To what extent did economic developments in Germany in the period 1900-1914 pose a threat to the power of the elites? For Germany, the years leading up to the First World War were filled with extreme levels of progress. A lot of their main industries thrived such as the coal, iron, steel and chemical industry. The urbanisation of Germany stimulated a population boom and changed the structure of German society. The rapid growth of old and new industries led to a population migration from rural to urban areas.
The treaty of Versailles greatly humiliated Germany forcing it to accept soul responsibility for the war. Another fault in this treaty was that it did not work as intended. The idea that Germany could ever afford to pay the reparations to full amount was ludicrous as it was already suffering from the defeat of war. These reparations caused runaway inflation throughout Germany. But perhaps the biggest problem of all was that those who created it themselves did not enforce
However, many other factors played a role in the demise of the Parliament such as the fact that they were ill-organised, the lack of popular support and their inability to enforce decisions. Frederick William IV was partially responsible for the failure of the Frankfurt Parliament as he was unwilling to accept the ‘crown from the gutter’. William IV was aware that acceptance of the leadership may lead to war with Austria. Austria had no wish to see a united Germany and wanted to keep it weak and divided in order to dominate. Frederick William shared this view and was unwilling to potentially cause a war with such a powerful state.
How Successful Were The Russian Governments In Promoting Economic Change And Modernisation Between 1881 and 1904? When Alexander III came into power, he made sure that industrialization was at the forefront of his plans. So under Vyshnedgradsky and Witte, various measures were imposed to help kick start industrialization, which led to significant economic change The improved transport system, which resulted from government investment in infrastructure like the railways, helped to vastly improve Russia’s economic situation. This is evident through the clear positive correlation between railway improvements and increases in Russia’s industrial output. The length of railway tracks in Russia increased form 31219 miles in 1891 to 58392 miles by 1904.
Lastly due to his strong and rough ruling tactics when in control of the empire, he was exiled. In Napoleons eyes, his empire was always incomplete and his constant goal was to take over more land at all costs. This goal lead to one of his costly mistakes of the Continental System. The Continental System was Napoleons attempt to blockade Britain and stop all communication between them and other countries. In turn this would destroy Britain commercially and their industrial economy allowing Napoleon to take over Britain however did not work and left Napoleon worse off then he was before.
Not only did the people of Germany feel betrayed by a man of their own country but consequently, had no faith in the new democratic system. The ‘November Criminals’ including Matthias Erzberger, Phillipp Scheidemann and Friedrich Ebert were regarded as unnationalistic. The reaction of the German people was further intensified by the signing of the Versailles Treaty in June 1919. Historian Richard Hunt argues that ‘it was the shame of weakness that seized Germany’s national psychology and served as a solvent of the Weimar democracy’. Whether compliant with this view or not, the fact was that the German population was not backing the leaders of this new constitution, which was damaging to its effectiveness.
And the U.S. and Germany could not agree upon what to do with Germany, so it ended up being divided: West Germany to U.S. and Great Britain and West Germany to the Soviets. I believe this was a major event that made the cold war inevitable. Both sides could not come to an agreement and this led to the Berlin Blockade. Russia was trying to starve the West Berliners and the U.S. responded by flying in supplies. The blockade was a devastating crisis that solved nothing.
Furthermore, Congress was disappointed in the fact that Wilson left some important things in order to compromise with the other countries. Many people believed the League of Nations was completely unnecessary for the US, since it mostly dealt with issues not concerning the US. They did not want to get involved with future European affairs. However, Wilson believed that the only way to prevent future wars was to establish the League of Nations. Wilson’s rock solid position on the League of Nations was one of the most significant reasons why the treaty was never passed.
After 1815 Italy was once again a mere geographical expression. Austria was to control a large part of Italy directly, that is, Lombardy and Venetia, and indirectly through the restored Bourbon Kings in some minor Italian states. Italian unification was once again frustrated ever the Risorgimento was quickly in advance. The explosion of Austrian power in Italy was the main problem which discouraged an early unification of Italy. Moreover, the general political atmosphere in Europe did not allow new concessions to Italian balance when the powers were concerned with maintaining the balance of power and to prevent the setting of French hegemony in Europe again.
Following the Crimean war (1853-56) Austria was politically isolated and had lost some of her military might. Austria was faced with divisions in her empire and was more concerned with controlling her home front than controlling Italy. Napoleon was now willing to go to war against Austria in 1859 as the decline in Austria showed a great deal of weakness and it is debatable whether Napoleon would have taken this risk if Austria’s rule did not decline. Italy gained Lombardy at the Peace of Villafranca as France and Piedmont were able to defeat her at Magenta and Solferino due to Austria’s decline. This showed great importance as without Austria declining, it would be fair to say this would not have happened.