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When Wilhelm, King of Prussia, offered Otto von Bismarck the position of head of government in September of 1862, he was giving power to a man he did not care for, a man he had sent to Russia for the specific purpose of getting him as far away from his kingdom's center of power as possible, and was essentially doing so as a Hail Mary to save his government from a constitutional crisis. The chosen man, of course, would surprise everyone and change history, not only by managing to make the new government work, but leading Prussia to unify the German states in the 1860's, and subsequently serve as Chancellor of Germany.

But what if he hadn't? What if, instead, the initial predictions of Bismarck's term as Minister President turned out to be accurate; specifically, what if he resigned* or was fired sometime before the conflict with Austria in 1866 could break out? First, how would Prussia now cope with the constitutional question that had brought Bismarck to power in the first place? Second, what would this mean for German politics, and for the prospects of unification (assuming any)? And third, how does this affect European politics in the late 19th Century?

*successfully resigned, since he did in fact tender at least one resignation during this time that the king declined
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