Bismark And The Unification Of Germany Essay

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Bismark and the Unification of Germany

The New Empire

In 1871 Otto von Bismark, a Prussian statesman, founded the German Empire and served as its first chancellor for 19 years. Bismark gave the German people an identity of their own and unified the 39 German states that made up Prussia in the second half of the 19th century. When the empire was established, he skillfully pursued strict policies in foreign affairs and succeeded in preserving the peace in Europe for two decades. Although he unified the German empire, Bismark failed to unify the people.

Early Life

Bismarck was born on April 1, 1815, at Sch nhausen, Brandenburg, in the Kingdom of Prussia. The family’s economic circumstances were modest as his father’s farming skills were less than average and Bismarck did not know real wealth until the rewards flowed in after the achievement of the German unification.

In religion beliefs, Bismark believed that a Christian state that received its sanction ultimately from unity. He had nothing but sarcasm for aristocratic liberals who viewed England as a model for Prussia. In 1847 he attended the Prussian United Diet, where his speeches against Jewish freedom and contemporary liberalism gained him the reputation of an isolated conservative.

Early Career

In 1849 Bismark was elected to the Prussian Chamber of Deputies (the lower chamber of the Prussian Diet) and moved his family to Berlin. At this stage he was far from a German nationalist. He told one of his fellow conservatives, “We are Prussians, and Prussians we shall remain. . . . We do not wish to see the Kingdom of Prussia obliterated in the putrid brew of cosy south German sentimentality.” (Berghahn 98) In 1851 Frederick William IV appointed Bismarck as the Prussian representative to the federal Diet in Frankfurt. This was a clear reward for his loyalty to the monarchy.

In Frankfurt that Bismarck began to reassess his view of German nationalism and the goals of Prussian foreign policy. In 1854 he opposed close cooperation with Austria, arguing that it entailed “binding our spruce and seaworthy frigate to the wormy old warship of Austria.” (Abrams 121) Gradually he began to consider the options that would make Prussia the undisputed power in Germany. A vision of a Prussian-dominated northern Europe and a new course for Austrian power to the Slavic areas in the south took shape in Bismarks’s mind. If necessary, a war with Austria to destroy its dominance was not to be excluded. Implementation of such a policy would be anything but conservative because it would entail drastic changes in the map of Europe as it had been drawn by the conservative powers at Versailles in 1815.

Prime Minister and the Iron Chancellor

In 1859 Bismarck was sent to Russia as Prussian ambassador and in May 1862, he moved to Paris as ambassador to the court of Napoleon III. Thus he had 11 years of experience in foreign affairs before he became prime minister and foreign minister of Prussia in September 1862. Bismark came to know personally the techniques of French, Russian, and Austrian foreign diplomacy.

The Bismarck who returned to Berlin from Paris was not the conservative back in 1848. Having lived in Frankfurt and Paris, he had come to appreciate the growing importance of the educated middle class. Bismarck was transformed to such a degree that he actually returned with the idea of seeking a compromise over the military issue.

In spite of this, there were hints that this was more a dream than reality. Bismarck said that “Prussia must collect and keep its strength for the right moment, which has been missed several times already; Prussia’s frontiers as laid down by the Vienna treaties are not conducive to a healthy national life; it is not by means of speeches and majority resolutions that the great issues of the day will be decided–that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849–but by blood and iron.” (Stern 222) He was giving the opposition evidence that he intended to use Prussia’s military power for the liberal goal of achieving national unification. The liberal opposition however, chose to ignore these hints and on May 22, 1863, by a vote of 239 to 61, they informed William I that they would not deal with his prime minister any further. After eight months in office, Bismarck failed to achieve any agreement with the parliamentary opposition.

War with Denmark and Austria

Bismarck now turned to foreign policy in the hope that success on this front would weaken the Liberal’s desire for political reform. Since 1848 trouble was brewing between the Danes and the German population of the duchies of Schleswig and Holsteinin the north west. When the Danish king acted rashly, Bismarck made sure that it was Prussia and Austria rather than the German Confederation which represented German interests.

A quick successful war against Denmark meant that the fate of Schleswig and Holstein was left up to Bismarck and the Austrians. After much haggling, the Convention of Gastein was signed on Aug. 20, 1865; it provided for Schleswig to be administered by Prussia and Holstein by Austria. Liberals remained relentless toward Prussian military expertise and once again defeated the army bill in January 1865.

In 1866 Bismarck nonetheless continued his efforts to divert liberal interest from the budget conflict

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