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CLEP Western Civilization II study materials
CLEP Western Civilization II study resources

CLEP Western Civilization II: Nationalism, Imperialism, and the Coming of War, c. 1848–1914

CLEP Western Civilization II · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Nationalism, Imperialism, and the Coming of War, c. 1848–1914

This domain covers nation-building in Germany and Italy, the new imperialism, the alliance system, and the road to 1914.

Unification in Italy and Germany

  • Cavour used diplomacy and war against Austria in 1859; Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand (1860) won southern Italy. The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861, with Rome added in 1870.
  • Bismarck unified Germany through wars against Denmark (1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870–1871). The German Empire was proclaimed in January 1871. Bismarck also pursued the Kulturkampf and welfare insurance to stabilize the new state.

Alliances and imperialism

  • Bismarck's system included the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary (1879), the Triple Alliance with Italy (1882), and the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia (1887). Wilhelm II dismissed Bismarck in 1890 and allowed the Russian treaty to lapse; France and Russia allied in 1894.
  • Britain settled colonial disputes with France in the Entente Cordiale (1904) and with Russia in 1907, creating the Triple Entente.
  • The Berlin Conference (1884–1885) set rules for the scramble for Africa. Crises included the Boer War (1899–1902), the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), and the Dreyfus Affair in France.

The July Crisis

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. Austria-Hungary's ultimatum to Serbia, Russian backing for Serbia, German support for Austria, French support for Russia, and mobilization timetables escalated the crisis.
  • Germany's Schlieffen Plan required an attack on France through Belgium, bringing Britain into the war.

Worked example

Question: How did a Balkan assassination become a European war? Reasoning: alliances did not automatically fire, but mobilization plans created irreversible pressure. Austria sought to punish Serbia; Russia protected Serbia and feared losing great-power status; Germany backed Austria and feared encirclement; France honored its alliance with Russia; Germany invaded Belgium; Britain declared war. The system converted a local dispute into general war through credibility commitments and timetables.

Traps that cost marks

  • The war was not inevitable; contingency and decision-making mattered.
  • Bismarck's alliance system was defensive and complex, not a simple blueprint for war.
  • Imperialism contributed to tension but was not the sole or direct cause of 1914.