Editing Deutschlandlied (section)

== Historical background ==
{{main|Unification of Germany}}
The [[Holy Roman Empire]], stemming from the [[Middle Ages]], was already disintegrating when the [[French Revolution]] and the ensuing [[Napoleonic Wars]] altered the political map of Central Europe. However, hopes for human rights and republican government after Napoleon's defeat in 1815 were dashed when the [[Congress of Vienna]] reinstated many small German principalities. In addition, with the [[Carlsbad Decrees]] of 1819, Austrian Chancellor [[Klemens von Metternich]] and his secret police enforced censorship, mainly in universities, to keep a watch on the activities of teachers and students, whom he held responsible for the spread of radical liberalist ideas. Since reactionaries among the monarchs were the main adversaries, demands for freedom of the press and other liberal rights were most often uttered in connection with the demand for a united Germany, even though many revolutionaries-to-be held differing opinions over whether a republic or a constitutional monarchy would be the best solution for Germany.<ref>{{Cite book |last=May |first=Arthur J. |url=https://archive.org/details/ageofmetternich10000unse/page/n5/mode/2up |title=The Age of Metternich: 1814–1848 |publisher=[[Holt McDougal#History|Holt, Rinehart, and Winston]] |year=1963 |edition=Revised |location=New York |pages=3–4 |orig-year=1933}}</ref>

The [[German Confederation]] (''Deutscher Bund'', 1815–1866) was a federation of 35 monarchical states and four republican free cities, with a [[Federal Convention (German Confederation)|Federal Assembly]] in Frankfurt. The federation was essentially a military alliance, but it was also abused by the larger powers to oppress liberal and national movements. Another federation, the German Customs Union (''[[Zollverein]]'') was formed among the majority of the states in 1834. In 1840, Hoffmann wrote a song about the ''Zollverein'', also to Haydn's melody, in which he ironically praised the free trade of German goods which brought Germans and Germany closer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.von-fallersleben.de/text252.html |title=Schwefelhölzer, Fenchel, Bricken (Der deutsche Zollverein) |work=www.von-fallersleben.de |access-date=27 June 2010 |language=de}}</ref>

After the [[1848 March Revolution]], the German Confederation handed over its authority to the [[Frankfurt Parliament]]. For a short period in the late 1840s, Germany was united with the borders described in the anthem, and a democratic constitution was being drafted, and with the [[Flag of Germany#Revolution and the Frankfurt Parliament|black-red-gold flag]] representing it. However, after 1849, the two largest German monarchies, Prussia and Austria, put an end to this liberal movement towards national unification.