FRQ on German Unification

FRQ: Analyze the major economic and political factors that allowed for the unification of Germany in the late nineteenth century.

Thesis: Major political and social events in Prussia, Austria, and the German States combined to unify the German empire by 1870.

Political

1. Strong German Nationalism from Hagel, Fikte, and Father Juan
2. Nationalism sensed at Frankfurt Assembly
3. Crimean War Weakens Austria
4. The confederation of the German States from 1815 was restored in 1850
5. Otto Von Bismark becomes Chief minister of Prussia who practiced Realpolitik
6. Northern Confederation
7. 7 Weeks War: Prussia invades Austria with highly trained soldiers and Needle gun.
8. Bismark draws in southern states with the Franco-Prussian War

Economic

1. Due to the Confederation of German States restored in 1850, the economy of loosely combined states began to grow and gave Germans a glimpse into the future of a unified state
2. Zollverien (Tariff Union) in Prussia
3. United by Rails
4. United by Telegraph

European Warfare FRQ

Thesis: European Warfare in the late 18th century to the mid 19th century provided vast innovations in both fields of social and technological developments that would come to shape warfare for several centuries.
I. Social Developments
a. Women Nurses
i. Florence Nightingale
b. Media Coverage
i. Crimean War began first coverage by newspaper correspondents
II. Technological Developments
a. Seven Weeks War
i. Needle gun – provided five rounds a minute
ii. New railroads provided rapid transportations

FRQ - What Facilitated German Unification?

Germany’s unification was made feasible through political and economic factors, in both stirrings of nationalism and increased economic output.

1. Political

a. Nationalist feelings were running high, as many Germans were influenced by nationalist thinkers, such as Hegel, and were still sore from Napoleonic control

b. Failed attempts at unification, such as the Frankfurt Assembly, fueled public nationalism

c. Germans respected the state and had a lust for increasing its power, and supported any change that would bring increased power to Germany

d. Bismarck’s marked devotion to Realpolitik facilitated unification, as it turned out to be very effective in international politics

2. Economic

a. Germany was rapidly growing economically, and unification would only strengthen this economic expansion

b. Unification would allow for larger cities and corporations that drew from them, and so German industrial interests would expand along with the country