Candistan
24-11-2006, 19:06
IMPERIAL GERMANY
HISTORY:
Under the guise of idealism giving way to realism, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848 to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck's authoritarian Realpolitik. Bismarck wanted to unify the rival German states to achieve his aim of a conservative, Prussian-dominated German state. He accomplished this after three military successes:
Denmark's claim to Schleswig led to the short Second war of Schleswig in 1864, in which Prussia and Austria secured a united Schleswig-Holstein for the German Confederation
In 1866, in concert with Italy, Bismarck created an environment in which the Austro-Prussian War was declared by Austria. A decisive victory at the Battle of Königgrätz allowed him to exclude long-time rival Austria and most of its allies from the now-defunct German Confederation when forming the North German Confederation with the states that had supported Prussia. This new Confederation was the direct precursor to the 1871 empire
Finally, France declared the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71); Napoleon III was quickly defeated by the great Gist, yet the new republic continued to fight. During the Siege of Paris, the North German Confederation supported by the allies from Southern Germany formed the German Empire with the proclamation of the Prussian king Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, to the humiliation of the French, who ceased to resist days later. This intentional affront was repayed in 1919 as it was the same room in which the Versailles Treaty was signed, which said that Germany was totally responsible for the First World War.
Bismarck himself prepared in broad outline the 1866 North German Constitution, which became the 1871 Constitution of the German Empire with some adjustments. Germany acquired some democratic features: notably the Reichstag, that in contrast to the parliament of Prussia was elected by direct and equal manhood suffrage. However, legislation also required the consent of the Bundesrat, the federal council of deputies from the states, in which Prussia had a large influence. Behind a constitutional façade, Prussia thus exercised predominant influence in both bodies with executive power vested in the Kaiser, who appointed the federal chancellor — Otto von Bismarck. The chancellor was accountable solely to and served entirely at the discretion of the Emperor. Officially, the chancellor was a one-man cabinet and was responsible for the conduct of all state affairs; in practice, the State Secretaries (bureaucratic top officials in change of such fields as finance, war, foreign affairs, etc) acted as unofficial portfolio ministers. With the exception of the years 1872–1873 and 1892–1894, the chancellor was always simultaneously the prime minister of the imperial dynasty's hegemonic home-kingdom, Prussia. The Reichstag had the power to pass, amend or reject bills, but could not initiate legislation. The power of initiating legislation rested with the chancellor.
While the other states retained their own governments, the military forces of the smaller states were put under Prussian control, while those of the larger states such as the Kingdoms of Bavaria and Saxony were coordinated along Prussian principles and would in wartime be controlled by the federal government. Although authoritarian in many respects, the empire permitted the development of political parties.
Proclamation of the German Empire in Versailles, with Bismarck in white in center. Painting by Anton von Werner.This box: view • talk • edit
History of Germany
Ancient times
Germanic peoples
Migration Period
Frankish Empire
Medieval times
Holy Roman Empire
East Colonisation
Building a nation
Confederation of the Rhine
German Confederation
North German Confederation
Imperial Germany
German Empire
Germany during World War I
Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
World War II
Post-war Germany
Since 1945
Occupation and Division
Expulsion
East Germany
West Germany
German reunification
Present day Germany
Modern Germany
Topical
Military history of Germany
Timeline of German history
History of German
[Edit this template]
The evolution of the German Empire is somewhat in line with parallel developments in Italy and Japan. Similarly to Bismarck, Count Camillo Benso di Cavour in Italy used diplomacy and war to achieve his objectives: he allied with France before attacking Austria, securing the unification of Italy as a kingdom under the Piemontese dynasty (except for the Papal States and Austrian Venice) by 1861. In the interests of Piedmont-Sardinia, Cavour, hostile to the more revolutionary nationalism of liberal republicans such as Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini, sought the unification of Italy along conservative lines. Similarly, Japan followed a course of conservative modernization from the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration to 1918 similar to Cavour's Italy. Japan issued a commission in 1882 to study various governmental structures throughout the world and were particularly impressed by Bismarck's Germany, issuing a constitution in 1889 that formed a premiership with powers analogous to Bismarck's position as chancellor with a cabinet responsible to the emperor alone.
One factor in the social anatomy of these governments had been the retention of a very substantial share in political power by the landed elite, the Junkers, due to the absence of a revolutionary breakthrough by the peasants in combination with urban areas.
Conservative Modernization:
Bismarck's domestic policies played a great role in forging the authoritarian political culture of the Kaiserreich. Less preoccupied by continental power politics following unification in 1871, Germany's semi-parliamentary government carried out a relatively smooth economic and political revolution from above that pushed them along the way towards becoming the world's leading industrial power of the time.
ECONOMY:
Not only did German manufacturers capture German markets from British imports, by the 1870s, British manufacturers in the staple industries of the Industrial Revolution were beginning to experience real competition abroad. Industrialization progressed dynamically in Germany and the United States, allowing them to clearly prevail over the old French and British capitalisms. The German textiles and metal industries, for example, had by the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War surpassed those of Britain in organization and technical efficiency and usurped British manufacturers in the domestic market. By the turn of the century, the German metals and engineering industries would be producing heavily for the free trade market of Britain.
to be continued...
HISTORY:
Under the guise of idealism giving way to realism, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848 to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck's authoritarian Realpolitik. Bismarck wanted to unify the rival German states to achieve his aim of a conservative, Prussian-dominated German state. He accomplished this after three military successes:
Denmark's claim to Schleswig led to the short Second war of Schleswig in 1864, in which Prussia and Austria secured a united Schleswig-Holstein for the German Confederation
In 1866, in concert with Italy, Bismarck created an environment in which the Austro-Prussian War was declared by Austria. A decisive victory at the Battle of Königgrätz allowed him to exclude long-time rival Austria and most of its allies from the now-defunct German Confederation when forming the North German Confederation with the states that had supported Prussia. This new Confederation was the direct precursor to the 1871 empire
Finally, France declared the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71); Napoleon III was quickly defeated by the great Gist, yet the new republic continued to fight. During the Siege of Paris, the North German Confederation supported by the allies from Southern Germany formed the German Empire with the proclamation of the Prussian king Wilhelm I as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, to the humiliation of the French, who ceased to resist days later. This intentional affront was repayed in 1919 as it was the same room in which the Versailles Treaty was signed, which said that Germany was totally responsible for the First World War.
Bismarck himself prepared in broad outline the 1866 North German Constitution, which became the 1871 Constitution of the German Empire with some adjustments. Germany acquired some democratic features: notably the Reichstag, that in contrast to the parliament of Prussia was elected by direct and equal manhood suffrage. However, legislation also required the consent of the Bundesrat, the federal council of deputies from the states, in which Prussia had a large influence. Behind a constitutional façade, Prussia thus exercised predominant influence in both bodies with executive power vested in the Kaiser, who appointed the federal chancellor — Otto von Bismarck. The chancellor was accountable solely to and served entirely at the discretion of the Emperor. Officially, the chancellor was a one-man cabinet and was responsible for the conduct of all state affairs; in practice, the State Secretaries (bureaucratic top officials in change of such fields as finance, war, foreign affairs, etc) acted as unofficial portfolio ministers. With the exception of the years 1872–1873 and 1892–1894, the chancellor was always simultaneously the prime minister of the imperial dynasty's hegemonic home-kingdom, Prussia. The Reichstag had the power to pass, amend or reject bills, but could not initiate legislation. The power of initiating legislation rested with the chancellor.
While the other states retained their own governments, the military forces of the smaller states were put under Prussian control, while those of the larger states such as the Kingdoms of Bavaria and Saxony were coordinated along Prussian principles and would in wartime be controlled by the federal government. Although authoritarian in many respects, the empire permitted the development of political parties.
Proclamation of the German Empire in Versailles, with Bismarck in white in center. Painting by Anton von Werner.This box: view • talk • edit
History of Germany
Ancient times
Germanic peoples
Migration Period
Frankish Empire
Medieval times
Holy Roman Empire
East Colonisation
Building a nation
Confederation of the Rhine
German Confederation
North German Confederation
Imperial Germany
German Empire
Germany during World War I
Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
World War II
Post-war Germany
Since 1945
Occupation and Division
Expulsion
East Germany
West Germany
German reunification
Present day Germany
Modern Germany
Topical
Military history of Germany
Timeline of German history
History of German
[Edit this template]
The evolution of the German Empire is somewhat in line with parallel developments in Italy and Japan. Similarly to Bismarck, Count Camillo Benso di Cavour in Italy used diplomacy and war to achieve his objectives: he allied with France before attacking Austria, securing the unification of Italy as a kingdom under the Piemontese dynasty (except for the Papal States and Austrian Venice) by 1861. In the interests of Piedmont-Sardinia, Cavour, hostile to the more revolutionary nationalism of liberal republicans such as Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini, sought the unification of Italy along conservative lines. Similarly, Japan followed a course of conservative modernization from the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration to 1918 similar to Cavour's Italy. Japan issued a commission in 1882 to study various governmental structures throughout the world and were particularly impressed by Bismarck's Germany, issuing a constitution in 1889 that formed a premiership with powers analogous to Bismarck's position as chancellor with a cabinet responsible to the emperor alone.
One factor in the social anatomy of these governments had been the retention of a very substantial share in political power by the landed elite, the Junkers, due to the absence of a revolutionary breakthrough by the peasants in combination with urban areas.
Conservative Modernization:
Bismarck's domestic policies played a great role in forging the authoritarian political culture of the Kaiserreich. Less preoccupied by continental power politics following unification in 1871, Germany's semi-parliamentary government carried out a relatively smooth economic and political revolution from above that pushed them along the way towards becoming the world's leading industrial power of the time.
ECONOMY:
Not only did German manufacturers capture German markets from British imports, by the 1870s, British manufacturers in the staple industries of the Industrial Revolution were beginning to experience real competition abroad. Industrialization progressed dynamically in Germany and the United States, allowing them to clearly prevail over the old French and British capitalisms. The German textiles and metal industries, for example, had by the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War surpassed those of Britain in organization and technical efficiency and usurped British manufacturers in the domestic market. By the turn of the century, the German metals and engineering industries would be producing heavily for the free trade market of Britain.
to be continued...