3/4 FRQ

Explain how the Industrial Revolution influenced the rise of conservative and liberal philosophies and explain how those philosophies competed with or related to nationalism in Greece and Germany.

The Industrial Revolution brought about great changes in the European world. People were not equal. Factory owners could pay as little as they wanted for work. The workers were leaderless, and there were no unions. Those who wanted to maintain the status quo leaned towards conservatism, and those looking for reform looked towards liberalism. Liberalism focused on the equality of every man on Earth while conservatives looked for little or no change from what was happening at that time. These ideas of liberalism and conservatism also brought about nationalism in Germany, and Greece. Germany was made up of many principalities, and Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire. The rise of liberalism and conservatism sparked immediate changes in Europe as well as nationalism leading Greece to fight for their independence, and Germany to become a country rather than many principalities.

At the time of the industrial revolution, Greece was not a nation. The once proud Greeks had been under the oppressive control of the Ottoman Empire since the Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire in 1453 A.D. Most thought of nationalism was but a whisper. As the industrial revolution spread, so did the ideas of liberalism and conservatism. The Ottoman society was not equal. They had an absolute monarchy with the few at the top making all of the decisions for the many citizens, and conquered peoples. There was suddenly a new sense of Greek nationalism. Soon enough the Greek war of independence erupted. The liberals in Greece won their independence by defeating the Turks.

Germany was just a series of principalities that were remnant of the Holy Roman Empire, Each principality had its own rulers who made the rules for its citizens. The Germans had been separate since the times of the Romans, where they were a series of Germanic tribes. The only man ever able to unit the tribes was Arminius, or Herman the German. Shortly after he had them united, he was killed, and Germany went back to the tribal system. Germany had no sense of unity or nationalism because they had not been one in over 1,800 years. Those who believed conservatism were fond of this, having no single country or ruler, but there was change coming. Liberal ideas spread with the industrial revolution. Workers united to get better pay, and more rights. The people of Germany thought, why stop there, why can we not be one in a labor union, but one nation. Germany was finally united under one banner under the kaiser, named Wilhelm I.

The industrial Revolution brought about the ideas of liberalism and conservatism because of its unfair practices, and few rights given to the workers. There were no unions, and if one tried to protest, he was fired and replaced. Those who made the rules tended to be conservatives, and the workers liberals. Labor unions came about and the conservatives were pressured into giving higher salaries, as well as benefits. These people were united, and it brought about a sense of pride among them. With this new sense of pride the people struck a blow against the oppression of factories, and other places where they worked. Also, they struck against the harsh ruling powers they were forced to live under. These people had a new sense of pride for their country, or nationalism. The Greeks who lived under the Ottomans were Greeks, not a collection of city-states conquered by a foreign power. They were Greek, not Athenian.