How Did Nationalism Build And Shape World History?

Nationalism has helped build and shape world history since ancient times. It is more of a current expression, but the political ideology has been in existence for centuries. It was most predominant during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with revolutionary wars, World War II in the twentieth century and currently in the middle east. Even though Nationalism has transformed world history by positive events like building up communities and creating nationsit also has the ability to decompose a society when the power is in the wrong hands.
Nationalism is “The idea that members of a shared community called a ‘nation’ should have sovereignty within the borders of their state.” It builds a bond of unity among communities by way of regional neighbors with the same language, heritage and cultural background.
The American colonies were viewed as subjects of the British Empire and since they were protected by the crown, Britain believed it should also profit on the mercantilism. The colonies protested because they had no representation with parliament and in the spirit of Nationalism they were ready to govern on their own. “Thomas Pain, a recent immigrant from England, captured the new mood in a pamphlet he published in 1776, arguing that it was “common sense” for people to govern themselves.” The continental congress revised his widespread pamphlet in the Declaration of Independence later that year. Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration believed in peoples “natural rights” to govern and sticking with enlightenment themes, British philosopher John Lock wrote of binding ruler and people by a “social contract”. This shows leaders of the time boasting and spreading the ideas of Nationalism for the good of “the people”. With the help of France and the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the United States of America gained its