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Homework 2 for Wednesday 1/15 German 1090 History Overview Part II: Frederick II (the Great) and the Rise of Prussia The Revolution of 1848 Bismarck and the Unification of Germany 1871 Homework 2 for Wednesday 1/15 Review the information provided through clickable links below. It consists of reading and viewing assignments. Watch at least one of the videos (links below) – about Frederick II (the Great) and the Rise of Prussia The Revolution of 1848 Bismarck and the Unification of Germany 1871 Prepare a summary (100 words minimum) including questions and observations regarding at least 2 of the following topics and the Current Events. In total at least 100 words, typed, double-spaced. This will help you discuss the topics and events in class. Frederick II (the Great) his life Frederick II (the Great) as a statesman Reasons and consequences of the Revolution of 1848 Bismarck – his life Bismarck – as a statesman Ems Dispatch and the Franco-Prussian War The German Unification of 1871: how, when and where it happened ------------------------------------- Reading Assignments and Videos: 1500 - 1899 – http://www.tatsachen-ueber- deutschland.de/en/history/content/1500-1899.html?type=1 pl. click and read The Bismarck Reich – http://www.tatsachen-ueber- deutschland.de/en/history/content/background-1/the-bismarck-reich.html?type=1pl. click and read Prussia and Frederick II (the Great): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussia - review main points http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map-DR-Prussia.svg Territorial developments around the time of Frederick II. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrv1rCLC7E http://tinyurl.com/3qcqy4r Frederick II. (Friedrich II), also known as Frederick the Great (Friedrich der Große) or „Old Fritz“(so called by his subjects) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II_The_Great - review main points General information (from Video below) Frederick II. (the Great) was the most important German figure in the 18th century, laying down the basis for a unified Germany. As King of Prussia, he expanded his empire territorially and established it as a major European power besides Austria, England, France, Spain, and Russia. He was not only concerned with territorial gain, but also tried to make life better for his subjects. He was influenced by and welcomed the age of enlightenment, as a Protestant king and an artist. He is a very unique figure who combined military prowess with cultural and social responsibility. He was self-effacing, and only a few portraits of him exist. He denied himself luxury and saw himself as a subject among the other subjects, a servant of Prussia. It is especially this last role who made him so different from Hitler who tried to compare himself to him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Acprussiamap2.gif Frederick the Great and the rise of Prussia: Video 1: Frederick the Great and the Enigma of Prussia: YouTube: recommend 1st and last (5th part) part http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WMNkd6-CMY&feature=related 5 parts: an excellent documentary about Frederick the Great and the establishment of Prussia as an important European power, a precursor, of a unified Germany, a country with one common language. (You find notes based on this 5-part video at the bottom of this file) Optional Video: Burg Hohenzollern –original seat of the “Hohenzollern” (not in Prussia but in Swabia), Frederick’s dynasty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz4oxwDLlVk Revolution of 1848 http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/history/main-content- 03/1830-1848-the-vormaerz.html - please click and read The time leading up to the Revolution of 1848: Napoleonic wars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia - review cited text below: After the defeat of Napoleon in Russia, Prussia quit its alliance with France and took part in the Sixth Coalition during the "Wars of Liberation" (Befreiungskriege) against the French occupation. Prussian troops under Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher contributed crucially in the Battle of Waterloo of 1815 to the final victory over Napoleon. Prussia's reward in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna was the recovery of her lost territories, as well as the whole of the Rhineland, Westphalia, and some other territories. These western lands were to be of vital importance because they included the Ruhr Area, the centre of Germany's fledgling industrialization, especially in the arms industry. These territorial gains also meant the doubling of Prussia's population. In exchange, Prussia withdrew from areas of central Poland to allow the creation of Congress Poland under Russian sovereignty.[24] Prussia emerged from the Napoleonic Wars as the dominant power in Germany, overshadowing long-time rival Austria, which had abdicated the imperial crown in 1806.[citation needed] In 1815 Prussia became part of the German Confederation. Reorganization in Europe: The Congress of Vienna: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Unification - review cited text below: After Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna established a new European political- diplomatic system based on the balance of power. This system reorganized Europe into spheres of influence which, in some cases, suppressed the aspirations of the various nationalities, including the Germans and Italians.[10] Generally, an enlarged Prussia and the 38 other states consolidated from the mediatized territories of 1803 were confederated within the Austrian Empire's sphere of influence. The Congress established a loose German Confederation (1815–1866), headed by Austria, with a "Federal Diet" (called the Bundestag or Bundesversammlung, an assembly of appointed leaders) which met in the city of Frankfurt am Main. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_flag http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/history/main-content-03/1830-1848- the-vormaerz.html - review the text cited below: For the Germans there were always two sides to the German Question: that of territory and that of constitution, or to be more precise, the question of the relationship between unity and freedom. At the heart of the territorial question was the problem of a “larger Germany” or “smaller Germany”. If it were possible to replace the Holy Roman Empire with a German national state, would it have to include German-speaking Austria or was a solution to the German Question possible without these territories? The question of the constitution related primarily to the distribution of power between the people and the throne. In a united Germany who was to call the shots: the elected representatives of the Germans or the princes respectively their most powerful choice? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussia In 1848 the liberals saw an opportunity when revolutions broke out across Europe. Alarmed, King Frederick William IV agreed to convene a National Assembly and grant a constitution. When the Frankfurt Parliament offered Frederick William the crown of a united Germany, he refused on the grounds that he would not accept a crown from a revolutionary assembly without the sanction of Germany's other monarchs.[26] The Frankfurt Parliament was forced to dissolve in 1849, and Frederick William issued Prussia's first constitution by his own authority in 1850. This conservative document provided for a two-house parliament. The lower house, or Landtag was elected by all taxpayers, who were divided into three classes whose votes were weighted according to the amount of taxes paid. Women and those who paid no taxes had no vote. This allowed just over one-third of the voters to choose 85% of the legislature, all but assuring dominance by the more well-to-do men of the population. The upper house, which was later renamed the Herrenhaus ("House of Lords"), was appointed by the king. He retained full executive authority and ministers were responsible only to him. As a result, the grip of the landowning classes, the Junkers, remained unbroken, especially in the eastern provinces.[27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Unification The period of Austrian and Prussian police-states and vast censorship before the Revolutions of 1848 in Germany later became widely known as the Vormärz, the "before March", referring to March 1848. During this period, European liberalism gained momentum; the agenda included economic, social, and political issues. Most European liberals in the Vormärz sought unification under nationalist principles, promoted the transition to capitalism, sought the expansion of male suffrage, among other issues. Their "radicalness" depended upon where they stood on the spectrum of male suffrage: the wider the definition of suffrage, the more radical.[32] Video: Why did the revolution(s) of 1848 fail? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mma1L5vGc0 Bismarck and the Unification of Germany 1871: http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/history/main-content- 03/1871-founding-of-the-german-reich.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Unification In 1864, Prussian and Austrian forces crossed the border between Holstein and Schleswig initiating the Second War of Schleswig. The Austro-Prussian forces defeated the Danes, who surrendered both territories. In the resulting Gastein Convention of 1865 Prussia took over the administration of Schleswig while Austria assumed that of Holstein. Austro-Prussian War Main article: Austro-Prussian War Expansion of Prussia 1807–1871 Bismarck realized that the dual administration of Schleswig and Holstein was only a temporary solution, and tensions rose between Prussia and Austria. The struggle for supremacy in Germany then led to the Austro-Prussian War (1866), triggered by the dispute over Schleswig and Holstein. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ems_Dispatch The Ems Dispatch (French: Dépêche d'Ems, German: Emser Depesche), sometimes called the Ems Telegram, caused France to declare the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870. The actual dispatch was an internal message from the Prussian King's vacationing site to Bismarck in Berlin, reporting demands made by the French ambassador; it was Bismarck's released statement to the press that became known as Ems Dispatch. The name referred to Bad Ems, a resort spa east of Koblenz on the Lahn river, then situated in Hesse-Nassau, a new possession of Prussia.
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