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Bismarck's Strength of Destiny
Otto von Bismarck was appointed to the head of the Prussian Cabinet by William I. Bismarck opposed democracy and didn't like the idea of parliament, be cause he believed that the state should hold the authority over the people. He also believed that to lead the German people to unification was Prussia's overall destiny. And because of this, Bismarck wanted to expand Prussia. -
Bismarck Collecting Taxes
Bismarck faced oppostition of parliament from Prussia. This caused Prussia to refuse to take money for a military buildup, so Bismarck decided to collect taxes without their approval. He ignored the constitution which made protests grow, but Bismarck hoped that successful foreign policy would get rid of an increasingly hostile public. -
The Danish War
The war started because of how Prussia and Austria both protested the new Danish constitution and wanted to gain control of the two duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Denmark refused to revoke it, so Prussia and Austria teamed up and declared war with Denmark. After Denmark surrendered, a peace treaty was made that gave the two duchies to Prussia and Austria together. The leaders of both countries decided to give Prussia control of Schleswig and Austria control of Holstein. -
The Seven Weeks' War
Prussia and Austria declared war with eachother to settle the ongoing Schleswig-Holstein dispute. Prussia defeated Austria with ease thanks to their advance in technology and recieved the two duchies. The German Confederation faded away, and later, Prussia formed the North German Confederation with several other north German states. And Prussia dominated the legislature of the Confederation. -
The Franco-Prussian War
Bismarck had to get the southern states of Germany to join the North German Confederation, so he insulted the French ambassador through a telegram which started the war between the French and Prussia. No nations helped France, so Prussia won the war with the help of the southern states to show German nationalism. Napoleon III and his government fell of power and a treaty was made. Now most of France was taken over by Germany. -
Complete Unification of Germany
Germany declared formation of the empire that included all of the german states except Austria. William I became the kaiser of the German empire and Bismarck became the chancellor. Even though Bismarck did not like constitutions, he decided to accept one that united th 25 German states into a form of federal government. Each state had its own ruler and rights to its own domestic matters...German unification was complete!
