15.2 NOTES: THE UNIFICATION OF GERMANY

WARM-UP Using your outline/notes from yesterday, write down 5 good questions and answers that you can expect to see on tomorrow’s quiz. Be prepared to share your questions/answer them with the class! ALSO: Take out your homework from last night…I’ll be around to check it

WHAT IS NATIONALISM? Nationalism is the reason behind the unification of both Italy and Germany! What is nationalism ??? Pride in one’s own nation; a desire for independence.

ITALY REVIEW/KEY POINTS Italy formed its first nationalist group in 1832 called Young Italy and led by Giuseppe Mazzini. 1852: King Victor Emanuel II named Count Camillo di Cavour as his prime minister. 1858: France agreed to help drive any Austrians out of Lombardy and Venetia and this started a war (French and Sardinian army vs. Austria) May 1860: Giuseppe Garibaldi leads an army of Italian nationalists to capture the island of Sicily. An election is held and voters elect King Victor Emanuel II to rule the region. Rome became the capital of the united Kingdom of Italy. Despite unification, Italy still struggled. Tensions between the north (industrial) and the south (agricultural) Peasant revolts, strikes, and riots broke out in Italy.

BACKGROUND In 1835, 39 nation German nation states had formed a loose grouping that was called the German Confederation. Two large states dominated the confederation: 1.) Austro-Hungarian Empire 2.) Prussia 1848: major riot occurs in Berlin. The King of Prussia, Frederick William IV, becomes terrified and calls a constitutional convention. Outcome?: A liberal constitution was written for the kingdom.

JUNKERS 1861: A new Prussian King named Wilhelm I takes over after Frederick William IV. Wilhelm’s ego gets crushed New King (Wilhelm I) wants to double the size of the Prussian army. Parliament refused to give him money to do this. because he sees this as a challenge to his authority. He gets the support of the Junkers (the wealthy, landowning class). In return for their support, Wilhelm gave cabinet positions and military positions to the people from the Junkers class.

OTTO VON BISMARCK 1862: Wilhelm elects a conservative Junker, Otto von Bismarck, to become his new prime minister. Bismarck was a master of realpolitik, or “the politics of reality”. Basically, national success justifies the use of ANY means. Bismarck decides that he is going to rule without the consent of parliament and without a legal budget (even though this is in direct violation of the constitution). He becomes one of the most commanding figures in German political history. Trademark: “Blood and Iron” “The great questions of the day will not be settled by speeches or by majority decisions – that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849 – but by blood and iron.”

NATIONAL PRIDE AND SUPPORT 1864: Bismarck forms an alliance with Austria. The two countries unite and go to war against Denmark. Bismarck then gains other small victories and the national pride increased greatly. There was national support for Prussia becoming the head of a unified German nation. 1866: Austria declares war on Prussia. The conflict was over so quickly that this is known as the Seven Weeks’ War. The Prussians humiliated Austria.

SNEAKY LIES Otto von Bismarck was a cunning man! He would create “incidents” that never existed, just so that he could achieve his goals. To start a war against France, he published an altered version of a diplomatic telegram. The altered message gave a false description of a meeting that took place between Wilhelm I and the French ambassador to Germany. Bismarck changed the words to that they read that Wilhelm I insulted the French and this provoked them to declare war on Prussia. The Franco-Prussian War had now started thanks to Bismarck.

RESULTS: The Prussian army invades France and blockaded Paris for four months, until they surrendered. Jan. 18, 1871: King Wilhelm I of Prussia was crowned Kaiser (emperor). The Germans called their empire the Second Reich, the first being the Holy Roman Empire. Bismarck had achieved his goal of dominating Germany.

WRAP-UP Complete the study guide that I will hand out, to prepare you for tomorrow’s quiz. Quiz is on: 15.1 Notes: Unification of Italy 15.2 Notes: Unification of Germany Try and define each term/get down as many details as you can. I will be checking the study guide tomorrow during our warm-up, for a grade!