UNIFICATION OF GERMANY SWBAT: IDENTIFY THE FACTORS LEADING TO GERMANY’S UNIFICATION. HOMEWORK: STUDY FOR VOCAB QUIZ. DO NOW: WHICH OF THE 3 MEN DO YOU FEEL WAS MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR ITALY’S UNIFICATION?

GERMANY UNDER NAPOLEON  Napoleon had abolished the Holy Roman Empire and reorganized many German states into the Confederation of the Rhine.  Prussia and Austria were the leading Germany states, but Austria held many non-German lands and peoples.  Prussia wanted unity, but Austria did not, because it could not bring its non-German territories into Germany.  In 1815 the Congress of Vienna, created the German Confederation.  This was fragmented, like Italy, put gave the area of Prussia more land and more power than Austria.

ECONOMIC STEPS TOWARDS UNIFICATION  Tariffs placed on German states made trade between states costly forcing up the price of goods.  A class of aristocratic landowners called Junkers complained that tariffs were hurting sales of farm products.  In 1818, they convinced the Prussian king to abolish tariffs within his territories.  Resulted in the customs union called the Zollverein.  By 1854, this included most of the German states, but not Austria.  Made prices lower and more uniform.  The German economy moved towards unification.

THE RISE OF BISMARCK  In 1861,William I became king of Prussia and the next year he appointed Otto von Bismarck to head the Prussian cabinet.  Bismarck opposed democracy and the idea of a parliament.  Bismarck also had a bad habit of ignoring the constitution.  Under Bismarck, however, the army was transformed into an efficient, powerful war machine.  The army would be used to bring Germany together in a series of wars.

THE WARS  Bismarck was a very shrewd militarist and used strategically planned wars to help bring the German states together.  In chronological order:  Danish War: the Danes attempted to claim German-speaking areas into Denmark causing an uproar from Germans who demanded they be absorbed into a German nation.  Seven Weeks War: disagreements between Prussia and Austria over those same 2 German-speaking areas. Prussia becomes the stronger of the 2.  Franco Prussian War: France loses and convinces non-Prussians that consolidation is desirable.  With each war, the cries for a unified state grew louder.

GERMAN UNIFICATION IS OFFICIAL  In Jan., 1871 representatives of the allied German states met at Versailles where they declared the formation of the German Empire, including all the German states except Austria.  Made the Prussian capital of Berlin the capital of the empire.  King William I was proclaimed emperor, or Kaiser of the empire and Bismarck named chancellor (prime minister).  The Kaiser had a lot of power:  Could appoint the chancellor, declare a defensive war on his own, or a offensive war with legislative approval.

THE CONSTITUTION  Although Bismarck didn’t normally abide constitutions, he accepted the one set down at Versailles.  It united all 25 German states.  Each state had its own ruler and would handle issues such as education, law enforcement, and taxation.  Also created a 2 house legislature:  Upper house: Bundesrat made up of 58 appointed members.  Lower house: Reichstag made up of 400 elected officials.  This new system heavily favored Prussia.  Had the most members in the Bundesrat since they were appointed by Prussia’s state gov’t.  As the most populous state, it also had the most members in the Reichstag.

EXIT QUESTION  How do you think Cavour would feel about Bismarck’s methods? Explain.