German Unification
The French Revolution of 1789 had a huge impact on Germany because it
showed the oppressed people of the German States that they could rise
up to their monarchs and change the way their country was run. Once
Napoleon reduced the number of German States from 360 to 16, the
German people started feeling nationalistic and people were proud of
their country. So people now had a feeling of how their life’s could
be and how they wanted them to be.
Soon after Napoleons downfall the Ancien Regimes were put back and
German unification was put on hold. During this time the Romantic
Movement happened. It saw a revival in German thought and culture and
it encouraged people not to be afraid of change. It also increased the
knowledge of a victorious past with medieval tales of chivalry through
music and literature.
During the 1830s and 1840s many developments occurred in Germany.
Roads, railways and newspapers were improved. Since the literacy rate
was rising, people could communicate easier and news of nationalism
spread.
By 1850, many people were fighting for the Unification of Germany
since they had experienced life within a unified country and that’s
how they wanted to live.
Early attempts at unification
The first attempt to create a unified Germany was made my Napoleon
Bonaparte when he created the Confederation of the Rhine in which he
reduced the number of states and showed the German people how it felt
like, living in a unified country. Napoleon gave the people a
nationalistic feeling and something to be proud of. This failed
because once Napoleon was overthrown, the old monarchs were put back
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...871, in Versailles,
the King was proclaimed Kaiser William I.
It seems like Otto von Bismarck did plan ahead most of the events he
wanted to do, but most of them also had to do with luck. There was no
way of ensuring that all of his plans were going to run smoothly. To
his luck, nothing really went wrong but if it had, there could have
been major catastrophes. Then again, Bismarck had planned everything
brilliantly and to the last detail. He was quick and left no time for
intervention and he seemed to always be one step ahead of his rivals
and most of all, he always appeared to be the innocent party.
I think most of all, Otto von Bismarck knew how to take advantage of
certain situations and he did, to his benefit. He was also a very
enthusiastic man who wanted nothing more then the unification of
Germany.