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House of Krupp
The Krupp family was a family of industrialists who impacted Germany. They started their first major impact-steel works- in 1811. They are often associated with the industrial growth of Germany during this time period. They began manufacturing weapons in 1860. -
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Napoleon Invades Russia
His goal was to conquer and defeat the russian army. Napoleon wanted to gain Moscow as a symbol of his victory, but was disappointed when he discovered that the russians had evacuated their capitol and were willing to burn it down. After all the months that the french had spent following the russians inland, many had died of starvation. Thus, Napoleon retreated in December. -
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Congress of Vienna
This meeting consisted of all the powerful nations in Europe- mainly Austria, Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, and France, among others. Some of the results from this congress was to restore monarchs, have no major conflict, and make sure that countries would have no sour feelings towards one another. The conservatives heavily benefited from this congress. -
Otto Von Bismarck's Birth
Bismarck was born in Schönhausen, Germany in early April. He would go on to become known as the Iron Chancellor, and he would become one of the greatest chancellors of Germany. He later would believe in the ideas of realpolitik and blood and iron. -
The Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo which took place in Belgium marked the final defeat of the great Napoleon. Napoleon's men were defeated by the British and the Prussians in the battle. After this, Napoleon was abdicated and later, he died in exile -
Frederick William IV is offered the throne
William IV was first offered the throne of Prussia upon the death of his father-Frederick William III of Prussia. During his reign, Frederick finished many architectural projects. One example is the Berlin Zoo. He didn’t want much attention, so he lifted the censorship on many topics, laws which his father had implemented. -
Zollverein
Zollverein The Zollverein XII is an industry from where coal mine is extracted. It was completed in December of 1847, and was constantly being remodeled and added onto. Such a complex marked was important event for it was supplier of coal that was located outside of Britain, which was the leader of manufacturing coal during this era. -
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Frankfurt Assembly
The Frankfurt Assembly tried and failed to unify Germany. Most of their time was spent trying to unify Germany but they also had to deal with other factors, such as the extend of German lands. On March 28, 1849, they were able to establish a constitution for Germany that provided voting rights, a parliament government and a hereditary emperor. -
Blood and Iron Speech
Bismarck concluded his speech with this famous phrase. His speech was directed toward King Wilhelm I , when he didn’t want to add more money to the military program. Bismarck strained that decisions were made through “blood and iron”. -
Bismarck declared war on Denmark
There had been tension between the Danes and German population since 1848. Then, when the Danish king acted rashly, Bismarck made sure to represent Germany through prussia and austria. The war was quick and successful, for the German half. On August 20, 1865, a convention of Gastein was signed that approved for Prussia to govern Schleswig and Austria to govern Holstein. -
Bismarck Declares War on Austria
The war was called the austro-prussian war, but was also known as the seven weeks war. It was provoked because Bismarck wanted to get rid of Austria so that Prussia could unify Germany under its’ rule. The war ended on August 23, 1866. -
Ems Dispatch
Bismarck was intentdng on provoking war with France so he consulted Albrecht von Roon and Prussian Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke. He then edited a documented conversation between French ambassador Count Vincent Benedetti and King Wilhelm I of Prussia. He edited the document so that France would be provoked and they would start the Franko-Prussian war -
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Franco- Prussian War
This war was a main factor in unifying German states into one Germany. This war commenced shortly after the Austro-Prussian war. The French felt threatened that a german prince was going to be a candidate for the spanish throne. If that happened, then France would be surrounded by powerful countries that are united. -
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Population Growth
Germany's population grew very rapidly in the late 1800's. The population grew at the rate of an average 1.34% instead of the usual 0.43%. The population grew from 41,000,000 in 1871 to 67,000,000 in 1914. Some factors include strong governement, new agricultural methods, and increased technology to better daily lives. -
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Economic Growth
Germany promoted growth by reorganizing it’s banking system. Bismarck also changed it’s political structure starting in 1871. The German steel production grew an enormous amount during this time. Industry boomed during this time and thus Germany’s overall economy had a positive impact. -
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Campaign Against Chruch (Kulturekampf)
Bismarck saw the church as a threat for it had so much power and could affect the decisions of the German people. So, Bismarck decided to create laws that would limit the church and thus make them no longer a threat to Bismarcks plans. This plan backfired however, and Bismarck had to rethink his strategy;he ended up befriending the church, in a way of sorts. -
Germany is Created
The formal unification of Germany took place in the pallace of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors. Princes of German states gathered there to proclaim their emporer as the leader of united Germany. -
Bismarck Becomes Chancellor
Frederick William IV appointed Bismarck as the Chancellor after the German empire was proclaimed at Versailles. As chancellor, he implemented his belilefs of Blood and Iron, and Realpolitik. He accomplished many great things for Germany, although the process by which he accomplished them were often considered to be morally questionable. -
German Constitution drafted by Bismarck
German historians often refer to this constitution as Bismarck's imperial constitution as Bismarck drafted it. According to this document, the empire was a confederation ruled by the King of Prussia, who had the title of German Emperor. The constitution was signed by William I, the King of Prussia. -
Campaign against Socialists
The Anti-Socialists law was one of the most oppressive work of Bismarck. He never made his hate for socialists subtle, and when he had the chance, he ran a campaign against them. He put restrictions on socialists' press and didn't allow them to freely express their ideas. -
William II becomes Kaiser
At the age of 29, William II inherited the throne and role of his grandfather. Even though the young William wasn’t the most cut out for the job, he was the only option for his father haas cancer. When William come to power though, he was going to change the way things worked-starting with Otto von Bismarck. -
Bismarck Resigns
In 1890, after a horribly disfavorable election, Bismarck resigned from his position. He felt he had failed, even though he had accomplished so much for Germany. At 75 years old, he went back to an estate where he resided extremely wealthy until his death in 1898.
