UNIFICATION OF GERMANY

BLOOD AND IRON

FACTORS PROMOTING UNITY

1. Common Nationality

2. Napoleon & Congress of Vienna

3. Zollverein

COMMON NATIONALITY• LATE 18TH CENTURY

(DISTINCT PEOPLE) WANTED BY GERMAN EDUCATORS, WRITERS, HISTORIANS, & PHILOSOPHERS

JOHANN FICHTE (1762-1814)• PHILOSOPHER

AROUSED BY NAPOLEON

• CLAIMED EXISTENCE OF A “GERMAN SPIRIT”

• GERMANY MORE NOBLE & MUST LEAD CIVILIZED WORLD

GEORG HEGEL (1762-1831)

• PREDICTED UNIFICATION OF GERMANY

• STATE NOT BOUND TO RESPECT ANY INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

JAKOB & WILHELM GRIMM

• LINGUISTS TRAVELING GERMANY RESEARCHING DIALECTS & FOLK TALES

• PROCLAIMED GERMAN LANGUAGE WAS PRE-EMINENT OVER OTHER LANGUAGES

NAPOLEON’S INFLUENCE• UNIFIED GERMAN

PEOPLES AGAINST HIM

• WEAKENED AUSTRIAN INFLUENCES OVER GERMANY

• 300 GERMAN STATES COMBINED

CONGRESS OF VIENNA (1815)

• GERMAN STATES REDUCED TO 39 DOMINATED BY AUSTRIA

• CONFEDERATION (Bund) WAS WEAK & INEFFECTIVE STIRRING NATIONALIST FEELINGS

ZOLLVEREIN (1819)• GERMAN TARIFFS

• ENCOURAGED FREE TRADE AMONG GERMAN STATES & MAINTAINED HIGH TARIFFS AGAINST NON-MEMBERS

• BENEFITED GERMAN WORKERS, MERCHANTS, & MANUFACTURERS

FAILURE OF THE 1848 REVOLUTION

• GERMAN LIBERALS LEAD A SERIES OF REVOLTS AIMED AT ENDING AUTOCRACY & UNIFYING GERMANY

• FRANKFURT ASSEMBLY (PARLIAMENT) CONVENED TO INSTITUTE DEMOCRATIC RULE; PROCLAIMED GERMAN UNIFICATION;

• OFFERED KING OF PRUSSIA TO BE EMPEROR OF UNIFIED GERMANY

•KING OF PRUSSIA REFUSED OFFER

•CONSERVATIVES RETAKE POWER

•END OF FRANKFURT ASSEMBLY

LEADERS OF GERMAN UNIFICATION

1. OTTO von BISMARCK

2. WILLIAM I

3. VON MOLTKE

OTTO von BISMARCK• CHIEF MINISTER

OF PRUSSIA-1862

• MEMBER OF LANDOWNING ARISTOCRACY (JUNKERS)

• PLANNED TO UNITE GERMANY WITH BLOOD & IRON

KAISER WILLIAM I

• HOHENZOLLERN KING OF PRUSSIA (1861-1888)

• BECAME EMPEROR OF GERMANY -1871

• SUPPORTER OF BISMARCK

HELMUTH von MOLTKE• PRUSSIAN GENERAL

& CHIEF OF STAFF

• ASSURED BISMARCK’S SUCCESS BY BUILDING LARGE, POWERFUL ARMY & ACHIEVING MILITARY SUCCESS

STEPS IN GERMAN UNIFICATION (1862-

1871)

CREATION OF PRUSSIAN MILITARY POWER: STEP 1

• 1862-BISMARCK REQUESTED THE BUILD-UP OF GERMAN MILITARY

• PRUSSIAN LEGISLATURE REFUSED

• BISMARCK IGNORED LAW MAKERS & VIOLATED PRUSSIAN CONSTITUTION BY RULING AS DICTATOR UNTIL 1867

• BISMARCK & von MOLTKE CREATE STRONG & POWERFUL MILITARY

ELIMINATION OF AUSTRIAN INFLUENCE: STEP 2

• DANISH WAR (1864)

• BISMARCK BROUGHT ABOUT WAR W/ DENMARK OVER CONTROL OF SCHLESWIG & HOLSTEIN

• WITH HELP FROM AUSTRIA, DENMARK IS DEFEATED

• PRUSSIA & AUSTRIA SHARE OWNERSHIP OF THE TWO REGIONS

AUSTRO-PRUSSIAN WAR (1866)

•BISMARK STARTS WAR W/ AUSTRIA OVER CONTROL OF CONQUERED REGIONS

•von MOLTKE’S ARMIES QUICKLY DEFEAT AUSTRIA

•PRUSSIA GAINS CONTROL OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN & AUSTRIA LOOSES CONTROL OF GERMANY

NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION (1867) STEP 3

• BISMARCK ANNEXED SEVERAL NORTH GERMAN STATES & COMPELLED THE REMAINING ONES TO JOIN IN A PRUSSIAN-DOMINATED NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION

• SOUTHERN GERMAN STATES REMAIN UNDER PRUSSIAN INFLUENCE DUE TO THE ZOLLVEREIN

FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR (1867-1871)

• BISMARCK STARTS WAR W/ FRANCE TO UNIFY SOUTHERN GERMAN STATES WITH PRUSSIA (NATIONALISTIC FEELINGS)

• GENERAL von MOLTKE’S ARMIES INVADED FRANCE & DEFEATED FRENCH AT BATTLE OF SEDAN

WITH THE TREATY OF FRANKFURT

• FRANCE CEDED TO GERMANY THE PROVINCES OF ALSACE & LORRAINE (COAL & IRON)

• PAY GERMANY HUGE WAR INDEMNITY

• CONSENTED TO GERMAN MILITARY OCCUPATION UNTIL INDEMNITY WAS PAID

• PLANTED SEEDS FOR WORLD WAR I

ESTABLISHMENT OF GERMAN EMPIRE (1871)

• DURING FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR, SOUTHERN GERMAN STATES UNIFIED W/ PRUSSIA

• 1871- AT PALACE OF VERSAILLES, BISMARCK PROCLAIMED WILLIAM I AS EMPEROR (KAISER) OF GERMAN EMPIRE