1. NEW UNIT: THE FORMATION OF MODERN EUROPE (AND THE WESTERN WORLD) GERMAN UNIFICATION FRIDAY APRIL 13, 2012 Vocab: 1. Nationalism 2. Otto Von Bismarck 3. William I 4. Franco-Prussian War Guiding Questions: 1. How was the German Empire formed?

2. PRIOR TO UNIFICATION  Germany had never been a united country  Made up of a confederation:  Included Prussia, Saxony, Westphalia, Hanover and many other states  Had been the source of conquest for hundreds of years (the Romans, Austrians, Prussians, French, etc)  Been called the Holy Roman Empire, the Confederation of the Rhine and German Confederation  Growing sense of Nationalism: Pride in ones’ country or ethnicity

3. GERMAN UNIFICATION  The Frankfurt Assembly failed to unite Germany under one leader in 1848 and 1849  Germans thought the Prussians could unite them  Prussia had a strong authoritarian government  Very militaristic  King William I wanted to raise a new army to better control the land  Prussia legislature said no  William appointed a new Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck

4. OTTO VON BISMARCK  Bismarck was a believer in realpolitik or politics of reality not theory  Raised taxes and built a huge military  Went to war with Austria in 1866  Won and organized the North eastern states into the North German Confederation

5. FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR  France was also a problem  Southern German states were Catholic (Prussia is Protestant) BUT they were scared of France so they signed an alliance with Prussia  France declared war on Prussia in 1870  Prussian forces were very strong  Paris surrendered in 1871  France had to pay a billion dollars to give up the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to the Prussians

6. THE GERMAN EMPIRE  Two weeks before the war ended, German princes and nobles met in Versailles  United Germany and declared William I to be the Kaiser or emperor of the Second German Empire  The first German Empire was the Holy Roman Empire  Bismarck became Chancellor  Known as the “iron chancellor”  The German Empire would quickly become the most powerful power in Europe