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Congress of Viena
The Congress of Vienna was a congress of the European powers in Vienna to discuss the balance of power so that an event like napoleon does not happen again, in 1814. In the Congress of Vienna, 39 German states were created that later became part of the German Confederation. The German Confederation helped with unifying Germany, but also the new German states got a sense of nationalism for their new found countries and cultures. -
German Confderation
An Organization of 39 German states in 1815 after the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. The German Confederation was the first unification of Germany, although it was only 39 countries, since the Holy Roman Empire. This brought forth some nationalistic feelings about the Germany people and helped create the Zollverein. -
Zollverian
A German trading union that allowed free trade throughout the German states in 1834. The Zollverein was made to allow free trade throughout the German states meaning that resources from each state could be shared quickly between the other states. The Zollverein was intended to unite or unify Germany through trade as the individual states would have resources from all the other states and would have an experience of each other’s cultures. -
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Schleswig-Holstein Compromise
An argument between Denmark and Prussia and German states about whether Schleswig-Holstein is Danish or German has been going on since 1848. Explanation: This event is particularly important for the German Unification because this event helped the Schleswig-Holstein become a member of German Empire. In addition, it became a buffer zone to protect Germany from Swedes. -
Revolution of 1848
A group of those nationalists met in the Frankford assembly where they spoke with German and Austrian leaders on what to do. The assembly then believed that Frederick William IV should become the rule but, fearing a war and more revolts, turned them down. Germany was almost unified, but sadly still stayed separated after the revolutions had ended. -
France and Piedmont Defeat Austria
It no longer towered over the German states. Also after the defeat, Austria agreed to certain terms that Italy brought forward for unification. This made German begin to questions why they can’t overcome the control of conservatism and why they can’t be a powerful unified country. Revolutionary and nationalist Ideas that had once been dormant suddenly reemerged with the plans of a new reformed Germany. -
William I or Wilhelm I
Wilhelm, or William, 1st was the King of the German country of Prussia from 1861. Wilhelm, himself, did not cause much to do with the unification of Germany, but the choices he made did. The most popular choice that he made was making a ministry for conservative and liberal members to make decisions. This allowed for more liberal ideas about unification to be brought up, although the conservatives were still a tad more powerful. -
Otto von Bismarck and Realpolitik
With the help of Otto von Bismarck, Prussia was able to expand more into the other countries. Otto used things such as culture, language, and history to unite the countries. He also later helped with wars, such as the Franco-Prussian war, and other events that happened in Germany and Prussia that he also then used to his advantage the bring the country together. Realpolitik helped with Germany’s unification as well as it made people begin to think of how to run a Government. -
Prussia annexation of Northern German states
After Prussia beat Austria in the Seven Weeks war they formed together multiple Germanic states under Prussian rule in 1867. The Prussian empire then became one of the strongest European nations at the time. Also having so many countries in it, it began to intake culture from the other states. The Prussian empire, being strong, -
Franco Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War is the war that was declared by Napoleon III, because he thought that he would be able to regain his lost popularity through winning the war against Prussia. It is important because not only Prussia was able to win over some territory, but also it helped the country to be bonded with nationalism. -
Impact of Napoleon
Louis Napoleon was a French leader who came to power in 1870, and went into war with Prussia and the German states in the Franco German war. When Louis Napoleon became leader, he made his country, France, very powerful. This helped with fighting Austria, as well as in the Franco-Prussian war. -
Workers and Socialism
Description: German Marxist organized Social Democratic Party and Bismarck found it threatening. Bismarck passed laws to dissolve the socialist groups but then it failed. Explanation: Bismarck feared the Socialist groups becoming the start of the revolution. However, after the law has been passed, the workers bgan to unify and support the socialists. -
Creation of German Empire
Description: The German Empire is created by Prussia. All the small states, cities, duchies, principalities were gathered through Nationalism and they became the German empire. William I of Prussia became the Kaiser. Explanation: It is important because the creation of German Empire made the whole Germany as a "whole". It was separate states before but since it became a whole, it is another step closer to the German Unification. -
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Bismarck and the Catholic Church
Bismarck distrusted the Catholic Church and believed that they should be eradicated. Kulturkampf is a German word that literally means culture struggle. Bismarck aimed to make the Catholic be loyal to the state. He made laws that made the state supervise the Catholic education. Jesuits were expelled from Prussia. This incident tries make the religion of German Empire uniform. However, Bismarck failed to eradicate Catholicism completely. -
Germany's Industrial Growth
Germany had great privilege just like the Great Britain.They had plenty of resources such as iron and coal, which are the basic ingredients for the economy. Also, the disciplined education helped the industry develop.The industrial Growth helped Germany's population grow, reorganize the banking system and also create railroads. These industrial development helped Germany's unification because Bismarck's act aroused complaints from major industrialists, estate owners and peasants. -
Fall of Bissbarck
Otto-von-Bismarck, the German/Prussian chancellor, helped greatly in making the modern Germany, but lost his power in 1890 when Kaiser Frederick III died and Kaiser Wilhelm II came to power.