What was bismarck's relationship (after 1871) with

a. the catholic church,

b. liberals, and

c. socialists?

1. Bismarck’s relationship with the Catholic Church and especially the Pope Pious IX was very turbulent. Bismarck opposed the pope as the pope promoted loyalty to the church over the loyalty towards the state. Bismarck retaliated with a Kulturkampf policies that had the aim of finally separating the Church from the State.

2. Bismarck fairly easily dealt with the liberals and gained their support. Easy is a relative term in politics but here it applies. The wealthy agricultural farmers and the industrialists feared they won’t be able with the cheap imported goods, like grain from the US. So, Bismarck placed higher tariffs on imports thus satisfying the liberals.

3. The socialist cause was bigger than just one nation and thus rightly Bismarck feared the rise of the Socialists and actively worked to stop their growth. And he did that very actively, going as far as outlawing their party. But even though he outlawed them he gave them the rights they wanted so they could not rebel against the state.