The first major step towards a unified Germany was the Zollverein or Economic Union. In 1818, Prussia brought into being the Prussian Customs Union to remove customs duties within Prussia. In 1830, the small state of Hesse-Cassel joined the union after financial difficulties and revolutionary upheal. Other states joined after noticing the successes of the union, and when Bavaria and Wurttemberg joined in 1834, the union comprised of 18 states. The new, enlarged Prussian Customs Union was known as the Zollverein. By 1842, almost all German states had joined. The Zollverein brought in currency and measurement standardization and extended railways for better communication. A common system of customs and tariffs ensured greater economic success and made the dream of a politically united Germany seem more realistic. .
Austria, traditionally the most powerful German state, refused to join the Zollverein due to disagreement on the policies of free trade and low tariffs. Prussia seized the opportunity to establish itself as the leader of Kleindeutschland (Germany not including Austria). This move began a rivalry between Prussia and Austria, a rivalry which "was only to be resolved by war". .
The revolutions of 1848/49 displayed the great desire of the common German people to unite for the obvious benefits. The years leading up to the revolutions were years of dismay. Crops failed in the German states and other parts of Europe. A terrible cholera epidemic broke out in 1848, "causing such loss of life that for a while life in many areas was totally disorganised". "Thus the time was ripe for a radical change to upset the old order of things". Demonstrations and public meetings occurred all over Germany. The starving workers, not as interested in politics as they were in their low living standards, demanded food, housing, shorter working hours and better working conditions. On the other hand, the more politically inclined, liberalist middle classes demanded freedom for press, a parliament, legal systems and a German republic.
