Rishi Garg

IB European History, 2nd Period

Mr. Swan / Mr. Duran
2 December 2008
Thesis Paragraphs

To what extent were the actions and revolutions in central Europe successful in unifying
Germany?

Throughout the early nineteenth century, there were many factors that contributed to the
unification of Germany. These factors were social, political, and economic. The impact of each
type of factor was different, however. Economically, there were many things done in central
Europe to advance the German unification movement, such as the Zollverein. However, most of
the political and social actions did not positively contribute to the movement. For example, the
actions of the Frankfurt Parliament were too idealistic. In all, the economic actions that took
place were more helpful for the unification of Germany than the social and political actions, but
it was the combination of the three types of actions that ultimately unified Germany.

Why did Prussia become the leader in German affairs rather than Austria by 1848?

The fact that Prussia became the leader in German affairs rather than Austria is not surprising.
While Prussia did many things to advance its outlook on liberalism, Austria remained politically
stuck. The Prussian government gave its citizens greater opportunity for participation in state
affairs, as well as initiated reforms that abolished some previously rigid class distinctions. In
addition, Prussia had less internal problems than Austria. For example, Austria had people of
many different ethnicities, while Prussia had mostly German people. Also, Prussia’s economy
was more stable than that of Austria. Overall, Prussia was in a much better situation to place its
focus on German affairs.