ABSTRACT
Germany's national unification in 1871 was the result of three short wars master-minded by the Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the territories that would eventually become "Germany" bore little resemblance either to the German Empire of 1871 or to the Federal Republic familiar to us today. The proponents of a greater Germany wanted to include the German-speaking parts of the Austrian empire, while those who favored a smaller Germany were willing to exclude the Austrian lands from the united Germany. Agriculture was actually the link in a chain of economic interests demanding massive changes in Germany's traditional economic policies. The shift to protectionism had ramifications far beyond the field of economic policy. The decision to institute tariffs also brought about a profound political reorientation. Social and labor policies were another example of the persistently asymmetrical patterns of modernization in Germany.
