15 2 NOTES THE UNIFICATION OF GERMANY WARMUP

15. 2 NOTES: THE UNIFICATION OF GERMANY

WARM-UP • Using your outline/notes from yesterday, write down 5 good questions and answers that you can expect to see on tomorrow’s quiz. • Be prepared to share your questions/answer them with the class! • ALSO: Take out your homework from last night…I’ll be around to check it

WHAT IS NATIONALISM? • Nationalism is the reason behind the unification of both Italy and Germany! • What is nationalism? ? ? • Pride in one’s own nation; a desire for independence.

ITALY REVIEW/KEY POINTS • Italy formed its first nationalist group in 1832 called Young Italy and led by Giuseppe Mazzini. • 1852: King Victor Emanuel II named Count Camillo di Cavour as his prime minister. • 1858: France agreed to help drive any Austrians out of Lombardy and Venetia and this started a war (French and Sardinian army vs. Austria) • May 1860: Giuseppe Garibaldi leads an army of Italian nationalists to capture the island of Sicily. • An election is held and voters elect King Victor Emanuel II to rule the region. • Rome became the capital of the united Kingdom of Italy. • Despite unification, Italy still struggled. • Tensions between the north (industrial) and the south (agricultural) • Peasant revolts, strikes, and riots broke out in Italy.

BACKGROUND • In 1835, 39 nation German nation states had formed a loose grouping that was called the German Confederation. • Two large states dominated the confederation: • 1. ) Austro-Hungarian Empire • 2. ) Prussia • 1848: major riot occurs in Berlin. • The King of Prussia, Frederick William IV, becomes terrified and calls a constitutional convention. • Outcome? : A liberal constitution was written for the kingdom.

JUNKERS • 1861: A new Prussian King named Wilhelm I takes over after Frederick William IV. • Wilhelm’s ego gets crushed. New King (Wilhelm I) wants to double the size of the Prussian army. • Parliament refused to give him money to do this. • because he sees this as a challenge to his authority. • He gets the support of the Junkers (the wealthy, landowning class). • In return for their support, Wilhelm gave cabinet positions and military positions to the people from the Junkers class.

OTTO VON BISMARCK • 1862: Wilhelm elects a conservative Junker, Otto von Bismarck, to become his new prime minister. • Bismarck was a master of realpolitik, or “the politics of reality”. • Basically, national success justifies the use of ANY means. • Bismarck decides that he is going to rule without the consent of parliament and without a legal budget (even though this is in direct violation of the constitution). • He becomes one of the most commanding figures in German political history. • Trademark: “Blood and Iron” • “The great questions of the day will not be settled by speeches or by majority decisions – that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849 – but by blood and iron. ”

NATIONAL PRIDE AND SUPPORT • 1864: Bismarck forms an alliance with Austria. • The two countries unite and go to war against Denmark. • Bismarck then gains other small victories and the national pride increased greatly. • There was national support for Prussia becoming the head of a unified German nation. • 1866: Austria declares war on Prussia. • The conflict was over so quickly that this is known as the Seven Weeks’ War. • The Prussians humiliated Austria.

SNEAKY LIES • Otto von Bismarck was a cunning man! • He would create “incidents” that never existed, just so that he could achieve his goals. • To start a war against France, he published an altered version of a diplomatic telegram. • The altered message gave a false description of a meeting that took place between Wilhelm I and the French ambassador to Germany. • Bismarck changed the words to that they read that Wilhelm I insulted the French and this provoked them to declare war on Prussia. • The Franco-Prussian War had now started thanks to Bismarck.

RESULTS: • The Prussian army invades France and blockaded Paris for four months, until they surrendered. • Jan. 18, 1871: King Wilhelm I of Prussia was crowned Kaiser (emperor). • The Germans called their empire the Second Reich, the first being the Holy Roman Empire. • Bismarck had achieved his goal of dominating Germany.

WRAP-UP • Complete the study guide that I will hand out, to prepare you for tomorrow’s quiz. • Quiz is on: • 15. 1 Notes: Unification of Italy • 15. 2 Notes: Unification of Germany • Try and define each term/get down as many details as you can. • I will be checking the study guide tomorrow during our warm-up, for a grade!