Prussians had decisively won and were being offered terms of surrender. In this memoirs Bismarck describes a situation in which his colleagues were pushing to deny the Austrians the terms of their surrender and to push the war onward.
Language- Bismarck is writing about these events in a memoir, the language does not stir rebellion or motivate individuals to join a cause but it is calm and very informative. He writes to recount information as completely as possible for the reader. The language is not complex, it is not designed for any certain class to be able to read as opposed to others.
Audience- Memoirs are meant to be enjoyed by everyone seeking the information which they contain. Bismarck recounts these events for anyone who wants to take the time to read them.
Intent- The intent of this piece appears to be very informative for the reader. The only other intent which the reader can detect is maybe some boastful tones, Bismarck writes of a time which he stood alone for what was the best for his country and his people; it was a time which it would make sense he may want people to know about.
Message- Bismarck does not have a strong message in this piece, it is not a call to arms or action or a piece criticizing a way of life, it simply recounts an event in his life. The most important message that can be detected is the fact that he was standing alone in a decision that benefitted the people of Germany, Prussia, and even Austria. He successfully advocated for the Prussians to accept Austria’s defeat and not destroy it to a point which future Austrians would seek revenge. As Bismarck puts it “we were not there to administer retributive justice, but to pursue a policy; that I wished to avoid in the German federation of the future the sight of mutilated territories” (Bismarck). By avoiding destroying Austria any further Bismarck helped ensure safety in the future.
Why- Bismarck wrote his memoirs to document the events that happened in his life for future people to enjoy. The purpose of the argument that Bismarck recounts is to save Germany and Prussia any conflict with a vengeful Austria in the future.

Otto von Bismarck

Posted on by

Author: Otto von Bismarck, who ruled between 1862 and 1890, helped to unify Germany. He helped to unite the German states with Prussian leadership by initiating wars with Denmark, Austria, and France. [1]

Context: He wrote this during the time when he was establishing power with Prussia. He began a series of wars in order to establish this Prussian power. He created tension between France and Prussia by editing a telegram to make these countries angry at each other. The French declared war on the Prussians, but the Prussians ended up defeating the French. [2]

Language: The language that he uses is not highly complex; rather, it is very to the point because he wants others to be able to easily understand him.

Audience: He is writing to the general people of Germany because he wants them to understand what is currently happening. He also addresses the leaders because he wants to stress the importance of having a unified Germany.

Intent: To stress the need of a unified Germany and to explain how he felt that war was inevitable.

Message: He explained how in order for Germany to be very powerful, it was important for Austria and Prussia to be allied.

Why: He wanted the people of Prussia to see what he what he had done for them. Also, he wanted the German states to be unified to create a national identity and to fight against other European states.

Do you think that Otto von Bismarck was effective in attempting to relay his message?

Nationality

Posted on by

AUTHOR: Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian politician and journalist and played a vital role in the eventual unification of Italy. In 1831, he traveled to Marseille and started a up a secret society, Young Italy, which promoted Italy’s unification. Mazzini pursued his thoughts regarding unification by creating similar groups to Young Italy, such as Young Germany, Young Poland and Young Switzerland.   After Italy was successfully unified, he became a strong advocate of the European unification ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Mazzini#Legacy)) .

CONTEXT: This was published in 1852; two years after Mazzini had been hiding from the Swiss police. Leading up to 1852, Mazzini had been traveling around Europe promoting European unification as well as Italian unification. Revolutions had been prominent all around Europe, such as the French Revolution of 1848 and the October Revolution in Vienna in 1848 ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Mazzini#Legacy)) .

LANGUAGE: Mazzini wrote with a very confident tone, adamant about what was best for Italy. He states what must be done gives specific instructions to the readers regarding Italy’s nationality and unification. His tone is also very prominent when discussing the lack of nationality Europe’s counties have, and how he believes the nations should go about fixing this.

AUDIENCE: Mazzini is directing this piece towards everyone in Europe, specifically those who live in nations undergoing turmoil. He wished to persuade the people to unify their nations for the betterment of Europe as a whole.

INTENT: Mazzini’s intent in writing this was to evoke the people of Europe to make more of an effort to unify their nations. He was trying to show them how big of an issue it was that these nations and Europe itself was not unified.

MESSAGE: Mazzini’s message was to inform the people they would receive much more benefits by living in a unified nation and continent.

WHY? This was written in response to many of the revolutions Mazzini had noticed occur around Europe. He realized that multiple nations were struggling with unification and nationalism, and he encouraged them to find a way to become one.

Bismarck and Prussia

Posted on by

Author: Otto Von Bismarck was a Prussian leader known as the “Iron Chancellor” ((www.history.com/topics/otto-von-bismarck)). He ruled over Prussia and Germany. He united the independent German states which led to Germny becoming a world power.

Context: He was writing as he came into his power in Prussia. He watched as Prussia fought with Austria and gained power over Germany. He watched from a military point of view.

Language: He wrote from memory so everything is simple and to the point so he wouldn’t forget what he wanted to write.

Audience: He is writing to the people of Prussia and Germany to show what the king thought of doing with the power he had. He wanted to show everyday people what could have happened to their countries if it hadn’t been for him.

Intent: To inform people Bout what he had done for their countries before he was even in power.

Message: This is what the king wanted to do and this is how I prevented it. It is because of me that Prussia and Germany are here today.

Why: Bismarck wanted to prove he was the leader Germany wanted. He wrote about all the good things he did for Prussia to help them fight against Austria. He wanted people to see how great he was and keep him in power.

Bismarck and a United German Nation

Posted on by

Author: Known as the “Iron Chancellor”, Otto von Bismarck lived from 1815 to 1898. Under his rule he established a modern German nation by uniting numerous German states. To establish his goals, “he manipulated European rivalries to make Germany a world power, but in doing so laid the groundwork for both World Wars.”[1]

Context: Written in 1866, he is witnessing first hand the need to united Austria and Prussia. In 1864, he led military campaigns in order to make Prussia an influential power in Europe. The Austro-Prussian War occurred in 1866 where the Austrian empire was defeated.

Language: His choices of words are meant to be powerful in describing the situation at hand.

Audience: His intended audience is the leaders of the numerous independent German states. He stresses the need of German national unity under the King of Prussia.

Intent: To provoke the need of unity under the leadership of the King of Prussia. He states, “Austria’s conflict and rivalry with us was no more culpable than ours with her; our task was the establishment or foundation of German national unity under the leadership of the King of Prussia.”[2]

Message: By avoiding the complete destruction of Austria, a friendship between Austria and Prussia needs to be established. If Austria were destroyed, the possibility of it becoming allies with France or any other enemy would be eminent. Prussia needs to unite with Austria to establish a powerful German nation.

Why: The various German states need to be united in order to fight against the other powers residing in Europe. It is a period of modern nationalism where the German states lacked an identity and needed one.

[1] http://www.history.com/topics/otto-von-bismarck

[2] http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/germanunification.asp

Marx’s Manifesto

Posted on by

Author: Karl Marx was a German socialist whose theories about society laid the foundation for Communism. Marx believed that countries progress from a class divided society into a communist one through revolutions.

Context: Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848, at which point the Industrial Revolution had exploded. Great Britain’s economy was booming, and other countries were starting to see similar advancements. However, the time period was mired by poor working conditions, and a lack of humanitarian care.

Language: Marx used simple language in this section of the Communist Manifesto. Other parts of the document employ more complicated language, but the sections that describe Marx’s core ideas are easily read.

Audience: Marx targeted industrial workers with this section. Other sections of the document targeted more educated members of industrial societies, but because the goal of this one was to insight labor revolutions, it targeted the laborers.

Intent: Marx saw communism as the best form of society, and wanted to spread communism throughout Europe. Communism is based off the working class, so he wanted to inspire industrial workers to follow his ideas.

Message: The class division between factory workers and factory owners is the most recent instance of a never ending class struggle. The workers must rise up against the owners and establish a new, classless, communist society. This new society will be healthier, more stable, and completely egalitarian.

Why: Like other communists, Marx feared the impending capitalist domination of Europe. He acknowledged that the Industrial Revolution was spreading from country to country like wildfire, and saw that communism would be stamped out if it did not  have a more prominent voice in Europe. So, in order to spread Communism, and keep the movement alive, he wrote the Communist Manifesto.

He also saw the terrible conditions most people were living in during the Industrial Revolution. Marx thought communism was the way to fix those problems, and prevent them from happening again.

Communist Manifesto-Karl Marx

Posted on by

Author: Karl Marx was 29 when he began writing the Communist Manifesto. He joined the Communist Federation in 1847. He was a leader with great power in the German Communist movement.

Context: Communism destroyed old beliefs, and replaced them with new ideas. Marx is convincing the audience that with Communism comes benefits like an improved economy, further development in railways, navigation and political power. He reminds the poor that if they do not give in they will have to suffer through oppression, higher taxes, and no freedom. He states the bourgeoisie “transformed personal worth into mere exchange value” (127), putting down those in a position of wealth.

Language: It is directed towards workers so sections are either made very understandable to all or directed at those in European power, which are more complicated to interpret.

Audience: Current Communists and the workers of the world, people who were unhappy with the current situation. It was also directed to those who were poor and repressed. It gave them a chance to rise up in society.

Intent: To get others to join the Communist part and to gain all European powers appreciation of Communism. Marx wanted to make communism known to all and convince others to join him.

Message: It is trying to convince those oppressed to not rebel but instead to embrace the idea of Communism. Marx states that if not followed, there will be a continuous difference in social classes.