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Prussia had worked toward control of a unified German state since 1640.
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Bismarck’s belief in a strong monarchy made him a political conservative, and in the 1860s he was faced with a hostile liberal majority in Parliament.
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In 1862, Wilhelm I of Prussia appointed Otto von Bismarck prime minister.
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Prussia had now formed what would be the nucleus of a united Germany.
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All men age twenty-five and older had the right to vote for their representatives in the Reichstag.
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On January 18, 1871, Wilhelm I of Prussia was officially crowned emperor of Germany.