Unification, Bismarck and the New German State (1849–1890) (History HL)

The big idea: After the failed revolutions of 1848–49, Italian unification was achieved not by popular uprising alone but by a combination of Piedmontese statecraft, military heroism and foreign intervention.

Cavour was the architect of the state; Garibaldi was its sword; France and then Prussia were the foreign powers whose interests Cavour cleverly exploited.

By 1849 the revolutions had been crushed and Austrian power in Italy was restored. But Piedmont-Sardinia survived as a constitutional monarchy under King Victor Emmanuel II, and its ambitious Prime Minister Cavour set about turning Piedmont into a modern, powerful state that could drive Austria out of the peninsula.

Cavour's method was not romantic nationalism — it was cold calculation. He industrialised Piedmont, built railways, reformed the army, and sought powerful allies.

The role of foreign influence: Foreign powers shaped every turning point:

France (Napoleon III) defeated Austria in 1859 — without French troops, unification would have stalled. Napoleon received Savoy and Nice as his price.

Prussia defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866), allowing Italy to take Venice.

France again: when Napoleon III was defeated by Prussia in 1870 and French troops left Rome, Italy seized the Papal city and Rome became the capital.

Italian unification was never purely an Italian achievement — it was made possible by the rivalries of the Great Powers.

Paper 3 exam tip — role of individuals vs. foreign powers: A very common Paper 3 question asks how important Cavour or Garibaldi was compared with foreign powers in unifying Italy. Be ready to argue both sides and reach a judgement: Cavour set up the conditions; Garibaldi conquered the south; but France and Prussia were the essential enablers at every critical moment.

The big idea: German unification happened through the rise of Prussia and the decline of Austria. The Zollverein was the economic foundation; Bismarck was the political architect. By 1866 Austria had been driven out of German affairs for good.

After 1815 Germany remained a patchwork of 39 states in the German Confederation dominated by Austria. But during the first half of the century, Prussia was growing stronger — economically and militarily — while Austrian power, though impressive, was costly to maintain across a vast multi-ethnic empire.

The Zollverein (1834) — economic unification first: In 1834 Prussia created the Zollverein — a customs union that abolished internal tariffs between German states. Over the following decades almost every German state joined.

Why does it matter? - It created a single German market decades before political unification - Goods, capital and workers moved freely — tying German economies together - Prussia ran it (not Austria, which was excluded) — making Prussia the natural economic leader of Germany - It planted the idea that Germany could function as one unit

Historians debate how directly the Zollverein caused unification — it was not designed as a step toward a German state — but its long-term effect was to make Prussian leadership feel natural.

Prussia's military advantage: Prussia's army was reformed in the 1860s under Helmuth von Moltke (chief of staff) and War Minister Albrecht von Roon.

Key improvements: - Universal conscription producing a large, well-trained reserve - Breech-loading needle gun (faster to fire than Austrian muskets) - Railway network to move troops faster than any other power - Efficient general staff system for campaign planning

These reforms meant Prussia could mobilise and strike before rivals were ready — decisive in both 1866 and 1870.

The Austro-Prussian War, 1866 (Seven Weeks' War): Bismarck deliberately provoked a war over Schleswig-Holstein, isolating Austria diplomatically — France and Russia stayed neutral; Italy was promised Venice.

The result was the Battle of Königgrätz (Sadowa) in July 1866: a crushing Prussian victory in just seven weeks. Austria was excluded from the German Confederation, which was dissolved. The North German Confederation (1867), led by Prussia, took its place.

Bismarck then offered generous peace terms to Austria — deliberately not humiliating it, so Austria would not seek revenge.

Austria's decline — why it lost influence: Austria dominated the German world until the 1860s, but several weaknesses eroded its position:

- Its multi-ethnic empire (Germans, Hungarians, Czechs, Italians…) was hard to govern — it needed to placate all groups rather than pursue bold German policy - Exclusion from the Zollverein left it economically isolated from Germany - Military defeats in 1859 (against France and Piedmont) and 1866 (against Prussia) destroyed its prestige - After 1866 Austria refocused as Austria-Hungary (the Compromise/Ausgleich of 1867), turning its gaze south-east, away from Germany

The big idea: Bismarck used 'blood and iron' to complete unification in 1871, then spent the next nineteen years using laws, welfare and diplomacy to hold his new Empire together. He fought the Catholic Church (Kulturkampf) and crushed socialist opposition — but when Kaiser Wilhelm II came to power in 1888, Bismarck's grip on events slipped away.

The Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) and the 1871 Constitution: To bring the south German states (Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden) fully into a German nation, Bismarck needed a common enemy. He found one in France.

Bismarck provoked Napoleon III by editing a diplomatic telegram — the Ems Dispatch — to make a French demand look like an insult to Prussia. France declared war. South German states rallied to Prussia out of patriotism.

Results: - France was swiftly defeated; Paris surrendered in January 1871 - The German Empire (Deutsches Reich) was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles on 18 January 1871 - France ceded Alsace-Lorraine and paid a huge indemnity

The 1871 Constitution created a federal state: - The Bundesrat (upper house): representatives of the 25 German states — Prussia dominated with 17 of 58 votes - The Reichstag (lower house): elected by universal male suffrage, but it could not bring down the government - The Kaiser (hereditary emperor) commanded the army and appointed/dismissed the Chancellor - Prussia controlled foreign and military policy — Bismarck served as both Prussian Minister-President and Imperial Chancellor, reinforcing Prussian dominance

The Kulturkampf (1871–1879) — the struggle against the Catholic Church: Bismarck feared that German Catholics owed loyalty to the Pope in Rome rather than to the new Protestant-dominated Empire. The newly formed Centre Party was a Catholic political party that could challenge his authority.

Bismarck launched the Kulturkampf ('culture struggle') — a series of laws aimed at weakening the Church: - The May Laws (1873): the state controlled the training and appointment of priests - Jesuits were expelled from Germany - Civil marriage became compulsory (not just church marriage) - Church supervision of schools was reduced

Why it failed: The Catholic community rallied behind the Church. The Centre Party grew stronger, not weaker, with each new law. By the late 1870s Bismarck quietly reversed most Kulturkampf laws — he needed Catholic votes in the Reichstag to pass tariff reform and to fight socialism.

The anti-socialist campaign (1878–1890): The Social Democratic Party (SPD) grew rapidly as Germany industrialised. Bismarck saw socialism as a direct threat to the imperial order.

His strategy had two prongs — ban and bribe:

The stick — Anti-Socialist Laws (1878): After two assassination attempts on Kaiser Wilhelm I (which Bismarck linked to socialists despite thin evidence), he pushed through laws banning socialist meetings, unions and newspapers. SPD organisation was driven underground.

The carrot — State Socialism (1883–89): Bismarck introduced Europe's first modern welfare state: - 1883 Health insurance for workers - 1884 Accident insurance - 1889 Old-age and disability pensions

The aim was to make workers loyal to the Empire rather than to socialist ideas — taking the wind out of socialist sails. It worked partially: the SPD survived underground but the workers gained real benefits.

Paper 3 — how Bismarck questions are set: Questions often ask you to evaluate Bismarck's domestic policies or assess 'how far' his methods were dictated by circumstance rather than design.

Key contrasts to use: - Repression vs. reform (stick and carrot in anti-socialist policy) - Success vs. failure (Kulturkampf failed; welfare state succeeded in reducing revolutionary pressure) - Bismarck's design vs. luck (was unification his master plan, or brilliant improvisation?)

Always link domestic policy back to the structural aim: holding the new Empire together against centrifugal forces (Catholic particularism, socialist internationalism, state rivalry).