Imperial Constitution 1871: content and author

This article is about the Imperial Constitution of 1871. You will find out how the Empire was founded and how the Imperial Constitution came about, as well as all the important contents of the constitution. In addition, the Imperial Constitution of 1871 is compared with the Imperial Constitution of 1848.

This article belongs to the subject History and is part of the topic German Empire and the subtopic Franco-Prussian War.

• The imperial constitution came into force on April 16, 1871
• She organized the Prussian-dominated authoritarian state
• Accordingly, the German Empire is a constitutional monarchy with a strong emperor and imperial chancellor
• There was the Federal Council, which consisted of representatives from the 25 states
• The Reichstag was elected from among the people by those entitled to vote
• The imperial constitution did not provide for any fundamental rights

Background to the German Imperial Constitution of 1871

At the beginning of the 19th century there was no German state. After the Congress of Vienna, the founding of a German empire was possible for the first time. However, this was prevented by the princes and old dynasties. The national-liberal demands were put off with the German Confederation, which came into being in 1815. Nevertheless, there was no uniform imperial constitution for the German state.

In 1848 there was another attempt to establish a German nation-state, fueled by the revolution of the same year. From 1848 to 1849 the Paulskirche constitution was negotiated, which was never realised.

the wars of unification in the second half of the 19th century contributed to the founding of the empire in 1871. First the German-Danish War took place, after which the German-Austrian War followed. Most recently, after the founding of the North German Confederation in 1867, the Franco-German War took place.

After the Franco-Prussian War, the “foundation of the empire from above” followed. The German national state was not realized by a revolution of the bourgeoisie, but by the elites. With the Imperial proclamation on January 18, 1871 in Versailles the Prussian king was crowned emperor and a German national state was founded.

Fig.1: Emperor proclamation on January 18, 1871 by Anton von Werner Source: m.bpb.de

Definition of the Imperial Constitution of 1871

The German Empire was basically a federation of sovereign princes with Prussian characteristics. These included 22 states and 3 city states.

With the founding of the Reich in 1871, a unified German state was achieved for the first time. Of course, this state also needed a constitution, which is why the Imperial Constitution was formulated in 1871. This came into effect on April 16, 1871.

Imperial Constitution 1871 author

Essentially, Otto von Bismarck was the author of the Imperial Constitution of 1871, because the draft for the constitution of the North German Confederation was drawn up under his premiership in 1866/1867. The constitution of the North German Confederation was the template for the 1871 constitution, which was presented to the Reichstag and passed by the Reichstag on April 14, 1871. In order for the constitution to be legally binding, it still had to be approved by the emperor. This happened two days later on April 16, 1871.

Political system in the empire

The German Empire was a constitutional monarchy with several political organs. The political system was as follows:

Imperial Constitution 1871 content

The Germans states retained their own political order and state constitutions. The states were mostly constitutional and had two chambers, one consisting of an elected House of Representatives and the other of appointed members. In addition, the individual states had the police, the judiciary, the school and health services and the financial administration in their area. Bavaria and Württemberg were also granted administrative privileges and authority over the army.

That right to vote was limited and unequal, as with the prevailing three-class franchise system, which made voting weights heavily dependent on voters’ incomes.

Furthermore, were parties not provided for in the Prussian state system.

The individual instances of the political system and their role in the constitutional monarchy are described below. Take a look at the illustration of the political system of the German Empire again.

The German Emperor acted as head of state and thus occupied the strongest position in the German Reich. At the beginning of the German Empire, this position was assigned to the Prussian King Wilhelm I, since he was appointed Emperor of the Germans after the Kaiser proclamation. Therefore, the role also fell to the Habsburg family from which the Prussian king came. Overall, this office provided for the foreign policy representation of the Reich, the supreme command of the army and navy, the declaration of war and peace, the appointment of the Reich Court, the dissolution of the Federal Council and Reichstag, and the conclusion of alliances and treaties with other states. Here, the German Emperor could bypass other constitutional organs and override them.

Of the Chancellor was inferior to the German Emperor and had to build on his trust, since only the head of state himself could fill the position of Chancellor. The Chancellor himself represented the people publicly and was the representative of the head of state. He was able to sign the government acts and chaired the Bundesrat. In addition, the Reich Chancellor could block legislative proposals and make new proposals. That is why the Reich Chancellor can also be seen as a link between the other authorities. Bismarck had tailored the position of Reich Chancellor to himself, as he ascribed a high position of power to himself.

Of the Federal Council was convened by the German Empire and was made up of a total of 58 representatives from the 25 federal states, who were each appointed as representatives by their state. 17 votes of all votes in the Bundestag fell to Prussia. With the help of this comparatively large representation of Prussia in the Bundesrat, it was possible for the Prussian representatives to prevent constitutional changes.

Together with that Parliament the Federal Council was responsible for legislation. The Reichstag itself was elected by the German population through three-class suffrage and was occupied by 397 deputies. First, the Reichstag was elected for 3 years, but due to a change in the law in 1890, the Reichstag was elected for 5 years from then on.

Bismarck organized the state in such a way that it belonged to every constitutional organ counterweight gave. Thus, each of the four constitutional organs, namely the Kaiser, the Bundesrat, the Reich Chancellor and the Reichstag, had a counterweight in the form of another constitutional organ, which limited its political possibilities.

Imperial Constitution 1871 fundamental rights

1. Both constitutions contained the idea of ​​a constitutional monarchy with the hereditary imperial bishopric as head of state.
2. In addition, the individual states should federalist States with decisions at the federal and state level.
3. In addition, that became People by Parliament represent. In both cases this was the Reichstag.
4. There was also one country representative. In 1848/49 this was the House of States and in 1871 this was the Federal Council.
5. Altogether there was one in both constitutions separation of powers into the judiciary, legislative and executive branches.
6. That too right to vote was represented in both constitutions. Therefore, male citizens with a minimum age of 25 years were allowed to participate in universal, direct, free, equal and secret elections. The only difference in 1871, however, was that suffrage could vary in the individual states, which is why Prussia had three-class suffrage.

differences

1. However, the two constitutions differed in the veto question and the appointment of judges.
2. Another fundamental difference is that the imperial constitution came into force in 1871 and the Paulskirche constitution was never implemented.