German unification, from 1815-1834 faced many obstacles, obstacles that would have to be overcome if the unification movement within Germany were to be successful. From the very beginning there were many forces acting against the unification movement, states like Austria were very much against the unification. The people in Austria were reactionaries; they believed that they had a better quality of life in the pre-Napoleonic times. Other forces that acted against the unification movement were the congress of Vienna, a collection of the 39 biggest and most influential states in Germany, (with Austria as the most important and influential component.) And finally the Carlsbad decrees, a set of reactionary restrictions put in place by the German confederation to prevent ‘liberal’ thinking.
Prince Metternich was the chancellor of Austria; he was the most influential man during the time of the German unification. Prince Metternich was the chancellor of Austria between 1807 and 1848, during his time as chancellor of Austria, he tried in many …show more content…
The main two states in the German confederation were Austria and Prussia, but Austria and Metternich still held the upper hand. Prince Mettenich was put at the head of the German confederation. Under his direction the education system was strictly controlled, newspapers and pamphlets were censored by the government, they did this because they did not like the idea’s of liberalism and nationalism spreading. Through Austria’s control of the German confederation, Metternich was able to convince the other states and principalities to apply the same policies to their