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Napoleon annexed German lands near Rhine River, dissolved Holy Roman Empire, and created Rhine Confederation. People liked his enlightenment policies but wished for a unified state for Germans.
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King William I made Otto von Bismarck prime minister, and eventually he became chancellor and used a policy of "blood and iron" to unify German states under Prussian rule. His success also had to do with his use of realpolitik and strengthening of the army.
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Bismarck first tried to form an alliance with Austria, but ended up in war for land over German states. He created an excus to attack Austria and won the Austro-Prussian War and annexed several north German states. He also dissolved German Confederation and only left Austria and few southern German states alone.
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Rivalry between the two countries led to Franco-Prussian War. Bismarck provoked France and led to Napoleon III declaring war on Prussia, as Bismarck had hoped. Prussian forces defeated France and forced France into a peace treaty.
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Germans wanted William I to become the kaiser. They celebrated the birth of the second Reich (following the Holy Roman Empire). A Constitution by Bismarck set up a two-house legislature. Upper Level (Bundesrat) and Lower Level (Reichstag).
