The most interesting political character of the ending 19th century was undoubtedly the young man who filled the throne of the German Empire. Americans are so used to seeing young men filling important positions and administering great trusts that the mere question of age seems less important than it might be to members of other nationalities. But a man in his thirty-third year was unquestionably young to fill one of the highest yet almost irresponsible positions in the world. His opinions and actions were of vital significance to not merely his own subjects, but to the general interests of mankind, especially when it is remembered that he was the commander-in-chief of the most powerful of European armies, in discipline and organisation if not in mere numbers, and that his will and order could have set the world on fire. Hitherto he has, moreover, shown himself to be a man of no mean ability, very different from the non-entities that usually fill thrones, and his vast political power was enhanced by intellectual capacity of no mean order, backed by an imperious will. He seemed, in fact, on one side of his character at least, to be an ideal ruler. The present work is intended to give its readers a rapid view of the young Emperor's character and public action, with so much of history and political review as may be needed to a full sketch of a personage of such weight and value, and of the conditions in which he himself and his great empire were placed.

The Young Emperor, William II of Germany

Excerpt from The Young Emperor, William II of Germany: A Study in Character Development on a Throne In June of 1888, an army of workmen were toiling in the Champ de Mars upon the foundations of a noble World's Exhibition, planned to celebrate the centenary of the death by violence of the Divine Right of Kings. Four thousand miles westward, in the city of Chicago, some seven hundred delegates were assembled in National Convention, to select the twenty-third President of a great Republic, which also stood upon the threshold of its hundredth birthday. These were both suggestive facts, full of hopeful and inspiring thoughts to the serious mind. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.