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Creation of German Confederation
Napoleon organized the German states into the Rhine confederation. The Germans were freed from the French and began wanting a united German state. When the Congress of Vienna met from September 1814 to June 1815, they created the German Confederation which was to be "controlled" by Austria. -
Bismark's Rise to Power
Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian diplomat in Russia and France who rose to power in the 1860s. In 1862, he became prime minister and by 1872, he was chancellor by using his "blood and iron" policy. He was successful due to his strong will and realistic politics based off needs of the state. His goal was to bring more power to the Hohenzollerns through the unification of Germany. He had a powerful, well-equipped military to achieve foreign affairs. -
1st War of Unification: The Danish War
In 1864, Prussia and Austria allied with each other to seize provinces of Scheswig and Holstein from Denmark. It was a brief war. The victors, Prussia and Austria, then divided the spoils and liberated the two provinces. -
2nd War of Unification: The Austro-Prussian War
Prussia wanted to attack Austria and did so by creating an excuse. This war, a Prussian victory, lasted for only seven weeks. It resulted in Prussia annexing some north German states such as Holstein in Denmark. This also dissolved the German Confederation that was led by Austria and created the North German Confederation under the Treaty of Prague. -
3rd War of Unification: The Franco-Prussian War
France was angry at Prussia because they upset the balance of power by conquering Austria. Bismark wanted to conquer more land, such as the Alsace-Lorraine for resources, so he decided to release a telegram insulting France. This made Napoleon III, leader of France, furious and he declared war on Prussia. The results was that Prussia defeated France who was forced to surrender a few weeks into the war. -
Formation of the German Empire
The formation of the German Empire was declared in 1871. This included all German states except Austria and made Berlin the capital. King William I was named Kaiser and Bismark was named Chancellor. The government created a constitution in which states had rulers and rights. The Kaiser would hold a lot of power such as declaring war. A two-house legislature was also created with the Bundesrat as the upper house and the Reichstag as the lower house.
