How did nationalism impact the unification of Germany?
Nationalism greatly helped Bismarck unify Germany, even if he wouldn’t admit it in his journal. Nationalism is the feeling that ones greatest loyalty should not be to the king or ruler of the time, but to the people who share a common culture. The common culture and background, as well as the similar geographic regions and resources brought Germans together. Bismarck knew how to exploit these feelings to his advantage. He manufactured a telegram to get the French mad at him. He then used Prussia’s superior army and industrial might to end the war in his favor. These incidents persuaded the southern Germans to join him and Prussia into one country. The North German Confederation united many northern German states. Bismarck got independent states to join under his leadership in order to reach their goals of a unified German states. This was all supposedly through the power of nationalism. I also suspect the nations were threatened by Bismarck and his military might. The entire confederat
