Unification of Germany
Otto von Bismarck was
the Minister-President of Prussia between the years of 1862-1873. He used wars
to bring about the creation of a unified Germany. In this essay I will discuss
the wars that Bismarck orchestrated as well as why he was successful in unifying
Germany when the revolution of 1848 failed to do so.
Bismarck was appointed
as Minister-President of Prussia on 22 September 1862. Exhausting all other
means of unification, Bismarck broke the liberal opposition by engineering a
war to expel Austria from Germany.[1]
Prussia signed an alliance with Italy that lasted only for the stretch of the
war. The first spark of the war was when Prussia invaded Holstein after Austria
had just been interested in their future. By a vote of nine to six, the smaller
German states backed Prussia out of fear of Prussian expansion. Prussia invaded
Saxony, Hesse-Cassel and Hanover for resisting joining a unified German state
under the leadership of Prussia on 16 June.[2]
Austria and Prussia went back and forth in battle with Austria defeating Italy
at Lissa, and then Prussia defeating Austria on 3 July in Sadowa. In August,
Prussia swallowed up Schleswig-Holestin, Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Frankfurt and
Nassau.[3]
Austria surrendered to Italy in October. The war resulted in a new constitution
that held a two-chamber parliament and universal male suffrage. Prussia had
shown that it had the power-the blood and iron, as Bismarck had promised- to
achieve German unity.[4]
The four German states
still independent were Bavaria, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Wurttemberg.
Bismarck knew that he needed full German unification because without it, the
four states left behind could rally with another country against Prussia.
Complete unification would be possible only when France was weakened and when
southern opposition was more muted…therefore in 1870, he provoked another war,
this time against France.[5]
Bismarck tried multiple times to infuriate France to the point of war. He
leaked diplomatic matters that were humiliating to France and he even tried to
get Prince Leopold to take the Spanish throne. When all matters seemed as
though they were coming to an end, he edited a telegram from King William I of
Prussia in a last attempt to create friction between the two countries. He made
it seem as though King William had insulted France, and when France saw the
published telegram, the country was enraged and on 15 July, they declared war.
The war with France was
a disaster for the French from the beginning. They had no allies to help enact
a war with the Prussians. Austria had no desire to fight against the Prussians
again and the Russians had no desire to fight alongside the French. The war was
relatively short, lasting from July 1870-May 1871 and ended with French
surrender.
Bismarck knew now was
the time to create a complete German State. He knew if the four states were
going to join under Prussian leadership they could not be pushed into it.
Through a mix of light threats and compromise they had come to an agreement. By
the end of November all four southern [German] states had signed treaties
joining the German Reich.[6]
The King of Prussia [William I] was now ‘German Kaiser’.[7]
Bismarck was more
successful than the 1848 revolutions in unifying Germany for several reasons. The
members behind the 1848 revolutions were divided and often had different aims
than one another. Bismarck had a clear idea about what he wanted for the
unification of Germany. His personality also contributed to his success. He was
not only a strong figure in the Prussian government but he also used a means of
fear and misdirection in a clever way to achieve his ends. Bismarck was also
backed by William I and the entirety of Prussia to aid in German unification.
For these reasons, Bismarck was much better suited to unify Germany than the
1848 revolutions.
Bismarck used war, fear,
and Prussian supremacy to unify Germany in 1860-1871. He was more successful
that the revolution of 1848 for a number of different reasons. Overall, if it
were not for Bismarck’s clear direction for the unification of Germany and his
strong political presence, Germany could look very different today.
Otto von
Bismarck
Bibliography
Rapport, Michael.
Nineteenth-Century Europe. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
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