AP World History / Revolutions
Lesson
Nationalism and new political communities
People began to imagine political membership as a nation.
Learning goals
- Define nationalism as a political claim, not just a feeling.
- Explain one unifying and one dividing effect of nationalist movements.
Explanation
Nationalism treats a people who share language, history, or political experience as the rightful basis of a state. In the nineteenth century that claim helped some groups push for independence or unification. It also pressured multiethnic empires, because a state built on one national story had trouble including everyone who lived inside its borders.
New constitutions, flags, schools, and armies tried to turn that idea into daily loyalty. The results were uneven. Some movements widened political participation; others narrowed it by race, religion, or gender. When you study a nationalist movement, ask who counted as the nation and who was left out.
Key terms
- nationalism. The idea that a people who share identity should have their own political community or state.
- nation-state. A political unit that claims to represent a particular nation as its main source of legitimacy.
Common mistakes
- Treating nations as ancient and unchanging rather than as political projects.
- Assuming nationalism only unifies and never produces conflict.
Practice
Original Marlow Works items. Check the answer explanation after you try.
Develop a historically defensible thesis that compares one political cause and one social or intellectual cause of Atlantic revolutions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Use specific evidence from at least two revolutions (for example, the American, French, Haitian, or Spanish-American revolutions).
Original Marlow Works item — not a College Board question.
Take your time—this is practice, not a test.
Answer explanation
What question should you ask of any nationalist movement?
Answer. Who is included in the nation, and who is excluded from political membership?
Nationalism is a claim about belonging. The boundaries of that claim explain both unity and conflict.
Related resources
External links with reuse status. Marlow Works is independent and does not copy restricted exam or textbook material.
Official / link only
AP World History: Modern course page
Official College Board course scope, units, and exam updates.
College Board · All rights reserved · accessed 2026-10-01
Do not copy CED prose, graphics, or sample questions.
Open sourceCC BY — attribution required
World History Volume 1: to 1500
Open textbook useful for AP World background through 1500.
Open Textbook Library listing · CC BY · accessed 2026-10-01
Verify the exact item license on the source page before republishing text.
Open source