Based on a broad range of sources, this study examines the foreign policy thinking of the small German-oriented liberals between the Revolution and the founding of the Empire. It quickly becomes clear that the worldview of the National Liberals was shaped by ideas of hegemony and that they had no sense of the challenges posed by the critical size of a unified Germany in the heart of a continent—in fact, they firmly believed that the future German Empire would be able to decree peace in Europe as a hegemonic power. Against this backdrop, the actual path taken to the founding of the Empire needs to be reassessed.