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Frederick William IV is Offered the Throne
The liberals at the Frankfurt Assembly offered Frederick William IV of Prussia the throne of the new German state they dreamed of. He didn't want, though, what he said was a throne offered by "the people." -
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Napoleon Invades German Lands
Napoleon annexed land along the Rhine River and dissolved the Holy Roman Empire (by forcing the emperor of Austria to step down to a lower position of power). Some Germans liked his modern policies. Not all Germans did, however, and people fought to take back their lands from France. They demanded a unified German state, but defeating Napoleon didn't resolve their problem. -
Otto Von Bismarck's Birth
Otto Von Bismarck is born. He will soon become a large part of a unified Germany's (and Prussia's) history when he is old enough to be in a position to lead them. (I could not find a painting of him any younger than when he became chancellor; he was not born a middle-aged man). -
Zollverein
"Customs union" in German, Zollverein was an economic union created by Prussia to help unify German states. It allowed free-trade throughout most of Germany and dismantled tariff barriers between German states. Though it did not immediately contribute to political unity, it was still an important part of German reunification (later). -
Frankfurt Assembly Demands Unity
At a meeting of the Frankfurt Assembly, liberals again demanded German unity. They wanted to elect a German leader to rule a German Empire. -
Blood and Iron Speech
Bismarck delivers his "Blood and Iron" speech about German and Prussian unity. In the speech, he targeted liberals' opinions on raising money for building an army and dismissed them, saying the solutions do not lie in democratic ways like majority votes/elections, but by "blood and iron." -
Bismarck Becomes Prime Minister
Bismarck was originally a Prussian diplomat in Russia and France (and of the Junker class of landowning nobles). In 1862, King William I made him Prime Minister. -
Bismarck Declares War on Denmark
Prussia and Austria formed an alliance in 1864. Their first move after that was to seize Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark. After a few wars, Prussia and Austria planned to split the the new territory (one gets Shcheswig, the other gets Holstein). -
Bismarck Declares War on Austria
Prussia and Austria planned to split the the new territory from the wars with Denmark, as said before. but the Austrians were unhappy with having control over a place they would have to pass through Prussia to get to. It was Bismarck's excuse to attack Austria and after a short war, Prussia had annexed several North German states. -
Franco Prussian War
The Prussian victory over Austria made Napoleon III angry and Bismarck was hoping to fight a war with France next. Bismarck edited the "Ems Dispatch" and made it seem like William I had insulted the French ambassador during the meeting between them, making Napoleon III even more angry, and used the actions of Napoleon I against Germans years before to spur German nationalism. France declared war on the also-angry Germans and the Prussian force crushed the weakened French army and Napoleon III. -
Constitution Drafted by Bismarck
Bismarck wrote a Constitution setting up two-house legislation. The Bundesrat, or upper house, was appointed by the leaders of the German states. The Reichstag, or lower house, was elected by universal male suffrage. The Bundesrat still controlled most of the decisions of of the Reichstag, though, so the power remained with the emperor and chancellor. -
Bismarck Becomes Chancellor
Bismarck became chancellor of the German (and Prussian) Empire. The chancellor is the highest official of a monarch. -
William I of Prussia Becomes Emperor
The North German Confederation finally persuaded William I of Prussia to take the title of kaiser (the same as emperor) after their win over France. The Germans considered this the second Reich (or empire). -
Second Reich is Created
After William I was made emperor, Germans considered it the start of of the second Reich. The Germans saw it as heir to the Holy Roman Empire. -
House of Krupp
The House of Krupp boomed after 1871 and became a very large industrial complex that produced steel and weapons. The population boom contributed to the growth. -
Economic Development
The German government promoted economic development and new discoveries. They supported the application of science to developing new products (such as synthetic dyes) and technological problems in factories. The German government issued a single currency for Germany, reorganized the banking system, and coordinated railroads built by different German states. -
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Population Growth
Germany had great population growth due to abundant natural resources. It went from 41 million to 67 million. This growth in population produced a lot of workers for their own industrial revolution. -
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Campaign Against the Church (Kulturekampf)
Bismarck did not trust Catholics; he thought that they were more loyal to the pope than Germany. In response to what he thought was a Catholic threat, he established laws that monitored the education of Catholics, the appointment of priests, and marriage with the intention of making the Catholics put loyalty to the state above the church. These all backfired, however, and Bismarck worked to make peace with the church afterwards. -
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Campaign Against the Socialists
Bismarck also saw another threat--the Social Democratic party and socialists stealing the loyalty of German workers and causing a revolution. He passed laws that dissolved socialist groups, shut down their newspapers, and banned their meetings, but workers backed up the socialist cause and it all backfired. Bismarck hoped to win the workers over by sponsoring laws to protect them, such as insurance, but the Social Democratic party only grew in strength. There was no revolution, though. -
William II Becomes Kaiser
William II believed that his right to rule came from God and was very confident in his abilities. A lot like Bismarck, he funded the German military and had an aggressive military stance; his government also provided social welfare programs while resisting democratic reform. -
Bismarck Resigns
After William II became kaiser, he asked Bismarck to resign. He said that there was only one master in the Reich, and that it was him(William II). Europe was shocked.
