Nationalism is a popular sentiment that places the existence and well-being of the nation highest in the scale of political loyalties. In political terms, it signifies a person's willingness to work for the nation against foreign domination, whether political, economic, or cultural. Nationalism also implies a group's consciousness of shared history, language, race, and values. Its significance lies in its role in supplying the ties that make the nation-state a cohesive viable entity.
             Nationalism belongs to the modern world. Before the 18th century, people gave their loyalty to their communities, tribes, feudal lords, princes, religious groups, or other universal principles. Borders could thus be changed without popular outcry against the violation of national integrity. For example, when Louis XIV of France seized the free imperial city of Strasbourg on the Rhine in 1681, the people of the city accepted him as their king. By the 19th century, however, nationalist sentiments were strong. When Germany annexed Strasbourg (and the rest of Alsace-Lorraine) in 1871, its citizens felt bitter resentment at the dismemberment of the French nation.
             Among the first modern manifestations of nationalism was the French Revolution (1789). Starting as a crusade for "liberty, equality, and fraternity," the French Revolution turned into a war of the French people against foreign aggressors. When Napoleon took power and began to create a French empire, other nations fought back. From Spain to Russia, peoples rose in defense of their nations against French imperialism. The German philosopher Johann Gottlieb FICHTE delivered his Addresses to the German Nation (1807-08) specifically against Napoleon.
             After Napoleon's fall, nationalism continued to develop. At the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), Belgium was given to the Netherlands, but 15 years later the Belgians revolted and gained their national independence. In Italy the drive toward nationhood, led ...