History · AS: Liberalism and nationalism in Germany, 1815-1871. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.
In March 1848 the German rulers gave way quickly. Metternich fell, and Frederick William IV of Prussia withdrew his troops from Berlin and promised a constitution. Liberals then met in the Frankfurt Parliament to write a constitution for a united Germany.
The Parliament failed. It had no army and no money of its own, its members argued for months, and they were divided over whether Germany should include Austria. Meanwhile the rulers recovered their confidence and their armies stayed loyal. When Frederick William refused the crown in 1849, the Parliament collapsed.
Austria then restored the old Confederation and forced Prussia to back down at Olmütz. But Prussia's economy grew fast in the 1850s, which Austria could not match.
Students write that Frederick William IV refused the crown because he opposed German unity. He liked the idea of leading Germany but would not accept a crown offered by a parliament of the people.
Answer: Austria's victory was diplomatic only; Prussia's growing economic strength shifted the real balance of power towards Berlin.
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