Throughout history men have been struggling to become the
strongest or most dominant force in society. Scores of men,
throughout history, have taken notice that it is easier to
control several smaller states as opposed to one unified
state. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries a man by the
name of Nicolo Machiavelli reflected the actions of famous
men and their assent to power in his book The Prince. If
Machiavelli's advice was followed, a ruler could almost
guarantee success. But perhaps the first politician in the
modern world to follow the advice of The Prince, was a
man by the name of Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck.
Otto von Bismarck was born on April 1st 1815, in
Schonhausen, Northwest of Berlin in the district of
Magdeburg. His father was an upper class, land owning
Prussian more commonly known as a Junker. (World
Book, 1999, p. 381) (German News, 1998, p.1)(Passant,
1966, p.45)(Godesky, 1997, p.1)(Compton's
Encyclopedia, 1999, p.1) During his early education Otto
von Bismarck studied law at the universities of Berlin and
Gottingen. In 1836 he enrolled his services in the national
army. But just a year later Bismarck found himself very
dissatisfied with his subordinate post and resigned to
manage his family's estate. After a little more than decade,
in 1847, Otto von Bismarck re-entered the government this
time employing his skills as a politician. In 1851 he was
chosen to represent Prussia in the Federal Diet and just
eight years later he became an official ambassador of
Prussia. (German News, 1998, p.1) (Versaware, 1999,
p.1) (Chastain, 1998, p.1) (World Book, 1999, p.
381)(Richards, 1977, p.139-143)(Compton's
Encyclopedia, 1999, p.1) This is when Bismarck, a
beneficiary of good fortunes, set his own designs for
Prussia into motion (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1994, p.3)
Otto von Bismarck , during the course of 1860-1862,
benefitted from some unpredictable circumstances. "That
same year [1862] a bitter dispute between the Prussian
government and Parliament over the size of the army
reached an impasses. In 1861 Parliament had granted the
government additional funds for reforms, but in 1862 it
refused to do so without a reduction of the compulsory
military service from three to two years. King William I
would not yield for fear that the draftees would be
insufficiently imbued with conservative values; it was for
that very reason that the liberal-dominated Parliament
insisted on this concession. In order to break the stalemate
Bismarck was named minster- president. He proceeded to
collect the additional taxes on the basis of the 1861 budget,
arguing that because the constitution did not provide for the
case of an impasse he would have to apply the questions of
the day [meaning the unification of Germany] will not be
settled by speeches and majority decisions... but by blood
and iron." (Versaware, 1999, p.1) Bismarck was making
his intentions known to all, and it was fairly...
