Economy and politics

ECONOMIC PROTECTIONISM:

• bismarck was in support of the introduction of tariffs as as way to protect German industry
• he tried to persuade the National Liberals to remove their opposition to tariffs

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL FACTORS:

• German agriculture began going downhill because of bad harvests and cheap importation from USA and Russia
• Bismarck understood that relying on foreign importation could severely weaken Germany in a time of war
• the adoption of protective tariffs was something already done by France, Austria and Russia so it seemed appropriate to do the same
• government revenue wasn't enough to cover growing costs so individual states began making…