The announcement by Philipp Scheidemann that the Kaiser has abdicated.
Source: Wikipedia

Germany in the nineteenth century was a place of unimaginable political unrest. The collapse of the Holy Roman Empire at the beginning of the century set the precedent for how the political scene of most of the rest of the century would play out. It would be chaotic, unnavigable and yet somehow the German people and their country survived. The goal throughout most of this time period was the reestablishment of the Holy Roman Empire. Attempted revolutions would be repeated with the underlaying themes of German unification and basic civil rights.

Otto von Bismarck was eventually able to accomplish what had been tried and failed many times in nineteenth century German: reunification of most German-speaking states under one ruler. The establishment of the German Empire in the middle of the century would create the impetus for two world wars in the twentieth century. Although Adolf Hitler later claimed to have restored the Empire under the Third Reich, it was not truly an empire in the same sense that the Second Reich under the Kaisers was. The fact that the Germany of today is a country itself is largely a product of the nineteenth century.

This entry is the end of a multi-part series. You can find all of the entries either on the Nineteenth Century German History project page or in the category of the same name.

Flag of the German Empire (1871-1918).
Source: Wikipedia

A fresco created by Philipp Veit to represent German unification.
Source: Wikipedia

By midcentury a fairly clear picture was beginning to emerge that unification of the German states was going to be inevitable in one form or another. One of the largest and more pressing hurdles yet to overcome, however, was which state was going to dominate and lead this unified Germany. The key players in this situation were German-speaking Austria and Prussia. Eventually this pressure led to war between the two countries, out of which emerged a political figure whose influence on the soon to be united Germany was almost greater than the Kaiser’s. This man was Otto von Bismarck.

Born of noble birth in Prussia and destined for politics, Bismarck began his political career in relative obscurity, but rose through the ranks at a rapid pace. During the Revolution of 1848, he founded a conservative political party called the Kreuzzeitungspartei which he used as a springboard to launch his political ambitions. Only three years later, in 1851, he was made the Prussian ambassador to the German Bundestag in Frankfurt. He served this position until 1859 when he was made ambassador to Russia at St. Petersburg and, for a short time in 1862, ambassador to France.⁴⁰ 1862 proved to be a pivotal year for both Bismarck’s career and for Germany itself.

Otto von Bismarck as Prime Minister.
Source: Wikipedia

In the midst of a crisis⁴¹ which the Prussian king, Wilhelm I, had gotten himself into with the Prussian parliament (Abgeordnetenhaus) during an attempted army reform, Bismarck was recalled by the king to help him resolve it. To most effectively fulfill this new duty, he was appointed Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in September, 1862.⁴² His first act as Prime Minister was to “[concoct] a modified military reform programme that would enlarge the army and secure government control in key areas while meeting the liberal demand for two-year service” and thereby resolve the King’s crisis.⁴³ The primary issue that was a stake in the crisis was which power had the right to control the government’s finances. The parliament claimed the right to be able to finance the King’s reform which the King views as an attack on the traditional powers of the Crown.⁴⁴ Bismarck openly sided with the King by defying the parliament in order to assure the King he was dedicated to the crown and to assure his office. He therefore passed the army reform through while collecting taxes without the consent of parliament.⁴⁵ If Bismarck’s position was not already secure enough, his military victories would ensure that he remained in a powerful position in the Prussian government.

During times of war, Bismarck proved himself a very capable leader which had wonderful ramifications for Prussia. The second German-Danish War of 1864 allowed Bismarck to secure his position as a favorable politician to the King because he demonstrated capable leadership by controlling vast portions of the German affairs during the war.⁴⁶ The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 was yet another example of his ability to lead in war.

North German Confederation (in red).
Source: Wikipedia

War between the two major powers in German-speaking Europe was almost unavoidable. Both Prussia and Austria wanted power over what was seen as the coming unification of Germany. Austria did not want Prussian dominance because they wanted power and the Germans were generally wary of having another Habsburg dynasty because of the failures of the first one which had ruled the Holy Roman Empire for centuries.⁴⁷ On June 9, 1866, Prussia invaded Austria. The war only lasted seven weeks with the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph capitulating to the Prussians on July 22, 1866. On July 26, the Peace of Nikolsburg officially ended the war and a month later on August 23, the Treaty of Prague was signed.⁴⁸ The repercussions of this treaty were significant. It allowed Austria to keep all of its territorial possessions except Venetia, but it did force Austria to recognize the annexation of Hanover, Nassua, Hesse-Kassel, Schleswig, Holstein, and Frankfurt by Prussia.⁴⁹ Perhaps more importantly, however, was the establishment of the North German Confederation (Norddeutscher Bund) with Prussia as its head. This served as the foundation for what later became the new German Empire, however, there was yet another obstacle to overcome before the Empire could be established. This was France under the Emperor Napoleon III.

Before it was possible to establish a new German Empire under Prussian leadership, Bismarck needed to get rid of the threat which France would pose should Germany be unified.⁵⁰ He believe Prussia could engage France in a war and win, however, this was not a very popular opinion and would put his political position at stake which he was no willing to do. Instead, he looked for a way to induce the French to attack Prussia. This lucky break came in 1870 when a relative of the King Wilhelm’s, Leopold, ascended the Spanish throne. Napoleon III felt surrounded and as such sent an ambassador to King Wilhelm to convince him to withdraw his support from the new Spanish king. Reluctantly, Wilhelm complied, but was not willing to comply to other demands made by the French.⁵¹ In a telegram, which would later be known as the EMS Telegram, the King explained to Bismarck what had taken place in the meeting between himself and the French ambassador. Bismarck saw his opportunity. He leaked a slightly edited version of the telegram to the German press and also conveniently leaked a French translation of it.⁵² His trap worked. Napoleon, enraged by this, mobilized troops to go to war and, on July 19, 1870, declared war on Prussia. The war resulted in a major defeat for France. On September 2, 1870, France surrendered and Napoleon III was taken into Prussian custody. France was plunged yet again into chaos and the French threat against German unification was eradicated.

Proclamation of the German Empire January 18, 1871.
Source: Wikipedia

Prussia was now free to establish its long sought after empire and did so with the utmost vigilance. On January 18, 1871, the new German Empire (Deutsches Kaiserreich) was officially proclaimed when Prussian king Wilhelm I was crowned Emperor (Kaiser) in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. The new empire was composed of the German territories of the North German Confederation, Bavaria, Baden, Hesse and Wurttemberg as well as the newly acquired French territories of Alsace and Lorraine.⁵³ Bismarck was the first chancellor of the new empire and Wilhelm the first emperor. An imperial constitution (Reichsverfassung) was established on April 16, 1871 which did a number of important things. It delegated the power to set and raise taxes to the member states of the empire, it required that all member states concede equal rights to all citizens from other member states and it setup the Federal Council (Bundesrat) in Berlin with representatives from all member states.⁵⁴ The constitution was, however, really only a formality. In reality, Prussia dominated everything because of its strong military stance which the other state could not match.⁵⁵ Bismarck dominated the political scene while the Kaiser continued to be mostly inactive.

The German Empire.
Source: Wikipedia

The weak position of the Kaiser did, however, change upon the death of Wilhelm I. In March 1888, Wilhelm I died, leaving a legacy that was mostly that of Bismarck’s work. His son, Friederich III, ascended the imperial throne, but was already dying of throat cancer.⁵⁶ He ruled for a total of ninety-nine days before succumbing to his illness in June of the same year. Upon his death, his son, Wilhelm II, became German Kaiser and King of Prussia. Unlike his predecessors, Wilhlem II was interested in taking the leading role of his empire and was not just content to sit back and let someone else do the work for them. His goal was to establish a vast German empire with authoritarian rule.⁵⁷ In order to do this, he wanted a ‘puppet’ chancellor who would act more as a figurehead than exercise any real power.⁵⁸ Bismarck, who had been so active previously, was not the man for the job under the new emperor. In 1890, he handed his resignation to the Kaiser, leaving Wilhelm II with a free hand to do as he pleased. One of Wilhelm’s primary focuses was building the German military and ‘playing catch-up’ with the other European powers. He wanted to establish a great military with a strong navy which would challenge Britain’s dominance in the waters. Colonies were also necessary in his option as France and Britain both had several overseas colonies in Asia and Africa while Germany still had none.⁵⁹ This idea of an expansion of militarism and imperialism in the German imperial state was to have drastic consequences in the beginning of the twentieth century.

Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1905.
Source: Wikipedia

Wilhelm’s ambitious goals of establishing a large and powerful German empire through the use of a strong military was arguably one of the key factors which led to the First World War and ultimately to the destruction of the German Empire. When Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Serbia in June 1914, the Kaiser viewed this as an opportunity to expand his empire through ‘legitimate’ war.⁶⁰ War broke out a month later and finally came to an end with an armistice on November 11, 1918. Calls for the Kaiser to abdicate by the German people began when it was apparent that Germany would be defeated. On November 9, 1918, Wilhelm decided to abdicate the imperial throne, but not the Prussian throne. This idea, however, was knocked down when his chancellor, Max von Baden, announced to the public that the Kaiser had already abdicated both thrones. The public’s jubilant reaction forced Wilhelm to sign a statement of abdication of both thrones on November 28, 1918.⁶¹ Germany being too dangerous now for the Emperor to stay, he took his family and entourage and fled to the Netherlands where he lived the remainder of his life never to set foot in Germany again.

Wilhelm’s abdication was ultimately the fall of the German Empire which had lasted only forty-seven years. Under the reign of his grandfather, Wilhelm I, Prussia became the dominate power in the German-speaking world and a major power in European politics. The original goal was to reestablish the Holy Roman Empire which had collapsed earlier in the nineteenth century, however, Wilhelm II’s recklessness in the First World War defeated that dream.

The last part of the series is the conclusion.

This entry is part of a multi-part series. You can find all of the entries either on the Nineteenth Century German History project page or in the category of the same name.

Germania -- Created by Philipp Veit in March 1848.
Source: Wikipedia

By the end of the fifth decade of the nineteenth century, the prevailing atmosphere in Germany was that of extreme change. The people were tired of oppression, censorship and of the ruling class thinking of themselves as immune to these issues. Hans Joachim Hahn sums it up nicely when he writes that “a general feeling of imminent war was in the air.”²³ Political unrest in other parts of Europe, such as France, as well as elements such as famine furthered this revolutionary feeling which finally burst in 1848. The results of the revolutions of 1848 and 1849 were to have a major impact on the political structure of the German government and ultimately lead to a truly unified German for the very first time.

Among the causes for the revolutions of 1848 and 1849 is the famine and hunger crisis which occurred in 1847. Failed harvests in 1846 and 1847 led to immense food shortages and ultimately led to a sharp raise in food prices. This had a “profound social impact”²⁴ which led to massive emigration from Europe, specifically to North America, and to the hunger revolts of 1847. To obtain a better understanding of the crisis, in 1835 a German worker worked a full day for two five-pound loaves of bread, but by 1847, a full day‘s work only earned the worker a single five-pound loaf of bread.²⁵ The hunger crisis peaked in 1847, but by then it had already done its job throughout Europe. In February 1848, a second revolution called the February Revolution broke out in Paris, France.

The February Revolution played an important role in the German revolutions of 1848 and 1849 in that it was the spark which set them off. As Wolfram Siemann writes, “only a single trigger was required to provide revolutionary thrust...[and the February Revolution] provided the German situation with the impetus which had been lacking”²⁶ In Paris, the French king was disposed and a republic setup for the second time. Fear of war with France was once again came to the fore on every German’s mind which some parties even welcomed because they thought it might bring a republic to Germany.²⁷ Although the revolution in France only lasted three days from February 22nd until the 25th, it spread the revolutionary mindset like wildfire across the border to the east.

Dresden Uprising in 1848.
Source: Wikipedia

The foundations of the revolutions in Germany took place in March of 1848. Throughout the month, gatherings and demonstrations demanding simple freedoms such as freedoms of press, congregation, the right to have a people’s militia and the formation of a parliament with all of the German states arose all over Germany.²⁸ In Vienna, students and workers demonstrated in the streets and major non-German ethnic groups within the Austrian Empire demanded their independence. On March 13th, the Austrian Chancellor Fürst Metternich finally ceded to the pressure by resigning and fleeing to the United Kingdom.²⁹ Frederich Engels wrote that Metternich “had, with regard to [the lower classes], but one policy: to draw as much as possible out of them in the shape of taxation and at the same time to keep them quiet.”³⁰ On the same day, the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I promised to grant a constitution. Five days later on March 18th, his counterpart in Prussia, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, surrendered to revolutionaries by verbally proclaiming that a constitution would be put into place. In Berlin a bloody confrontation involving the military occurred which resulted in 254 dead and many people from both sides wounded; on the 19th, the King ordered his troops back reassuring the public that a reorganization of the government would happen.³¹ Whether the King actually did anything to this end is debatable, although some sources claim that he ultimately helped form the Frankfurt National Assembly which was an important result of the revolutions.

Frankfurt National Assembly.
Source: Wikipedia

Setup as a compromise between the two major factions of the revolutionary movement: the Democrats and the Liberals, the Frankfurt National Assembly turned out to be not much more than a concerted effort to establish a unified Germany under a semi-democratic central government. The Democrats and the Liberals, who were the result of a split in opinion of the revolutionaries, disagreed on which form of government should be setup. The Democrats wanted a republic based on the United States model and the Liberals wanted a constitutional monarchy based on the British model.³² The Frankfurt National Assembly was therefore setup as a temporary solution to this split opinion. Established on May 18, 1848, it was “to act as the highest legislative authority for the whole of the German Confederation.”³³ It was composed of 585 elected members, but unfortunately while the intention may have been good, it was doomed to fail. The governments of the various German states paid no attention to it or to its goals of a unified Germany and it therefore “was the Parliament of an imaginary country.”³⁴ One of its major failings was that it had no military power. In fact, Prussia went to war with Denmark in 1848 without paying any attention to the National Assembly whatsoever. It failed to bring political unity and a form of representational government to Germany in any way and “thus the pretended new central authority of Germany left everything as it had found it.”³⁵

Although the Frankfurt National Assembly ultimately failed, it was a step which left important ramifications and helped Germany proceed to a unified empire in 1871. Its major legacy was the Paulskirchenverfassung, or the Constitution of St. Paul’s Church. The legislation which was to become the constitution was voted into law on March 28, 1848 and was meant to unify Germany under an emperor and an Imperial Constitution.³⁶ For the position of emperor, the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, was chosen. He refused, however, to become emperor because he maintained that the National Assembly did not have the power or the authority to crown an emperor.³⁷ Before it was disbanded on May 30, 1849, the National Assembly attempted to force the Prussian king to become emperor through a series of legislative acts.³⁸ Although it, like most of the other projects undertaken by the National Assembly, ultimately failed, the Imperial Constitution was to later form the basis for the Weimar Constitution in 1919.³⁹

The revolutions of 1848 and 1849 had significant consequences for future of the German-speaking states. It convinced the German people that eventually a unified Germany could be made possible if only done in the proper way. In the following years, a new empire under the king of Prussia would be brought to life by the same kind of idealism and attitude which prevailed in the revolutions of 1848 and 1849: unification, representation, civil rights and a constitution.

The next part of the series is The Rise and Fall of a New Empire (1850-1918).

This entry is part of a multi-part series. You can find all of the entries either on the Nineteenth Century German History project page or in the category of the same name.

Congress of Vienna.
Source: Wikipedia

Part 1 of "Consequences of the Fall of the Holy Roman Empire (1806-1848)"

Less than ten years after the fall of the Holy Roman Empire and after Napoleon was sent into exile after his defeat by the British, a congregation of monarchs and statesmen gathered together in Vienna in order to restructure Europe. This congregation is known as the Congress of Vienna. Beginning in the fall of 1814 (the exact date is disputed between various sources) and ending in June 1815, the Congress of Vienna was attended by leading men such as the Austrian Chancellor Fürst Metternich, Russian Tsar Alexander II, British Foreign Minister Viscount Castlereagh, Prussian Chancellor Fürst von Hardenberg and a French representative named Talleyrand.⁹ Europe would be divided much the same way it was before Napoleon’s crusading, such as Austria being restored to its former borders, but with a few important differences. Prussia was allowed to annex Saxony, the Rhineland, Westphalia and West Pomerania, although the Kingdom of Hanover still retained its personal ties with Britain and remained sovereign.¹⁰ Thus began what is known as the German Confederation.

Confederation of the Rhine 1806.
Source: Wikipedia

Founded on June 8, 1815, this new confederation was intended to politically unify many of the German-speaking semi-sovereign states to some degree. It comprised thirty-five principalities and four free cities which were represented by a Bundesversammlung, or a Federal Convention, which was essentially a forerunner of the modern German Bundestag.¹¹ Taking the place of the Confederation of the Rhine, the German Confederation shifted the balance of power to Prussia which was named head of the confederation.¹² Although Prussia officially was the head of the confederation, the Austrian Chancellor Fürst Mitternich exercised a tremendous amount of power which played a vital role in the later outburst of the Revolutions of 1848 and 1849. Three years after the founding of the German Confederation, a very important piece of legislation was passed which would unify the German states even more. This was to become known as the Deutscher Zollverein.

The German Customs Union, or Deutscher Zollverein, essentially unified many of the German-speaking states through a union of customs. The idea behind the Union was to make trade between the German states much easier. This was done by rationalizing the customs system between the states and integrating them through customs.¹³ Established in 1818 by Prussia, it was “the single evocative and large event in the entirety of German politics of this decade.”¹⁴ Austria, however, did not belong to it, leaving Prussia with a serious economic advantage which helped to strengthen its position as leader in the German-speaking world. The Deutscher Zollverein become an integral part of the German Conferdation which existed in a period known as the Restoration Period.

The German Confederation 1815-1866.
Source: Wikipedia

The Restoration Period was a point in nineteenth century German history which would have extreme consequences for Germany. It was a period in which the government tried to reestablish the lost Holy Roman Empire under Prussia and Austria. During this time, the rise of nationalism, the idea of democracy and the desire of the German people to have basic freedoms such as freedom of speech and press all began to be seeded and nurtured in the German mindset. To counter these liberal thoughts, the government under the leadership of Prussia and Austria began to reform the law which led to oppression, censorship and even less rights for the people and the individual states within the Confederation. An important event during this time is the Carlsbad Conferences which took place August 6-31, 1819.¹⁵

At these conferences, a series of decrees were issued which led to even more oppression. Prussia, Austria and eight other states came together and, led by Austrian Chancellor Fürst Metternich, established measures designed to undermine the nationalist and liberalist movements which were beginning to form.¹⁶ The decrees, known as the Carlsbad Decrees, or Karlsbader Beschlüsse in German, took effect on September 20, 1819. They introduced strict censorship on newspapers, magazines, books, etc, they banned student fraternities (Burschenschaften) which were focused on nationalism and liberalism, they allowed for measures which would keep professors and students under a close watch at all times and they setup a committee based in Mainz which would investigate and prosecute enemies of the state.¹⁷ These events combined with other outside forces eventually led to a gathering of activists some years later known as the Hambach Festival.

This festival was a congregation of free-thinking people from all over the German-speaking world who came together to protest censorship and oppression, to campaign for more rights and to promote a free and unified Germany. Democracy was also promoted.¹⁸ Taking place from May 27th until May 30th, 1832, roughly twenty-thousand to thirty-thousand people attended making it “the biggest mass event in Germany before 1848.”¹⁹ This massive event took place at the ruins of the Hambach Castle and was led by two journalists, Wirth and Siebenpfeiffer, who began a press campaign against censorship and the princes and their governments in Germany.²⁰ The event drew inspiration from the July Revolution of 1830 in France which had also promoted freedom and unity.²¹ Naturally there were consequences for both the government and the activists to this gathering. Several smaller yet similar gatherings took place afterwards all over Germany. Metternich, on the other hand, enraged by this event, put into place legislation which fully suppressed the freedoms of press, unity and congregation.²² These oppressive acts would have a direct effect as to how the events in 1848 would pan out.

The fall of the Holy Roman Empire had drastic consequences for Europe and especially for the German-speaking world. Although after Napoleon’s defeat, Germany and Austria came together under the German Confederation, not all was well within these states. Political unrest and new nationalist and liberalist movements combined with fierce resistance by the government helped brew a nasty revolution which would explode in 1848.

The next part of the series is Revolution in Nineteenth Century Germany (1848-1849).

This entry is part of a multi-part series. You can find all of the entries either on the Nineteenth Century German History project page or in the category of the same name.

The Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor after 1400.
Source: Wikipedia

The fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 had drastic consequences for nineteenth century German history. For about a millennium a loose conglomeration of several different semi-autonomous German-speaking kingdoms under the Latin name of Sacrum Romanum Imperium ¹ had controlled a vast region in Central Europe which is now composed of Germany, the Netherlands, part of France, Austria, part of Italy, Switzerland, Bohemia and Silesia.² The collapse of this empire was caused by several different factors including the French Revolution and the subsequent military victories the French had over Germany under Napoleon. Here the major consequences of the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire and the ripple effects which led up to the Revolution of 1848/9 are going to be examined. These include the Congress of Vienna, the Carlsbad Decrees, the development of the German Zollverein ³ and the Hambach Festival which all in some way eventually led to the Revolution of 1848/9.

Map of the Holy Roman Empire 1789.
Source: Wikipedia

It is no surprise that with the end of the Holy Roman Empire came vast changes in the German-speaking states of Europe. The end was caused by many different factors. In chronological order, it would make sense to begin with the French Revolution. Although the French Revolution did not have a direct effect on Germany because of social and political reasons such as Germany’s lack of a central concentration of power and the German population’s reverence for their rulers,⁴ it did have indirect consequences. The threat of a French invasion under the new regime pushed Austria and Prussia to unite under a defensive pact despite the tension in their relationship.⁵ Most significantly are the political changes which took place after the French invaded the Rhineland in 1792. Despite the alliance, neither Prussia nor Austria were able to defeat the French military. Austria had tried and was defeated while Prussia remained neutral.⁶ The French set into motion a series of legislation which was published as the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss on February 15, 1803 and which ultimately allowed larger German powers such as Prussia and Austria to seize smaller states, free cities and other small, formerly sovereign areas.⁷

It is no surprise, then, that states began to leave the Holy Roman Empire. In 1806, the French, under Napoleon who had declared himself Emperor of the French in December 1804, setup a confederation of states called The Confederation of the Rhine (Rheinbund). This new confederation began to attract states which were formerly part of the Holy Roman Empire. These states left because they claimed the Holy Roman Empire could no longer protect them and that the system was essentially dysfunctional.⁸ This led Napoleon and his officials in France to bring the Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, an ultimatum demanding that he either give up the imperial title or face war with the new French Empire. Francis decided it would be a wiser decision not to risk war with France and officially abdicated on August 6, 1806 -- the date on which the Holy Roman Empire officially came to an end.

Part 2 of "Consequences of the Fall of the Holy Roman Empire (1806-1848)"

This entry is part of a multi-part series. You can find all of the entries either on the Nineteenth Century German History project page or in the category of the same name.

March Revolution - March 19, 1848 - Berlin.
Source: Wikipedia

No century has played quite a role in modern Germany history like the nineteenth century. It was during this time which the area now known as Germany went from being the Holy Roman Empire which it had been for almost a millennium to what we consider to be more or less the modern boundaries of the country. It was a period of industrial and social revolution which would forever change Europe’s political landscape and have adverse effects in the first half of the following century. Socially, the German people went from being a very oppressed people to earning more freedoms through revolution and during this time life improved for the average person with the invention and implementation of many technologies made available for the first time to the general public by the increase in industry.

The nineteenth century was a time of intensive change to Germany and its people. The collapse of the Holy Roman Empire created a void which allowed the rise of a new type of German empire to rise to power which would compete with the established world powers. Revolution, war and the rise of nationalism were all parts of this time period which would contribute to a new German Empire and ultimately to a unified Germany which continues to exist to this day.

The next part of the series is The Consequences of the Fall of the Holy Roman Empire (1806-1848).

This entry is part of a multi-part series. You can find all of the entries either on the Nineteenth Century German History project page or in the category of the same name.

The German imperial coat of arms.
Source: Wikipedia

Despite having just begun another series, I am going to be embarking on a second multi-part series which has to do with nineteenth century German history. The goal of the project will be to give a survey of nineteenth century German history.

You may ask why I am going to be pursuing such a project on a blog about American history, but the answer is two-fold. First of all, I enjoy German history quite a bit and so I find this project to be different and extremely interesting all at the same time. Secondly, I will be undertaking this project for a history class which I am currently taking.

That being said, I hope you enjoy this project and can learn something about German history. You will be able to find all of the entries either on the Nineteenth Century German History project page or in the category of the same name.

Bannack: First Capital of Montana.
Source: Distinctly Montana

One of my biggest fascinations with the Old West is with what life in a Rocky Mountain mining town in nineteenth century would have been like. It would have been a life full of filth, rough characters and hard work combined with drinking, fighting and gambling as pastimes. Of course these are stereotypes of any old Wild West town, but were they really true? What was it that these brave, tough and rough souls did when they weren't working in the mines?

These and other questions will be answered in a new series I am beginning here at History Rhymes. I will be exploring several different mining towns throughout the Rocky Mountains in the coming weeks. Some are still active towns, but many are nothing but ghost towns now. I will explore how people lived, what life was generally like in the towns and I will also give a brief history of how each town came to be and, in the case of some of them, came to pass.

This will be a multi-part series. You will be able to see all of the entries in this series in the Rocky Mountain Mining Towns category which can also be found in the sidebar or by visiting the Rocky Mountain Mining Towns project page.

Cowboys 'n' Indians

Indian raids were certainly among the most prominent concerns of the 19th century cowboy. The image portrayed to us by fictional westerns of Indians swooping down from nearby mesas and hill-tops, killing everyone in their path is only partially true in terms of devastation, although it was usually far less dramatic than portrayed by the movies. Some trails, such as the Chisholm trail, that ran from Texas to Kansas followed a route through Indian Territory, or the modern day Oklahoma. Cowboys who drove their cattle down these trails ran the great risk of Indian attack. Rather than always brutally attack the driving parties, Indians would also take to other tactics to try to dissuade cowboys from driving their cattle through their territory. Often times the Indians were the cause behind other such trail calamities such as stealing cattle or even worse: causing a stampede.

Different brand types

Of course the Indians were not the only cattle thieves on the trail. White, black and Mexican bandits were also responsible for cyphering cattle from herds being driven on any trail. Theft of cattle indeed was such a problem that the practice of branding the cattle became commonplace amongst cowboys and ranchers alike. The symbol branded on the cattle varied based on which ranch the cattle came from. Designs for symbols ranged from elegant to very simple -- often times just the initials of the owner of the ranch the cattle were originally from. Branding the cattle also made it far easier to recover cattle who sometimes ran great distances during a stampede by allowing the cowboys to distinguish them from either wild cattle or another rancher’s cattle in the event that they should mix with other cattle.

A Stampeded Herd

Stampedes were another major concern of the cowboys. During a stampede, the cattle would run en masse, which not only made them difficult to round up again after the stampede had ended, but also presented a grave danger to the personal safety of the cowboys themselves. A stampede could easily be triggered by even the slightest thing. A single cow could step on a twig causing it to snap, the cow would panic and run, not knowing what made the noise. The other cows would quickly follow suit, assuming that if that cow had been frightened by something, they do not want to deal with it. A cowboy in the way of a stampeding herd was in terrible danger as the panicked herd would not stop or even bother to go around the cowboy -- even if the cowboy was mounted on his horse. If all was well and no one had been maimed or killed by the stampede, the cowboys would then have to round up all of the cattle which could take several days.

As full of danger and excitement as the cattle drive might have been, it was indeed a short-lived phenomenon. By the 1890’s -- only about 30 years after the first large drives began -- most of the open range had all but disappeared and the cattle drive was suffocated by the quickly encroaching ranches. Ranchers began using barbed wire to mark their property and to prevent large herds from being driven through them. Another chapter of American history had closed.

Other parts of this series

The first large cattle drive took place in 1866. A rancher in Texas and a group of hired cowhands attempted to drive a large herd of cattle with several thousand head from the ranch in Texas to the nearest railroad point in Sedalia, Missouri. The goal was to then ship the cattle by railroad to meat packing plants in Chicago and other eastern cities, however, because Missouri was already “settled” state, the Missourians objected to the large herd being driven through their farms and towns. The drive was not successful. The rancher was forced to sell his cattle at a loss and return to Texas.

The next year saw a new railroad head open in Abilene, Kansas. Texas ranchers took the first drive as an example and chose to drive their cattle to Abilene instead. This time they were successful. A total of about 36,000 head of cattle were driven to Abilene in 1867 and the trail they took from Texas to Abilene would eventually come to be known as the Chisholm Trail. In following years the trail was expanded to reach another new railroad head in Dodge City, Kansas to accommodate the escalating number of cattle making their way to Abilene and Dodge City. In 1877, 500,000 head of cattle were driven to Abilene and Dodge City.

For cowboys, life on the cattle trail was often brutal. They had no shelter other than what their hats could provide and the food they had to eat was often marginal at best. A quote from James H. Cook sums up the cowboys’ life on the trail:

On the trail we were each allowed to take a pair of bed blankets and a sack containing a little extra clothing...We had no tents or shelter of any sort other than our blankets.

On a drive, cowboys would spend everyday for two months in the saddle and would often drive a herd of about 3,000 head of cattle as far as 15 to 20 miles a day. A drive team would generally consist of ten cowboys -- one of which was usually the rancher and in charge, a cook with a chuckwagon and a horse wrangler, who looked after the remuda, or spare horses. Each cowboy would need at least three horses. The younger and less experienced cowboys were generally made to ride behind the herd where the most dust would be kicked up.

While on the trail, the cook was considered king. While he may not have been necessarily in charge, only the dumbest of cowboys would do anything to irritate him. As the title implies, the cook was in charge of the food and cooking, however, he generally also had a basic knowledge of medicine and was in charge of the chuckwagon. The chuckwagon hauled supplies for the cowboys such as food, an extra change of clothes, bedrolls, tools that could not be carried on the horse such as shovels, and anything else needed by the team. Chuckwagons were usually pulled by a team of oxen contradictory to how most are depicted today.

Life on the trail was often boring, but there were times it could also be quite exciting and even dangerous. Cowboys were constantly faced with many dangers on the trail that several didn’t survive.

Part 5

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