German political parties Flashcards
What was the National Liberal party?
When was the party founded?
Where did they get their support from?
Who were most of their voters?
Who were the National Liberal supportive of?
What policies did they support?
What did they do for the German Empire? E.g?
Who were they lead by?
Who were they supported by between 1871 and 74? Why did this end?
How many seats did they have from the 3rd March 1871 election and what percentage of the votes did it get?
- It was the largest party of the Reichstag.
- The party was founded on the 12th February 1867
- They got most of their support from Hanover and Hesse-Nassau.
- Most of their voters were protestant middle classes and wealthy, well-educated men such as bankers.
- They supported Bismarck.
- The also supported free trade, protestants anti-socialist laws and the anti-Catholic Kulturkampf.
- They laid the foundations for the German Empire, especially economically and legally. E.g: They standardised weights and measurements.
- Originally led by Rudolf von Bennigsen.
- The party grew more conservative in 1875 as it felt under threat form the Social Democrats but before then it was supported by a group called the ‘Imperial Liberals.’
- The National Liberals got 125 seats and 30.1% of the seats.
What was the Centre Party?
When was it created?
What did they support?
What were they opposed to?
Who was the main leader of this party?
How many seats did they have in the Reichstag?
Where does most of their support come from?
- The Centre Party was the second largest party in the Reichstag.
- It was created on the 13 December 1871
- They supported decentralisation, Catholic rights, minority rights (like German poles) and constitutional liberties.
- They were opposed to Bismarck and the Kulturkampf.
- The main leader of this party was Ludwig Windthurst
- The Centre Party had 63 seats in the election.
- Most of their support came from the Southern states like Bavaria.
- Who were the German Conservative Party?
- How many seats did they have in 1871?
- When was the German Conservative party created?
- Who did they support?
- Why were they opposed to the Reichstag?
- What was it dominant in and how was it elected?
- What was the party seen as representing?
- The German Conservative Party was the third largest party in the Reichstag.
- The German Conservative party had 57 seats in 1871.
- It was created on the 7th June 1876.
- They were very supportive of the Policies of Otto Von Bismarck.
- They were opposed to the Reichstag as it was elected under universal suffrage.
- It was dominant in the Prussian Landtag (Land Government) and elected under a three stage system
- The system was seen as representing the Junker landowners living east of the Elbe, the Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union and the German nobility.
When was the Social democratic party created?
What did this party support and work towards?
What did the most extreme members want?
What were the laws originally for the party?
How many seats did the Socialist groups get in the 3rd March 1871 elections (not the SDP)?
- There were socialist groups in 1871 but the actual party wasn’t founded until 1875.
- This party supported Trade Unions and the working classes. It worked to reduce the power of elitists and extension welfare reforms.
- The most extreme members of the party wanted to over throw the constitution and create a new Republic but most were willing to work within the system.
- Originally meetings were banned but they still got support in elections?
- In the 1871 elections, Socialist groups got 2 seats.
When was the Free Conservative party formed? Who did they represent? Who did they support? How large was its geographic base? How many seats did it have in 1871?
- Formed in 1871
- Represented the landowners, industrialists and businessmen.
- Members were strongly supportive of Bismarck
- Geographic base was wider than the German Conservative party.
- The Free Conservatives had 37 seats in 1871.
Who were the Progressives? What did they dislike? What did they want to extend the powers of? When were they founded? How many seats did it have in 1871?
- Believed in a liberal, constitutional state.
- Disliked centralisation and militarism so wasn’t very supportive of Bismarck.
- Members wanted to extend the powers of the Reichstag- not military
- 6th June 1861
- The progressives had 46 seats in 1871
