Otto von Bismarck

Christian Berger
Senior Division
Website

Process Paper
When I found that the theme of this years History Day was
leadership and legacy, I immediately searched for a topic. I looked for
some person or group that not many people knew but who had had a
profound effect on todays world. On the internet, I found Otto von
Bismarck. I did some quick research into his life and legacy and saw
that he fit perfectly into this years theme.
I was able to find all of my research online. Throughout the
internet, I was able to find summaries of the events of Otto von
Bismarck. Put together, these provided much information. However, I
did not just use websites. I discovered a few e-books written by or
about Bismarck. These provided new points of view on Bismarcks life
and legacy. Finally, online, I obtained a collection of letters written by
Otto von Bismarck. I was able learn a lot about Bismarck from these.

When I first thought about which medium to present my project

with, I thought about a board. However, when I learned about the word
limit, I chose to do a website instead as I could include 700 more
words. I made the website through Weebly. I found pretty easy to use. I
tried to include as many quotes and pictures as I could in the project to
make it more interesting while still presenting the information
necessary.
Otto Von Bismarck relates to both leadership and legacy.
Bismarck was the Minister a President of Prussia for 10 years and the
Chancellor of the German Empire for 20. During these times, Bismarck
unified the German states into the German Empire. In addition,
Bismarck pioneered the first welfare state and built up the German
Empire into one of the main powers of Europe. Bismarck left an
immense legacy when he resigned from his chancellorship. Bismarck's
German Empire has faced many difficult times. However, through it all,
Germany and Bismarck's innovative policies, both foreign and
domestic, continue to live on as Bismarck's legacy.

Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Bismarck, Otto von, and Arthur John Butler. "Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman;
Being the Reflections and Reminiscences of Otto." London: Smith, Elder,
1898. Print.
This autobiography provided me with quite a few quotes. It was an invaluable
resource in that respect.

Bismarck, Otto Von. "Bismarck's Letter of Resignation." Letter to Kaiser Wilhelm II.
18 Mar. 1880. Bismarcks Letter of Resignation (March 18, 1890).
GHDI, 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.
This letter showed the distaste Bismarck felt for King Wilhelm II, the man who
forced him to resign. It also gave me some quotes from Bismarck.

Bismarck, Otto Von. "Blood and Iron." Sept. 1862. National Unification:
Europe's Dominant Powers. Web. 16 Jan.

This speech was able to give me a view into how Bismarck used his words so
well. In addition it was able to provide me with some quotes from Bismarck.

Bismarck, Otto, and Fitzh Maxse. "Prince Bismarck's Letters to His Wife, His Sister,
and Others, from 1844-1870." New York: Scribner, 1878. Print.
This collection of letters displayed the personal life of Bismarck in great detail. I
was able to find out much about Bismarck that I had not found from y other
sources.

Duffy, Michael. "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2009. Web.
17 Jan. 2015.
This video was one I was able to use on my project. It is the only video
ever recorded of Bismarck.

"Listen to Thomas Edison's Recording of Otto Von Bismarck in 1889." The

Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2015.
This recording, the only recording of Bismarck, was great multimedia for
my website. It was able to show how Bismarck sounded.

Stearns, Frank Preston. "The Life of Prince Otto Von Bismarck." Philadelphia:
J.B. Lippincott, 1899. Print.
This book was able to give me some insight into the life of Otto von Bismarck. It
was an excellent source as it was able to detail aspects of Otto von Bismarck
better than my other sources.

Secondary Sources:
Barkin, Kenneth. "Prime Minister." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2015.
This site gave me many details about the early life of Bismarck. In addition, it
provided details of the ten years of Bismarcks life after he resigned and before
he died.

"Bismarck and Unification." BBC News. BBC, 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.
This site gave me very useful information about the unification of the German
states. It showed in more detail how Bismarck was able to unite them.

Duffy, Michael. "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com. N.p., 2002. Web.

17 Jan. 2015.

This website was useful as it gave displayed the feats Bismarck accomplished
after his unification of the German states. These include creating a common
currency and a common set of civil laws.

Hoffman, J. H. "Bismarck, Otto Von." Bismarck, Otto Von. Ohio University, 1998.
Web. 14 Jan. 2015.
This website provided a unique look into the policies of Bismarck. It also detailed
Bismarcks ultraconservative views.

"Otto von Bismarck." History. Social Security Administration, n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.
This website focused on the German Empires social security. It recounted how
Bismarck implemented the first social insurance program.

"Otto Von Bismarck." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.
This website gave me a relatively brief biography of Bismarck. It also detailed
how Bismarcks successor was unable to maintain the diplomatic network
Bismarck had created.

"Otto Von Bismarck: Germany's Iron Chancellor." Otto Von Bismarck:

Germany's Iron Chancellor. N.p., 2003. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
This website provided some insight into the three wars that Bismarck used to
unify the German states. It specifically showed how Bismarck may have
instigated some of them.

"Otto Von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor." Otto Von Bismarck, the Iron
Chancellor. KBismarck, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
This website was useful in showing how Bismarck diplomatically isolated France.
It also displayed the how Bismarck prevented revolts from liberals.

"Otto Von Bismarck (1815 - 1898)." BBC News. BBC, 2014. Web.
17 Jan. 2015.
This website gave me a quick summary of Bismarcks life. It was useful as a
starting point for learning about Bismarck.