Germany did not become a nation. What happened to the German states?
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After the failed German Revolution of 1848, the German states remained fragmented and divided. They continued to be governed separately by their respective rulers, with no central authority or unified government. These states were often in competition with one another and had different laws, customs, and currencies.
The next major development towards German unification occurred in 1866 when the Kingdom of Prussia defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War. This conflict led to the dissolution of the German Confederation and the establishment of the North German Confederation, which was dominated by Prussia. However, it still did not encompass all German territories.
Finally, in 1871, after the Prussian victory in the Franco-Prussian War, the German states unified under the leadership of Prussia's King Wilhelm I and his chief minister, Otto von Bismarck. The German Empire, or Deutsches Kaiserreich, was proclaimed and became a nation-state with the Prussian king as its emperor, based on the principles of authoritarian monarchy.