Bismarck's Germany: key events, policies and acts Flashcards

Question

what were the political resultss of the economic changes of 1878-9 | five changes

Answer 1

- the national liberal party split and lost influence - Bismarck was strongly supported by the conservatives, landowners and big industrialists who many had previously supported the liberals - the beginning of an 'allliance of steel and rye' - the reich became more united in its support of protection, since Bismarck presented as tariff as a patriotic necessity, essential for defending the country - tariffs raised the cost of living for workers, making them more inclined to support the socialists - Bismarck had demonstrated his political skill and opportunism through his control over the reichstag and his alliances.

Answer 2

- long history of socialism in Germany with workers parties in the more industrialised states - marx and Engels were German and had written the 'communist manifesto' in 1848 and Marx worked on 'Das Kapital' over the 1860's-90's (though not in Germany himself) - Paris Commune in 1871 had increased the fear of radical socialism throughout Europe - Ferdinand Lassalle's German Worker's Association (ADAV) had 15 000 members the mid 1870's and was committed to redistrbuting wealth and abolishing private property - SDAP is set up in 1869 by Wilhelm Liberknecht and wanted to abolish class rule - 9000 members by 1875 - the SDAP and ADAV join together to form a political party that later becomes the SPD

Answer 3

two socialist assasination attempts on the Kaiser

Answer 4

- organsiations that through social-democratic activities planned to ovethrow the state were forbidden - police powers were increased: could conduct searches, arrest peopleon suspicion of socialist activities and break up meetings - trade unions and culutrla associations with links to socialism were banned - fines or imprisonment could be used to punsih people for involvement with the SPD - over 15 000people were sentenced to imprisonment or hard labour under the anti-socialist laws - all SPD meetings were to be dissolved and socialist publications were forbidden

Answer 5

- 1889 Old Age and Disability insurance - provided pension for workers who reache d the age of 70. covered all types of workers from the start and federal government contributed to the cost - June 1884, Accident Insurance - entirely funded by employers. benefits and funeral grants to people injured at work - May 1883, Medical insurance introduced - employers pay 1/3 and employees 2/3 for this insurance. paid health care bills for workers when ill, 3 million workers covered. - Bismarck's 'state socialism' was the first scheme of its kind in the world, providing the worker's welfare with state run insurance schemes - 1886, Extension of Accidental Insurance to cover 7 million agricultural workers.

Answer 6

- initial decline in SPD support but then increased, 9 seats in 1878, 35 in 1890 - many prominent socialists expelled from major cities. made it harder - many socialists emigrated especially to the USA - trade unions partially crushed but revived within a few years - secret socialist conferences were held abroad - SPD encouraged loyalty through education, libraries, sports club etc - split moderate socialist deputies with broader appeal from the more militant radical activists - laws were originally only to be in operation for two years but were never renewed. acts lapsed in 1890 when Wilhelm I believed more social insurance was the way to win over the workers

Answer 7

- David Lloyd George sent civil servants to Germany to study the German model - some workers liked it, others thought it was a sham due to opposition to trade unions and soicalism - some liberals opposed the scheme as it extended the role of the state and threatened individual freedom - SPD support continued to grow regardless

Answer 8

- Danzig and Hamburg port for trade and movement of goods: access to sea - major cities: for labour force - good level of natural resources are along the Western border - on the Northern border there is good arable farmland

Answer 9

- **population growth**: provided a workforce and a market for man - **raw materials**: coal from the Ruhr, Saar and Silesia. Iron ore from Alsace-Lorraine and the Ruhr. Potash from Alsace-Lorraine - **geography**: rivers e.g. Rhine, Elbe and flat northern plains good for railways - **world renowned education system**: provided a skilled workforce - **unification and the tariffs**: introduced in 1878 - **expansion of banks free from regulation**: encouraged investment and a close relationship between banking and industry - **development of chemicals and electricals**: i.e. synthetic dyes, artificial fibres, photographic materials, drugs, plastics and explosives - **expansion of overseas trade**: provided markets for expanding German industry

Answer 10

- a series of bad harvests in the 1870's were compensated for by the import of grain from the USA - the building of new railways and roads broke down the isolation of rural communities and exposed farmers to competition from the outside - landowners who failed to modernise production methods or did not adapt to changing market conditions were forced to sell up or mortgage farms - decline in agricultural prices and consequently in the income of farmers and landowners - the growing number of peasants who abandoned agriculture and moved tot he industrial towns - in the 1880's, the share of GNP for agriculture was greater than that for industry, however by 1914 agriculture's share had fallen back and industry had increased

Answer 11

- more than 4m acres of land were brought under cultivation between the 18880's and 1900 - farm machinery and fertiliserswere beginning to become available. those farmers who had the money to invest in such innovations could and did greatly raise their yield - there grew a more business-like cultivation of the land with heavy reliance on large numbers of cheap seasonal workers - the growth of towns and the protection given to the German grain growers after 1879 created opportunities for the more enterprising farmers to supply food to a growing domestic market - root crops, like potatoes and sugar beet, encouraged a revolution in German agriculture. they facilitated more rapid crop rotation, encouraged greater use of fertilisers and machiner and provided additional fodder for livestock.

Answer 12

for the prestige and glory of Weltpolitik

Answer 13

the 'invisibles' which comprised of the money earned through foreing investments worth over £1000 million and from considerable revenues bought by shipping and banking

Answer 14

the majority of exports went to countries such as Britain, France, Russia and the 'informal empire' that included Latin America, South Africa and the Ottoman Empire

Answer 15

in the 1890's despite fierce criticisms from the Conservative's who represented the Junker interests and the Agrarian league, Caprivi set up this trade treaty. they agreed to lower agricultural tariffs in return for a reduction of those countrie's tariffs on imported industrial goods - temporarily ruptured the alliance of farmers and manufacturers but high tariffs were reinstated following Caprivi's dismissal in 1894 andthe rift was healed.

Answer 16

they participated widel yin the arrangement of private loans ot industry and of public loans to the state, in the encourage of new industries such as electricity and hcemicals and in the development of foreign and colonial ventures

Answer 17

the working together of industrialists and bankers which reached a high stage of development in this period. bank representatives regularly sat on the boards of many leading companies

Answer 18

they could provide important services for the state e.g. Bismarck's own banking adviser Gerson Bleichroder helped to finance the expensive military campaigns of 1863-6 when state reserves were low, he later stage managed the policy of railway nationalisation in the 1870's and 80's