Until 1871, there was no country called Germany. Germanic peoples lived throughout central Europe in a large number of small independent states. Only two of these states, Austria and Prussia, were significant in size and population. However, of these two, Austria, although ruled by Germans, did not contain a majority of Germans. Instead, Austria was a mosaic of many different ethnic groups precariously held together by a minority of dominant Germans.

Throughout the 19th century there was a small but growing movement to unite all of the small German states into one powerful German nation. Although the states did form a customs union, which established common tariffs, and a weak political confederation, there was still strong resistance to true political unification among the small states. These states were unwilling to give up their independence. there was also fierce opposition to unification in Austria; the large ethnic minorities in Austria were not willing to be swallowed up in a huge German country. Only in Prussia was there significant support for the creation of a united Germany.

By the middle of the 19th century, Prussia has gained enough military and economic strength to begin pursuing its goal of German unification. However, Austria stood in the way, as Austria refused to allow Prussia to gain control of the other German states. This situation eventually led to war between Prussia and Austria. The Prussians amazed Austria and the rest of Europe when they easily defeated the powerful Austrians in a sever week war in 1866. This enabled Prussia to convince (or force) most of the German states to join in a North German Confederation, dominated by Prussia. However, there were still some who distrusted Prussia and were unwilling to surrender their independence. It took the threat of a foreign aggressor to drive these small states into the arms of the Prussian dominated North German Confederation. France, fearing the expansion of Prussia, declared war against the German states in 1870. when faced with option of domination by France, or domination by a united Germany, the small German states had no difficulty deciding that they preferred the second option. This decision was made easier when the Prussian armies demonstrated their surprising superiority against the military might of the French. Within week the Germans had forced most of the French armies to surrender and had surrounded Paris. This startling victory was a matter of great pride to the Germans. This national pride formed the basis of a strong, united German nation.

The liberals believed that if a constitutional democracy became reality in Prussia, the Prussian government would be able to bring the other German states into a union by offering them greater political freedom and the opportunities and benefits of economic freedom. The liberals argue that if the government allowed businesses to function freely without interference, then everyone, including those in the working class, would be better off.

The socialists, who were known in Germany as democrats, were represented mainly by small businessmen, skilled workers, independent farmers, journalists, and lawyers. The socialists believed in a system of popular sovereignty in which everyone, or at least all males, had the right to vote. They believed that ultimate power should reside in ordinary people, not merely in the wealthy, or educated, or landowners. The ordinary working class people formed the backbone of society because it was their work which had built up and maintained the society.

The socialists believed that if popular sovereignty was established in Prussia, the masses of people could be shaped into an effective force for social and political reform. If the other German states did not then come rushing into the arms of Prussia, the enlightened Prussian masses could bring liberty to them by overthrowing the dominance of the wealthy and privileged. The rest of the German masses would then see the benefits of joining with Prussia and participating in popular sovereignty. For the masses these benefits would be obvious: A government controlled by the masses would regulate business to ensure that the needs and interests of the masses were respected.

Thus all three of these major political groupings were seeking German unification, but all had different ideas of how that should be accomplished. Moreover, all had different ideas about where sovereignty in a united German nation should reside. The conservatives believed it should reside in a hereditary ruler. The liberals believed it should reside jointly in a parliament and a hereditary ruler, and that the parliament should be chosen by the middle and upper classes. The socialists believed it should reside directly in the common man, who should have the ability to choose and reject leaders.

From the 1840's to the 1880's, many Germans were asking themselves whether a strong German state in which individual freedom was respected could be created. The events of this period seemed to indicate that the Germans could choose either individual freedom or national and international power, but they could not have both.

In 1848, Prussia, Austria, and many of the smaller German states experienced a liberal and socialist revolution. The rebels were tired of having elite, absolutist governments ram old policies down their throats. They wanted freedom - freedom to choose their political leaders, to make their own economic decisions, and to speak their mind. One of the goals of the revolutionaries was to unite all of the small German states into one large and powerful German nation. A united German nation would have greater natural and human resources. It would be wealthy and strong, and would be able to influence international events in its favour. The revolutionaries had high hopes but they soon became bogged down in endless discussions. Well, actually they were arguments. The revolutionaries could not agree on anything except the need for change. Their talk led them nowhere, and eventually both the revolution and the hope for unification were crushed.

In 1862, Bismarck set about to unify Germany using different principles. Bismarck believed that debates and parliaments and elections could never create a powerful German nation. Instead, Bismarck sought to unify Germany through the traditional institutions of the army and the monarchy. He ruled without concern for popular opinion or freedom. He ignored parliament, scorned the constitution, and sought to achieve his goals through military power and war. within five years, Bismarck's principles proved to be enormously successful. Prussia had defeated Austria, one of the world's great powers, and established a unified Germany. Less than four years later, Bismarck completed the process by conquering France, and bringing the remaining German states into the German Confederation. A strong, powerful, and confident Germany had emerged as the result of Bismarck's authoritarian and militaristic principles. It was obvious to the Germans that by suppressing their freedom, Bismarck had miraculously transformed them into a great nation. He had given them strength, confidence, and pride in being German. As for me, I will willingly sacrifice some personal freedom in order that Germany will grow even more powerful. I would not want my government to give me too much freedom, because then my country would soon grow weak.

In the first half of the 19th century, there was a lot of political agitation in the German states. Liberals and socialists believed ' that political and social security could only be achieved through a constitution, which guaranteed basic rights, and through a powerful, elected parliament. This parliament, since it represented the people, would defend the interests of the people and provide the necessary social security measures. From this you can see that they believed that individual freedom was necessary in order to have political and social security. Thus, they argued that an authoritarian government which repressed individual freedom, such as the monarchy in Germany, could not and did not meet the needs of most of its citizens.

Despite the talk of the liberals and the socialists, the 1848 revolution demonstrated that their principals could not provide political and social security. The short lived revolution proved that parliamentary politics are divisive and lead to political instability. This leads to national weakness and eventually puts the survival of the country and its people in jeopardy. Germany was alive and well in the 1880's, rather than weak and divided, because an authoritarian government was in power, and proved able to provide political and social security. Germany was secure from external threat because Bismarck built up the army against the wishes of the liberals and socialists. In addition, Bismarck ensured the security of Germany for the future by providing a stable government. Because Bismarck had made Germany into a wealthy and powerful nation, he could afford to pass measures to protect working class people. He gave the German people a social security system which is far superior to any other which presently exists.

In summary, the recent history of Germany provides a clear demonstration that granting excessive individual freedom, such as the German liberals and socialists wished for, leads to division, instability, and chaos. On the other hand, strong, authoritarian principles lead to unity, and political and social security. I will choose the latter, rather than the former.

Everyone in the world wants economic stability and wealth. But the question is, how do you achieve it? Before in Germany, there we-e several different theories about this. The liberals especially made a lot of noise about their theories. They talked about free markets, which meant that they thought the government should not interfere in a country's economy. They believed that individuals should be free to act as they wish and to pursue their own interests. In so doing, they would make the country prosperous. But we have already seen that the liberal idea of individual freedom did not lead to political stability. And it seems obvious that without political stability, economic stability is not possible. Nevertheless, these liberal economic ideas have been tried in different places, and have had some success, but I think that the German government has established the best system.

Bismarck's economic policy is to place the highest importance on the interests of the German nation as a whole, rather than on individual business people or individual consumers. Bismarck supports German businesses and jobs by placing a tax on low cost imports. This also raises money for the German government.

Bismarck does not allow total freedom for business people. He gives them some freedom, but he makes sure that they are acting in the best interests of Germany. He does not accept the liberal belief that an individual who serves own interests is at the same time serving the country. He insists that business people must serve the interests of the state first, and then think about their own interests. But interestingly enough, serving the state is in the long term interests of people because as we have seen, a strong state is able to secure wealth, power, and stability for its people.

For me, a German businessman, I am willing to give up the freedom to act however I want. I am willing to work for the German state to make it more powerful and prosperous.

For centuries, the Austrians had been the major power in central Europe. However, the Prussians had been growing in power and territory since the 17th century and began to threaten Austrian dominance. By the 1860's, both sides were somewhat eager to fight. The Austrians wanted to put the upstart Prussians in their place and assert their dominance, while the Prussians wanted to displace the Austrians and establish themselves as dominant in central Europe.

The conflict which finally led the two states to war occurred in the two north European states of Schleswig and Holstein. These states were populated by Germans but controlled by Denmark. When the King of Denmark attempted to integrate them as provinces of Denmark, Austria and Prussia joined forces to resist him. The Germans were victorious, but were then divided about what to do with the states. Prussia wanted direct or indirect control of them, while Austria wanted them to become independent German states. The compromise solution, which saw joint Prussian and Austrian control of the states, was satisfactory to neither party. The Schleswig-Holstein issue by itself was not a major one, but it symbolized the greater struggle for supremacy which was going on between Prussia and Austria. This struggle, which had been building for a long time, finally erupted in 1866 after the two parties failed to find an agreeable solution for Schleswig and Holstein.

When war between Austria and Prussia began, it seemed possible that it could be a long, drawn out conflict. Both sides had powerful armies, but they appeared to be equal in strength. However, the Prussians shocked Austria and the rest of Europe by defeating the Austrians in a mere seven weeks. The Prussians achieved victory because their army was more professional and received better training. In addition, the Prussians had a brilliant military commander, took advantage of new weapon technology, and used trains to transport their troops. With this victory, the Prussians were able to pursue their goal of German unification without fear of interference from Austria.

Following their victory over Austria, the Prussians were able to "persuade" the twenty-one smaller German states north of the Main River to form a united Germany (the ability of the Prussians to persuade was greatly enhanced by the strength of their armies). The union formed was known as the North German Confederation. Even though Prussia was joining with 21 other states, Prussia had about four-fifths of the territory and population in the new Germany. This gave the Prussians the opportunity to totally dominate the government.

The Prussian government was very conservative. It was led by King William, and directed by his brilliant and faithful Chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck. Bismarck had no taste for liberal, middle class values. When he was chosen as Chancellor in 1862, Bismarck ran roughshod over parliament, with no concern for the constitution. He ruled Prussia like an absolute monarch, without respect for the elected representatives and their constitutional powers. By doing so, he managed to bring about a unified Germany, which was one of the main goals of middle class liberals. Thus, the Liberals, who had opposed Bismarck all along, were amazed at Bismarck's accomplishments, and at the same time somewhat ashamed at their total opposition to him. The liberals were put into a difficult situation, because they were quite grateful to Bismarck for uniting Germany. By the same token, the liberals could not very well continue to criticize Bismarck since he was now very popular with the people. Bismarck might have been expected to exploit this situation in order to destroy the liberals. He was in a position to abolish elections and legislatures and establish a German monarchy. Instead, Bismarck used the good will of his old enemies to form a permanent alliance with them. He established a constitution which he knew many liberals would be able to live with. The Constitution provided for a legislature with an upper and lower house. The upper house was appointed by the states and the lower house was elected by universal manhood suffrage. Although this gave a democratic appearance to the government, in reality the king and his chancellor still had ultimate power.

Why did Bismarck bother to make this gesture of peace to the liberals? Bismarck believed that he might be able to destroy the liberals for a time, but that eventually their strength would return and when it did, they would be out to get Bismarck. So Bismarck believed it would be better to bring them on side rather than make permanent enemies of them. Bismarck correctly believed that the people of Germany would be willing to sacrifice some freedom in order to have a strong and united German nation. Thus when the liberals saw that Bismarck had created a strong and united Germany, they were more than willing to put many of their liberal demands aside and work with Bismarck rather than against him.

Bismarck's alliance with the liberals served both parties well. Bismarck was able to secure the approval of the liberals for many his initiatives, and the liberals did not seriously question the legitimacy of Bismarck or the emperor whom he represented. Meanwhile the liberals were able to secure many reforms in the new Germany, such as freedom of the press. However, by the late 1870's it was clear that the marriage was in trouble. A number of issues on which the two sides could not agree created an unbridgeable gap between Bismarck and the liberals.

The divorce between Bismarck and the liberals forced Bismarck to seek support elsewhere. The need for new supporters demonstrated how far Bismarck was willing to stray from his traditional principles. Bismarck saw the working class as a large body of potential supporters. In order to win their support and gain their loyalty to the state he passed a series of radical social security laws to protect workers. First, a national system of sickness and accident insurance was established. A few years later, a national pension and retirement benefit fund was set up. These programs ensured that sick, disabled, and retired workers received a weekly income from the state. These measures not only helped Bismarck strengthen the German state, they also weakened the socialists who were opposed to the state, because the state gained the support of the workers at the expense of the socialists.

The Prussian defeat of Austria and the subsequent creation of the North German Confederation changed the balance of power in Europe. The French had originally encouraged the war between Austria and Prussia, believing that it would be a long, drawn out affair which would leave both sides severely weakened. Then the French intended to move against Germany and gain some easy territory. But when Prussia defeated Austria in seven weeks and then formed a united Germany, France felt threatened with this strong new country on its eastern border. As a result, France began looking for an excuse to declare war against the Germans.

Bismarck was not at all intimidated by the prospect of a war against France. Indeed, he believed that a war would help convince the remaining independent German states to join with the North German Confederation and create a fully unified German state. There were several states south of the Main River who had not joined Prussia and the other states in the union of 1867. They did not trust Prussia, and wished to retain their independence. Bismarck believed that a patriotic struggle between the Germans and the French would help convince the Germans in the south to join with the Germans in the north.

Finally, in 1870 an issue arose which caused considerable friction between France and the North German Confederation. France decided to teach the upstart Germans a lesson and declared war on them. Before the French could even prepare their armies for battle, the Germans attacked. Within days, the German armies had achieved brilliant victories, and had captured the emperor of France. Within weeks they had surrounded Paris and were besieging it. The world was astounded at the German victory. France was considered one of the world's great powers, yet a country which was not yet four years old inflicted a crippling blow on the French with apparent ease. The Germans were justifiably proud of themselves. This pride spread to all Germans, not just those in the North German Confederation. This was what Bismarck had been hoping for. Now all Germans, seeing the power and glory of the North German Confederation, would want to join it to create an even more powerful nation. This is exactly what happened. While the German armies were inflicting their last merciless blows on the exhausted and starving Parisians, the south German states concluded an agreement which joined them to the North German Confederation. King William, who in 1866 was merely king of Prussia, was proclaimed the king of the new united Germany in 1871.

In the 1880's, Germany was the strongest and most confident country in Europe, both militarily and economically. However, the jobs of agricultural workers began to be threatened by cheaper grain being imported from the United States. Bismarck acted by putting a tariff on agricultural products from the U.S. Agriculture was a big industry in Germany, employing millions of people. Bismarck knew that if these people could no longer make a good living in agriculture or even lost their jobs, they would create a lot of social instability. He did not want this to happen. He wanted them to be satisfied, so that they would remain loyal to the state. This was important because agricultural workers made fine soldiers, and since there were so many of them, they were a vital resource. By placing a tariff on agricultural products from the U.S., Bismarck safeguarded the jobs of agricultural employees in Germany. This ensured that they would be loyal to the German government. This addition, the tariff provided an extra source of income for the government.

The government took similar actions to protect other important German industries, such as the iron and steel industries. In this way, Bismarck was able to strengthen his industries and secure the loyalty of workers to the state.