Germany at the time was actually a bunch of different countries that had been united as states under the rule of Otto Von Bismark after the Austro-Prussian War. This was called the North German Confederation and consisted of 22 states. Things weren't exactly smooth sailing though; pretty much everyone was unhappy for one reason or another. While the smaller states suffered under absolutist rule, the larger powers of Prussia and Austria were constantly vying for control.
That was hardly the only conflict though. Like in the rest of Europe at the time, Germany was torn between different nationalistic factions, each with their own views on how to run the country.
The nationalistic absolutists were big fans of the current state of affairs. They supported the absolutist rules of the small states under the monarchy under the theory that firm control over the populace begets control over the state as a whole.
The liberal absolutists, on the other hand, were all about unification for the greater good. They desired to unite the states not for political power, but so as to ensure better treatment and representation for the smaller states. They wanted to institute a liberal constitution that would outline the rights and privileges of all the states. I couldn't get any sources to back this up, but I bet that they actually got this idea from the American model of government, as the philosophies are very similar.
Now here's the cool part. Even though these two groups have completely different philosophical and political views, they managed to cooperate and create something called the "Zollverein", or the "custom's union". The Zollverein was a free-trade agreement established in 1834, virtually the first of it's kind. The agreement brought together many of the states, making the whole Confederation much more parochial and tight-knit, which is exactly what both the absolutist and the liberal nationalists wanted in the first place.
So to recap: the two North German Confederacy nationalist movements had completely different opinions, yet still managed to compromise for the good of the nation. Now why can't our politicians do stuff like that?
