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The Confederation of the Rhine
Confederation of the Rhine (Secondary Source)
The Confederation of the Rhine was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806. It was part of an effort to help Napoleon better control the German states effectively. This was way before the German Unification actually began but it ignited the sparks of German nationalism that definitely influenced the unification of all of the German states later on in Europe. -
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Vormärz (LIterary Movement)
Speech to the Frankfurt Assembly, 1848 (Primary Source) Vormärz was the name of a German literature movement. It was about an increasing interest of the growing economic unity of Germany through the Zollverein, the topic of German Unification itself, and expanded male suffrage. -
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Otto Von Bismarck
Picture of Otto Von Bismarck (Picture Source)
Bismarck was responsible for making the small German states into the German empire with Prussia at its core, and was its first chancellor. He was prime minister of Prussia and strengthened the Prussian army through wars. Bismarck was very smart about how to start the wars and how to provoke other countries into going to war with Prussia. -
Congress of Vienna
Picture of Congress of Vienna (Picture Source)
The Congress of Vienna gave Prussia part of Saxony and part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Giving Prussia this land was important because helped the country become more powerful and turn into one of the big four powers of Europe at the time. -
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The Zollverein
Zollverein (Secondary Source)
The Zollverein was imprtant in the German Unification because it strengthened Prussia and developing nationalism among the German states. The Zollverein stimulated Prussian trade, the balance of power between Prussia and Austria was upset, and communications, industries and banking activities between German states created an economic neighborhood. -
Revolution of 1848
Revolution of 1848 (Secondary Source)
This was a liberal revolution as the desire for German Unification grew. It took place in the southern and western German states and was Led by well-educated students and intellectuals that they demanded German national unity, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly. -
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The Danish War
Picture of The Danish War (Picture Source)
Prussia and Austria went to war with Schleswig and Holstein because of a constitution that seperated them from Denmark. After Denmark surrendered, Austria wanted them to form a single independent state and Prussia did not. In the end it was decided that Prussia would administer Schleswig, and Austria would administer Holstein. -
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The Seven Weeks War (Austro-Prussisan War)
Otto von Bismarck: 1866 (Primary Source)
The Seven Weeks War was part of Bismarck's effort to increwase the power and size of Pruissa. To do this, he had to overcome 2 obstacles. One of those obstacles was Austria and its position of leadership in the German Confederation. The other being Austria's influence over the souther German states, which opposed Prussian leadership. -
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The Franco Prussian War
Telegram Bismarck Editted (Primary Source)
Bismarck basically provoked a war with France to get the lower German states to come to Prussia for help and join it. He did it by altering a telegram and saying that the French tried to humiliate the Prussian king and that WIlliam had dismissed the ambassador offensively. Then he released it to all of the newspapers. -
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Kulturkampf
Kulturkampf (Secondary Source)
The Kulturkampf was an anti-Catholic program that Bismarck initiated in order to prevent Catholics in the Centre Party from gaining any strength. The Kulturkampf passed strict laws to control Catholics. This plan backfired and the Centre Party doubled in size. Non Catholic liberals joined the opposition so Bismarck modified the Kulturkampf in or to stop the growing socialist presence. -
The Imperial Proclomation
The Imperial Proclomation of 1871 ( Secondary Source)
The formal unification of the German state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France. The princes of the German states went there to crown Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War.
