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Congress of Vienna
At the Congree of Vienna, Germany was made into the German Confederation. This was headed by the country of Austria. The goal was to not have to take apart the government of each German state. At this point, Germany was completely not unified. -
Zollverein is Created
Zollverein was an econimic union between German states. It was created by Prussia. It stopped tariffs between one German state and another. However, the politics of Germany were still separated. -
Frankfurt Assmebly wants Unity
The liberals in the Frankfurt Assembly wanted political unity in Germany. They offered Prussian Fredrick WIlliam IV the throne of the German state. Instead of creating unity, he rejected the throne. -
Otto von Bismarck becomes prime Minister
Under Bismarck's rule, he used realpolitik, which is realistic politics based on the needs of the state. He believed that the government could do whatever was necessary to benifit itsself. His main goal was to give more power to the Prussian dynasty, the Hohenzollerns. -
Bismark Allies with Austria against Denmark
Otto van Bismarck worked hard to improve the military, and even used the money that was supposed to be used in other ways. His strong army was useful against foreign military. One of his strategies was to become allies with Austria. Together, these countries took control of some of Denmark's land, Holstein and Schleswig, and split it between them. -
The Austro-Prussian War
In order to gain the land that Austria had gotten from the alliance, Bismarck attacked Austria despite the alliance. This became the Austro-Prussian War, and the Prussians ended up winning. They gained control of Austria's newly gained territories and many other northern German states. He still allowed Austria to be independent. -
Otto von Bismarck becomes Chancellor
As chancellor of Germany, Bismark had the highest official rule of Germany. This allowed him to continue his unificating actions of Germany under Prussian rule. He ruled with a "blood and iron" policy -
Franco-Prussian War
Napoleon III disliked the Prussian victories because he wanted France to be the most powerful, and this competition for power caused the two countries to be rivals. Bismarck got his people against France by reminding them of Napoleon taking over their land. He also led everyone to believe that William I had insulted the French ambassador. This caused France to declare war on Prussia, whos strong military got France to surrender in weeks. -
German Empire Created
After the French victory, Prussian William I became the kaiser of Germany. This marked the beginning of the second German empire, called the Reich. Bismarck created a constitution where he set up a two house legislature. This system still gave the emperor and chancellor the most power. -
Germany Makes Progress under Bismarck
Germany became one of the Greatest powers of Europe along with Britain. They had a huge population increase which led to scientific and economic development. Bismarck used foreign affairs to crush France, and domestic affairs to crush the catholic church and socialists. He continued his hard work until being asked to resign in 1890
