European Life in the Late 19th Century: Mass Society, Second Industrial Revolution, Modern Nation-State
The unified Germany established by Bismarck in 1871 became in many ways a model of a new kind of European society. It was first of all dominated by large and rapidly growing cities; urban life replaced life in the countryside as the most common experience for ordinary people. Instead of the face-to-face world of villages and small towns, most people lived in large, anonymous communities, or what came to be described as a mass society. Secondly, Germany was a society greatly affected by rapid changes in technology. The first industrial revolution had primarily affected how goods were made. This second industrial revolution (1860-1910) also reached into people’s everyday lives: increasingly, every aspect of existence was shaped by science and technology. Mass society and the spread of technology went together with the development of the modern nation-state, a form of political organization that affected citizens’ lives much more intimately than earlier political systems. The modern nation-state provided its citizens with more support and services—the beginnings of what we call the welfare state—and it gave them more opportunities to be involved in public life, through voting and participation in mass political organizations, but it also demanded more engagement from them. Public education inculcated loyalty to the nation as a major value, and young men were subject to compulsory military service.
I. Mass Society
A. Urbanization
1. growth of cities
2. larger proportion of population in cities
B. Consequences of urbanization
1. new forms of community
2. anonymity and loss of individual identity
C. Mass culture
1. universal literacy
2. attractions of the urban world
II. The Second Industrial Revolution (1860-1900)
A. New sources of energy: petroleum fuels, electricity
B. The age of steel and chemicals
C. Characteristics of the new industrial economy
1. larger scale of factories
2. the modern industrial worker
III. The Modern Nation-State
A. The state enters everyday life
1. welfare regulations and social insurance
2. public education
B. The rights of citizens
1. constitutions and voting rights
2. participation in public life
C. Duties of citizenship
1. identification with the nation
2. military service
IV. Consequences of the growth of mass society: increased power, wealth, and aggressiveness
Percentage of population living in cities with over 100,000 population
Number of cities Percentage of total German pop.
1871 8 4.8
1880 14 7.2
1890 25 12.1
1900 33 16.2
Population of largest German cities in the 19th century (in thousands)
1800 1850 1870 1900
Berlin 172 415 825 1889
Hamburg 100 170 240 706
Munich 40 100 169 500
Production of Steel using Bessemer and Siemens-Martin methods (thousands of tons)
1865 1869 1873 1879
Britain 225 275 588 1030
Germany 100 161 310 478
France 41 110 151 333
Percentage of population dependent on agriculture (1891-96)
Britain 10%
German 39%
France 42%
Italy 52%
Austria 62%
Russia 70%