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Napoleon's invasion Of German Lands
During this time period Napoleon had invaded many German lands and made territorial changes. He annexed land along the Rhine River for France, got rid of the Holy Roman empire, and he also organized many German states into the Rhine Confederation. It was these invasion that had sparked a sense of nationalism to many Germans -
House of Krupp
The House of Krupp was started in !810 in Essen Friedrich Krupp as a steel Foundry. Over the years, the company became famous for their production of steel as well as manufacturing weapons for the German military. -
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Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference held in Vienna, Austria for ambassadors of European Nations. The purpose of the Congress was to maintain peace in Europe as well as restoring borders in europe after Napoleon's coquests. Also a German nation was denied creation due to Austria odjecting because it feared that germany would fet too powerful and also the purpose of the congress as to restore boundries and not to create new ones. -
Birth of Otto Von Bismarck
Otto Von Bismarck was born on April 1, 1815 in Schönhausen Prussia. His parents were Karl Wilhelm von Bismarck and Wilhelmine Luise Mencken who belonged to the Junker class. -
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Zollverein
The Zollverein was a custom union of German States created by Prussia and it removed tariff barriers. By the 1830s, the Zollverein had come to included most of the states in the German Confederation. It was not until the 1860s that the majority of the German staes were included. Austria was one nation that was excluded from the Zollverein due to it's protective industy and also because Metternich was against this. -
Frankfurt Assembly Demands Unity
In 1848, a meeting at the Frankfurt Assembly demanded German unity. A constitution was also drafted and created. -
Frederick William IV is offered the Throne
In 1848 Frederick William IV of Prussia was offered the throne but however he rejected it as it was offered by the people rather than by god. This had caused Germany to remaine divided. -
Bismarck Becomes Prime Minister
He was appointed as the Prussian prime minister in 1862. he was appoited by William I. -
Blood and Iron Speech
This was a famous speech given to the Budget Committee of the Prussian Chamber of Deputies by Bismarck. The purpose of his speech was to convey that problems are not solved by politics but through a policy of "blood and iron". -
Bismark declares war on Denmark
Bismarck had formed an alliance with Austria. Then the two nations declared war on Denmark. Then after winning, they seized Denmark's provinces divided up the land. Prussia got Holstein, while Austria got Schleswig. -
Prussia Declares War on Austria
In 1866, Bismarck had attacked Austria. This war had lasted 7 weeks, and with Prussia emerging victorious. Prussia then annexed Austria's German states and put them under his control. -
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Campaign against Socialists
A campaign agianst socialists started because Bismarck feared that socailists would sabotage the loyalty of German workers and influence them to revolt. Because of this, Bismarck had laws passed that dissolved socialist groups, shut down their newspapers, and banned their meetings. This move ended up backfiring on Bismarck. Bismarck later passed laws that protect workers and gave them many benefits. -
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Franco Prussian War
France was getting angry with Prussia gaining more power and Bismarck's insults to France. Napoleon III then declared war on Prussia, and Prussia's army had quickly crushed the disorganized French army. -
Bismarck becomes Chancellor
Within ten years of becoming the Prussian prime minister Bismarck had become the chancellor of Germany. He was also the first chancellor of Germany -
Second Reich is created
Soon after William I became the emperor, the Second Reich is established in Germany. Reich is german for empire so this can be view as the second empire of germany. -
Constitution Drafted by Bismarck
Bismarck had drafted a constitution for the German states. This constitution had set up a two-house legislature. An upper house, the Bundersrat, was made up of the rulers of the German states. The lower house ,Reichstag, was elected by any male German. -
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Population Growth
During this period of time, the population of Germany grew from about 41 million to about 67 million. This population growth was caused by the new advances in medical care along with agriculture. With more food and better medicine less people were dying thus resulting in the population gowth. The growth stopped in 1914 due to World War I -
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Kulturekampf
Bismarck viewed the Catholic Church as a threat, and in response, Bismarck launched the Kulturkampf, which is the battle for civilization. This battle lasted from 1871-1878. His Goal was to make Catholics put loyalty to the state above allegiance to the Church. This however failed, due to the fact that the faithful Catholics still continued to back up the Church. Bismarck ended up seeing his mistake and made peace with the Catholic Church. -
William I becomes Emperor
In January of 1871 William I became the first German emperor. Underthe leadership of him and Bismarck the prime minister, Prussia had finally achieved in the unification of Germany and the establishment of a German nation. -
William II becomes Kaiser
In 1888, William IIhad suceeded his grandfather as kaiser. He was a firm believer in the Divine Right Theory and also strengthened the already powerful military. -
Bismarck Resigns
When William II had become kaiser, there was a lot of conflict between him and Bismarck. William II thought that his authority was being challenged by Bismarck's power. When the Kaiser had asked Bismarck to resign, he did so.
