Economic Protection Under Bismark and The Political changes surrounding this Flashcards
What is free trade?
When there are no tariffs on items being imported/exported. Goods are pretty cheap to get.
What is a protective tariff?
Applying tariffs on imported good to protect home industries.
What are customs duties?
Tax on the import/export of goods.
What is indirect taxation?
Tax on the sale of goods rather than directly from the tax payer.
Why did Bismarck seek to impose tariffs?
- Help protect the Junker aristocracy (Bismarck was a Junker so would know)
- Germany shouldn’t be dependent on imports and tariffs could provide revenue that wouldn’t be dependent on an annual Reichstag vote-German independence.
Which two parties did Bismarck join to help combat socialism?
What two things could tariffs protect Germany from?
- Worked more closely with German Conservatives and Zentrum (including Junkers and factory owners).
- Would help combat socialism.
- Protection could act as an act of retaliation against Russia (from whom Germany imported wheat) following disputes over the Balkans in 1877 and 1878 and Russia’s own adoption of protection.
What happened to the National Liberals, Conservative and Zentrum following the June 1878 election?
What did Georg Von Franksenstein, deputy head of the National Liberals, say?
National Liberals lose 29 seats (128 to 99 seats) and the Zentrum and Conservatives (who had sided with Bismarck) have a majority of 153 seats. The National Liberals split and Bismarck has the support of the Zentrum despite the Kulturkampf.
Georg Von Franksenstein, deputy head of the National Liberals, said that the any revenue over £130 million marks should be split up equally among the states, rather than being held by the Reichstag, so Bismarck didn’t have as much independence as he wanted.
What happened in July 1879?
The bill was passed with the support of the German Conservatives, Free Conservatives, Zentrum and 15 ‘tariff rebels’. Franksentein’s clause was included.
Political changes of 1878-79:
- What happened to the National Liberals?
- Who was Bismark supported by and what was this alliance known as?
- What happened to the Reichstag as a whole?
- What happened to the workers because of the tariffs?
- What did the economic protection prove Bismarck could do?
- National Liberals split and lost their influence.
- Bismarck was strongly supported by conservative landowners and big industrialists, some of who had formerly supported the liberals. This was the beginning of an ‘alliance of steel and rye.’
- Reichstag became more united in its support of protection, since Bismarck presented tariffs as a patriotic necessity, essential for the defence of the fatherland.
- Tariffs raised the cost of living for workers, making them more inclined to support the socialists.
- Bismarck demonstrated his skills politically and his ability to take advantage of an opportunity, as well as controlling the Reichstag to make and break alliances.
Why did the Zentrum party want protection?
Zentrum wanted protection because they were conservative over Catholic.
Why did Bismarck turn against the National Liberals?
They refused to support his protection tariffs and the NL wanted more power and disputes over the army budget (1874)
Why would Bismarck want the Reichstag to have less power? e.g?
The Reichstag could be a threat to the Empire. For example, in 1877, 500,000 votes won the socialists 12 seats. This isn’t much but it is 6 times the number of seats the separate socialist parties had polled in 1871.
What did Bismarck do in 1874 to show his independence from the National Liberals?
Pushed through a Press Law that allowed for the prosecution of editors who published material he didn’t approve of. Undermined the Liberal Principle of freedom in the press and was passed with conservative support.
