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→1806 - 1871: railways
With the fall of French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] in 1814 the [[German Confederation]], a loosely-organized league of 39 states, began to lay the ground for nationhood. Numerous conflicts between these states marked the first half of the nineteenth century, and it was not until [[Otto von Bismarck]]'s ascension as chancellor (prime minister) of [[Prussia]] that most of the German states were united under Prussian rule as the modern Germany. After the French defeat in the [[Franco-Prussian War]] in 1871, the German Empire was formally proclaimed, under Kaiser [[Wilhelm I]], with its capital in [[Berlin]]. Austria remained independent.
With the fall of French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] in 1814 the [[German Confederation]], a loosely-organized league of 39 states, began to lay the ground for nationhood. Numerous conflicts between these states marked the first half of the nineteenth century, and it was not until [[Otto von Bismarck]]'s ascension as chancellor (prime minister) of [[Prussia]] that most of the German states were united under Prussian rule as the modern Germany. After the French defeat in the [[Franco-Prussian War]] in 1871, the German Empire was formally proclaimed, under Kaiser [[Wilhelm I]], with its capital in [[Berlin]]. Austria remained independent.
===Railways===
Political disunity (Germany did not become unified until 1870) and deep conservatism made it difficult to build railways in the 1830s. However, by the 1840s, trunk lines did link the major cities, although each German state was responsible for the lines within its own borders. Economist Frederick List summed up the advantages to be derived from the development of the railway system in 1841:
:First, as a means of national defense, it facilitates the concentration, distribution and direction of the army. 2. It is a means to the improvement of the culture of the nation…. It brings talent, knowledge and skill of every kind readily to market. 3. It secures the community against dearth and famine, and against excessive fluctuation in the prices of the necessaries of life. 4. It promotes the spirit of the nation, as it has a tendency to destroy the Philistine spirit arising from isolation and provincial prejudice and vanity. It binds nations by ligaments, and promotes an interchange of food and of commodities, thus making it feel to be a unit. The iron rails become a nerve system, which, on the one hand, strengthens public opinion, and, on the other hand, strengthens the power of the state for police and governmental purposes.<ref> List in John J. Lalor, ed. ''Cyclopædia of Political Science'' (1881) 3:118
[http://www.econlib.org/Library/YPDBooks/Lalor/llCy888.html online]</ref>
Lacking a technological base at first, the Germans imported their engineering and hardware from Britain, but quickly learned the skills needed to operate and expand the railways. In many cities, the new railway shops were the centers of technological awareness and training, so that by 1850, Germany was self sufficient in meeting the demands of railroad construction, and the railways were a major impetus for the growth of the new steel industry. Observers found that even as late as 1890, their engineering was inferior to Britain’s. However, German unification in 1870 stimulated consolidation, nationalization into state-owned companies, and further rapid growth. Unlike the situation in France, the goal was support of industrialization, and so heavy lines crisscrossed the Ruhr and other industrial districts, and provided good connections to the major ports of Hamburg and Bremen. By 1880, Germany had 9,400 locomotives pulling 43,000 passengers or 30,000 tons of freight.
==Imperial Germany==
==Imperial Germany==