The Unification of Germany Between 1863 and 1871 Essay

Germany started out as a divided nation fighting for dominance in Europe. Otto Von Bismarck was able to take this struggling complexity and unify it. During this process Bismarck turned the small country of Prussia into a powerhouse, growing the population from 11 to 18 million. Bismarck sprung from a landlord class and moved his way up the political ladder as realpolitik, realistic Politician. He was a man of simple ideals; he stressed duty, service, order, and the fear of God. These ideals along with manipulative tactics are what lead Bismarck on his journey of the unification of Germany, proving that without Bismarck’s diplomatic efforts between 1871 and 1890 Europe would not be the stabilized continent it is today.

German had just been unified and he wanted to make a statement by gaining more land and power. Kaiser had help from the people which helped promote gaining

Most of the military factors that led to the rise of Prussia came from Fredrick William ‘The Elector’. He was the first leader in Prussia to create and

At the Convention of Gastein, Austria took over a German state. This bad feeling for Austria made Prussia more popular. Bismarck then isolated Austria by persuading Russia, France and Italy to remain neutral towards her. Prussia then defeated Austria in a war. Afterwards, the Prussian king and generals wanted to finish Austria off, however, Bismarck showed strength and wouldn't let them. Instead he made peace with Austria to ensure her future support. Bismarck stated: "We shall need Austria's strength ourselves". A good example of opportunism is when Bismarck goaded France into declaring war by editing the EMS telegram. Bismarck edited the telegram to make it seem as if Prussia had insulted France. This angered Napoleon and he declared war. This made France seem like the aggressor, which ensured the neutrality of the other powers. Bismarck described it as: "a red rag to a Gallic bull". All of these points show that Bismarck undoubtedly played an important role in unifying Germany.

Despite the fact that Italy was unified, it wasn’t as nearly as strong as Germany was becoming. Bismarck joined both authoritarianism and nationalism to increase Prussia’s power. He was a very clever diplomat and used whatever means possible to work towards his goal. Bismarck’s Realpolitiks, the pursuing of realistic goals by any available method instead of the pursuit of an ideology. Bismarck never wanted to have enemies for long and hoped to pacify the Liberals with foreign policy achievement, notably the unification of Germany. He wanted to exclude Austria from the unification process. This led to the Austria-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars. His plan was successful. Even with the fact south German states were reluctant to join in his unification because of strong religious and political traditions. After the overpowering of France in 1871 the southern states finally joined. This was the defeat the brought them together.

The Establishment of Revolutionary Changes in Germany After World War One In 1918 people in Germany were shattered by the unexpected defeat of the First World War. As the war ended the German emperor, the Kaiser, abdicated and early in 1919 Germanys politicians drew up what has often been described as the most democratic constitution in the world. The revolutionary changes after the war were vast.

World War II plays a very important part in the history of the world. It still has effects that we deal with today. So, what events could have possibly started such a monumental world war? Well, the events are: World War I, Great Depression, expansion of imperialism, Versailles Treaty, and the rise of Germany. This was a dangerous chain reaction of events that lead to the devastating effects of the war.

As president, Bismarck led Germany into unification through his opportunism and his various policies. Charismatic yet aggressive by nature, Bismarck was known for his ability to seize opportunities and manipulate situations to his advantage. It is debatable whether or not Germany would have achieved unification under the power of anyone other Bismarck. In his 1996 book The Problem of the German Nation State, Wolfgang Mommsen said, “Bismarck’s policies- admirable or satanic... occupy centre stage.” This is particularly true for his infamous policy of “blood and iron”. Also, Bismarck’s diplomatic abilities are able to be seen when looking at his foreign policy of 1871 to 1890. Bismarck’s policies and opportunism are predominantly evident when looking at the Three Wars.

Between 1815, the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and 1850 the German states experienced a growth of nationalism and the desire for unity. The obstacles to German unification were religious divisions, rulers’ fear of losing power, and the opposition from Austria. The tension and rivalry that existed between the two largest German states intensified and the existing religious divisions and made the possibility of unification more difficult.

He ruled with absolutism. He was very effective in governing Prussia. While he was in power the army reached a little bit over 80,000 troopers and ended up taking up 80% of the countries tax revenues. He remade the tax system so that it had a more militaristic feel to it and so that

During the 19th century, Nationalism was a big player when it came to unity in Europe. The man who played the main role in unification in Germany was Otto von Bismarck. He made progression through three wars. The question people still ask today is, did Otto von Bismarck plan to unify Germany, or did he just take advantage of the opportunities that fell into his lap. Otto Von Bismarck was most definitely a planner as shown through countless actions and statements shown threw his time of power during the three wars. The first war was the Danish war were Germany with the help of Austria took control of the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein. The second war was the Austrian-Prussian war, where there was a disagreement over administrations of Schleswig. The third and final war was the Franco-Prussian war, were France was determined to prevent German Unification.

Prussia played a large and important role in the unification of Germany. Without Prussia pushing unification along, Germany as we know it today would not exist. The Germanic states would not have unified as they did and the resulting wars that came about never would have played out. World history, not just European history, would be far different without modern day Germany, and the state that led to its emergence; however, Prussia did not unify Germany overnight. Prussia worked up to unification with a series of wars and interactions throughout their history.

In order to fully understand the role the Treaty of Versailles played in the initial upcoming of Adolf Hitler, we must first delve into the reasoning behind German involvement in World War One. Since the late 1800s, Germany was intent on expanding its borders, by any means necessary. Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany, was obsessed with his desire to “create a German Empire out of the group of smaller German states” mainly under Austria-Hungary’s authority (Schmidt, 2006). In order to expel Austria as the primary influence over these smaller German states, war was inevitable. Subsequently following the war, also known as the Seven Weeks War, Bismarck extorted the small German states of “Schleswig, Holstein, Hanover, Hesse, Nassau, and Frankfurt, which created the North German Federation” (Schmidt, 2006). Even more importantly, Austria was successfully displaced as the major influence over those small German states. Bismarck’s next calculated move was to achieve the same unification in the southern parts of Germany.

The purpose of the investigation is to outline the methods Bismarck used to achieve unification and ultimately, the significance of the Franco-Prussian war as the final step for the unification.

The role of Bismarck in the unification of Germany was also a key factor however, if he was to be put in one category for having unified Germany 'coal and iron' or 'blood and iron' he would be put into