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The German Constitution 1871: Federal constitution, i.e. Lnder have some responsibility for ruling their own affairs (aspects of domestic policy); headed by hereditary princes; own governments; own elections for assemblies. Prussia = 2/3 of Germany Bavaria: remained its own monarch and army after 1871 Federal state, consisting of 4 kingdoms (Prussia, Bavaria, Wrttemberg and Saxony), 18 lesser states, 3 free cities and imperial territory (Reichsland). Each of these (except AlsaceLoraine) retained a great deal of its former autonomy in regard to its own domestic administration. Central institutions: The Emperor-King One overall Kaiser; all princes and Kings of Bavaria owe him allegiance; at the same time King of Prussia. - appointed Imperial (Reich) government, headed by a Chancellor (Bismarck) - right to conduct foreign policy and to declare war (with the assent of the BT) - right to absolute control of Prussias armed forces, and of those of the rest of the Empire in time of war (= Kommandogewalt) - right of appointment to all imperial as well as Prussian offices - right to summon and dissolve (!) the RT => controlled the armed forces, the bureaucracy and the diplomacy of the new Germany (from 1871-1891 in fact exercised by Bismarck, on behalf of Wilhelm I.) - by hereditary right German Emperor, with full powers over the appointment and dismissal of ministers, who were responsible only to him - full control over foreign affairs; had the right to the final say in any dispute over the interpretation of the constitution Bismarck - Bismarck = Chancellor of Germany + Minister-President of Prussia; couldnt be dismissed by anyone except the Emperor - needed the co-operating of the RT and BT in passing legislation and obtaining consent for the federal budget, BUT: he was not directly responsible to them, only accountable to the Emperor => a hostile government could obstruct the government, but could not topple it. - Chancellors office usually combined with those of prime minister and foreign minister of Prussia as well Reichstag - elected by all German men over 25 (universal manhood suffrage) - met in Berlin - lower house; no prime minister or government that were actually elected - responsibilities: vote on legislation + imperial budget - Chancellor = direct authority through Emperor on matters of foreign policy; addressed RT but was not part of it - regular elections, but government could dissolve RT and bring about elections

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- was subject to a number of limitations which prevented its growth into a true parliamentary body - had the power to question the Chancellor and to initiate debate upon any point of his policy BUT neither he nor any other ministers were responsible to the assembly for their actions - theoretical control over any alteration to the military budget BUT largely sacrificed this weapon by agreeing in 1874 to approve that budget for a period of 7 years - the bulk of the remainder of the Reich income, from indirect taxation, posts and from the contribution of the member states, lay wholly beyond the control of the RT Bundestag - upper house - council of representatives from the states - gave a voice to state governments within the Empire - Prussia as largest state = greatest representation - had the power to initiate legislation and (with the assent of the Emperor) to declare war and to settle disputes between the states => with the interests of the Reich and of the individual states thus balancing each other out, real power lay with Wilhelm I and his ministers - served the important dual purpose of maintaining the separate political identity of Prussia within the Reich, and of blocking any steps towards a radical, unitary state (Prussia had 17 of 58 seats in the BT at a time when 14 votes constituted a veto) => the balance of forces in the German constitution as a whole indicated clearly that it was designed to block and to prevent any major constitutional change or development in the future Prussias Role in Federal Germany - not an equal partner with 2/3 of German territory under her control (1867: 17 of 43 seats on the federal council; enough to stop any state gaining the necessary two-thirds majority to change the constitution) - Prussia controlled the foreign policy and defense of the Confederation, and later the Empire - federal laws (as opposed to constitutional change) needed only a simple majority in the federal council and could not be vetoed to Prussia; so legal jurisdiction + matters of religion & education were left to the states - though described as a federation containing 22 states and 3 free cities the Empire was inevitably dominated by Prussia. Fig Leaf for Absolutism? PRO: - federal rights existed only on paper - Prussia could always veto constitutional changes because of the huge number of Prussian deputies in the RT - Chancellor was not obliged to consult anyone except the King of Prussia (= Emperor) - RT was elected by universal male suffrage, but had no power of voting or refusing to vote taxes; no control over ministers - ministers were only responsible to the Emperor-King CON:

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- constitutional background and experience of the other German states: political systems and constitutions had been developing independently - not necessarily subsumed into the Prussian system - RTs of the North-German Confederation and the Empire were able to pass a series of unifying measures (national currency, unified postal system, standard weights and measures, liberal national industrial code, elimination of last internal customs barriers) => supported the development of modern business _______________________________________________ Neither constitutional monarchy nor absolutist one: - some of the emperors powers required assent of BT and RT BT represented the princes of the Empire and was rarely a barrier to royal will, but RT had the right to approve all imperial legislation and imperial budget. _______________________________________________ Powers of the RT were in two respects inferior to the British Houses of Parliament: 1. Unlike the prime minister in Britain, the imperial chancellors tenure of office depended exclusively on the will of the sovereign and not on the support of a majority in the RT 2. While the Chancellor had the right to appear in the RT, he could not be called to account there for his politics he was pursuing => responsible government (to an elected assembly) was NOT a feature of the German constitution (and wasnt intended to be) ______________________________________________ Universal manhood suffrage was NOT the gateway to democracy; Bismarcks hope: latent conservatism of a mass electorate would undermine the potential opposition of those constitutionally minded parliamentarians Bismarck so disliked. _____________________________________________ Democratic features of the RT: . elected by universal manhood suffrage; its assent was required for all legislation, including the periodic renewal of the military budget - contained a wide variety of independent political parties, representing the full range of German political interests Yet the RT lacked many powers of a full parliamentary democracy: - members had no direct control over the actions of the Chancellor, not over foreign policy, nor beyond the voting of the army grant over the conduct of the army - with the Chancellor and other ministers standing aloof from the party system, the political parties could not play any direct role in the formulation of government policy