So there are a few things that need to be cleared up first and we are going to have to go back prior to the 19th century to do that. We are going to start in 1788, the year prior to the French Revolution because this really sets the stage for all of Europe for the next century.

At this time France was a single country that was ruled by a King that held vast authority. It was still a feudal country that had many nobles of varied titles, but for many of these nobles they had become relatively weak compared to that of the Royal authority. Nobles still controlled their own private properties, but the vast majority of the country was run directly by royal appointed magistrates. The industrial revolution was also in it's very early stages, with most effects still in Britain, but some beginning to affect northern France. This is a single powerful state with an increasingly powerful trade class.

Germany at this time was in no way unified. There was at this point, not even the potential idea of having a unified Germany. The Holy Roman Empire still existed in title, but in practice the multitudes of small principalities, duchies, municipalities and kingdoms were independent with the Austrians simply holding some influence over their foreign affairs. The nobility here was supreme in their authority. Plus the core of all economics in the German states was agriculture with the trade classes having little influence.

Already these are two vastly different regions. On top of all these differences, the French are beginning to experience something that the Germans will not have until the Napoleonic Wars, nationalism. The French people are beginning to see themselves as a unified culture, whereas the Germans still consider themselves to be separated by local loyalties. A man from Bavaria was different from a man from Wurttemberg.

Then the French revolution came.

By the beginning of the 19th century the liberals, who were already a force to be reckoned with, are now supreme rulers of the state. Despite the beheadings, they have pushed liberal policies which have allowed all Frenchmen to participate in the governance of the nation through elections. These are rights that the common citizen would quickly consider to be an inalienable right. Through their conquests under they would also extend these rights to others outside of France. This would most particularly include the western German states. Even after the rise of Napoleon, liberal politics would continue to define the leading ideology of France.

After the end of the revolution in 1815 there is a restoration of the conservative powers of Europe. With few exceptions each country is ruled by absolutists who reject liberalism by principle. But many of the people throughout Europe had already become accustomed to certain rights, such as voting. In France this would lead to the 1830 July Revolution, where the Bourbons are toppled to bring in the liberal government of the Orleans Monarchy. In the German states, who were now experiencing the beginning of nationalism, this would not result in quick action, but instead would slowing lead to liberal elites and intellectuals arguing to the merging of all German states into a single liberally ruled German state. They were however limited in their potential by the actions of Metternich, who would serve as a bulwark of conservative thought in central Europe.

Finally during the 1848 Revolutions, there was finally a massive push by liberals all over Europe to seize power. In France this meant a push to provide a universal vote to all men and eventually a push to establish a Republic. In the German states it would be a push to create a single German state which was governed with a constitution.

While the revolution did not hold in Germany, there were a number of liberal strongholds during this time period. These included Stuttgart and Frankfurt. These were located closer to France and had longer experience with liberal policies, as well as being exposed to the initial phases of the industrial revolution, meaning that the trade classes were growing in political strength. Liberals had also seized control temporarily in Austria, exiling Metternich and adopting a Constitution. One of the few German states that had not turned to liberalism was the Kingdom of Prussia who would serve as the key villain to the Liberals in 1848.

Another issue during both of these periods that the Liberals faced was the rise of Socialism as a political force. In both France and Germany the liberals would have to fight a two front political war with the socialists on the left and the reactionaries on the right.

The reality during this time period is that both France and Germany faced very similar political issues. Yet the major differences in their countries, differences that originated long before the 19th century, resulted in different situations.

I hope that this has helped with your question and if there is anything that you would like me to clarify or a point that you wish to debate, feel free to let me know.

Thank you.