This image shows King Wilhelm I (1797–1888) opening the Prussian Chamber in the White Hall of the Royal Palace in Berlin on January 14, 1861. That same year, Wilhelm's refusal to yield to the liberal parliamentary majority in military matters caused a constitutional crisis. Considering abdication, he called in Otto von Bismarck as minister president. With ruthless energy, Bismarck eventually broke the liberals' resistance. Wood engraving after a drawing by H. Scherenberg.