Napoleon III invaded Prussia, because his advisors told him that he had enough military power to overcome their army, and that this potential victory would also help him restore his declining popularity in France. They were wrong. They lost Alsace-Lorraine to Germany (France’s bordering country), since Wilhelm I, the Prussian king that merged the German Empire under Prussia, was both the leader of Prussia and Germany. This loss didn’t help him gain more popularity, but instead made him lose his power, being captured in this disastrous Franco-Prussian War. This lead to France declaring their Third Republic. In the Revolution of 1848, if Wilhelm I didn’t gain control over Germany, Germany would have never been involved with this. Also, if the Revolutions of 1848 never happened, then Napoleon III would have never come to power, then the Vietnam War would have never happened (since he took Cochinchina over and had many conflicts there with other countries which caused the Vietnam War) , which caused the United States get involved and send troops to Vietnam. The United States spent more than $120 billion on the conflict in Vietnam from 1965-73; this massive spending led to widespread inflation, exacerbated by a worldwide oil crisis in 1973 and skyrocketing fuel prices. The economy was hit as well with the many lawsuits associated with Agent Orange.