<P> In September 1862 , when the Prussian House of Representatives was refusing to approve an increase in military spending desired by King Wilhelm I , the monarch appointed Bismarck Minister President and Foreign Minister . A few days later , Bismarck appeared before the House 's Budget Committee and stressed the need for military preparedness to solve the German Question . He concluded his speech with the following statement : `` The position of Prussia in Germany will not be determined by its liberalism but by its power ( ... ) Prussia must concentrate its strength and hold it for the favorable moment , which has already come and gone several times . Since the treaties of Vienna , our frontiers have been ill - designed for a healthy body politic . Not through speeches and majority decisions will the great questions of the day be decided -- that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849 -- but by iron and blood ( Eisen und Blut ) . '' This phrase , relying on a patriotic poem written by Max von Schenkendorf during the Napoleonic Wars , was popularized as the more euphonious Blut und Eisen ( `` Blood and Iron '' ) , and became symbolic of Bismarckian Machtpolitik ( `` Power politics '' ) . </P>
<P> In September 1862 , when the Prussian House of Representatives was refusing to approve an increase in military spending desired by King Wilhelm I , the monarch appointed Bismarck Minister President and Foreign Minister . A few days later , Bismarck appeared before the House 's Budget Committee and stressed the need for military preparedness to solve the German Question . He concluded his speech with the following statement : `` The position of Prussia in Germany will not be determined by its liberalism but by its power ( ... ) Prussia must concentrate its strength and hold it for the favorable moment , which has already come and gone several times . Since the treaties of Vienna , our frontiers have been ill - designed for a healthy body politic . Not through speeches and majority decisions will the great questions of the day be decided -- that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849 -- but by iron and blood ( Eisen und Blut ) . '' This phrase , relying on a patriotic poem written by Max von Schenkendorf during the Napoleonic Wars , was popularized as the more euphonious Blut und Eisen ( `` Blood and Iron '' ) , and became symbolic of Bismarckian Machtpolitik ( `` Power politics '' ) . </P>
who followed the policy of blood and iron
who followed the policy of blood and iron
Bismarck
Bismarck