The Emergence of Prussia 1860 Wilhelm I Resurgence of Liberalism during this period industrialists embraced it Post 1848 nationalism went very quietuntil the 1860s combined with liberalism Both Austria and Prussia were attempting to reconfigure the German confederation to their advantages i ID: 271516
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Unification of Germany
The Emergence of PrussiaSlide2
1860 Wilhelm I
Resurgence of Liberalism during this period- industrialists embraced it
Post 1848 nationalism went very quiet…until the 1860s combined with liberalismBoth Austria and Prussia were attempting to reconfigure the German confederation to their advantages in the 1850’s- to varying degrees of successIt appeared neither Austria or Prussia was strong enough to dominate Germany on its own
PrussiaSlide3
The status quo which returned post 1848 would not survive the following decade-
Bismarck- East Prussian Junker
Realpolitik- politics of reality (remember Machiavelli)Principles mattered less than outcomes, ideology mattered less than the exercise of powerBismarck by inclination was a conservative (reactionary in fact)- but he was so much more
He developed a strong sense of duty and that duty was to the state of Prussia- cultural- Prussia was the focus
BismarckSlide4
Parliamentary democracy was abhorrent to him- however he saw it as a useful tool (he found it unpredictable and clumsy)
The structure of the German confederation was such that if Prussia was to dominate the German states- it must use its military and it must get rid of Austrian influence
Prussia played an insignificant role in the Crimean War (Prussian army had fallen into neglect)Helmut von Moltke 1857- Chief of Staff- he would change everything
His reforms of the 1860’s made (on paper) the pre-eminent military force of its time
His reforms would not have come without the help of Bismarck
BismarckSlide5
Increase in military might- opposite to liberalism which controlled the Prussian Assembly
Why? Taxation was against liberal sentiment and the army would be under the command of the king, not the people (and the officer class were all Junkers which offended the middle class loyalty to the constitution)
1860- 1862 impasse between parliament and executive in passing military reforms (parliament would not grant the funds)1862 Bismarck becomes Minister President- his solution, ignore parliament- raise taxes instead of asking for funds
“Blood and Iron”
BismarckSlide6
It was a calculated risk- he felt the majority of the people would consider the executive (the king) as the more legitimate source of authority (cultural)
He would be very right about this
Funds were raised without angst from the peopleMilitary reforms were made- von Moltke changed the army for the better
BismarckSlide7Slide8
1862 the King of Denmark died without an heir- the eventual new king was Christian IX
Schlewig
- Holstein- two duchies that create a northern peninsula of Europe- according to international law they were autonomous regions under the rule of the King of DenmarkChristian IX attempted to remove their autonomy and absorb them into the Danish Kingdom- made Danes happy, Germans unhappyA small force made up of various German states occupied Holstein
This was undermining both Prussia and Austria’s authority amongst the German confederation
The Danish WarSlide9
Bismarck acted quick- he and the Austrians jointly insisted to Denmark that the international agreements be upheld and the duchies be autonomous
The Danes did not withdraw from Schleswig- therefore a joint force of Prussians and Austrians occupied the duchies in 1864 stopping any further involvement by the smaller German states
8 month long war- Danes surrenderThe resultant treaty gave the duchies to Prussian and Austrian joint controlThis made Bismarck look like a German nationalist and angered the liberal nationalists within Prussia…just what he wanted
The Danish WarSlide10Slide11Slide12
Austro-Prussian War
1860’s- Prussia on the rise- Austria on the decline
Austria had been fighting a rearguard action against growing nationalism within its borders since 1815Bismarck had always wanted to do away with Austrian influence and wished to push Prussian power and authorityCant have it without removing Austria from the equation and that wouldn’t occur diplomatically or constitutionally
Bismarck and
Moltke
appear to have been rather confident of beating Austria- however if another nation join with
Austrua
- they were not so confidentSlide13
France and Napoleon III- divided Germany was good for France- Napoleon was happy with Germany and Austria beating each other up
But what if one of them prevails and controls all of Germany?
Bismarck met with Napoleon numerous times in 1865 and eventually came away feeling confident that Napoleon would stay neutralBismarck then looked to the new Kingdom of Italy- hated Austria- agreement with Prussia- in return they would get Venetia (Finally!!)
Austro-Prussian WarSlide14
Tensions arose in 1866 over the administration of
Schelswig
and Holstein (not created by Bismarck)Italy mobilized its army early- making Austria mobilize its army therefore making Prussia mobilize…oh Bismarck, what have you done…Austria convinced the German states to join with her and Italy declared war on Austria- boom- its time for warJuly of 1866 Prussia defeats Austria at Sadowa
- it was so crushing, that the war was over- the German states couldn’t even mobilize and get to Austria in time for the war to be over
Austro-Prussian WarSlide15Slide16
Austria banished from the German political scene
Prussia Hanover, Schleswig-Holstein, Frankfurt, Hessen-Kassel and Nassau
German Confederation was dissolved and replaced by the North German Confederation- Prussia expanded plus 21 German statesAustria ceded Venetia to Italy (Hurray!)Treaty of PragueSlide17Slide18
Bismarck and the North German Confederation
The Confederation was created as a multi-layered parliament- Bismarck seen as a liberal nationalist (but really what has he done)
The Confederation even passes an act that pardons him for his actions of the previous years where he ignored the parliamentBismarck decides to be a constitutional democrat- creates (on the surface) one of the most democratic states in Europe- upper house represented by state, lower house represented by universal adult male suffrage, freedom of speech entrenched
What the…Slide19
Bismarck and any other minister was responsible to the Crown, not the assembly
Government had access to revenue over which the assembly had no control
Elected representatives could not introduce legislationBismarck and the North German ConfederationSlide20
Treaty of Prague left southern German unstable
Politi
cally independent but militarily allied with Prussia and economically allied with the ZollvereinNapoleon III saw the Austro- Prussian war as a missed opportunity- he now had a united Italy to the South and united Germany to the northThen comes Luxemburg- Napoleon argued the duchy of Lux. Should be ceded to FranceBismarck had to care- except how that would “look”
Unfinished businessSlide21
Lux. was declared neutral- French and Prussian tension grew
The comes Spain (what the…)- Queen Isabella was deposed through a revolution in 1868 and the liberal parliament there looked to a favorable replacement
Leopold of Hohenzollern was a suitable candidate (happens to be Wilhelm’s cousin)Word got out of this candidate in France…ohh doggieFrance would have Hohenzollern’s on two fronts!
Unfinished businessSlide22
France asked for assurances from Wilhelm that he would not support it- Wilhelm actually agreed however the French wanted actual assurances that a Hohenzollern would never take the throne of Spain
Wilhelm sent a telegram to Bismarck saying how unhappy he was with the French request (he was hanging out in the resort town of Ems (Rhineland)
Bismarck took the telegram and edited it slightly to make it seem like Prussia was insulted and the French proposals denied“Ems Dispatch” was then released to the press on July 13 1870- by July 19 France had declared war against Prussia
Unfinished businessSlide23Slide24
Unfinished business
This literally fell in the lap of Bismarck- not something he could have planned necessarily
However after the Austro-Prussian war he knew that to finish his goals of Prussian expansion, there would likely have to be an altercation with FranceHowever since southern German was worried about Prussia and in truth did not trust them, France would have to strike first
He uses the call for nationalism to get support from the southern states Slide25
Prussian had support from southern states- France fought alone
Italy did not support France- wanted French troops out of Rome
Prussia was able to quickly mobilize 400,000 troops vs only 250,000 FrenchBattle of Sedan Sept. 1870- Napoleon III in attendance- French surrender (100,000 troops plus Napoleon)Paris government fell and the new one tried to continue the war for 5 months
January 1871 France surrenders- Treaty of Frankfurt
Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871Slide26Slide27
Treaty of Frankfurt
France must pay reparations- 5 billion gold francs
Prussian troops to occupy France until the amount was paidPrussia would annex the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine- national securityThis will be a constant reminder for the FrenchNext slide- Hall of Mirrors Versailles Jan. 1871Slide28Slide29
Crimean War 1854- 1856- Britain, France, Russia, Ottoman Empire, Piedmont
War of 1859- Piedmont, France, Austria
Conquest of Sicily- Garibaldi, Piedmont, Kingdom of NaplesDanish War 1863- Prussia, Austria, DenmarkAustro-Prussian War 1866- Austria, Prussia, ItalyFranco-Prussian War 1870- 71- North German Confederation, Prussia, France
Wars of Unification