After Otto von Bismarck was made minister-president of Prussia, he ruthlessly overrode the objections of the national legislature to protect the power of the monarchy and to pursue his goal of unifying the German states under Prussian leadership.
Otto von Bismarck was appointed first minister-president of Prussia on September 24, 1862, at a moment when Prussia was in the throes of a constitutional crisis. Difficulties had begun to develop in 1857, when William I became regent for his ailing brother, King Frederick William IV
William I was primarily a soldier. With strong ties to the Crown, the state, and to Protestantism, he expected the Prussian legislature to serve rather than lead the state. His brother had reluctantly accepted a new constitution
The legislature was divided into an upper house, representing the titled nobility, and a lower house, whose membership was determined by indirect vote. All male adults voted for electors who were men of property, and they in turn elected representatives to sit in the lower house. Since ministers were not responsible to the legislature but to the king, the royal concession to constitutionalism upheld the conservative nature of the Prussian state. The legislature’s control of government spending, however, did provide it with significant power.
William I was willing to work with his legislature but was firmly convinced that Divine Guidance worked through the Crown. Whereas Frederick William IV had cautiously guarded Austrian-Prussian leadership, William I believed that it was his state’s mission to Prussianize all the German states. Since Prussia’s rise to power had been based upon military strength, his interpretation of Prussia’s destiny called for the reorganization of the army.
Von Roon’s reforms included strict enforcement of universal conscription
In early 1860, von Roon’s reforms led to a constitutional crisis when the Chamber of Deputies, which was constitutionally authorized to pass, amend, or reject the budget, challenged the proposed changes. After bitter debate, the crisis was temporarily eased by provisional approval of the budget. Although Prussian political parties were then in their infancy, the progressives had obtained a majority since 1858. William’s ministry reflected the advance of the liberals, and Prussia was considered to be entering a new era. Nevertheless, the military reforms, particularly the dissolution of an independent militia and the three-year terms of conscripts, embittered the progressives.
Otto von Bismarck at the age of fifty-one, four years after he became minister-president.
William’s reaction, which explicitly challenged his parliament’s right to refuse the funds necessary to maintain the state, intensified the struggle. By 1862, the battle lines were clearly drawn when the Chamber of Deputies again refused to approve the budget. William was ready to proceed according to his own interpretation of the constitution
The forty-six-year-old Bismarck was a member of the Junker nobility of Brandenburg. According to the traditions of his class, he was destined to serve the Prussian state either through military or civil service. First elected to the Provincial Diet of Pomerania
Appointed Prussian ambassador to the Germanic Diet at Frankfurt in 1851, Bismarck
Bismarck’s entire career was bound up in service to the state of Prussia
Bismarck’s approach to Prussian internal politics was the same as his approach to international politics. He was not about to allow the Prussian state to suffer at the hands of a rebellious parliament. William I
the position of Prussia in Germany will be determined not by its liberalism but by its power. . . . Not through speeches and majority decisions are the great questions of the day decided—that was the mistake of 1848 and 1849—but through blood and iron.
Bismarck then went ahead with reforms, purged the army
Bismarck’s duel with the Chamber of Deputies continued as the country returned a progressive majority in all elections throughout this period. Nevertheless, he did not measure his power by votes. Responsible only to king and state, Bismarck managed to outlast the domestic issue as foreign crises came to dominate the Prussian political scene. Polish insurrections and the Schleswig-Holstein
Bismarck seized the opportunity afforded by the Schleswig-Holstein crisis to begin the series of wars that would result in German unification. He maneuvered Austria, the only contender with Prussia for ruling power of the German federation of states, into an alliance to “liberate” the two tiny duchies from Denmark
Between the Danish War of 1864 and the summer of 1866, Bismarck pursued secret diplomatic negotiations to ensure that no foreign powers would intervene in the coming Austro-Prussian war. His trap was sprung in the Diet on June 10, 1866, when Austria proposed federal execution of the Schleswig-Holstein duchies. Passage of the proposal was tantamount to an act of war against Prussia, and Bismarck declared war on Austria. The Diet itself was the first casualty; it was no longer useful. Prussia’s victory in the ensuing Seven Weeks’ War
Bismarck’s next step was to make Prussian Germany a world power. For this, he needed the support of the House of Deputies. In September of 1866, after Prussia defeated Austria in the Seven Weeks’ War, Bismarck’s Bill of Indemnity was passed by the lower house. This law legalized all Bismarck’s actions that had been constitutionally contested. Bismarck emerged victorious in both areas of conflict, primarily because for him they both involved the growth of Prussian power. In each conflict, necessity determined Bismarck’s behavior. Reasons of state, “because the State exists,” justified whatever course of action might serve the state. In 1862, it meant army
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Eyck, Erich. Bismarck and the German Empire. New York: W. W. Norton, 1968. First published in Great Britain in 1958, this book presents a liberal view of the background and appointment of Bismarck as minister-president. -
Feuchtwanger, Edgar. Bismarck. London: Routledge, 2002. Concise biography of Bismarck that offers a modern reassessment of his historical significance by a specialist in nineteenth century German history. -
_______. Imperial Germany, 1850-1918. London: Routledge, 2001. Study of the political development of Prussia/Germany, from the aftermath of the revolution of 1848 through World War I, that pays special attention to the aggressive Prussian foreign policy. -
Kent, George O. Bismarck and His Times. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1978. Brief and lucid account of Bismarck and his age, suitable for American college students and general readers. Kent’s excellent notes provide a springboard for further reading. -
Lerman, Katharine Anne. Bismarck. New York: Pearson Longman, 2004. Thoughtful study of Bismarck’s exercise of political power as a key to understanding both the man and the nature of statecraft. -
Showalter, Dennis E. The Wars of German Unification. London: Arnold, 2004. Study of Prussian military strategy in context of the transitions enacted by Bismarck and others in Prussian political and military policies between 1848 and 1871. -
Waller, Bruce. Bismarck. 2d ed. Oxford, England: Basil Blackwell, 1997. Well-written and insightful analysis of Bismarck’s life in which the author claims that Bismarck’s welfare legislation was his greatest achievement. -
Williamson, D. G. Bismarck and Germany, 1862-1890. 2d ed. London: Longman, 1998. Concise and readable account of Bismarck’s domestic and foreign policies. Useful glossary, maps, and a collection of pertinent documents.
Prussian Revolution of 1848
Danish-Prussian War
North German Confederation Is Formed
Austria and Prussia’s Seven Weeks’ War
Franco-Prussian War
Kulturkampf Against the Catholic Church in Germany
German States Unite Within German Empire
Three Emperors’ League Is Formed
Germany Passes Anti-Socialist Law
Triple Alliance Is Formed
Friedrich von Beust; Otto von Bismarck; Friedrich von Holstein.