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Revision as of 13:41, 7 July 2002 by AxelBoldt (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, (born April 1, 1815 in Schöhausen, died July 30, 1898 in Friedrichsruh) was the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia (1862 - 1890); he unified Germany with a series of wars and became the first Chancellor (1871 - 1890) of the German Empire. Initially a deeply conservative, aristocratic, and monarchist politician, Bismarck fought the growing social democracy movement in the 1880s by outlawing several organizations and instituting mandatory old-age pensions, health- and accident insurances for workers.
He studied law at Göttingen. Delighted after the failure of the revolution of 1848, he was elected to the Prussian parliament in 1849. Appointed to represent Prussia in Frankfurt, Bismarck slowly became convinced that a Prussian-led unified German nation was an important goal (this was considered a liberal objective at the time). Subsequently, he worked as ambassador in Russia and Paris. In 1862, king Wilhelm I appointed him Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Prussia, as part of a conflict between the increasingly liberal Prussian parliament and the king.
Bismarck then succeeded in unifying Germany by initiating several wars. First, in 1865, he won Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark. In 1866, he attacked Austria and won quickly, annexing Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, and Frankfurt to Prussia, and forming the North German Confederation. After Bismarck provoked France, the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, won by Germany in 1871 and causing the southern German states to join the federation of German states.
Celebrated as a national hero, Bismarck became Imperial Chancellor of the new German Empire. In foreign policy, he now devoted himself to keeping peace among the European powers of France, Austria, Germany and Russia. Internally, he was concerned about the emergence of two new parties: the Catholic Centre Party and the Social Democratic Party. The 1873 campaign against Catholicism called Kulturkampf was largely a failure. He attacked the social democrats in two ways: the party and its organizations were outlawed, while the workers were appeased with (very progressive) legislation guaranteeing accident and health insurance as well as old-age pensions.
In the elections of 1890, both the Catholic Centre and the Social Democrats made great gains, and Bismarck resigned.