Did Bismarck's Ends Justify His Means?

Bismarck understood it would not be easy to draw the German states into a unified whole under Prussian leadership. He crafted a strategy similar to Machiavelli's "let the end justify the means." Realpolitik, as it came to known, meant an unyielding drive to achieve national goals at any cost.

Why did von Bismarck resign?

To avoid alienating Britain, Bismarck arranged the two Mediterranean Agreements of 1887, designed to preserve the status quo against a Russian threat. In 1890, Bismarck resigned after disagreeing with the new emperor, Wilhelm II. He retired to his estate near Hamburg and died there on 30 July 1898.

What was Bismarck's rule?

Germany became a modern, unified nation under the leadership of the “Iron Chancellor” Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), who between 1862 and 1890 effectively ruled first Prussia and then all of Germany.