Control/ authority in the Reichstag 1871-88

Question 1

What were the years of Bismarks reign as Chancellor?

Answer 1

1867- 1890

Question 2

What were the main political parties in this period?

Answer 2

Social Democrats
Progressives
Centre Party
Free Conservatives
National Liberals
German Conservative Party

Question 3

Was the government more Democratic or Autocratic?

Answer 3

Autocratic

Question 4

Key Autocratic factors of the gov

Answer 4

• Bismark drew up the Constitution
• Kaiser could appoint Chancellor, dissolve Reichstag and influence laws
• Reichstag had limited powers to initiate laws
• Prussia had 17 out of the 58 members in the Bundesrat so could overall veto

Question 5

Key Democratic features of the gov

Answer 5

• Reichstag
• Bundesrat passed new laws and theoretically had the power to change Constitution
• Powers and rules were split between states that had their own govs and armies

Question 6

Times when the Reichstag successfully blocked Bismarks legislation VS didn’t

Answer 6

• 1880 Bismark proposed to replace the Reichstag
• Censoring political newspapers / publications that criticised Bismark
• Anti-Socialist Laws
VS
• Bismark manufacturered a war scare to support the military bill in 1886

Question 7

Which political party allied with Bismark?

Answer 7

The National Liberals