Otto+von+Bismarck

** Otto von Bismarck and the Unification of Germany **

Before the Unification of Germany, Germany was mostly divided between Austria and Prussia, with Denmark, France and Germanic Princes owning small parts of Germany. One person would soon unite Germany by risky diplomacy, wars and politics.

Otto von Bismarck was born in 1815, in Brandenburg, Germany. He was from a middle class family and was sent to college, where he studied agriculture and law. He briefly spent time in the government before being forced to do time in the military. Once his time with the military was over, he took over the family business and spent time all over Europe. After filling in for a representative, he was invited to be an adviser to the king, and from there quickly advanced to Prussian Minister President.

In politics, he was very dedicated to Prussia, and against democracy, liberalism, and socialism. As Bismarck spent more time in the government, he started to dislike Austria more and more because he felt that Austria would take over Prussia. When an issue with military size came up, he responded with his famous 'Blood and Iron” Speech:

===//“Germany is not looking to Prussia's liberalism, but to its power; Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden may indulge liberalism, and yet no one will assign them Prussia's role; Prussia has to coalesce and concentrate its power for the opportune moment, which has already been missed several times; Prussia's borders according to the Vienna Treaties [of 1814-15] are not favorable for a healthy, vital state; it is not by speeches and majority resolutions that the great questions of the time are decided – that was the big mistake of 1848 and 1849 – but by Iron and Blood.”// ===

In his speech, he keeps mentioning how Prussia came get better, and the king listens to him and Bolsters his army, which reveals itself to be vital in the next couple of years.

German Unification started as soon as 1814 with the Congress of Vienna. Initially, the attempts failed. However, Germany attempted it again with the Revolutions of 1848, in which most of Europe was revolting. The revolutionaries took over territory including of modern-day Germany, but they failed to create a government before their old leaders returned to power. In 1862, Otto von Bismarck was appointed the Prussian Minister President, and he was be responsible for the unification of Germany, in favor of Prussia. The first problem that he faced was that liberals were gaining power in the government, so he sided with masses in order to get liberals out of power. In 1864,  Denmark annexed Schleswig and Holstein, causing Austria and Prussia to declare war on them, in which Austria got Holstein and Prussia got Schleswig. Otto von Bismarck decided to occupy Holstein in 1866, which sparked the Austro-Prussian War, known as the Seven weeks war in Germany history. In this war, Prussia allied with Italy and Austria allied with most of the Germanic Kingdoms. Prussia won, and set up the North Germany Confederation, which was the area north of the Main River. In the confederation, the Prussian king was in charge. France, who wanted a divided Germany, quickly declared war, and this war became known as the Franco-Prussian War. Austria allied with Prussia, because of a defensive pact, and France was quickly defeated and ceded the areas of Aisacc and Corraine. During the war, the Prussian King was crowned the King of the German Empire at Versailles.

The Unification of Germany changed European history. France was humiliated, and had to crush a revolution in Paris, which was already hurt from the German siege. As a result of the French loss, France was forced to withdraw from guarding the Pope, showing that France was no longer the best military in Europe. With the withdrawal from Rome and the Vatican, Italian Unification was complete. In the 1900's two of the deadliest wars were fought all over the globe, with Germany participating and even causing one of them. German Unification was unexpected, quick and changed the history of the world forever.

Citations: "A.3. The Road to National Unification." //Colby College//. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .

"European History." //The Unification of Germany 1864-1871//. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. .

"GHDI - Document." //German History in Documents and Images//. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. .

"Otto Von Bismarck &German Unification." //Otto Von Bismarck and German Unification//. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. .

"Otto Von Bismarck." //Spartacus Educational//. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <[]>.

Armstrong, Monty, David Daniel, Abby Karnarek, and Alexandra Freer. "The Unification of Germany: All about Otto." //Cracking the AP World History Exam: 2012//. Framingham: Princeton Review, 2011. 237. Print.

//BBC News//. BBC. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. .

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">"German Unification." //German Unification//. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. <http://www.amitm.com/thecon/lesson7.html>.