Ruling the Second Reich 1871-79 Flashcards
When was the German Confederation set up?
1815
How many states was the Holy Roman Empire reduced to, to form the German Confederation?
From 360 to 39
What did Prussia introduce which Austria did not join, allowing Prussia to hold more power in the German Cofederation?
Free-trade area or Zollverein
Who was the leader of Prussia? When did they enter office?
Otto von Bismarck
1862
What was Bismarck’s main aim?
Unite all other German states under Prussian leadership and exclude Austria from German affairs
What did Bismarck famously say about unification?
Unification would not be bought about “by speeches and the resolutions of majorities but by blood and iron”
When were the unification wars in Germany?
1864
1866
1870-71
Which states had there own Kings?
Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg
How were states divided by religion?
South and West were Catholic -Bavaria
North and East were Protestant - Prussia
What was the issue with forming the German Confederation?
-A loose collection of states whose only cooperation was trade and a common defence policy
-All had own sovereignty and weren’t used to being controlled by another power
-Most didn’t consider themselves ethnically German
Who ruled the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein?
Danes
What was the Schleswig-Holstein issue?
The Danes wanted Schleswig but Germany wanted both
Who was the new Danish King who incorporated Schleswig into Denmark, and when?
Christian IX
1863
Who did the Germans want as ruler of the title of Duke of Schleswig-Holstein?
Frederick, Duke of Augustenburg
What had been the agreement over Schleswig-Holstein?
War in 1848 agreed that the Danish King would rule the region but not incorporate it into Denmark
How was the Schleswig-Holstein agreement violated?
-Prussia and Austria formed an alliance in 1864, response to Christian IX incorporating the region into Denmark
-Prussia and Austria received the region
Which areas of Schleswig-Holstein did Austria and Prussia gain?
Austria = Holstein
Prussia = Schleswig
When did Austria and Prussia go to war? Over what?
June-July 1866 (7 weeks war)
Over the Schleswig-Holstein affair
Who won between Austria and Prussia? Where was the decisive battle?
Prussia won
Battle of Koniggratz
What treaty led to the creation of a German state (North German Confederation)?
Treaty of Prague
Which 4 states remained independent of the North German Confederation?
Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt
Fraction of Germans in the North German Confederation?
2/3
Who did the Spanish offer their throne to, and when, which upset the French?
Prussian Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern
1870
Why did the French dislike the Spanish throne being ruled by a Prussian?
Fearful of being surrounded by Prussian influence
When was the Franco-Prussian war?
1870-71
Where were the French defeated and when?
Battle of Sedan
September 1870
Where and when did some French revolutionaries continue fighting?
Paris
Until January 1871
When and where was German unification declared, forming the German Empire?
18th January 1871
Palace of Versailles
Where else did Bismarck take as compensation for the war with France?
Alsace-Lorraine
£200 000
Who was Prussia’s leader in the Austro-Prussian war?
General Moltke
How many more troops did Austria have than Prussia in the Austro-Prussian war?
400 000 troops = Austria
300 000 troops = Prussia
What was the role of the Kaiser?
-Appoint or dismiss government/Chancellor
-Could dissolve or summon the Reichstag
-Controlled foreign policy and armed forces
-Could interpret the constitution
Who elected the members of the Reichstag, and how often?
All men over 25
Every 5 years
What was the main power of the Reichstag?
Control over the budget
Who mainly made up members in the Reichstag?
Junkers - members weren’t paid so independent wealth was required
What fraction of representation did the Junkers receive, despite making up what % of people?
1/3 of votes
5% of people
What was the role of the Chancellor?
-Proposed new laws to the Reichstag
-Not dependent on Reichstag support to stay in power - could ignore them
-Chaired the Bundesrat
How many members in the Bundesrat and how were they elected?
58 members
Nominated by state (Lander) assemblies
Where were the Bundesrat members from?
17 = Prussia
6 = Bavaria
Smaller states had 1 each
What was the main power of the Bundesrat?
Could veto legislation passed by the Reichstag with just 14 votes
Name the 4 main political parties at this time?
National Liberals
Centre Party (Catholics)
German Conservative Party
SAPD
When were the SAPD banned and why?
1878
Failed attempt to assassinate the Kaiser
When did the SAPD return? How many members did they have?
1890
1 million members
Who were the National Liberals?
Party of the Protestant middle class - main priority was to build a strong German state, and second aim was to build a liberal constitutional state - backed Bismarck up to 1878
Who were the SAPD?
Socialist workers’ party with close links to trade union fought for social reforms
Who were the German conservative party?
Mainly Prussian landowners (Junkers)
Disliked unification an supported Bismarck after 1878
Fraction of the new German Empire who were Catholic?
1/3
How many royal rulers were there in the 1870s?
22
What happened to these royal rulers under the new constitution?
Integrated the royal families of the former German Confederation under the rule of the Kaiser, but were still given substantial powers - move towards a federal state but still maintained some regional autonomy to maintain freedom and ownership
What systems were standardised under the new constitution?
-Standard measurements and weights, and a single currency (mark)
-National legal system
-National civil service
-German railways system linked states
When was the German flag finally created?
1892
Which 4 states’ armies made up the German army?
Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg
How many Lander were there under the 1871 constitution?
25
Which German Lander was very reactionary and didn’t have an elected assembly until 1918?
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Which German Lander was very liberal in its constitution?
Bavaria
What did Lander maintain control over?
Education, transport, direct taxation, policing and health
What were the Southern states in Germany allowed to retain unlike the Northern ones, due to Bismarck having made deals with the South?
Own railways and postal systems
Exempt from taxes on beer and spirits
What policies did the federal government set out?
National tariffs
Controlled banking system
Set German foreign and economic policy
% of people in the lowest tax bracket, with what fraction of voting power?
85%
Could elect 1/3 of Parliament
Who was the Chancellor of Germany between 1894-1900? Why was this significant?
Bavarian, Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe- Schillingsfurst
Who did the National Liberals mainly represent?
Educated and wealthy middle class
Did well in Saxony, Hanover, Baden and the industrial Rhineland
Mouthpiece of Prussian dominance
Where was the Z party’s strongest support from?
Bavaria, Baden, Rhineland, Silesia and Polish population in eastern Prussia
Who did the National Groups represent?
Poles, Danes and French that lived in Germany
% of vote won by the National Groups in 1874?
10%
% of vote the SAPD attracted during the 1870s?
7%
How long were German men conscripted into the army for?
2-3 years
What was the idea behind compulsory conscription?
Instil Prussian values of discipline, loyalty, pride in the military and patriotism
Who and when agreed that the military budget should remain fixed outside of Reichstag control until when?
Bismarck and the National Liberals in 1867
Until 1872
When was the fixed budget extended to following the Franco-Prussia war?
1874
How large an army would be automatically financed by federal expenditure under the law in 1874?
400 000 men
% of federal expenditure spent on the army?
80%
Military budgets were fixed for how long at a time?
7 years at a time
Who led the National Liberals?
Rudolf von Bennigsen
What did the National Liberals believe in?
-Free trade
-Single economic system with no protectionist policies
% of vote the National Liberals had in 1871?
30.1%
% of vote the National Liberals had in 1874?
29.7%
Why did Bismarck work with the National Liberals?
-Wanted to keep the educated, middle class voters happy and distracted from his resistance to greater democracy
-Both feared the Catholic support for the Z party - seen as threat to national unity
When and why did tensions between Bismarck and the National Liberals develop?
Mid-1870s
Bismarck refused to extend parliamentary power in the Reichstag - particularly on the left-wing of the party
What did Bismarck do following an economic crash, when?
Decided to try and split the National Liberals to work with the more right-wing members
Crash in 1873
What did Bismarck introduce which saw the National Liberal’s vote slump to what and when?
-Introduction of tariffs to protect German farmers and industry which opposed the free trade ideology
-23.1% in 1878
When did the National Liberals split completely? What further event allowed this?
August 1880 into the Conservative National Liberal Party and Liberal Union
Further tariff bill in 1879
When and with who did the Liberal Union merge to form the German Free-Minded Party?
1884
Progressive Party
What was the downside to the National Liberals splitting?
Bismarck found it increasingly difficult to gain support for policies in the Reichstag, particularly as he openly opposed the Z Party, who were now the largest party
When was the Syllabus of Errors? What did it do?
1864
Introduced to reassert the spiritual dominance of the Pope, who would control education, culture, science and religion
When was the Dogma of Papal Infallibility? What did it do?
1870
Introduced to reassert Papal dominance and his temporal power - his word was indisputable
What was the aim of the Centre Party in the new Germany?
-Protect the rights of the Catholic minority
-Wanted continued independence of Church institutions and opposed secularisation in education and marriage
-Less centralised Germany that gave greater autonomy to the German states
Why was Bismarck so concerned by the Centre Party?
-Suspicious of Catholic supporting population as they had sided with Austria in the 1866 war
-Church encouraged Polish language teaching and wanted a war with Italy - against Bismarck’s 1 language ideology and ally of Italy
-Encouraged separate identities which opposed a united and loyal Germany
What were German Catholic politicians and priests known as towards the state?
‘Enemies of the state’ or Reichsfeinde
What was the Kulturkampf?
Campaign against Catholic institutions and power in Germany, to supress them
When and what were the Prussian May Laws?
1873
Laws established state control over the Catholic Church - power over education and appointment of priests - failed so further measures introduced
When and what were the Bread Basket Law?
1875
Withdrew financial support from any priest who did not declare support and loyalty to the German state
What other measures came under the Kulturkampf?
-Church property removed
-Clergy not appointed by the German state were expelled from Germany
-State authorities to inspect Catholic schools
-Ban Jesuit order from Germany
How many priests were jailed or exiled, and how many Reichsmarks worth of Church land was seized, by what year?
1800 priests
16 million Reichsmarks
By 1879
How much did the Z Party vote increase by due to the Kulturkampf? Between which years?
From 18.6% to 27.9%
Between 1871-74
Why did the Kulturkampf fail?
-Persecution reinforced Catholic separation from the state
-Strengthened overall Catholic support
-Ostracising Catholic population made them more defensive and removed from German culture
What % more likely were Protestant males to go to university than Catholic males?
50% more
When did the Kulturkampf end?
1879
Why did the Kulturkampf end?
-Not politically helpful to Bismarck - losing support of population and of the Kaiser
-Needed support from the Z Party to introduce protectionist policies as the National Liberals split
-New Pope more willing to compromise and talk
Who replaced Pope Pius IX after he died in 1878?
Pope Leo XIII
What was the Sonderweg?
German way of life
What national holiday was celebrated in Germany for their victory at the Battle of Sedan, over the French?
Sedantag
Why was this national holiday so disliked by the Southern states?
Many Southern states were not involved so preferred to celebrate victories over France they had contributed to
Why was this national holiday so disliked by socialists?
Viewed as a celebration of Prussian militarism and refused to recognise it
What was the focus on German nationalism known as?
Reichsdeutsche identity
How were schools important in creating nationalism?
-Required to teach nationalism
-Student textbooks proclaimed the glory of the Kaiser
-Aim to engrain nationalism in the psyche to create a homogenous nation
What did Bismarck use to declare that socialism was a threat to the German nation?
2 assassination attempts on Wilhelm I despite the assassins having no connection to socialism
How much did the vote of the National Liberal and SAPD decrease by in 1878?
Lost 130 000 votes or 29 seats = NL
Votes fell from 493 000 to 312 000 = SAPD
When and what law did Bismarck pass as anti-socialist legislation?
October 1878
Law for Combating the Criminal Aims of Social Democracy
What did the anti-socialist Law for Combating the Criminal Aims of Social Democracy outline?
Prohibited socialist meetings and gave police the power to randomly search, arrest and exile socialist politicians
How many socialist imprisoned between 1878-90?
1500
What did the SAPD return as? How many seats and members by 1890?
SPD
35 seats and 1 million members
Why did Bismarck fear the French recovery by 1875?
-The new French government was a more aggressive Royalist one
-Thought they may encourage Catholic opposition to Germany
-French had not stopped French Catholic bishops from attacking the Kulturkampf
What organisation was set up in France in 1873 which increased the number of French infantry battalions to what?
French Army Organisational Law
Increased battalions from 3 to 4
How many trained men would France have ready to use? What was this an increase of?
800 000 trained men
Increase of 80 000
Who considered a preventative war against France, which was dismissed?
General von Moltke
Which newspaper and when printed an article suggesting a Catholic conspiracy of the French and Austrians uniting against Germany?
Kolnische Zeitung
5th April 1875
Which newspaper and when questioned a ‘war in sight’?
The Berliner Post
9th April 1875
Who visited Germany, and with those support, to discuss private talks with the Kaiser over the alarm of another war?
Tsar Alexander II with the support of Queen Victoria
Which Russian Chancellor told the press he felt peace was ensured?
Alexander Gorchakov
When was the Three Emperors League set up, between which countries? Why was it weakened?
1873
Germany, Austro-Hungary and Russia
Weakened by the poor relations between Germany and Russia - increasing unease about the diplomatic goals of Germany
