Bismarck 1871-1890 Flashcards
How many states were there in the Holy Roman Empire?
300+
How many states did Wilhelm I preside over?
26
What proportion of the new Reich was Prussia?
60% (with a similar proportion of population)
Which regions contained minorities in the new Reich?
Alsace-Lorraine (French minority), North Schleswig (Danish minority), extensive Polish-speaking areas in East Prussia
How many states retained their monarchies?
Twenty-two of member states, eg. Bavaria, Wurttemberg and Saxony
How did states retain an element of autonomy?
- Right to maintain their own army in peacetime
- Some had their own monarchies
- Grand dukes ruled in Baden, Mecklenburg and Hesse
- Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen are “free”/self-governing cities
What did the Liberals want for the new constitution? What did they get?
- Wanted a democratic constitution where leaders and ministers were chosen by the people
- Liberals supported unification on the understanding that this would happen
- However, Bismarck was deeply suspicious of democracy and had conservative/authoritarian views. The new constitution was no democracy
How many Bundesrat votes did Prussia hold in 1871?
17 out of 58
How did Prussia dominate the new constitution?
- Most Bundesrat votes
- King of Prussia becomes Emperor
- Imperial Army modelled on the Prussian Army
- Law codes based on Prussian ones
What was the Prussian ‘three class’ voting system?
- Three levels of class pay one third of taxes each. The lower class had more people in it, meaning they’d pay less tax individually.
- Equally, the votes of each class held one third in each class. This meant that individual votes were actually worth less in the lower classes than the aristocracy, being extremely unfair
What power did the Kaiser hold?
- Appointed/dismissed Chancellor and other ministers
- Called/dissolved Reichstag
- Directly commanded army
- Gave assent to all laws
- Had the final say in any constitutional dispute
- Controlled foreign policy
What power did the Reichstag hold?
- Deputies elected by males over 25
- Elections held every three years and happened differently based on region
- Questioned, debated, agreed to or rejected laws proposed by Chancellor
- Couldn’t amend law
- Couldn’t demand dismissal of ministers or Chancellor
- Consented to all laws
What power did the Bundesrat hold?
- 58 reps from 25 state govs in proportion to size of state
- Could initiate legislation
- Had to approve new laws with Reichstag, Kaiser, and Chancellor
- Could veto all legislation except for budgets approved by the Reichstag
- When Germany wasn’t under attack, they had to approve the Kaiser declaring war
What did Article 17 of the 1871 constitution say?
It’s the duty of the Kaiser ‘to prepare and publish the laws of the Empire and to supervise their execution’
What did the Chancellor do?
- A ‘responsible officer’
- Giving own assent to all decrees
- Discusses legislation with Kaiser before attending the Reichstag to discuss imperial policy and defend it to gain Reichstag approval
What evidence is there for and against Bismarck having too much power?
- For: Manipulated WIlhelm I, interfered in appointments of ministers, did not consult others through the cabinet system (where ministers were supposed to decide policy together)
- Against: Bismarck was ultimately answerable to the Kaiser, Germany was federal and only the Lander could actually levy direct taxes, needed majority support of the Reichstag (particularly to review the army budget), he was also away from Berlin frequently because of ill-health which stopped him from influencing day-to-day running
What did the National Liberals support? Who were they?
- Formed in 1867 by those who supported Bismarck’s German unification policy
- Protestant middle classes of wealthy, well-educated men (bankers, merchants, civil servants)
- Favoured free trade
- Grew more conservative after 1875 from SPD threats
What did Zentrum support? Who were they?
- Formed in 1870
- Represented Catholics and minorities opposed to Bismarck
- Strong in south German states (eg Bavaria)
- Determined to preserve Catholic church’s position in education
- Favoured decentralisation
What is decentralisation?
Dispersing power and authority away from central government
What did the SPD support? Who were they?
- Formed in 1875
- Reps working classes and worked with trade unions
- Reduction in elites power and extension of welfare reforms
- Most extreme members want a republic and to overthrow the constitution
How did Bismarck describe Wilhelm I in his memoirs?
‘old-fashioned, courteous and a genuine Prussian officer’
How did Bismarck manipulate Wilhelm I?
- Threatening to resign
- Temper tantrums
- Hysterical outbursts
- Wilhelm almost always caved after these
How does historian Jonathan Steinberg describe Bismarck?
‘neurotic, vindictive and insensitive as well as charming, charismatic and full of warmth’
Who led the National Liberals in 1871?
Rudolph von Bennigsen
How did Bismarck and the National Liberals work towards greater unity?
- Establishment of the Reichsbank and a new currency
- National Postal/Telegraph system
- National Penal Code (codification of law)
- Extension of a railway network all across the Empire
- Abolition of tariffs of internal trade between Lander
When was the establishment of the Reichsbank? What was it?
- 1876
- Controlled a new currency for the whole empire, the mark. This was very stable because it was backed by gold
- Reichsbank was the new state bank
What percentage of the population were Catholics?
37%
Where were Catholics particularly prominent?
In Southern States and the Rhineland
How many deputies did Zentrum have after 1871?
- 63 deputies
- Second largest party in the Reichstag
Why did Bismarck attack the Catholic Church?
- Hoped it would win him more support from Protestants
- Feared Zentrum might oppose unification legislation (they wanted more state freedom)
- Deflected Liberal attention from other laws they wanted to Catholic persecution
- Bismarck thought support of Church schools by the centre party to be sectarian and the Liberals wanted secular education
What was the Syllabus of Errors? Why did it mean that the Liberals wanted to attack the Catholic Church? When was it?
- 1864
- Syllabus of errors condemned both liberalism and nationalism (basically attacking both the Liberal and Bismarckian ideology)
- Meant that Zentrum values stood in direct opposition to Liberal ideas of reform and secular control of education
What was the Doctrine of Papal Infallibility? When was it? Why did it add a reason for Kulturkampf?
- 1870
- Stated that on matters of morality/faith the Pope couldn’t be wrong
- Catholics faced conflicting demands from Church vs country
- Also made Bismarck, who was highly nationalistic, suspicious of true Catholic intentions
What was Zentrum pronounced as in 1871?
Zentrum portrayed as the home of Bismarck’s enemies, or ‘Reichsfeinde’ in a press campaign
What part of the Prussian government was abolished during Kulturkampf?
Catholic section of the Prussian Ministry of Religion and Education
What were the clergy forbidden to do in Kulturkampf?
Forbidden from any mention of politics while preaching
When were diplomatic relations with the Vatican broken off?
May 1872
How were Jesuits persecuted?
- Forbidden from preaching
- Forbidden from entering Prussian schools
- Anti-Jesuit campaign gradually spreads through the Empire
When were the May Laws introduced?
May 1873
Who introduced the May Laws?
Prussian Minister of Religion and Education Adalbert Falk
What did the May Laws do?
- Catholic education under state supervision
- Only those who had studies in Germany and passed a state exam could become priests
- Existing priests to retrain and prove loyalty to the state
- Appointment of clergy made by the state
- Civil marriage ceremony made compulsory
- All Catholic orders dissolved
- State financial aid to Catholic Church ends
- Prussian Catholics deprived of some legal/civil rights