Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I, traditionally known as Otto the Great, was German king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda.
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Why is Bismarck the Iron Chancellor?
Bismarck's diplomacy of Realpolitik and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the Iron Chancellor. German unification and rapid economic growth were foundational to his foreign policy. He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an overseas empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass opinion.
Why was Bismarck known as the Iron Chancellor quizlet?
Otto von Bismarck, a German statesmen, was called the Iron Chancellor. He was named this because he used his blood & iron policy to unite all of Germany. He was also named this because he was the highest official of the monarch and he would do whatever it took to get rid of all the opposition to the imperial state.
Who was known as the Iron Chancellor?
Otto von BismarckGermany became a modern, unified nation under the leadership of the “Iron Chancellor” Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), who between 1862 and 1890 effectively ruled first Prussia and then all of Germany.
What was Bismarck most known for?
Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian politician who became Germany's first-ever chancellor, a position in which he served from 1871 to 1890. Through a series of wars, he unified 39 individual states into one German nation in 1871.
How did Otto von Bismarck earn the nickname of Iron Chancellor?
Answer and Explanation: Otto Von Bismarck became known as the Iron Chancellor for his successful unification of the German States into the German Empire by using the Prussian military to invade and conquer the other German States.
Who was known for a policy of Blood and Iron?
Otto von BismarckBlood and Iron (German: Blut und Eisen) is the name given to a speech made by Otto von Bismarck given on 30 September 1862, at the time when he was Minister President of Prussia, about the unification of the German territories.
Who is known as Iron Man of Europe?
To some, Furman graduate Alexander Stubb is the Iron Man who could save Europe, a former Finnish prime minister and part of the next generation of leaders needed on a Continent battered by anti-establishment populism.
What was chancellor Otto von Bismarck's main goal?
Bismarck's goal was to make Prussia the dominating power in Germany and the northern Europe. To achieve this, he was ready to start a war with Austria.
When did Bismarck became the chancellor of Germany?
Otto von Bismarck served as prime minister of Prussia (1862–73, 1873–90) and was the founder and first chancellor (1871–90) of the German Empire.
Who was the first chancellor of Germany?
Konrad AdenauerTop right: Konrad Adenauer was the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. Bottom left: Helmut Kohl was chancellor during the period of German reunification in 1990.
Who was Bismarck and what was his role in unification?
Otto Von Bismarck was the Prussian Chancellor. His main goal was to further strengthen the position of Prussia in Europe. Bismarck had a number of primary aims: to unify the north German states under Prussian control.
What did blood and iron mean?
Definition of blood and iron : reliance on and use of force especially : the use of military power rather than normal diplomatic means.
Why was Otto Bismarck important?
Bismarck, Otto von remains one of the most significant political figures of modern Germany. This stature derives from his contribution to the creation and shaping of the modern German state as Prussian minister president and imperial chancellor from 1862 to 1890.
Who was Otto von Bismarck what he do?
Who was Otto von Bismarck? Otto von Bismarck served as prime minister of Prussia (1862–73, 1873–90) and was the founder and first chancellor (1871–90) of the German Empire.
What is the main idea of Otto von Bismarck's speech what was he trying to tell his listeners?
4) What is the main idea of Otto von Bismarck's speech? What was he trying to tell his listeners? Bismarck believed that he should do whatever was necessary to unify the German states. This political philosophy became known as Realpolitik.
Who gave the Blood and Iron speech?
The title 'Blood and Iron' comes from a speech pronounced at the Prussian Diet on 30th september 1862, by Otto von Bismarck, the founder of German reunification, in which he said "Not by parliamentary speeches and majority votes are the great questions of the day determined - that was the mistake of 1848 and 1849 - but ...
Early Years
Bismarck started out as an unlikely candidate for political greatness. Born April 1, 1815, he was a rebellious child who managed to attend university and become a lawyer by the age of 21. But as a young man, he was hardly a success and was known for being a heavy drinker with no real direction in life.
From Atheism to Religion
In his early 30s, he went through a transformation in which he changed from being a fairly vocal atheist to being quite religious. He also married, and became involved in politics, becoming a substitute member of the Prussian parliament.
Blood and Iron
In a meeting with legislators in late September 1862, Bismarck made a statement which would become notorious: “The great questions of the day will not be decided by speeches and resolutions of majorities...but by blood and iron.”
Austro-Prussian War
In 1864 Bismarck, utilizing some brilliant diplomatic maneuvers, engineered a scenario in which Prussia provoked a war with Denmark and enlisted the help of Austria, which derived little benefit itself. This soon led to the Austro-Prussian War, which Prussia won while offering Austria fairly lenient surrender terms.
The 'Ems Telegram'
A dispute arose in 1870 when the vacant throne of Spain was offered to a German prince. The French were concerned about a possible Spanish and German alliance, and a French minister approached Wilhelm, the Prussian king, who was in the resort town of Ems.
Franco-Prussian War
The war went disastrously for France. Within six weeks, Napoleon III was taken prisoner when his army was forced to surrender at Sedan. Alsace-Lorraine was overtaken by Prussia. Paris declared itself a republic, and the Prussians besieged the city. The French eventually surrendered on January 28, 1871.
Chancellor of the Reich
From 1871 to 1890 Bismarck essentially ruled a unified Germany, modernizing its government as it transformed into an industrialized society. Bismarck was bitterly opposed to the power of the Catholic Church, and his kulturkampf campaign against the church was controversial but ultimately not entirely successful.
What was Bismarck's idea?
Perhaps one of the most overlooked Bismarck achievement was his idea to provide the elderly with government assistance; in simple terms, he created the idea of the state pension. To be fair, we could give the credit to Kaiser Wilhelm I who wrote to Bismarck about the issue of helping the state’s elderly in 1881. In the letter, he said “those who are disabled from work by age and invalidity have a well-grounded claim to care from the state.” It was a radical notion because people simply didn’t retire at that time. They either worked on a farm or, if they were wealthier, managed a large estate.
What was Bismarck's role in the cultural struggle?
On the domestic front, he spent much of the 1870s in the cultural struggle (Kulturkampf) against the Catholic population who made up over one-third of Germany’s population. He placed parochial schools under state control and expelled the Jesuits from the country. Bismarck was clever enough to see the threat of socialism and decided to become allies with the Catholics to fight against the bigger danger.
What did Bismarck do to the Treaty of Gastein?
Bismarck knew it was an unworkable treaty as Austrians needed to travel through hostile Prussian territory just to reach Holstein. Austria appealed to the German Bund and it backed the Austrians in the dispute. Bismarck announced that the Bund was invalid and declared war on Austria in 1866.
What did Bismarck do to help France?
He promised to help France in its invasion of Belgium and struck a deal with Italy whereby the Italians would help Prussia if it was invaded by Austria in return for possession of Venezia. In 1863, the King of Denmark declared Schleswig and Holstein to be part of his country. Despite being rivals, Bismarck forged an uneasy alliance with Austria and defeated Denmark easily.
What did Bismarck do to help the Prussian Junker?
Throughout his life, Bismarck tried to cultivate the image of belonging to the Prussian Junker class; wearing military outfits was one way of doing this. However, he only served in the army for a brief period of time before returning home and establishing a career as a diplomat. Yet for all the negotiating skills he showed later in his career, he began by initiating a series of wars to expand the Prussian Empire.
Why did Bismarck publish the Ems Telegram?
He used diplomatic skill to keep Russia, Italy and Britain neutral and received his excuse for conflict when a relative of Wilhelm I was offered the vacant crown of Spain. The French demanded that the relative reject the offer, but Wilhelm refused on his behalf. Bismarck published The Ems Telegram to provoke the French who subsequently declared war on Prussia.
What was the effect of the unification of Germany in 1871?
By the time of unification in 1871, the German Empire was in excellent shape. It possessed an organized society, large domestic workforce and enormous natural resources. Germany was now the economic powerhouse of Europe and Bismarck looked to consolidate its power by getting the government to subsidize industrialization. The result was a huge increase in steel, iron and coal production. He also understood the need for improved worker welfare which is why a range of benefits were introduced in the 1880s which I covered in the Pensions section.
Early Years
from Atheism to Religion
- In his early 30s, he went through a transformation in which he changed from being a fairly vocal atheist to being quite religious. He also married, and became involved in politics, becoming a substitute member of the Prussian parliament. Throughout the 1850sand early 1860s, he advanced through several diplomatic positions, serving in St. Petersburg, Vienna, and Paris. He …
Blood and Iron
- In a meeting with legislators in late September 1862, Bismarck made a statement which would become notorious: “The great questions of the day will not be decided by speeches and resolutions of majorities...but by blood and iron.” Bismarck later complained that his words were taken out of context and misconstrued, but “blood and iron” became a popul...
Austro-Prussian War
- In 1864 Bismarck, utilizing some brilliant diplomatic maneuvers, engineered a scenario in which Prussia provoked a war with Denmark and enlisted the help of Austria, which derived little benefit itself. This soon led to the Austro-Prussian War, which Prussia won while offering Austria fairly lenient surrender terms. Prussia’s victory in the war allowed it to annex more territory and greatl…
The 'Ems Telegram'
- A dispute arose in 1870 when the vacant throne of Spain was offered to a German prince. The French were concerned about a possible Spanish and German alliance, and a French minister approached Wilhelm, the Prussian king, who was in the resort town of Ems. Wilhelm, in turn, sent a written report about the meeting to Bismarck, who published an edited version of it as the “Em…
Franco-Prussian War
- The war went disastrously for France. Within six weeks, Napoleon III was taken prisoner when his army was forced to surrender at Sedan. Alsace-Lorraine was overtaken by Prussia. Parisdeclared itself a republic, and the Prussians besieged the city. The French eventually surrendered on January 28, 1871. The motivations of Bismarck were often not clear to his adversaries, and it's c…
Chancellor of The Reich
- From 1871 to 1890 Bismarck essentially ruled a unified Germany, modernizing its government as it transformed into an industrialized society. Bismarck was bitterly opposed to the power of the Catholic Church, and his kulturkampfcampaign against the church was controversial but ultimately not entirely successful. During the 1870s and 1880s, Bismarck engaged in a number o…
Fall from Power and Death
- Kaiser Wilhelm died in early 1888, but Bismarck stayed on as chancellor when the emperor’s son, Wilhelm II, ascended to the throne. But the 29-year-old emperor was not happy with the 73-year-old Bismarck. The young Kaiser Wilhelm II was able to maneuver Bismarck into a situation in which it was publicly stated that Bismarck was retiring for reasons of health. Bismarck made no …
Legacy
- The judgment of history on Bismarck is mixed. While he unified Germany and helped it become a modern power, he did not create political institutions that could live on without his personal guidance. It has been noted that Kaiser Wilhelm II, through inexperience or arrogance, essentially undid much of what Bismarck accomplished, and thereby set the stage for World War I. Bismarc…
Sources
- Otto Von BismarckOhio.edu.
- “History - Otto Von Bismarck.” BBC.
- “Otto Von Bismarck Quotes.” BrainyQuote, Xplore.