Sobbing Thru Success: Bismarck Takes Control

1
Sobbing Thru Success Bismarck Takes Control

• Chapter 16 Section 2 Notes

2
Blaaahhhd. And Ire-erhn.

• Germany does not look to Prussias liberalism,
  but to her power
• The great questions of the day are not to be
  decided by speeches and majority resolutions
• that was the mistake of 1848 and 1849
• but by blood and iron! Otto Von Bismarck
• This speech was stated in 1862 and set the tone
  for his policies in the years ahead
• His goal was to unify the German people in one
  state, with Prussia as its leader

3
Napoleons Dynamite to Germany

• As Napoleon romped through Europe he annexed
  lands along the Rhine River and organized several
  German states along the Rhine River
• As German nationalism spread, Napoleon became the
  enemy
• Napoleon tried to say that uniting Germany would
  require dismantling each German states
  government
• Instead, the German Confederation (headed by
  Austria) was born after Napoleons defeat

4
We All Live in a Yellow Zollvereina Yellow
Zollvereina Yellow Zollverein

• In the 1830s Prussia created an economic union
  called the Zollverein dismantling tariff barriers
  between many German states
• Whats a tariff?
• Answer a tax on imported or exported goods (from
  one country to another)
• Free trade was the first step toward German
  unity this was economic unity
• How could a connection between the German
  Zollverein and the European Union be made?
• In 1848 an attempt at political unity was fumbled
  by Frederick William IV of Prussia when he
  refused the throne of a unified German state
  because it was offered by the people

5
Then I Resign!...

• Otto von Bismarck was junk
• No, really, he was a Junker
• Junkers were the conservative landowning nobility
  class of Prussia
• His rise to power began when he was named
  chancellor (prime minister) of Germany by King
  William I

6
Then I Resign!...

• As chancellor, Bismarck was a disciple of
  political philosophy known as Realpolitik
• Realpolitik states that all decisions are based
  on the needs of the state
• Based on Realpolitik, which situation is better?
• A. The U.S. supporting a murderous dictator if it
  stops the spread of Communism during the Cold War
  
• B. The U.S. supporting a Communist country with a
  strong history in favor of pro-human rights
  policies?
• The answer is A because the needs of the state
  are to stop communism all other issues are
  secondary

7
Goals of the State

• Bismarck was not necessarily a nationalist, but
  rather wanted to bring power to the Hohenzollerns
  (which he thought he could do through German
  unification)
• What Bismarck did
• 1. Strengthen the Prussian army
• The liberal legislature wouldnt vote to fund the
  military so Bismarck used money that had been
  collected for other purposes to go to war
• 2. Go to war to expand their strength

8
Denmark and AustriaGoodbye

• Bismarck aligned with Austria in 1864 and seized
  the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein from
  Denmark in the Danish War (they went from blue to
  red in the great graphics on the best/worst movie
  ever)
• Most people living in these two provinces were
  German, and that was the justification for
  seizing and dividing the two areas between
  Prussia and Austria
• Two years later in 1866 Prussia attacked Austria
• The Austro-Prussian War lasted 7 weeks (also
  known as The Seven Weeks War) and ended in a
  decisive Prussian victory Prussia annexed
  several German states

9
France, youre next

• Bismarck created a new confederation dominated by
  Prussia (instead of the old Austrian-led German
  Confederation)
• Bismarck allowed Austria and 4 other southern
  German states to remain independent because he
  didnt want anyone seeking revenge
• The Franco-Prussian War began in 1870
• Remembering Napoleon, Bismarck spurred on German
  Nationalism by talking about the French menace
• Napoleon III also wanted war to achieve military
  glory
• Bismarck furthered the problem by rewriting a
  telegram reporting a meeting between King William
  I and the French ambassador
• The EMS dispatch made it seem that William I
  had insulted the Frenchman Napoleon III declared
  war on Prussia, like Bismarck hoped
• Prussia smashed France and France accepted a
  humiliating peace