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Napoleon Invades German Lands
Many people welcomed Napoleon to Germany. He changed many things such as encouraging freedom for the surfs, abolishing laws against Jews and making trade easier. Some people however, did not like Napoleon. They realized that uniting Germany would cause more problems. -
Congress of Vienna
At the congress of Vienna, Metternich pointed out the fact that unifying Germany would tear apart the government of many German states. Peacemakers then created the German Confederation headed by Africa. -
Otto Von Bismarck was born
Otto Von Bismarck was born on April 1st, 1815 in Schonhausen, Germany. He was born to an aristocratic family and attended school in Berlin. -
Zollverein
Zollverein was also known as the German Customs Union. It was an alliance of German states that was formed to manage taxes and economy in their state. -
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Frederick William IV is offered the Throne
Frederick William IV was King of Prussia from 1840 to 1861. In 1849 he was offered the title of German Emperor by the Frankfurt parliament. He rejected the offer and later died of a stroke. -
Frankfurt Assembly demands unity
This was the first parliament elected freely in Gremany.It was elected on May 1st 1848. The constitution had both Liberal and Nationalist ideas with basic rights. -
Blood and Iron speech
This speech was about the unificaion of the different parts of Germany. It was given by Otto von Bismarck who was chancellor at the time. -
Bismarck becomes Prime Minister
Bismarck was sent to Russia as a Prussian ambassador, and not long after he moved to Paris as ambassador to the court of Naapoleon III. He had 11 years of experience in foreign affairs before he became prime minister in 1862. -
Bismarck Declares war on Denmark
Bismarck declares war on Denmark to form an alliance with Austria. He leads Austria and Prussia into a war with Denmark. -
Bismarck declares war on Austria
Bismarck decideds to attack Austria by coming up with an "excuse" and breaks Germany's alliance that they made in the last war on Denmark. This war was also called the Austro-Prussian War and only lasted seven weeks. Prussia won and annexed a bunch of other northern German states. -
Constitution Drafted by Bismarck
The constitution set up a two-house legislature. Upper house rulers were set by the state and lower house rulers were elected by universal male suffrage. -
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Franco Prussian War
The Franco Prussian War was a war between the Second French Empire and the German states of the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. -
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Campaign against the Socialists
Bismarck felt that socialism was a threat to his German Empire. After failing to kill the kaiser, Bismarck had laws passed that got rid of socialist groups, cancelled their meetings, and shut down newspapers. After this failed attempt at getting socialist workers on his side, he tried to persuade them with laws to protect them. This became a model for other European nations. -
Bismarck Becomes Chancellor
Otto Van Bismarck became the first chancellor and founder waof the German Empire. He succeeded in perserving peace in Europe for about two decades . -
Second Reich is created
In 1871, German nationalists celebrated the birth of the Second Reich, or empire. It was called the Second Reich because it was considered to be the heir to the Holy Roman Empire. -
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Campaign against the church (Kulturekampf)
The Kulturekampf was known as the "battle for civilization." It was started by Bismarck. His goal was to make Catholics put loyalty to the state before allegiance to the Church. -
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Population growth 1871-1914
From 1871 to 1914, Germany's population grew from 41 million to 67 million. It provided a huge home market. It provided a larger supply of workers as well. -
William I of Prussia becomes Emperor
William became emperor at the age of 29 when his father died from throat cancer. His dream was to build Germany into a major naval, economic, and colonial power. -
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Economic development
The German Government promoted economic development. It issued a single currency for Germany after 1871. New German Empire leaders were determined to maintain economic strength as well as military power. -
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Bismarck becomes prime minister
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House of Krupp
After 1871, the House of Krupp became extremely popular. It was a huge industrial complex that made steel and weapons for the world market. -
William II becomes Kaiser
In 1888, William II succeeded his grandfather as Kaiser. He wanted to put his own stamp on Germany, and later asked Bismarck to resign. -
Bismarck resigns
Bismarck resigned in 1980 after disagreeing with the new emperor. He then retired to his estate.
