A study of the economic and social changes which shaped the movement for German unification. The author emphasizes the effect of industrialism on urban life, traces the decline of manorialism in agriculture and seeks to show that the political movements of these years were profoundly influenced by the economic transition from agrarianism to capitalism. "Most of the works in English devoted to nineteenth century German historical development tend to emphasize the political and ideological aspects of liberalism, reaction, and nationalism. In this excellent volume Dr. Hamerow turns his attention to the economic or material forces from which these politico-ideological factors arose." ― The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science