Nation State Homework

Name __________________________________________________________ Date _____ Section ____

A nation is a large group of people who are unified by a common love of a particular aspect of culture – land, music,
history, etc. This common love binds them together and creates a group loyalty. Below give three examples of nations
(think about sports, empires, music fan clubs):

1. _________________________________
2. _________________________________
3. _________________________________
A state is a territory (area of land) controlled by a centralized (there is a specific group of leaders, not everyone holds
power) government. The decision makers are a group of officials who hold power. In the box below draw a picture which
shows you understand what a state is.

A nation-state combines both the idea of a nation and a state! A nation state is the construction of a country under
centralized government (power is held by a specific group of people) in which the government acts in the best interest
of the people who share identities with the ruling class at the expense of all other citizens.

In the box below draw a picture which shows you understand the definition of a nation state.

The formation of nation states began in Europe and happened in a few steps. First, Europe was primarily organized as
small kingdoms, in which the citizens of the kingdom were under the rule of an individual and that individual’s family.
Wars would often arise when the king died and there was not a clear son (or one who was not a strong military leader)
who would inherit the throne. These kings would empower (by granting them land and consequently wealth) nobles
who pledged allegiance to the king and would be a part of their army in times of war or to prevent people without
resources from rebelling. Secondly, kingdoms gained protection by uniting with other kingdoms due to a shared Catholic
religious belief. In Western Europe, kings would proclaim a Catholic faith (and force those living in his kingdom to follow
the same belief) and have the ability to form larger armies by combining with other Western European kingdoms that
followed Catholicism. This was particularly important to protect themselves from the Ottoman Empire, the large
kingdom in the Middle East who were Muslim. As European kingdoms began to unite against Muslims, their kingdoms
started to adopt political identities – or an identity tied to living in a state. Part of this identity was their religion. As
kingdoms began to have problems with nobles who would betray them or wars breaking out upon the death of a king,
monarchies began to give nobles government positions and creating things like a house or congress which gave certain
groups of people voting power and a way to insure the king or queen was not the only person with power. The
incorporation of houses/congresses further strengthened the political identity of European nations as more people felt
included. Additionally, this class of leaders (the king/queen and the houses or congresses) would influence the culture of
the nation by speaking a singular language. Previously, when there were multiple kingdoms, each small kingdom may
speak a different language. For example, the Kingdom of Spain which was a unification due to the marriage of Queen
Isabella and King Ferdinand led to the territory increasing in size (two kingdoms became one) and being unified with a
singular language (Spanish) being spoken. In addition to speaking a singular language, the Moors (people from the
Ottoman Empire) and Muslims were killed and forced out of the country. By violently removing non-Christians and
people who were not born in the territory now known as Spain the identity of this kingdom was strengthened and it was
clear if you were not born in that location, did not speak their language, and did not practice their religious tradition you
were not a member of their nation. Due to the fact that this nation had a government, it was not solely a nation, but
rather a nation-state.

Independent Practice 1:
History of the Cherokee Nation:
The Cherokee Nation was originally removed from their land by Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act. This law, passed
in 1830, essentially created a forced migration for the Cherokee People across the United States to Indian Territory in
Oklahoma. The forced migration is now known as the Trail of Tears because 1 in 4 Cherokee died along the way. Today
the Cherokee Nation lives on the same reservations they settled on in Oklahoma in 1830. They run their own schools for
their children that teach a lot of tribal history, emphasize the respect of traditional Cherokee religious beliefs and are
famous for producing authentic Cherokee crafts. They consider themselves separate from other Americans because of
their cultural, ethnic and political background, but are still subject to the laws of the United States because they live
within the borders of the state. A frequent argument made in favor of full autonomy for the Cherokee is that they were
disrespected and persecuted by the government for so long that they deserve to govern themselves again.

 Imagine that you are a leader of the Cherokee Nation in today’s world. Write a letter or a speech that explains
why your nation deserves full political autonomy (control or power) from the United States.