This was because the new middle class that had emerged in the 'German states', from industrialisation, wanted political representation, and felt that it could only be achieved in a united Germany. The Congress of Vienna wanted to make sure that no country could take over Europe in the way that France did in the early 1800s, it aimed to do this by allocating more land to Prussia and creating a 'barrier' that would block any attempts of French expansion and also war from Russia in the east. The German Confederation divided Germany into thirty-nine states, as Napoleon did during the French occupation. A reduction in the number of German states may seem like a move towards nationalism and in turn unification, however it was in fact a direct move against it, as can be seen in the second amendment of the confederation. This is known as 'particularism', the principle of leaving each state in a federation free to govern itself and promote its own interests.
Bismarck and German Unification Extended Essay How important was Prussian military strength in bringing about the unification of Germany by 1871? During the French wars (1792-1815) Napoleon dominated Germany and he replaced the Holy Roman Land for the Confederation of the Rhine, were the 400 states became 39. This caused a surge in nationalism in the German states and they united to defeat Napoleon in 1815. This was the first time there was unity between the German states which a surge in nationalism and a desire for unification and with the help of other factors Germany eventually became one country.. Certainly the strength of the Prussian military was key to the unification of Germany as it was vital in winning the three wars of unification, but it shall be argued that the military were as strong as they were due to other more important actors such as Economics and Bismarck.
By launching successful wars over other European countries and having the German states joining these wars , he managed to increase nationalistic feelings among people who now saw him as a national hero instead of a liberty oppressor. He also managed to unite the German provinces ( first under the North German Confederation and then, after the
Lastly, Bismarck tricked Napoleon III at the meeting in Biarritz in 1865. He made vague promises, and in return, Napoleon III promised not to help Austria in any future wars with Prussia. However, Bismarck didn't keep his word and the Franco-Prussian relation deteriorated. In 1870, France and Prussia quarreled over the Spanish throne candidature, and this triggered the significant war in the history of Germany unification - the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The victory brought the unification to an end in 1871.
Assess how vital Bismarck is to the process of German Unification Intro and historians shifting views: In January 1871 King Wilhelm became the first German Kaiser of the new German empire. The creation of the empire was one of the most important developments of the nineteenth century. However, the process by which Germany came to be unified has been an area of heated historical debate ever since. Historians always have argued that German was not unified by the push for the nationalist ideology lead by the “bloody and iron” chancellor Otto Von Bismarck. In order to shift attention away from the liberal pressure to reform and modernizing Prussia, Bismarck was able to keep modernization forces at bay by pushing for a united Germany.
Even Lloyd George, who took a much tougher political approach towards the reparations, received criticism. Also, at the beginning of the period, Keynes was unsuccessful and his view of the Treaty of Versailles had very little influence at all. However, there was an acceptance during the 1920s that the Weimar Republic, a new democratic Germany, had emerged. There was perhaps, a realisation that the permanent peace of Europe should be based on mutually accepted agreements. In addition, the British governments under Prime Ministers such as Lloyd George, Bonar Law, Baldwin and
How successful were successive German Chancellors in protecting the position of the Second Reich's ruling elite? Germany's ruling elite were made up primarily of Prussians, land owning aristocrats or high ranking military leaders. It also consisted of leading industrialists and the judiciary. However, their position as the ruling elite was under threat. Although the industrial revolution had a huge positive impact on German economy, it also lead to a rise in socialism which meant the emergence of pressure groups, such as the Nationalist pressure groups and the Economic pressure groups.
The unity of Germany was once weak due to several territorial changes brought on by Napoleon as well as the rule of Metternich who enforced conservative ideas and Prussian favoritism. When Otto von Bismarck became leader the sense of German pride and unity grew in strong numbers. He was a strong ruler who was willing to go to great lengths to achieve his goals. Through wars with Austria and France he was able to gain control of the German city-states. Nationalism held the several German states together as one and a new German empire with Bismarck as emperor was formed.
The desire of the Russians to press west and south put them on a collision with German speaking peoples in Germany and the Balkans, leading to those nations fighting in both world wars. Japan, being a small island nation with few natural resources, desired national security too. They sought to gain this by control of surrounding territories such as Korea, Philippines, north China, and Southeast Asia. Being isolated for centuries prior to 1870, these goals were fairly recent in the national philosophy, contrasted with the various European goals which had been around for centuries. They were thus rather easily discarded by the populace following the defeat of 1945.
The hopes for the birth of democratic government in Europe during the revolutions of 1848 had been dashed by counterrevolutions that entrenched the Old Order of monarchy and aristocracy. Could the United States endure as one nation, indivisible, with a government based on majority rule? The secession of eleven states in 1861 represented the greatest challenge to survival. The nation met that challenge and prevailed in 1865. Since then no state has seriously and substantively (as opposed to rhetorically) threatened to