National identity was a major theme of the nineteenth century. How does each document in this chapter either encourage or discourage national identity?
Fichte (Document 24-2) and Nordau (Document 24-3) speak about the unity of the German and Jewish nations, respectively. Compare and contrast the way that each author defines national unity and presents it as a motivating factor.
How does the communism presented by Marx and Engels (Document 24-1) relate to Webb’s socialism (Document 24-5)? How are they similar, and how are they different?
What is the role of gender in each document? How is a person’s gender a part of national or class identity? Juxtapose Webb’s perspective (Document 24-5) with that of the male authors and subjects of this chapter. What should we make of Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People (Document 24-4) in this context?
What social or political problem is defined in each document? What are the different ways in which each document presents a crisis, and what kind of language or imagery is used to motivate the intended audience?
Beatrice Webb, My Apprenticeship (London: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 346–349.