Materials

• Blank outline maps of Italy
• Pre-unification map of Germany
• Internet access
• Political cartoon about Bismarck

Instructional Activities

NOTE: The following Web resources may be helpful in teaching this session:

• Maps of Italy and Germany in Nineteenth Century. <http://www.rootsweb.com/~wggerman/map/index.htm>
• “Count Cavour.” <http://www.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/ac/cavour.htm>.
• The Anthony P. Campanella Collection of Giuseppe Garibaldi. <http://www.sc.edu/library/spcoll/hist/garib/garib.html>.
• “Papal States.” <http://www.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/ip/papalsta.htm>.
• “Otto von Bismarck.” <http://www.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/ac/bism.htm>.
  

1. Discuss with students the unification of Italy and Germany in the second half of the nineteenth century, making sure to include the following information:
   Italy
   • Count Cavour, the Sardinian (Piedmont) minister, was responsible for unifying northern Italy under the Piedmont monarchy.
   • Garibaldi, a nationalistic leader of the “red shirts” in southern Italy, overthrew the monarch there. Even though he preferred a republic, he turned the area over to Cavour, leaving the Papal States as the last holdout.
   • In 1870, the Papal States were forced to join the unification, leaving them only with what is today the Vatican.
   
   NOTE: Instruct students to draw on a blank outline map of Italy the different Italian states and annotate when each state entered the unification process.
   
   Germany
   • Otto von Bismarck, the "Iron Chancellor" of Prussia, led the unification process for Germany around the state of Prussia.
   • Bismarck’s actions reflected the Machiavellian Realpolitik belief that the ends justify the means.
   • The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 was the final step in the German unification process and helped lay the foundation for World War I, in which France was punished severely and lost territory taken to Germany.
   • Have students look at a German map prior to the unification and locate Prussia. If the textbook does not have this map, visit <http://www.rootsweb.com/~wggerman/map/index.htm> to get a copy.
   • Bring to class (or locate on the Internet) a political cartoon relating to Bismarck, and have students analyze it as a group activity.
   
   
2. Instruct students to predict the impact of the unification of Italy and Germany on European politics. Possible responses may include the following:
   • The unification has introduced two more major powers into Europe.
   • Italy and Germany now have to compete with other countries that have a head start on industrial and colonial development. To counteract this inequality and unite Germany, Bismarck has masterminded and won the Franco-Prussian War.
   • France has to seek revenge for the Franco-Prussian War.
   • Alliance systems may develop in Europe.
   • Military build-ups will occur among competing nations in Europe