Germany's Rise as a Nation

Germany went through many ordeals to become a unified state. It has suffered through economic downfall, the trade of powers, in-fighting between its principalities and territories, and several revolutions. The German nation needed to become unified, people did not want the fighting to continue; they wanted a commonality among them. The Thirty Years' War had left them in decimation. Population was low and there was wide spread economic stagnation.The German nation was stuck with its old views of politics. Smaller principalities did not have "the financial means nor the will to mold themselves into new-style states with modern administrations"(70/71). There was also no real unified language. The Protestants were the only ones that had a similar language because of Martin Luther and his translation of the Bible.

 

Martin Luther's 1534 Bible

Around the second half of the eighteenth century, Germany saw the rise of an educated class. The monarchs and rulers wanted to know more about what was going on in their territories, so people needed to have more skills. This new class contributed to the development of a standard German language based on the tons of regional dialects. Culture began to become unified as well; writers were identifying themselves with more of German, instead of French, ways of writing. Even with these advances, education was not being spread to the lower classes, and thus there was no real German identity. "The German nation existed solely on the plane of language and culture"(90).

 

Separate principalities and territories of the 1700s German nation

“The spirit of the Enlightenment filled people with the optimistic belief that it lay within their own power to achieve happiness in accord with the laws of nature and the human intellect”(93). Revolution was coming to the minds of many. This "revolution" turned into something far worse: a mass murder. This would be the first mass murder in modern history, all in the name of Enlightenment. The Reign of Terror would be regarded as "the downfall of reason"(93) among horrified German citizens. There would be many more revolutions after this, namely the revolution that launched the German National Assembly.

 

"Nine emigrants are executed by guillotine, 1793"

In March of 1848, a preliminary parliament met at the instigation of liberal leaders from all the German states. This parliament called for the election of a national assembly, called the German National Assembly - later known as the Frankfurt National Assembly; elections were held for representatives from each state. On May 18, 1848, 585 elected representatives, from all over the German nation, "convened in St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt to draft and adopt a constitution that would guarantee basic freedoms and to elect a nation government"(124).

 

German National Assembly 1848, a painting by Ludwig von Elliott 

 Although mainly liberals, the entire political spectrum was represented. Plans for a unified Germany were discussed at length, but it also had to decided upon an immediate problem: executive power and Germany's territorial extent. Two ideas emerged from this assembly. The first was the idea for a "'Great Germany,' which would consist of all German regions including Austria and be headed by a Hapsburg emperor"(125). A second, more radical idea, was for a "'Small Germany,' which would exclude the Austrian areas and be ruled by a Hohenzollern emperor"(126).

 

A different view point of the German National Assembly

On March 28, 1849, the assembly finally announced a proposed constitution. This would provide universal suffrage, a parliamentary government, and a hereditary emperor. There would be a unified monetary and customs system, but would still maintain an internal autonomy of the constituent German states. Austrian had other plans for the constitution. They mandated that either the entire Austrian Empire be added to the new Germany, or none of it. This was a blow to liberals who wanted at least the German-speaking parts to be added on. When it came time for an emperor to be chosen, Frederick William of Prussia was chosen, but only just barely. The assembly offered him the crown, but he refused; stuck in his old ways, he would only accept the crown from the other German princes, and he also rejected the proposed constitution.

 

Frederick William IV of Prussia

Without the support of either Prussia or Austria, the assembly could not survive. The representatives were ordered home home the governments of their respective states. Those the end of the German National Assembly.

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