These revision notes provide an in depth summary of this specific chapter of AQA History in the Study of The quest for political stability: Germany, 1871–1991. They can be used directly as lecture notes or can be reduced further to more of a summary of the topic.
History revision – The German Empire in 1871 (1)
- Kaiserreich, Second Gr empire, proclaimed on 18 th January 1871
o Follows Prussian-German success in the war against Fr
The German constitution
- Constitution of new Gr Empire incorporated the main provisions of the constitution of
the North German Confederation
o Created in 1867 after Prussia’s victory over Russia in the Seven Weeks war
- Gr was to be federal state
- Power and functions were divided between central government and 25 state
governments
- The King of Prussia was always the Kaiser
- Kaiser had power to:
o Dismiss Chancellor
o Dissolve the Reichstag
o Controlled foreign policy
o Could make treaties and alliances
o Commanded the army
o Could declare war and make peace
- Kaiser also supervised execution of all federal laws
- Chancellor was ‘Chief Minister’ of the Reich – Was responsible to emperor not
Reichstag
- Chaired Bundesrat and could appoint and dismiss state secretaries responsible for
various government ministries
- Reichstag was the national parliament – elected by all males of 25+ years
- Could accept or reject legislation but only had limited powers to initiate new laws
- Members were unpaid and it was elected for every five years
- Bundesrat was made up of 58 members who were nominated by the state
assemblies
- Consent was needed from Bundesrat to pass new laws and they had the power to
veto laws
- In practice, Bundesrat usually rubber stamped the Chancellor’s policies
- The various states in Gr which made up the Reich preserved their own constitutions,
rulers, parliaments and administrative systems
- State governments retained power over taxes, education, police, local justice and
transport
- Bavaria, Saxony and Wurttemberg retained their own armies
See textbook/ notes for diagram of the Reich government system
Autocratic or democratic?
- Autocratic - residing power sat with the Kaiser
- Democratic - Reichstag had considerable potential power
- The system can however be seen to create tension, not least between monarchical
and parliamentary claims to power as well as tensions over federal and state power
Prussian dominance
, - B intended that Prussia should dominate the Kaiserreich
- Prussia had 60% of Gr’s population and 2/3 of its territory
- Had 17 seats in Bundesrat - could block any unwanted constitutional amendments
- As Gr Emperor, Prussian King controlled the Reich’s armed forces
- Prussia’s aristocracy was dominant in politics, military and administrative structure of
Europe
- However, despite claims of ‘Prussianisation’ of Gr, the identity of ‘old Prussia’ was
diluted by the integration of Prussia into the Reich
o Could no longer be governed without consideration of Gr’s wider interests
- Non-Prussians soon held important posts in government in both Reich and in Prussia
Bismarck as Imperial Chancellor
- After 1871, B was Prussian PM, Foreign Minister and Imperial Chancellor
- His reputation of having brought around Gr unification coupled with his influence over
Emperor William I gave him a very strong position which he exploited
- Loathed competition and thus ensured other ministers were in low powered positions
- B dominated secretaries of state and ensured they didn’t confer with Kaiser without his
permission
o Mistrust of rivals meant he relied heavily on his son Herbert who was Secretary
of State of the Foreign Office from 1886
- Despite tight grip on Gr there were some things which limited his power:
o Gr was a federal state
o Reichstag
o Absences to spend time on country estates and illness reduced his day to day
control over Gr
- Many viewed B with awe however modern historians haven’t always felt this way
o Some say he was a lucky opportunist
o Less desirable qualities – vindictiveness, intolerance of criticism and bullying
The Reichstag
- B viewed the Reichstag with disdain – group of squabbling politicians who didn’t reflect
popular opinion
- B only ready to work with Reichstag if they would accept his proposals or come to
compromise which he accepted
o If not he would dissolve Reichstag and call for new elections
- B prepared to use all means available to swing public opinion in elections to secure
passage of contentious legislation
- Many criticise Reichstag for not fully making use of their potential power
- However, many in Germany felt that it was right that the Emperor should rule
o Few thought power should be in hands of political party which just happened to
have a majority of seats in the Reichstag
- However, Reichstag ended up having more power than B had envisaged:
o No bill could become a law until it passed the Reichstag – majority vote needed
o Government needed more money which only the Reichstag could provide
o For many Gr people, the Reichstag was the focus of national attention
o Often criticised and thwarted B’s plans
Led to B looking to the possibility of changing the constitution
- The Reichstag was a thorn in B’s side
- Acquired a genuine popular legitimacy and became a focal point for Poles, Catholics
and Socialists
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