BUILDING A GERMAN NATION
(CHAPTER –23 / SECTION -1)
Otto von Bismark spoke to the Germany’s parliament and
delivered his “Blood and iron” speech that set the tone for the
nations unification. That Prussia was to be its head in this move.
Steps Toward Unity
The invasion of Napoleon between 1807 and 1812 created a new
life within the region.
 Napoleon annexed lands along the Rhine River for France.
 He dissolved the Holy Roman Empire.
 Organized a number of German States into the Rhine
Confederation.
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At first Napoleon was welcomed as a person that created
enlightened and modern policies.
 He encouraged the freeing of serfs
 Made trade easier and
 Abolished laws against Jews
However, his annexing of lands created the effect of sparking
German nationalism.
The defeat of Napoleon did not end the conflict of a unified
Germany.
In fact the Congress of Vienna created a German Confederation
that was at best weak and controlled by a weak Austria alliance.
Prussian Leadership
In the late 1830’s, Prussia created an economic union among the
German states called the Zollverein.
This new government creation was to dismantle tariff barriers
between the many German states. However, Germany still
remained fragmented.
Bismarck and Germany Unity
Bismarck would succeed in unifying Germany where others had
failed. Bismarck’s life would start from Prussia’s Junker class
(conservative landowning nobles), to be a Prussian diplomat and in
1862 a chancellor (prime minister).
Bismarck’s success was due to being a master of Realpolitik
when evaluating the needs of the state.
Bismarck was not a nationalist, but more interested in the
development of power within the Hohenzollerns, the ruling
dynasty of Prussia.
Bismarck believed that a unified Germany would bring more
power to the Hohenzollerns. Thus Otto von Bismarck’s success
in creating German unity was due in part to his ability to
manipulate others.
Bismarck’s first attempt to build a strong army with national funds
was denied by the Liberal legislature. Yet he used money from
other areas to begin the development of the German army.
Within the next 10 years Bismarck would Germany into three
wars. Each war help create a stronger and more unified Germany.
Wars with Denmark and Austria
At first Bismarck established an alliance with Austria in 1864.
The two were able to annex the provinces of Schleswig and
Holstein from Denmark.
Then in 1866 Bismarck created an excuse to go to war against
Austria and within seven weeks had defeated its one time ally.
The victory allowed Germany to control several other northern
German states.
He allowed the Austrians and four other German states to remain
independent as to leave no ill feelings between the nations and also
to close the door to any possible future threats of revenge against
Germany.
Franco-Prussian War
Napoleon III grew worried about the German’s success over the
Austrians. The two nation’s long time rivalry led to the FrancoPrussian war in 1870.
The wounds of Napoleon I was still present and the memories of
that time were further inflamed by Bismarck.
Bismarck also further incensed the French by rewriting and then
releasing a telegram from a conversation between King William I
and the French ambassador.
Bismarck moved Prussia and France toward war by editing and
releasing the “Ems dispatch” The dispatch made it appear that
William I had insulted the French.
As Bismarck had hoped, Napoleon III responded by declaring war
on Germany. Within a few short weeks the under supplied and
poorly organized French armies were smashed and an old and ill
Napoleon III accepted a humiliating peace.
The German Empire
The victory over France inspired the other German leaders from
the south and the northern German Confederations to persuade
William I of Prussia to accept the title of Kaiser, the first of
whom to lead the Second Reich.
In 1871 German Nationalists celebrated the birth of the Second
Reich. The name came from the impression that it came as the
heir to the Holy Roman Empire.
Bismarck then drafted a constitution that would establish a twohouse legislature (Reichstag) that was far from being democratic.
The Bundesrat, upper house, was appointed by the rulers of
Germany and could at any time veto any decisions of the
Reichstag.
STRENGTHING GERMANY
(CHAPTER – 23 / SECTION – 2)
At the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War the Germans choose
to declare their new empire at the palace of Louis XIV. The
symbolism would convey to the world that French domination had
ended and a new dominating power was emerging from Germany.
The German Industrial Giant
By the late 1800’s the German empire was at the forefront of
industrialization within the European landscape. Their chemical,
electrical and shipping industries were either the best or second
only to Great Britain.
Germany’s industrial growth was in part due to:
 Ample iron and coal resources,
 A disciplined and well educated work force,
 A growing population,
 Infrastructure development (railroads)
Other means to help further their industrial growth within the
1850’s and 1860’s came when Germans founded large
companies that served as a base for expansion.
Science and Government and Industry
The Germans were the first country to realize that the use of
science would further their development in product development.
The support at the Universities through research was very helpful
in upgrading their factory systems.
The German government also promoted economic
development by reorganizing the banking system.
The German’s issued one single currency, reorganized the banking
system and coordinated railroads built within the various German
states.
During international economic hardship Germany used protective
tariffs to ensure that their industries would not be affected by
international products that attempted to sell at lower prices.
The Iron Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck was given the nickname of the “Iron
Chancellor” because of his aggressive style of bringing changes
to Germany.
Internationally Bismarck wanted to keep the French weak and
isolated. He respected the British superior power at seas, yet
sought to dominate the rest of the world on land.
Domestically he sought to erase local loyalties and to crush any
opposition to the creation of the imperial state.
The two groups that he targeted were the Catholic Church and the
socialists.
Campaign against the Church
As a Lutheran Bismarck distrusted the Catholic Church, which
comprised about 1/3 of the population.
This distrust extended to the clergy from whom Bismarck believed
their loyalties first were to the Pope and not to Germany.
Bismarck launched the Kulturkampf, or the battle for
civilization.
To control the church Bismarck created laws that gave the state the
right to supervise Catholic education and to approve appointments
of priests.
The Kulturkampf was a failure and Bismarck was forced to
make amends with the Church because the Catholic Central
party gained new strength.
Campaign against the Socialists
His next fear came from the growth of the socialists. Bismarck
feared that socialist ideas would undermine the loyalty of the
workers and lead them toward a revolution.
Bismarck created laws that would ban any socialist groups, shut
down their newspapers and banned their ability to meet.
This move also backfired and the workers supported the socialist’s
attempts to improve the working conditions.
Bismarck again had to make social reforms to help woo
workers from socialism. Examples of the changes were:
 Health and accident insurance,
 Old age insurance to provide retirement benefits,
These changes did not have the desired effect that Bismark had
hoped for because by 1912 the Social Democratic Party had the
most seats in the Reichstag.
Kaiser William II
In 1888, William II succeeded his grandfather as Kaiser. Confident
in his ability he quickly moved to place his own ideas upon the
German nation.
In 1890, William II shocked Europe by asking Bismarck to
resign. William continued many of the policies and programs that
Bismarck had started.
 The education system furthered prepared the youth to be
obedient to the emperor,
 The social welfare programs so certain groups of people could
maintain their service and contribution to the state,
 The endless building of the army and navy so an overseas
empire could compete with those of France and England.
UNIFYING ITALY
(CHAPTER - 23 / SECTION – 3)
Even though Italy spoke and exhibited similar cultural experiences
they, as a people, had not been politically united since the Roman
Empire.
However, by the early 1800’s Italian patriots were working on the
creation of a unified country.
It took a strong leader to bring Germany together; it would take a
shrewd politician, Camillo Cavour, to unify Italy.
Obstacles to Italian Unity
For hundreds of years Italy had been ruled by foreigners and its
people identifying with their local regions.
The Congress of Vienna had even ignored the nationalist’s pleas
and was placed under the control of Austria.
Responding to Austria’s control of their country Italian
Nationalists created secret patriotic societies.
These groups would attempt from 1820 to 1848 to expel the
Austrian rulers from northern Italy. Each time the Austrians
would send in troops to crush the rebels.
Mazzini’s Young Italy
Founding the secret society, Young Italy, he continued the attempt
to create a free, independent Italy. In 1849, Nationalist leader
Mazzini set up a revolutionary republic in Rome.
However, French forces helped end the reign. Like so many before
him, Mazzini would spend many years outside of his homeland
plotting for a free nation.
The Tide of Nationalism
The first attempts during the mid-1800’s failed to throw out the
foreign rulers, but created a feeling of hope that it could happen in
the future. The reunited Italy would exist because of its rich
history.
(What existed in Italy’s past that would symbolize nationalism)
The Struggle for Italy
In 1848 the Risorgimento, Italian nationalist movement, spread
into the kingdom of Sardinia. In 1852 Victor Emmanuel entrusted
Count Camillo Cavour as his prime minister.
Like Bismarck in Prussia, Cavour used Realpolitik when
evaluating the needs of the state, to help in building a country.
Intrigue with France
Due to the aid with France & Britain in the Crimean War against
Russia, Sardinia was able to have a voice at the peace negotiations.
Sardinia was more importantly able to gain the attention of
Napoleon III.
In 1858, the two secretly formed an alliance in which France
would come to the aid of Italy in time of war with Austria. A year
later Cavour was able to provoke a war with Austria.
With the help from France, Sardinia was able to defeat the
Austrians and gain the territory of Lombardy.
Garibaldi’s Red Shirts
A long time ally of Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi, stood ready to
join up and begin the building of a united Italy.
Garibaldi, with aid from Cavour of two ships and weapons, was
able to take his 1,000 troops and march quickly through Sicily and
then marched north into Naples.
Unity at Last
Cavour feared the quick advancement of Garibaldi’s forces could
bring a separate republic in the southern part of Italy. Cavour sent
Victor Emmanuel to stop Garibaldi.
However, Emmanuel fought his way through the Papal States and
linked up with the Red Shirts.
Sensing the nationalistic moment Garibaldi gave Naples and
Sicily to Emmanuel and in 1861 southern Italy voted to approve
recognizing Victor Emmanuel as King of Italy.
Only two regions lay outside the unified country Rome and
Venetia. Two wars would bring about the unification of the
country.
First Bismarck negotiated a deal to sell Venetia after the AustroPrussian war and France was forced to withdraw from Rome after
the Franco-Prussian war in 1870.
Challenges Facing the New Nation
Italy had not historically maintained a united country like some
other nations. The new country was about to face some new
challenges.
Divisions
The greatest challenge lay between the northern and southern
differences of the new nation. The north had flourished in
business and culture. The south was more rural and poor in
development.
Religion once more would be a factor dividing the country. The
Pope was still upset about the seizure of the Papal States.
In a gesture of reconciliation the government offered the papacy
the small territory of the Vatican.
However, the Pope still directed the Catholics not to cooperate
with the new unified government and hostility still existed
between the two powers.
Turmoil
Victor Emmanuel created a constitutional monarchy. The upper
house (were representatives appointed by the king) could veto any
of the lower houses (elected by the people) proposed laws.
The right to vote was still restricted to a small number of men.
In the late 1800’s two movements attempted to end the monarchy’s
rule. Socialists would organize strikes and anarchists moved to
abolish all of the government by turning to sabotage and violence.
Progress
Despite the challenges and set backs Italy was able to make strong
economic progress.
Lacking any solid resources for the development of industries,
Italy was still able to build an industrial base in the north.
With the development of new jobs people began to move to the
cities.
Yet the population explosion tensions were relieved by the
emigration of people to the United States, Canada and Latin
America.
NATIONALISM THREATENS OLD EMPIRES
(CHAPTER - 23 / SECTION – 4)
The 400 years of rule by the Hapsburgs came to a close with the
invasion of Napoleon and the continued loss of land to Germany
and Italy.
How did nationalism bring strength to some and weakness to
others?
(Religious and ethnic differences of people in the new countries)
A Declining Empire
What once held the vast regions of Eastern Europe was now facing
the loss of territory to Bohemia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, the
Ukraine and northern Italy.
Challenge of Change
Since the Congress of Vienna, Austria has been able under Francis
I and Metternich’s rule to hold off the liberal forces of change.
To hold off the forces of change papers could not even print the
word constitution, not discuss the demands made by the liberals.
The Hapsburgs also tried to limit industrial growth because they
deemed it a threat to traditional ways.
However, industrialization could not be held off and soon the
Austrian nation was engulfed with development of factories.
With the new factories also came the problems that had plagued
other developed industrialized nations; poor working conditions,
under paid workers and move toward socialism.
A Patchwork of People
The Hapsburg nation was made up of a multitude of ethnic groups.
In fact of the 50 million who lived in the empire only 25% of them
were able to speak German.
Almost 50% of the people were from Slavic groups. The multi
ethnic groups often shared similar areas.
National movements broke out across the Hapsburg Empire
because several ethnic national groups shared the same region.
Every attempt from these groups to establish their own nation was
crushed by the Hapsburg armies.
Early Reforms
Within this powder keg of problems emerged a young 18 year-old
king, Francis Joseph. His rule would last until 1916 until the last
days of WWI.
Early during his reign the Austrians lost a humiliating defeat to the
French and Sardinia in 1859. To off-set this set back Francis
Joseph attempted to bring reforms to help strengthen the empire.
His limited reforms included a new constitution.
This new legislative body was dominated by German-speaking
Austrians. Thus the constitutional reforms did little to please
the other ethnic groups. The move from the Hungarians was
nothing less than total self-government.
The Dual Monarchy
In 1866, after a crushing defeat by the Prussians, a new pressure
mounted from the Hungarians for change.
In 1867, Francis Deak helped work out a compromise that led to
the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungry.
Under this agreement the Austrian and Hungry would be separate
states. Each country would have:
 its own constitution and parliament,
 would share ministries of finance, defense and foreign affairs,
 but would remain independent in all other areas
Hungarians welcomed the change, yet the Slavic people resented
it.
The ensuing battle of the mixed cultures would create a stalemate
within the development of the new nations.
Balkan Nationalism
The Ottoman Empire was very similar of that within the
Hapsburg Empire because of the multi ethnic groups within its
boarders.
Spanning from Eastern Europe to the edges of northern Africa and
the Middle East the empire would soon be torn apart from the
variety of people.
An illusion was born from the growing European nations in regard
to their view of the Ottoman Empire. In fact the Europeans referred
to the Ottoman Empire as the “Sick man of Europe”.
A variety of other nations started to look at the regions within the
Ottoman Empire and laid claim to and began to control vast
regions.
Competing interests within the region by the Russians, French and
British created a potential revolt by the people.
In fact the Ottoman region began to be regarded as the “Balkan
powder keg” due in part to infighting between nationalities.
The next great explosion came in the early 1900’s.
Which was the start of?