NATIONAL UNIFICATION IN
ITALY AND GERMANY
In both Italy and Germany, nationalism first emerged as
a democratic movement inspired by Rousseau.
In both Italy and Germany, after 1849 many nationalists
looked to their most powerful monarchs for leadership.
1859/60: Unification of Italy (except for Rome and
Venice) under the leadership of Piedmont and Cavour.
1864: Danish War (Prussia under Bismarck allies with
Austria to conquer Schleswig-Holstein).
1866: Prussia defeats Austria in Seven Weeks War; Italy
annexes Venice.
1870/71: Franco-Prussian War leads to foundation of the
German Empire; Italy annexes Rome.
Italy after the
Congress of
Vienna
The muscle and
the brains of the
Risorgimento:
Garibaldi first
meets Giuseppe
Mazzini in 1833
MAZZINI’S VISION OF ‘THE NATION’ WAS
DEMOCRATIC & EGALITARIAN
“Without Country you have neither name, token, voice, nor
rights, no admission as brothers into the fellowship of the
Peoples…. Soldiers without a banner, Israelites among the
nations, you will find neither faith nor protection. Do not
beguile yourselves with the hope of emancipation from
unjust social conditions if you do not first conquer a
Country for yourselves; where there is no Country there is
no common agreement to which you can appeal; the
egoism of self-interest rules alone. Do not be led away by
the idea of improving your material conditions without first
solving the national question. You cannot do it…. Votes,
education, the right to work are the three main
pillars of the nation; do not rest until our hands have
solidly erected them.”
“The Republic of Rome Rings the Bell of Liberty” (1849)
Garibaldini in the Republic of Rome, July 1849
French troops enter Rome to restore Papal rule,
April 30, 1849, on the orders of President Louis Napoleon
Count Camillo di Cavour,
Prime Minister of Piedmont
Emperor Napoleon III
THE FRANCO-PIEDMONTESE ALLIANCE,
concluded at Plombières in July 1858
(see Western Heritage, 665-66)
 Napoleon III promised to support Piedmont in a war to
expel the Austrians from Italy, but only if it was a
“nonrevolutionary” war.
 Piedmont would cede Nice and Savoy to France in
exchange for military aid against Austria.
 Piedmont should annex northern Italy, but the Pope
and King of Naples would be left alone.
 The Pope would be invited to serve as president of a
loose Italian Confederation.
“Napoleon III at the Battle of Solferino, 24 June 1859”
(the Franco-Sardinian army lost 17,000 men killed;
the Austrians, 22,000)
Garibaldi in 1860
(chromolithograph):
He appealed for
“Red Shirt”
volunteers to carry
on the crusade for
national unification
The Embarcation of the Thousand, Genoa, May 1860
The Liberation of Palermo, May 27, 1860
“The Man in Possession. Victor Emmanuel:
‘I wonder when he will open the door.’”
“The Right Leg
in the Boot at
Last.”
Garibaldi: “If it
won’t go on,
Sire, try a little
more powder!”
(London, 1860)
ENDURING DIVISIONS WITHIN
“UNIFIED” ITALY
1. The Vatican excommunicated any Catholic who
accepted government office.
2. Italy was unified through a plebiscite, endorsing
annexation by Piedmont, not a constitutional
convention.
3. Only about 2% of the population could vote.
4. Piedmont’s Free Trade policy ruined the less efficient
manufacturers of the South, so the economic gap
between North & South widened after 1860.
5. Most government officials in Naples and Sicily came
from the North.
The German Confederation of 1815-1866
“Is That Where the Problem Lies?” (1859):
Germany’s Nationalist Association sees the path
blocked by the princely houses
Prussia’s King William I
appointed
Otto von Bismarck
as prime minister in 1862
BISMARCK’S VIEW OF HISTORY
SPEECH TO THE PRUSSIAN HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, September 30, 1862:
“Germany does not look to Prussia's liberalism but to its
power. Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden may indulge liberal
impulses, but nobody will cast them in Prussia's role for
that reason. Prussia must gather its forces and maintain
them for the favorable moment, which has already been
missed several times. The borders established for Prussia
at the Vienna Congress are not favorable for the healthy
life of the state. The great issues of the day are not
decided through speeches and majority resolutions--that
was the great error of 1848 and 1849--but through blood
and iron.”
“In the Circus”-- Bismarck tames the Progressives (January 1864)
Schleswig-Holstein
on the eve of the
war of 1864
The conquest of Schleswig-Holstein by Prussia & Austria, 1864
THE SEVEN
WEEKS’ WAR,
1866:
Three Prussian
armies converged
swiftly in Bohemia
Christian Sell, “The Battle of Königgratz,” July 3, 1866
(225,000 Prussians rout 215,000 Austrians)
Victory
Parade,
Berlin,
September
1866
THE INDEMNITY BILL
(passed by a vote of 230 : 75 in the Prussian House
of Representatives on September 3, 1866)
ARTICLE 1. The government is granted
indemnity for all administrative acts undertaken since
the beginning of the year 1862 without a legally
established state budget….
ARTICLE 2. The government is authorized to
expend up to 154 million Taler on administration for
the year 1866.
“The German Pasture,” Kladderadatsch, 31 March 1867:
Germania tells Bismarck to “Protect my sheep” from Napoleon III
THE GERMAN INVASION OF FRANCE,
AUGUST-OCTOBER 1870
German artillery park at Sedan, September 1870:
The new Krupp breech-loading steel cannon
Ernest Meissonier, “The Siege of Paris” (1870-1884)
William I hailed as German Kaiser, Versailles, January 18, 1871
John Trumbull, “The Declaration of Independence” (1819)
The German victory parade down the
Champs Elysées, March 1, 1871
The borders of the German Empire, 1871-1918
BISMARCK’S IDEAL FOR THE GERMAN EMPIRE
(1871-1918): “Monarchic Constitutionalism”
 A new Reichstag was elected by universal and equal
manhood suffrage.
 But the Chancellor served at the pleasure of the
Kaiser, and there was no civilian control of the military.
 No measure could become law unless approved by an
upper house of delegates appointed by the state
governments (creating a disguised royal veto).
 Important powers were reserved to the states
(Prussia, Bavaria, etc.), e.g., the right to impose direct
taxes on property and income.
 Prussia and most other state governments retained a
3-class suffrage where the weight of your vote depended
on how much you paid in taxes.