Chapter 3: Liberalism and nationalism in Germany (1815-71)

Wilhelm IV

________ supported the nationalist movement and declared that Prussia would be merged in Germany.

Otto von Bismarck

________: a previously conservative member of the Prussian United Diet who became the Minister- President in 1862.

* He was faithful to monarchy, but was prepared to push policies against the kings wishes.

Otto von Manteuffel

________ (Prussia Prime Minister 1850- 58): conservative who aimed to strengthen bonds b /t the monarchy and ppl.

* He also sought to discourage poorer members of society from supporting liberal ideas by allowing social reforms

German Confederation

________ (Bund): 39 states under the control of the Austrian empire (decided by Metternichs system)

Hanover

________ joined Zollverein in 1851, so Prussia controlled the trade to N. Sea ports.

Austrian artillery

________: large # of guns with rifled barrels (higher quality than Prussians)

Reichstag

________ had no control over military spending (90 % of annual budget)

Prussia

France initiated war with ________ in July 1870.

Venetia

________ was granted to Italy.

1863

In ________, Bismarck helped Tsar Alexander II in repressing a revolt in Poland, which improved Prussian relationship with Russia.

Madrid

July 1870: a document announcing Leopolds acceptance arrived in ________ when the Spanish parliament wasnt in session- wasnt supposed to happen.

Volksgeist

________: each nation had its own individual identity based around a shared heritage and language.

Hambach Festival

May 1832: ________ in Bavaria- liberal + nationalist ideas were discussed; Young Germany established which called for a united Germany.

Zollparlament

________ (1868- 70): elected body to represent the country in terms of trade.

Italy

April 1866: Secret treaty that committed ________ to follow Prussia in going to war w /Austria for 3 months- ________ joined to gain Venetia.

1815

German Confederation

Austria, Prussia, and Russia defeated French troops

Battle of Leipzig (1813)

Congress of Vienna

________: discussed problems caused by wars & establish new boundaries.

* Aimed to restore stability & was politically conservative

The Congress of Vienna included…

Austria, Prussia, Britain, Russia, and France

Prince Metternich

Austria’s foreign minister who played a key role in the alliance b/t Prussia, Austria, and Russia

Metternich System aimed to

maintain the rule of absolute monarchy in the Austrian Empire

The Metternich System opposed nationalism and

would even station troops away from parts of the empire from which they came

The Metternich System also relied on repressive methods like:

press censorship + a network of secret agents who spied on political radicals

The Diet was…

a conference of ambassadors that controlled foreign policies of the member states

* It was always chaired by an Austrian rep, so Austria could veto constitutional changes

The Confederation never developed a strong identity of its own because

there was no civil service or attempt to develop it economically

Prussia was ruled by King Friedrich Wilhelm III who

governed with the support of the conservative land-owners (Junkers)

* Population over 10 mil

The middle class consisted of…

business people and professionals who supported liberalism

The emergence of a middle class…

resulted in the growth of newspaper press - allowed awareness of public affairs to increase and the promotion of cultural activities

While middle class individuals didn’t want fully democratic systems, they wanted…

representative assemblies and a constitutional monarchy

The middle class also wanted guarantees of freedom as well as

free speech & fair trials

Many middle-class individuals also wanted economic freedom, like

laissez-faire economics & removal of tariffs

In the early 19th century there was…

limited support for national unity, since many felt loyalty to their region

Why was there limited support for national unity in the early 19th century?

Little desire for a central gov’t that could impose taxes, interfere w/civil liberties, and draft ppl

Burschenschaften

supported national unity

While the Bund had common language and culture there wasn’t any…

religious unity

* Austria = catholic
* Prussia = Protestant

The murder of August von Kotzebue resulted in…

the Carlsbad Decrees in 1819

According the Carlsbad Decrees, universities had an…

‘extraordinary commissioner who supervised the teaching program, liberal professors were removed, and unauthorised student organisations were dissolved

The Carlsbad Decrees also…

censored newspaper press & had a central investigating commission to root out organisations promoting liberal and nationalist ideas

The Six Articles of June 1832

limited the rights of elected assemblies in states w/constitution & declared supremacy of federal law

Ten Articles (passed a month after the six articles) had..

banned political meetings, festivals, and made it illegal to wear the colors of student associations in scarves & ties

Gottingen Seven

promoted a sense of German culture

Demands for political change failed to achieve anything because

princes of each state ensured they maintained their power

* Limited powers of elected assemblies by: restricting voting to wealthy property owners, indirect voting - restricted free expression of public opinion

1840

Friedrich Willhelm IV becomes king → complex and unstable

Wilhelm IV had..

relaxed censorship, gave greater powers to provincial Diets, but rejected demands for a single parliament for Prussian territories

Germany’s geographical situation

meant it could trade easily with both east and west

70% of pop. worked in agriculture, while

manufacturing only prevalent in certain areas (e.g. Rhineland)

There was heavy manufacturing in the 1840s with

the development of railways, which encouraged coal and iron industries

Customs barriers

slowed down trade across Germany b/t states + prevented economic growth

Prussia promoted change by

abolishing its 67 internal customs & charged tariffs on imports

The Zollverein formed in 1834 and was..

customs union b/t German states with a combined population of 26 million

What were the policies from the Zollverein early on…

* Income from tariffs was equally divided b/t states in proportion to their population
* Linked by the rapidly growing rail network
* Adopted a common currency and system of weights and measures

Austria didn’t join the Zollverein, which allowed…

Prussia to gain a dominant economic position

Gross = large Germany

dominated by Austria

Klein = small Germany

dominated by Prussia

1848 was the…

year of revolutions

Metternich was exiled in…

March 1848

Revolutions in 1848 were…

short-lived and authoritarian regimes were reestablished

Problems in countryside included

poor living standards, high rent, & 2 years of bad harvests (1846-47) - made worse by increasing population

Problems in urban areas

rising food prices and a recession of the textile industry→ lower wages

Middle class individuals wanted to improve their position and…

wanted political reforms → Duke Leopold granted a free press, trial by jury, etc in Baden

Oct. 1847

liberal politicians wanted a German national parliament & to unite Germany

Uprisings were uncoordinated but resulted in liberal reform like…

* King of Saxony appointed liberal ministers + new constitution
* Bill of rights in states like Nassau

Vorparlament (March 1848)

six states created this constituent assembly to create a constitution for a united Germany

Wilhelm IV called for a United Diet (Apr. 1847) to

allow for railroads to be expanded into agricultural fields, but assemble against crop failure + rising food prices

* Demanded a constitution before considering this → Wilhelm denied and dissolved Diet

First demonstrations broke out in Berlin

craftsmen & workers protested about pay and conditions

* Middle class followed by demanding protection of their rights
* Army ultimately lost control of the situation → beginning of revolution

Many princes made concessions (e.g. constitutions), but retained control of armed forces, so…

they were able to reassert their authority

In 1848, Liberals wanted

moderate constitutional reform

In 1848, Working-class wanted..

improve living and working conditions

New constitution (Feb 1850)

established a two-chamber parliament but the king had essential powers

* Wilhelm IV could change the constitution

Voting system for Landtag had three-tier system that was

based on taxes by different classes

* Wealthy had an advantage and 1/3 of voters chose 85% of Landtag members
* Upper house was appointed by king

Frankfurt Parliament (May 1848 - June 1849):

national parliament where each state had its own voting system

The Frankfurt Parliament consisted of..

* All male and most members were middle-class professionals (e.g. 200 members were lawyers, only 1 was a peasant)
* Mostly liberals who wanted a strong central government

In Dec. 1848, the Frankfurt Parliament..

approved 50 fundamental citizens’ rights - like equality before the law and freedom of the press

Frankfurt Parliament agreed on constitution in March 1849

emperor that governed with the support of two houses of the parliament (one elected & the other w/princes of the Confederation)

Wilhelm IV was offered the crown of this FP empire, but

didn’t accept because he refused to recognize the legal authority of the FP

FP members lacked political experience & struggled to resolve differences b/t those with differing views

unable to enforce decisions it made

March 1848

dispute of Schleswig-Holstein, where the population of these territories attempted to integrate into Denmark

* The FP authorised the Prussian army to fight Denmark, but they signed a truce at Malmo in Aug 1848
* Proved the dependence of FP on traditional rulers and had no independent power

Wilhelm IV put forward a unionizing plan in 1849-50 with…

a strong central gov’t, assembly elected on a limited franchise, and Prussian control of the army - Austria was excluded **(Erfurt Union)**

Austria revived the Diet after the Erfurt Union since, Prince Felix wanted to uphold the monarchy & put forward a Grossdeutschland solution where the larger states in the Bund would govern together →

many states like Hanover left the Erfurt Union

Nov 1850

Prussia abandon the Erfurt Union at the humiliation of Olmutz - it gave up its claim to the leadership and Austria triumphed, since the unequal partnership was restored

May 1851

agreement to return to the old framework of the German Confed

Weakness of liberal nationalism

princes were able to re-establish their power, revolutions were unorganised and lacked proper resources, and the division over aims b/t liberal, radicals, and the working class threatened their chances of success

While, the Erfurt Union had failed - Prussia had advantages:

* It was in N. Germany → opportunity to dominate its neighbors, but Austria had to govern a southern empire (Austria army needed to control nationalist movements in Hungary + Italy)
* Crimean War (1854-56): Austria didn’t back Russia in this war, yet Russia support Austria during the Erfurt Union - so this weakened the alliance & Prussia was unaffected

Prussia was the mos economically advanced state because…

* Its rail network increased by 46%
* Output of coal nearly increased by 4x from 1850-65
* Successful banking system
* Iron and steel industries provided the mats for weapons and rail network

Middle-class members increased, so they took a new approach

Nationalverein

Nationalverein placed its hopes in Prussia & its founding docs called for national elections and a strong national authority, but it

only had 25k members

Hanover joined Zollverein in 1851

so Prussia controlled the trade to N. Sea ports

* Zollverein → Europe’s 4th largest economy

Manteuffel’s social reforms:

* Low-interest loans for peasants to buy landholdings
* Financial aid to peasants willing to move to less populated parts of the country
* Improved working conditions & pay of factory workers

Wilhelm I ascended the throne in 1861

and focused on strengthening the army

* Encouraged by Franco-Austrian War (1859) which revealed weaknesses of the Prussian army

Wilhelm I aimed to reform the military by:

* Increasing the military budget
* Doubling the size of the regular army by increasing the annual # for military to 63k
* Extending soldiers’ terms to 3 years, followed by 5 years in the reserve
* Reducing Landwehr’s importance by merging it w/army

Liberals were alarmed by a strong army that they thought

could suppress them and raise taxes

Sept. 1862

progressives clashed w/the king over the budget

* He wanted funds for the military, but the constitution required taxes be agreed by the Landtag

Bismarck was invited by Roon:

the minister of war, who believed he could overcome the budget crisis

Bismarck said his first task was to reorganise the army then…

he’d declare war w/Austria & break up the German Confederation and unify them under Prussian leadership

Bismarck also aimed to maintain the Prussian monarchy & conservative social structure

he only believed in German nationalism to advance Prussian power

Bismarck was faithful to monarchy

but was prepared to push policies against the king’s wishes

Bismarck resolved the army reform crisis by

Collecting taxes w/o parliamentary agreement

Bismarck also made a speech to parliament on becoming M-P

to show he had some common ground with liberals (like German unity)

* But, he undertook repressive measures - since he was prepared to govern by force

Bismarck and liberals in Landtag had…

opposing views

Progressives in Landtag

resented Bismarck’s willingness to disregard parliamentary convention, use of the press to manipulate public opinion, and his contempt for their political values