government and opposition kaiser wilhelm 1 and bismark Flashcards
what was kaiser wilhelm 1 personality
prussian aristocrat
enjoyed state occasions and military ceremonies
74 years old in 1871
old fashioned
allowed Bismarck to take initiative on political matters
how did bismarck use is power to get what he wanted
he manipulated the Kaiser with temper tantrums and frequent threats of resignation
what was Bismarck’s personality
intelligent
hard working
love / hate relationship with kaiser
loathed working with the reichstag
in 1871 which political parties supported Bismarck’s view for a united germany
national liberals
imperial liberals
free conservatives
how many laws did the Reichstag pass to make administrative and economic unity to Germany
100
when was the reich bank established
1876
new currency called the mark which was backed by gold
name 5 laws put in place by the reichstag to unify germany
- abolition of tariffs
- single weight and measurement system
3.national postal and telegraph service - single court system and supreme court
- support for extension of railway network across the empire
what were the reasons for kulturekampf
catholics were only 37% of the population but strong in southern states
church was financially independent and had its own schools and political parties
zentrum was second largest party in Reichstag in 1871 and bismarck feared it would oppose his ideas to unify germany
thought attacking catholics would gain him protestant supporters
why did the liberals support kulturekampf
in 1864 the pope said to oppose the liberals
so zentrum party ideas were completely opposite to the liberal party
what did Bismarck do against the catholic church under kulturekampf
1871 press campaign shown zentrum as Bismarck’s enemies
catholic section of prussian ministry for religion and education is abolished
1872 diplomatic relations with vatican were broken
jesuits were forbidden from preaching in prussian schools
how many seats did the zentrum party win in 1874 elections
91
what were the issues with kulturekampf
zentrum party leader ludwig windhorst organised national resistance tours
divisions in the empire intensified
1874 catholic barrel makers tried to assassinate bismarck
protestants began to question Bismarck’s views on religious freedoms
what were the may laws of 1873
only applied to prussia :
catholic education came under state supervision
only people who had passed german stat exams could become priests
existing priests had to re train and prove their loyalty to the state
state financial aid to the catholic church ended
prussian catholics were deprived of certain legal rights
what other actions against the catholic church took place across the empire
1874 - responsibility of recording birth death and marriages was given to the state
all states had the right to restrict freedom of movement for clergy
why did kulturekampf end in 1878
bismarck wanted a closer relationship with austria
he wanted to abolish free trade which would loose his liberal support so would require backing from the centre party
protestants were growing against kulturekampf and he needeed their support
socialism with a bigger threat than catholicism
results of end of kulturekampf
alliance with austria in 1879
zentrumn became a purley religous party and supoorted the empire
bismarck didnt need liberal support so could make policy changes as he wanted
when were tarrifs introduced and why
1879
liberals lost 29 seats and zentrum and conservatives had the majority
how did the political results change in 1878-1879
liberals lost support
bismarck was strongly supported by conservatives
reich was united over necessity for tarriffs
tarriffs made living more expensive so socialism increased
when was the SDP created
1875
what were the anti socialist laws in 1878
socialist organisations (trade unions ) were banned
socialist meetings were banned
socialist publications were banned
police powers were increased if organisations were percieved to be dangerous to the state
when were anti socialist laws ended
september 1890
results of anti socialist laws
15000 activists imprisoned
SPD struggled to find a reichstag candidate
more industrial workers moved towards the SDP
from 1878 to 1890 seats went from 9 to 35
state socialism legislation
when did people get medical and accident insurance
medical 1883
accident 1884
when did people get an OAP
1889
how did bismarck react to national minorities
expelled 34000 jews and poles between 1885-86 because he said they came from austria or russia
poles had no religious leader for 12 years
german was the only language
was Bismarck’s government autocratic or democratic
he never shared power with his ministers who were known as secretaries
he aligned himself with groups in the reichstag but had little patience for their demands
he concidered setting up a reich council in 1880 to bypass the reichstag
he dissolved the reichstag in 1887 and artificially made up a war crisis to get their support again when they didnt agree to increase taxes by 10%
how did support for the liberals change
dominant 1871 - 1878
divided over press law and army bill 1874
split over anti socialist laws and tarriffs in 1878-1879
left became progressives
right continued supporting bismarck
how did support for the zentrum party change
weakened by kulturekampf 1871-1878
supportive of antisocialist laws and anti liberal laws in 1878
supported some conservatives but opposed others
how did support for the the SDP change
formed in 1875
banned in 1878
grew considerably in 1878 -1890
opposed bismarck in 80s
how did support for the conservatives change
challenged by liberal dominance before 1878
very supportive of Bismarck after 1878
what issues did Bismarck and wilhelm 2 disagree about
kaiser wanted to reduce his role as minister president of prussia
bismarck wanted to continue suppressing socialism
bismarck favoured russia , kaiser favoured austria
wilhelm wanted to be the people’s emperor, bismarck wanted to remain aloof
