Why Was The German Unification Movement Successful
Essay question: Trace the unification movement within the German confederation up until 1834. What were the main obstacles to overcome?
German unification, from 1815-1834 faced many obstacles, obstacles that would have to be overcome if the unification movement within Germany were to be successful. From the very beginning there were many forces acting against the unification movement, states like Austria were very much against the unification. The people in Austria were reactionaries; they believed that they had a better quality of life in the pre-Napoleonic times. Other forces that acted against the unification movement were the congress of Vienna, a collection of the 39 biggest and most influential states in Germany, (with Austria as the most important and influential component.) And finally the Carlsbad decrees, a set of reactionary restrictions put in place by the German confederation to prevent ‘liberal’ thinking.
Prince Metternich was the chancellor of Austria; he was the most influential man during the time of the German unification. Prince Metternich was the chancellor of Austria between 1807 and 1848, during his time as chancellor of Austria, he tried in many …show more content…
ways to stop liberalism and nationalism and bring back the old anarchy.
The congress of Vienna ran from 1814-1815; it consisted of Austria, Prussia, the UK, Russia and France, and was chaired by Prince Mettenich, the main purpose of the congress of Vienna was to restoration the reactionary German rulers (the kings and queens.) It was noted that the congress was very anti-liberalism.
After the Holy Roman Empire collapsed, Germany had split off into over 300 different states; Metternich with the help of the congress of Vienna, gathered up 39 states from central Europe to form the German confederation.
The main two states in the German confederation were Austria and Prussia, but Austria and Metternich still held the upper hand. Prince Mettenich was put at the head of the German confederation. Under his direction the education system was strictly controlled, newspapers and pamphlets were censored by the government, they did this because they did not like the idea’s of liberalism and nationalism spreading. Through Austria’s control of the German confederation, Metternich was able to convince the other states and principalities to apply the same policies to their
constitution.
However that is not all that Metternich did to stop the word of liberalism and nationalism spreading, Metternich was a smart man; he understood that this idea’s generally spread in the learning places. As a precaution Metternich put in place the Carlsbad decrees.
The Carlsbad decrees were created in a meeting and put into place in 1819 in the small town of Carlsbad. The Carlsbad decrees originally consisted of 6 articles, which related to student organisations and the press.
The first four of the decrees related directly to the university students,
Prince Metternich firmly believed that, “a monarch was ordained by God to take sole responsibility for the country’s government, and a monarch’s main priorities were to unite subjects in loyalty to the crown and to preserve order.”
German unification, from 1815-1834 faced many obstacles, obstacles that would have to be overcome if the unification movement within Germany were to be successful. From the very beginning there were many forces acting against the unification movement, states like Austria were very much against the unification. The people in Austria were reactionaries; they believed that they had a better quality of life in the pre-Napoleonic times. Other forces that acted against the unification movement were the congress of Vienna, a collection of the 39 biggest and most influential states in Germany, (with Austria as the most important and influential component.) And finally the Carlsbad decrees, a set of reactionary restrictions put in place by the German confederation to prevent ‘liberal’ thinking.
Prince Metternich was the chancellor of Austria; he was the most influential man during the time of the German unification. Prince Metternich was the chancellor of Austria between 1807 and 1848, during his time as chancellor of Austria, he tried in many …show more content…
ways to stop liberalism and nationalism and bring back the old anarchy.
The congress of Vienna ran from 1814-1815; it consisted of Austria, Prussia, the UK, Russia and France, and was chaired by Prince Mettenich, the main purpose of the congress of Vienna was to restoration the reactionary German rulers (the kings and queens.) It was noted that the congress was very anti-liberalism.
After the Holy Roman Empire collapsed, Germany had split off into over 300 different states; Metternich with the help of the congress of Vienna, gathered up 39 states from central Europe to form the German confederation.
The main two states in the German confederation were Austria and Prussia, but Austria and Metternich still held the upper hand. Prince Mettenich was put at the head of the German confederation. Under his direction the education system was strictly controlled, newspapers and pamphlets were censored by the government, they did this because they did not like the idea’s of liberalism and nationalism spreading. Through Austria’s control of the German confederation, Metternich was able to convince the other states and principalities to apply the same policies to their
constitution.
However that is not all that Metternich did to stop the word of liberalism and nationalism spreading, Metternich was a smart man; he understood that this idea’s generally spread in the learning places. As a precaution Metternich put in place the Carlsbad decrees.
The Carlsbad decrees were created in a meeting and put into place in 1819 in the small town of Carlsbad. The Carlsbad decrees originally consisted of 6 articles, which related to student organisations and the press.
The first four of the decrees related directly to the university students,
Prince Metternich firmly believed that, “a monarch was ordained by God to take sole responsibility for the country’s government, and a monarch’s main priorities were to unite subjects in loyalty to the crown and to preserve order.”