Food for Thought

Week 9: Tuesday, March 22

"The people" had tried and failed to forge unified nation-states in 1848. In 1859 and the throughout the 1860s, it was the turn of existing liberal or conservative governments to take the initiative in dealing with the issue. How did the plans of these governments differ from the plans of the revolutionaries in 1848? How did these governments "solve" the national problem on their own terms? What were the shortcomings of these solutions?

As you do the readings, a trip to the gallery would not hurt.

You are responsible for reading everything, but you are only responsible for answering the questions associated with you name below.

German Unification and the Austrian Ausgleich (Agostinho to McDonald)

A note on the "dual policy" to which Bismarck refers: At the beginning of Bismarck's diplomatic career, Austria and Prussia had joined in a "dual policy" whereby the two states cooperated on German issues, with the former acting as the senior partner. The Austrians had confirmed Prussian subordination in negotiations at Olmutz in 1850, when they had forced Prussia to back down in the face of various threats.

The Ausgleich refers to the constitutional reforms undertaken by the Austrian Empire in 1867. Austria went from being a unitary empire dominated solely by the Germans to a "dual monarchy" (Austria-Hungary) in which the Germans and Hungarians became more or less equal partners, ruling over the other ethnic minorities of the empire (Hungary essentially obtained semi-autonomy). Count von Beust was the Austrian statesman (he was of Saxon origin) who was responsible for adopting this policy. The reading by Beust describes what he sought to accomplish with this reform.

1) According to his memoirs, why did Bismarck think the various German dynasties (the heads of the various small German principalities) were both part of the problem and part of the solution to German unification?

2) From what Bismarck wrote in his memoirs, how do you think he foresaw unification taking place? Who would control it? Who would push it forward?

3) According to the text, what major steps did Bismarck have to take before and during the unification process to achieve success in Germany?

4) According to Count von Beust, what two dangers did Austria face? How did he propose in principle to deal with the second danger? What was the purpose, then, of the Ausgleich?

Piedmont, Cavour, and the Italian Wars of Unification (McKeon to Tombeno)

1) According to the text, what major steps did Cavour have to take before and during the unification process to achieve success?

2) According to what you have read in the textbook, how did the way in which Italian unification take place differ from the way in which Mazzini wanted it to take place?

3) In his plea for a federal Italy, Ferrari presented some ugly truths to Italy's new leaders. What did he think were the advantages and disadvantages of Piedmont's domination of the unification process? Why did he think Italy ought to obtain a federal instead of a unitary government?

4) According to La Farina's Political Creed of the National Society, why should Italy be unified? What kind of people would find these reasons most appealing?