The French Revolution: The German Experience

The German Experience
Similar to the rebellious child who craves freedom from his controlling parents, the 18th century presented liberal ideas throughout Europe causing people to question monarchial rule.
The American Revolution sought to break ties with England and begin an independent nation-state. The French Revolution, alike, sought to destroy the traditional authority and explore the liberalities of democracy. The idea of an independence from state spread throughout the world, making the common man quench for the taste of freedom. The 19th century began a time for political experimentation, change of power structures, and experimentation. As countries explore the road towards freedom, the experiences remain different. Germany’s culture
The 360 different states in the Holy Roman Empire—though dissolved after the Napoleonic Wars—showed that the only identities built in Germany were local, not national—making it difficult to unite a country. Though some nationalistic feelings intensified at the end of the 19th century, these feelings remained liberal and mostly based on ethnicity. Fraternization of the country struggled to advance through due to the country’s inability to form a German nation as a single entity, making it difficult for the people to feel ‘German.’ Furthermore, the creation of hyper nationalistic elite attitudes resulted from the mindset that the most honorable position was service to the state. Through earning medals and awards, men earned prestige and over the course of time a service oriented culture developed. The strong influence of the militaristic culture pervaded the aspects of life within Germany. The strong state institutions revolved around the prestige of service to the state and created an economy that highly relied on the state for prosperity. Fraternization fractured through the disunity of the country, but also through the unfavorable international environment that demanded a strong standing
The overall blindness of society toward figures with authority rooted within the deep history of Germany and made it difficult to form a true democratic nation-state. The co-optation of the aristocracy and the middle class from the end of the Thirty Years War to the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars formed a society who sought an authoritarian ruler. The positions within society in Germany before the 1850’s were primarily based on social status, thus they did not support democracy. The dependency factor played a prominent role as aristocrats and the middle class depended on elites for their income, so individuals had little interest in advocating a strong legislative supremacy. The acceptance of authority from princes meant the willingness of society to obey his commands, no matter how ignorant or petty their manner. The German society developed through tolerating offensive behavior from anyone wearing a uniform. If the elites committed themselves to a liberalized government, then the conditions for eventual democratization could have possibly been favorable. The clear distinctions between different social statuses blemished the equality between different class levels. The ideas of democracy fractured as individuals within the country differentiated from one another through different class levels. Furthermore, the practice of traditional authority created a society that saw