Unification of Germany DBQ
In 1815, the country of Germany was divided into 39 independent and separate states. The country’s main goal at the time was unification, but nationalists (supporters of a small Germany) and liberals (the German supporters) quarreled over whether to unify Germany under Prussia, or include Austria in the process. The attempts to unify Germany and make it liberal failed miserably due to uncompromising attitudes between the two groups, which differed in political opinions.The nationalists, who wanted Germany unified under Prussia, refused to accept a liberal with the crown, and only accepted German princes with it (Doc 3). Many of them, like Bismarck, believed unity occurred with war and conquest (Doc 4). The nationalists were pro- nobility, anti- liberal, and believed that the Junkers were the state because their purpose was to defend their country and control the serfs (Doc 7). The Junkers also resolved to def . . .
15) They display these feelings of defense as they refuse an imperial crown and show no mercy by calling the liberals, beggars with no money and no laws (Doc. The cruel outlook upon the nobility by the liberals expressed their true feelings of a failed unified country if the Junker’s were allowed power and privileges. They believed that in order to be successful in unifying Germany, there should be equality among social ranks as well as a self- government along with universal manhood suffrage (Doc 19). The documents and their strong feelings of disregard reflected their opposition because of different views of how to unify Germany (Doc 8). It seems apparent that some people, like King William who believed without the Junkers, Prussia would cease to exist, looked down upon the liberals and conveyed this through their words of hate. He believed Austria was not the cause of threat, reflecting opposition towards the liberals (Doc. They advocated the rights of the lower class men and wanted to change the views of the proletariat into thinking highly of themselves and not subjecting to the “attacks” of the prince’s police (Doc 20). Like these beliefs, the Frankfurt Assembly believed that by protecting the rights of every German, making everyone equal, and destroying Junker distinctions and special privileges, the struggle to unify Germany would be resolved and the process would be successful (Doc 10). The 39 independent states never had the chance to say they were above everything in the world (Doc 2), for the dualism was the central theme that followed the Napoleonic Wars and was the cause of the unsuccessful German liberalism and unification during the Revolutions of 1848- 1849. The people who supported these ideas consisted of members of the Berlin assembly, liberal representatives, and other powerful people. end God and the King aside from the “Prussian Fatherland. It is evident that the perspectives of the two political groups differed as each supported different causes.
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