Wilhelm II was ambitious and his aim was to transform the country into a global power by means of aggressive diplomacy and a large navy, so he introduced Weltpolitik in 1897. Therefore he was at the top of the political pyramid in the Empire. After several researches, historian John Rohl, concluded to the idea that Kaiser Wilhelm II was at the center of the Imperial Germany. He described the Kaiser to be often uncontrollable and unstable. But at the same time, he gained control of all sources of power.
The landlords, satisfied with being unchallenged masters of their peasants, did not challenge the monarchs’ power, which ultimately led to the rise of Prussia. When Frederick William, of the Hohenzollern family, later known as the “Great Elector,” gained power in 1640, he fought hard to unify the provinces of Brandenburg, Prussia and all scattered land along the Rhine in western Germany to be able to assert absolute power. He was able to levy taxes without the Junkers’ consent from the Estates in Brandenburg in 1653 and in Prussia between 1661 and 1663. War was a decisive factor in the rise of Prussia as an absolutist state. In the mid sixteenth century, the wars between Sweden and Poland, the wars of Louis XIV, and the wild invasions of the Tartars brought about a belligerent atmosphere that caused the Estates to look to Frederick William for military protection against foreign invasion.
Radicals and Chartists alike believed landowners used powers to advance their own interests. The 1815 Corn Law was interpreted as ‘class legislation’ since it aimed to keep foreign corn out of Britain so that British farmers would be able to keep producing food. The income landowners received from renting out their lands would be kept up. The consequence was higher food prices for ordinary people. On February 4th 1839 the first national gathering of Chartists descended on London.
Both Count Camillo Cavour of Italy and Prussian Prime Minister Otto Von Bismarck brought their respective nations to unify in their own respective ways. In 1852 Cavour, the Prime Minister on Piedmont, he looked onto other liberal Italian principalities. His greatest contribution was his establishment of diplomacy; the negotiations between states. Meanwhile Prime Minister Otto Von Bismarck had a different view on the unification on his country; he was against diplomacy and remained scornful towards liberals. “The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood” (Bismarck).
When Napoleon came to rule in these areas he realized it was very challenging to rule when their society and politics were so different. So, in each of these places he grouped together some of the kingdoms. Inconspicuously, he introduced Nationalism to both the Italians and Germans. The Italians realized what a great nation they could form if they belonged together. This revelation also occurred to the Confederation of the Rhine, which was the name that Napoleon gave to the newly grouped German states.
Laws were passed to guarantee small farmers continued ownership of their farms. This hindered the development of more efficient farming and prevented the drive to achieve self- sufficiency in food production from being successful. To satisfy the Mittlestand the Law for the Protection of the Retail Trade forbade the extension of department stores. This was, however, a very limited measure since Hitler needed the support of big business. Initially, because the German banking system had been so fundamentally weakened, the state increasingly assumed greater responsibility for the control of the capital within the economy.
He believed the President should active in the general welfare of the American people and that since the people could not speak for themselves against powerful forces like business he would. 2. He believed in Social Justice and advocated a federal workmen compensation law, universal healthcare, and the regulation of the conditions for America’s work force. 3. He supported high protective tariffs, but not for the benefit of big business.
Italian vs German Unification The 1800s were a time of great political developments for Europe. The shattered nations of previous centuries came under the unified, controlled leadership of strong figureheads and diplomats such as Otto Von Bismarck of Germany and Count Camillo Cavour of Italy. Nationalism was a major base of the time, epitomized by Giuseppe Mazzini. The Congress of Vienna (1815) had rearranged boundaries to form the Confederation of the Rhine (in harmony with previous monarchial boundaries), rather than ethnicity or nationality. This action upset the Nationalist movement, and several leaders used intellectual diplomacy and alliances to successfully achieve their nationalist policies.
What were the main aims of Bismarck’s foreign policy in the period 1871-1890 and how effective were they? Otto Von Bismarck was the Chancellor of the North German Federation until the German Empire was formed in 1871 of which he became the First Chancellor. He was the dominating figure in German Affairs, both Foreign and Domestic, until his dismissal in 1890 by Kaiser Wilhelm II. I intend to discover what the main aims of Bismarck’s Foreign policy were whilst he was in power and whether they were effective or not. Bismarck was a believer and practitioner of Realpolitik, the idea of politics based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations.
Why did Adolf Hitler pursue a path to War? Germany’s loss in the Great War had a monumental effect on Adolf Hitler and was the reason he pursued a life of politics. Following the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, involving its many clauses undermining the stability of Germany, and causing irreparable damage to the German public’s psyche, the population needed something to boost morale. With unemployment at 6 million in 1933 Hitler’s specific ideals of Lebensraum, racial purity and the uniting of the German people because of these, gave Germany a clear vision that the public could support. Following the defeat of Imperial Germany in World War I, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in order to impose restrictions on Germany and help prevent the country from causing another outbreak of war.