by Lou Vailant

Created on: June 10, 2008

Otto von Bismarck was a very important leader in Germany's history. Experts argue whether Bismarck was really a positive influence or a negative. While Bismarck did bring the unification of Germany, he did also, in a breach of planning, make room for World War I. In the coming paragraphs is a greater explanation of the trip Germany took with Bismarck along with why and how he guided it to a victorious end.

Otto von Bismarck was born on April 1, 1815 in Brandenburg, Germany. Bismarck's father belonged to the Junkers, a Prussian landowning class, while his mother was of the bourgeois. As a child Bismarck attended a boarding school in Berlin. After studying law at universities in Berlin and Gttingen and serving in the army, he settled as the lord of his family's estate where he immersed himself in the study of history and philosophy. In 1847 he married a woman by the name of Johanna von Puttkamer. He soon after joined the Prussian parliament and backed the Junkers' conservative philosophies. He was made Prussian minister to the German Confederation, supported the Zollverein (customs union), and worked closely with Napoleon III. He continued to represent Prussia at St. Petersburg and Paris as an ambassador, and in September of 1862 was made minister president and foreign minister to William I.

William I's reasons for making Bismarck prime minister are simple. In 1862, King William's parliament would not allow money to proceed through to military reformation. Once Bismarck was proclaimed prime minister, he was able to overrule the parliament and finally put his political philosophies to work. Prussia in two wars against Denmark and their previous ally Austria was able to solidify control over Schleswig and Holstein.

Prussia while under the control of Bismarck was now the strength behind the European region known as Germany. 1870 marked the start of the Franco-Prussian War. France lost the war in 1871 and handed over the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. Out of the ashes of the old German territory and the fresh territory gained from France came the new German Empire. In only eight years Bismarck had not only made his goal of creating a unified Germany but also made it a strong world power. King William I became Kaiser William I of the German Empire. Fredrick III succeeded William I in 1888. However Fredrick III's reign was short-lived as he died three months after becoming kaiser. William II was the new Kaiser, however Bismarck and William II clashed often

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