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 over William's strategies and discisions. As a result, Bismarck resigned in 1890 and was made Duke (Herzog) of Lauenburg. He spent the rest of his life criticizing Kaiser Fredrick III and defending his past decisions and beliefs. He died on July 30, 1898.
Bismarck controlled and created the process to German Unification. Without Bismarck's ideology, Germany had no chance of becoming a strong and integrated power. Bismarck was truly a leader and unwavering politician.
The Seven Weeks' War was the start of the battle for German Unification. The plan included setting Austria out to dry with no allies. This would allow Prussia to emerge as the new born supremacy. Bismarck brought his project of reform before the Diet (legislature). Its principal feature was the exclusion of Austria from the future Germany. This was known as the "kleindeutsch" (small German) solution to unification. He had retraced Germany's steps and used the constitution of the National Assembly of 1849. The Diet voted on the idea, and the abandonment of Austria did not pass. Bismarck waged two wars that would allow this to become a strong possibility. In 1864 he went to war with Denmark over Schleswig and Holstein, and in 1866 war broke out against Austria. After the wars, twenty-two German states joined together and developed into the North German Confederation. This North German Confederation replaced the old German Confederation and consisted of the states that aided Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 with the addition of Schleswig and Holstein. The states that supported Austria during the war were annexed by Prussia, and their rulers deposed. The southern of these states were closely affiliated with it because of their role in the Zollverein. Bismarck brought an idea forward for this new confederation. He wanted to deprive the Reichstag of all voting power on the budget. If this idea had gone through, it would have developed a one-sided government in which the citizens would have no political power. The Prussian King would become all-powerful in all matters of political importance, without making too manifest. The Bundestrat was the faade behind which the Prussian King could shelter. The Bundestrat would always have to do what the Prussian King or his powerful Minister, Bismarck, wanted. The Reichstag would have become a group of babbling, contesting politicians with no voice in government. With both the Reichstag and the Bundestrat under the king's control, the king could do anything he wanted without having to explain his reasoning. Bismarck likewise could make discisions happen easily; he only had to respond to the king. The people however voted on a political act that would make every act by the President of the Confederation (Prussian King), dependent on a second signature by the Bundeskanzler. The Bundeskanzler was responsible for how successful the act was, and was named the Minister of the Confederation and the administrative head of its government. Bismarck was made the Bundeskanzler. Once the German Empire is formed, the Bundeskanzler would be changed to the Reichskanzler and from there Bismarck would gain the title of Imperial Chancellor.
In the three wars that made up the fight for German Unification, he had detached the Danish, French and Austrian influence from the country. In 1867, once Germany had defeated Austria, Bismarck put the new North German Confederation into effect. This confederation unified the northern states and put a government in place that had Prussia as its dominant controller. The King of Prussia was given the title of president in the confederation. After three more years, during the Franco-Prussian War, the south agreed to join up with the north. This completed the unification and created the new Second Reich (Empire) ruled by Kaiser William I. The two sections of parliament included the Bundestrat and the Reichstag. The Bundestrat was the upper house in which a group of representative for each state's government was set in place for leadership. It was responsible for representing interests of the different German states. Prussia was the dominant force in the Bundestrat. The Reichstag was a group of representatives who were voted in by the nation every four years; this branch was for representing the interests of the nation as a whole. Many liberals were unhappy about the idea of universal suffrage. They were afraid it would be used in the manner of Napoleon III, to manipulate elections and to create a majority favorable to the government. The president was elected by the Reichstag and the president would declare the nomination of a chancellor. The chancellor was only responsible to the king. Bismarck tried to starve the power of the parliament. After seeing the budget wasted by an unworthy parliament in Prussia, he believed that the Reichstag should be deprived of voting capability on the budget. Most of the confederation's budget would be given to the use and aid of the military.
Bismarck was standing by for an opportunity to join the North German Confederation with the rest of the southern states. There was a rumor that a cousin of William I could become the king of Spain. France opposed the idea of a second state on its borders being ruled by a Hohenzollern. Bismarck edited a press dispatch making it appear that William I had insulted the French ambassador which coaxed France into war. Napoleon III waged war on Prussia in July of 1870, and was told by his advisors and comrades that it would be a sure victory for the French army. The French generals clearly had too much faith in new inventions such as the chassepot rifle and their new machine gun. Napoleon hoped that with this "evident victory" he could reinforce the dying faith in him shown by the French people. Bismarck noticed this war as a great opportunity to bring the south German states into unity with the North German Confederation. Napoleon lost the war and paid five billion francs plus the cost of Germany's occupancy in France. On November 11, 1870, Bismarck had so far succeeded that the three minor states, Wrttemberg, Baden, and Hesse, were ready to sign the treaties the next day. However the King of Wrttemberg refused to take place in such a treaty if Bavaria would not join him. On November 23, 1870, Bavaria put their approval forward for the treaty. Now with Wrttemberg, Baden, Hesse, and Bavaria, Bismarck was one huge leap closer to the completion of the unification of all of Germany. In 1871, with the addition of Palatinate, the southern states had joined the North German Confederation and formed the German Empire. Bismarck had reached the final product of his plan. Germany was now finally united and Austria was still banished from its presence. Napoleon III's want for power made the unification of Germany possible.
The national awareness created by Bismarck's victories and accomplishments paved the way for a growth in German culture. By deleting the French, Austrian, and Danish influences from the country, the German people now were more similar to each other in tradition and culture. Because of this change, now famous individuals and entertainment emerged into the spotlight such as the famous Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and his poetry; the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann and Richard Wagner; and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's studies of philosophy. The atmosphere of Germany created by Bismarck made a new pride for the German people and they found emerging individuals and ideas to reinforce that pride. The German people now had a reason to be proud of their new unified country and also what was located inside the barriers as well.
After the unification process, Bismarck had a great deal of trouble maintaining the everyday life of the Germans. He made excellent decisions that gained him a position in history and put Germany in line for unification, but it seems that is all he was prepared for. After the new Reich was established, Bismarck and the German liberals found it necessary that in order to preserve it they would have to weaken the Catholics. They believed that the views that were given strength by the Catholic society were a damaging force to the Reich. Examples of this "threat" were the "Syllabus errorum" or "Catalogue of the Principal Errors of our Time", and papal infallibility instituted in 1870. The "Syllabus errorum" contained a list of all the modern doctrines which the Pope reproves, proscribes, and condemns. Now, in this list can be found almost all the doctrines which Liberalism considers as fundamentals of the state and of modern civilization, and the syllabus was therefore considered a challenge to Liberalism and modern culture. 1871 marked the start of a "battle of civilization" which was named the Kulturkampf. The Kulturkampf was launched against the Roman Catholic Church, which caused laws to be created and allowed into place that would stop the Church from being involved in education. The campaign of the Kulturkampf was a disappointment. A great deal of the citizens opposed the new regulations. The opposing citizens included Protestants, and the Centre party (primarily a Catholic political party). The Centre party gained in citizens and Bismarck was forced to discard the Kulturkampf. Bismarck tried to eliminate another group's power when he started a fight against the Socialist party founded in the 1860s. He believed the Socialist group could start a revolution and that alarmed him after seeing that roughly 500,000 votes in the previous election were from the Socialist party. In 1878 the Reichstag approved laws curtailing Socialist meetings, censoring Socialist publications, and outlawing financial contributions to the party. Within twelve years after the start of the effort to stop the growth of the Socialist party, the group gained members in the Reichstag by 26, increasing their number to 35 seats. After seeing this change, Bismarck neglected to continue the anti-Socialist regulations. He had failed to curtail another group's power yet again. Obviously Bismarck was far more successful in his foreign areas than domestic.
Bismarck's foreign policy was aimed at keeping peace and holding his country stable and secure. In 1871 he gained Austria as an ally, in 1872 Russia joined Austria in a military alliance known as the Three Emperors' League.
Bismarck ruled Germany with an iron fist and had a unique and powerful system in which he was able to groom the country into a world power. He was excellent on his foreign affairs and used that skill to form the empire. His domestic affairs however needed a great deal of honing. Whenever he felt a slight bit of pressure he cracked. He would blame it on a group or individual and try to make them crumble. He spent a great deal of time worrying about what others could do to him. Issues such as the Kulterkampf were just periods of worry. You cannot try and take down a group of people with the kind of strength the Catholic Church and the Socialists had. These attempts at protecting the empire did nothing but hurt his image. Foreign issues were strong and they were strong because of his intelligence involving the surrounding countries that he was dealing with. With these as his better known domestic issues, a lack of understanding of the German culture might have been the case for Bismarck. Another problem for Bismarck was the lack of planning. He was not thinking of the future, and did not train a successor. Therefore when Bismarck took his leave from office, Germany was doomed and destined for failure. The new leaders had no experience and had to start back at where Bismarck began. The new leaders were hopeless and created only a process for collapsing their precious empire. Bismarck was the glue that kept the empire together. Without him Germany was helpless, exposed and corroded by the dangerous elements of time.