Key People
He was the Austrian foreign minister who dominated the Congress of Vienna and opposed nationalism
Who is Klemens von Metternich?
Political ideology emphasizing individual rights, constitutions, and representative government.
What is liberalism?
1815 meeting that redrew Europe and created the German Confederation.
What is the Congress of Vienna?
War in which Prussia defeated Austria and excluded it from German affairs.
What is the Austro‑Prussian War (1866)?
The customs union that excluded Austria and strengthened Prussia economically.
What is the Zollverein?
Prussian king who refused the Frankfurt Parliament’s offer of the crown “from the gutter.”
Who is Frederick William IV?
Political ideology emphasizing shared culture, language, and identity.
What is nationalism?
The 1848–49 assembly that attempted to unify Germany through liberal means
What is the Frankfurt Parliament?
War that united the southern German states with Prussia against a common enemy.
What is the Franco‑Prussian War (1870–71)?
The Prussian reserve militia system that Bismarck sought to reform.
What is the Landwehr?
Prussian prime minister who championed Realpolitik and delivered the “Iron and Blood” speech.
Who is Otto von Bismarck?
Bismarck’s political philosophy of practical, power‑based decision‑making.
What is Realpolitik?
The 1850 event where Prussia backed down to Austria, ending the Erfurt Union attempt.
What is the Humiliation at Olmütz?
The treaty that ended the Franco‑Prussian War and forced France to pay 5 billion francs.
What is the Treaty of Frankfurt?
The German word for “empire,” used after 1871.
What is the Reich?
The Prussian king who became the first Kaiser of unified Germany in 1871.
Who is Wilhelm I?
The Prussian lower house of parliament, often in conflict with the king over military spending.
What is the Landtag?
The 1864 conflict in which Prussia and Austria jointly defeated Denmark.
What is the Second Schleswig War?
The two duchies contested in the Schleswig Wars
What are Schleswig and Holstein?
he Prussian aristocratic landowning class that supported Bismarck.
Who are the Junkers?
French emperor defeated in the Franco‑Prussian War and captured at Sedan.
Who is Napoleon III?
The political system in which a monarch’s powers are limited by a constitution.
What is a constitutional monarchy?
The 1870 diplomatic incident Bismarck edited to provoke France into war.
What is the Ems Telegram?
The location where Wilhelm I was proclaimed Kaiser in 1871.
What is the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles?
The political vision of a “small Germany” excluding Austria.
What is Kleindeutschland?