rally developed countries in the western world, but the Classic-Romantic era was coming to a close, and political unrest and tension had begun to grow. Wagner's origin of racial concepts in a social and political context came from various influential European philosophers, musicians, and writers. At the time, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's beliefs and writings contributed greatly to the German idea of nationalism. Rousseau believed that true patriotism could be considered an emotion that was centered in one nation1. He felt that Christianity did not fit well into this idea, because as a religion it was too secretive and confining. Rousseau also disagreed with Catholicism, since it was a 'creed which transcended national boundaries'. This concept of patriotism continued and grew throughout the 19th century with help from people such as Fichte, Wagner, Bismarck, von Treitschke, the Pan-German leag!
             ue, the Hohenzollerns, and of course, the Third Reich. The racial and political ideas of people such as Shopenhauer, Gobineau, Bakunin and Jahn2, as well as anti-Semitic and anti-Christian literature of previous German writers are also believed to have influenced Wagner's attitude3. The people of Germany in this era were frustrated both politically and economically, and this led to the nation 'overcompensating' with patriotic expressions of pride and exaggerated ideas of self-worth. Wagner was firm in his conviction that the German race was superior to all others.
             In 1827 the Wagner family moved back to Leipzig from Dresden. Richard was fourteen years old, and the family had found living quarters in the Jewish section of t
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