Figure 1.--World War I resulted in a unprecedented outburst of flag-waving American patroitism. Britain understood the importance of the United States and did what it could to bring America into the War. Many Germans in contrast did not believe that a country without a core ethnic base was really even a country let alone able to project power across the Atlantic. It would be a mistake the Germans would make twice. In World War I, the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) included men that were a cross section of European etnicities and religions -- including many Germans. This was the result of the massive European migration after the Civil War (1861-65) which included countless second and third generation Americans that were just as infused wih American patriotism as families related to the 17th century Pilgrim fathers. In fact, the Germans were the largest immigrant group. Beconing Americans is a fascinating aspect of the Nation state story. And look at the center of the image here--a Model-T Ford Tin Lizzie which wou;d be at the heart of America's rize to a global super powe.

The Treaty of Westphalia established the principal that nation holds exclusive control and legal authority over its own geographic territory. All states, regardless of physical size or military power, were to be treated as equals under international law. Outside nations and external authorities (like empires or religious bodies) are barred from interfering in another country's domestic politics or chosen religion. Religion of course was a major factor in the Thirty Years War. The Treaties were signed in the Westphalian towns of Osnabrück and Münster in 1648, ending an era where supreme authority in Europe belonged to the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor. The Treaty formed the baseline framework for modern international bodies, including the founding principles of the United Nations Charter. Left unsaid was just what a nation was. And notably while nation states were forming at the time the Treaty was signed, as late as World War I, Europe was dominated by four Great empires (Austrian, German, Ottoman, and Russian (Tsarist). Nation states that formed before World War I (1914-18) were: England/Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. Poland was an important state, but was dismembered (18th century). Europe was much more diverse than is the case today. What were referred to as nation states consisted of countries with substantial regional and cultural difference. This was especially true in England, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Ethnicity, geography, language, and religion were major factors in creating the various European states. The was somewhat less true as the nation state system spread around the world. African and Middle Eastern countries, for example, have borders based on lines drawn by European powers with no input from the people involved. Most of the early early nation states consisted of states with a single dominant ethnicity and loyalty to a monarchical sovereign. The British people, for example are subjects. The term citizen when it first appeared in Revolutionary France terrified Europe (1789). The Act of Union in Britain involved creating a whole new nationality primarily to ensure the Protestant Succession. 【Colley, pp. 24-25.】 This as done largely by emphasizing Protestantism and the dangers posed by Catholic powers--first Spain and than France. Over time the dominant ethnicity came to mold most countries, often around powerful capitals like London, and Paris. But the homoginization of Europe is a relatively new phenomenon. The Welsh still largely spoke Welsh until the Westminster Parliament introduce a national school system (1870). Gaelic was still spoken in the Highlands. Regional difference were still very important in Italy, especially the north/south divide. Northern Italians were much more patriotic than southern Italians. Spanish regional differences continue to this day with violent separatist movements. British Prime-minister Tony Blair reopened this Pandora's box when he introduced devolution (late-1990s). Ethnicity and Volk culture was especially important in Germany reaching xenophobia levels during the NAZI era (1933-45). Religion was also particularly important in building Dutch, Irish, and Polish nationalism. America was a while new phenomenon. As in England Protestantism was important, but unlike England there was no established church embedded in the legal system. And as a result of the huge immigrant flow after the Civil War (1861-65), religion and ethnicity became much more diverse. The Constitution became the core of American nationalism. Something that is sadly under attack today. Many Europeans did not quite what to think of the colossus arising across the Atlantic. The British saw America as a force to be reconned with by the mid-19th century, but had not decided if the United States was a threat or potential ally. The Germans decided that issue forcing battered Britain into American hands. Many Germans on the other hand were dismissive of America thinking the United States without a core ethnic identity was not a true nation. The resolution of the British/German assessment of America would determine the outcome of the 20h century. A new force arose in the 20th century--Communism. It would gain control of most of the Tsarist Empire, But the the failure of socialist economies and the nationalities issue that tore the other great empires apart would lead to the demise of the Soviet Union (1991).

Sources

Colley, Linda. Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837 (Yale University Press: New Haven, 1992), 430p.

Created: 1:02 PM 8/15/2026
Last updated: 1:02 PM 8/15/2026