The war was the result of a dispute over the succession of the Spanish crown. What was apparently a Prussian-Spanish alliance left the French feeling surrounded. Bismarck managed to induce Napoleon III into rapid and aggressive action through the manipulation of the Ems Telegram. This prompt action by Napoleon III led to growing anti-French and pro-German sentiment and led the southern German states to aid the Prussian cause. William Carr argued that southern German involvement in Prussia's cause meant they had to deal with the new political situation. Although numerous southern states were reluctant to join the German Confederation, Bismarck therefore had to make numerous concessions. Nonetheless, the German Empire was born on January 18, 1871. Harry Hearder argues that the North German Confederation already meant a unified German state. The declaration of the German Empire in 1871 reiterated the creation of a unified Germany and included the southern states. This would suggest that the Seven Weeks' War with Austria had more significance in the eventual unification of Austria