German+Unification+Essential+Questions


 * 1) What events promoted German unity during the early 1800's?
 * 2) Explain the difference between a conservative and a liberal during this time period.
 * 3) What was the Congress of Vienna? What is Balance of Power? How does this effect the German states?
 * 4) How does economic unity help bring about political unity? Be sure to talk about the economic union created)
 * 5) Explain realpolitik and provide examples of how Bismarck used that to his advantage.
 * 6) What does the famous "blood and iron" speech represent, and how does this further impact the unification movement?
 * 7) How does warfare play a role in the unification process?
 * 8) How was the new German government structured, and who held the real power in the new, unified State?
 * 9) What economic and industrial advancements does Germany make well after the unification process?


 * 10. How does Nationalism unify the people of the German States? (You may see this questions again as an essay)

1. In the early 1800's certain events led up to German unification. Around 1806 Napoleon conquered the many German states. As ruler of these states Napoleon made many signifigant changes. For example, Napoelon organized numerous German states into the Rhine Confedereation, uniting them. Second, Napoleon made trade easier which promoted the many Germanys' economies. Despite these helpful changes, most Germans disliked his new laws and changes. This caused the Germanys to unite against Napoleon and France, and in the end the Germans were victorious. This helped sparked feelings of unification for Germans. In the 1830's the Zollverein helped the many German states by abbolish tariff boundaries between German states, easing trade. in 1848 the Frankfurt assembly demanded Germany to unify and offered the throne to Frderick William IV of Prussia, but he declined it. These events that occured in the early 1800's helped lead to German unification. 2. The difference between conservatives and liberals was that conservatives did not want to change their old form of government. They still wanted monarchs, and landowning nobles. Conservatives said if we must change, than it must come slowly. Conservatives also argued that chaos could form if reform was to come too quickly. As this did in France in 1789. Conservatives also desperatly tried to silence revolutions. Also, most conservative leaders wanted no freedom of speech, and they estinguished any protest. Conservatives also believed in unified churches. Liberals desired change. They also wanted governwent to have a written constitution and seperation of power. They believed that there should be only constitutional forms of government. They wanted liberty, freedom, and the right to own property. Liberals also wanted change unlike the conservatives. 3. The congress of Vienna was a meeting held between September 1814 and 1815 to regain balance of power, after the death of the French ruler, Nepoleon I. There were many different representatives from Europe, but the ones with the most power were the United Kingdom, Austria, Russia, and, of course, Prussia. They created a barrier of strong states bordering France. The balance of power that these European countries were talking about was the discouragement of military and/or complete political rule. This benefited Germany by protecting them from military and political conquest. What exactly does this org do? Restores the monarchs to their respective throne. 4. Economic unity helped political unity. This all happened after Napoleon's raid on Germany. The German Conmfederation was economically in trouble, and the Congress of Vienna did not adress the economic problem. So Prussia created an economic union called the Zollverein (TSAWL fur yn), which would last until 1919. It would regulate canals, rivers and regional affairs. The Zollverein also removed tariff boundaries between the German states which eased trade. Although in 1848, people demaned polical unity, but the Prussian ruler who was offered to lead Germany declined, thus not gaining any political unity at that time. The other problem with political unity is the fact that there were about 300 seperate German states and then they would have to unify them all under the same government. 5. What Realpolitik (ray AHL poh lee teek) means is realistic politics based on the state. The followers of Realpolitik believed that power was more important than principles, and Otto Von Bismarck was a master at it. He was not really a nationalist. Also, he was actually loyal to the Prussian dynasty, or the Hohenzollerns (hoh un TSAWL urnz). He was only unifying Germany because through German unification, Bismarck hoped to bring more power to the Hohenzollerns. 6. The "Blood and Iron" speech was written by Bismarck in 1862. It would help set the German standards for a strong and unified state, with Prussia leading it. The "Blood and Iron" speech supported strengthening the German (or at this time Prussian) armed forces. This allowed Germany to have a strong foreign policy. By having a strong foreign policy, Germany (or at this time Prussia) couldn't be easily conquered and no country would want to rip them off in a trade because of fear of war. 7. Warfare helped to play a role in the unification of Germany. Warfare united Germans against the same cause. This caused some people to call for a united Germany. Also with every war Germany (or at this time Prussia) was in they gained more prestige and power. In addition, war gave the oppurtunity to conquer additional German states to increase Germany's (or at this time Prussia's) size. Bismarck helped increase these feelings by spreading propaganda to Germans about how France was evil and had to be erradicated. 8. The new and unified German government was organized into two seperate houses. The Bundesrat, or the upper house, and then there was the Reichstag, or the lower house. The problem was the Bundesrat could veto any decision the Reichtag made. This meant the emporer and his chacellor held all of the power. Germany was an empire, formerly known as the Second Reich. It was named the Second Reich because they considered Germany to be the rightful heir to the Holy Roman Empire. 9. After the unification proccess, Germany made certain industrial and economic achievements. These helped Germany to have a stronger economy. This is due to the fact that they had all the qualities to ignite an industrial revolution, such as a self-deciplined and well trained work force, resources, and a supportive government. Because of all these qualities Germany quickly became a strong industrial power. Some examples of economic developement in Germany were the new synthetic chemical and dye products, the reorginzation of the banking system, and the building of new railroads. 10. Nationalism helped unite Germany in many ways. For example, it united Germany economically. One way Germany was economically united was the abolishing of tariff boundaries between German states. This allowed for cheaper trade between German states, so more people traded. Germany was also united politically under the same constitution. This united Germany was led by two houses of legislature, the Bundesrat and the Reichstag, and a kaiser or emperor. Germany was also unified in war. When ever Prussia along with the other German states fought together in war, they always had a sense of nationalism and unification. Prussia, the main supporter of German unification, gained more prestige and power after every war. This allowed them to have more influence in the German unification proccess. These nationalistic events and feelings helped unify Germany.