Entering the nineteenth century, the world's polarization had grown ever more severe. "The strong grew stronger, the weak grew weaker," and the international order had undergone earth-shaking changes.
The old empires had seized the initiative of the Industrial Revolution and taken possession of vast resources ahead of everyone else. For their own interests, they had already begun suppressing the latecomers.
Britain and Austria's move this time appeared to be aimed at containing France's expansion, but in truth, it was also a clash between the new and old imperialist powers.
Not every country was like the United States, blessed with abundant resources and markets on its own soil. If newly emerging nations wished to rise, they were bound to seize sufficient resources and markets. That was the contradiction between the old and new empires.
The Kingdom of Prussia was no weak power, and if it annexed the Kingdom of Poland, it would grow even stronger. Possessing sufficient strength but lacking resources commensurate with that strength, the Kingdom of Prussia was destined to become a challenger to the established order.
This had nothing to do with whether a government loved peace. If it did not develop industry, then so be it; but once industry developed, raw materials and markets would become the driving force pushing it to challenge the world order.
In the original timeline, the German Empire rose too quickly. The British overestimated France's strength, and by the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late. They could only enter the fray themselves and fight a world war.
By comparison, the Americans rising on the other side of the ocean were far luckier. Their resources were plentiful to begin with, and by dressing themselves up as the harmless "Uncle Sam," they successfully avoided suppression by the old empires.