Kaiser, as "King of Prussia", dominated the Reichstag which protected the Conservatives, who were supported, and arguably, controlled by the elites (Junkers) who wanted to preserve their status and power. Some saw the Kaiser, and the elites, as claiming authority of Germany, but at no time was this challenged. Bethmann-Hollweg, 1910, suggested increasing the middle-class vote, but the Conservatives quickly rejected the idea, as there was
To a certain extent I do agree that Germany was an entrenched authoritarian state as the population was being led by a hereditary monarch that detained an unnecessary amount of power; the Kaiser was the defender of traditional privileges and enjoyed a large amount of support from other ruling elites, especially those leading Prussia. However, Germany was not an absolute monarch as there was an elected branch of the government, the Reichstag. As well the Kaiser also desired a world role; he therefore supported industrialisation as well as being enthusiastic about new technology and new industries. The prestige status of the Kaiser was still deeply ingrained in the minds of the Reichstag members. The constitution granted the emperor extensive powers which established his personal rule, as he had the power to appoint key government members, such as the chancellor and Reichstag members.
This may not be an autocratic government but there are still points that show that the President can control without it being democratically done. This is because he will pick the chancellor and will only pick a chancellor that will follow his instructions and obey what he wants to be done so the picking of the cabinet will be done by the chancellor but will have the approval from the President on who he wants. The introduction of the constitution gave Germany some breathing space from the allies because now they did not have to worry about the Kaiser rule. The constitution was drafted in the best interest for the German people however there
The 1867 Reform Act played a significant part in Disraeli’s rise to the top of the Conservatives. After this Act was passed, Disraeli was seen as the natural successor of the party and therefore much of the opposition against him subsided from within the Conservative Party. However it is highly unlikely that Disraeli would not have become leader after Derby’s resignation if he had not passed the 1867 Reform Act, for the lack of opposition made him seem the only possible successor, at least in Derby’s eyes. This Reform Act could be seen as Disraeli’s greatest achievement prior to his second ministry, however it would be ludicrous to suggest that the main reason why he became leader was for this Act. Many of the Conservatives at the time realised that it was inevitable due to popular agitation and past attempts to pass similar acts that the act would be passed and thus knew that it did not involve an abundance of political skill other than that of oratorial talent to pass this electoral reform through the commons.
The Kaiser agreed and Germany went from being an autocracy, where all the political power had lied in the hands of the Kaiser, to a parliamentary democracy, where the supreme power lied in the hands of the people and the Kaiser became simply nothing more than a ceremonial head of state. The ‘revolution from above’ was quickly overtaken by events, Germany demanded for the Kaisers abdication. The chief of the naval staff ordered an attack on the British however the sailors refused to obey order and the mutineers seized control of the port. This meant that people across the country could finally see that Imperial Germany’s ruling class had lost control. The German government couldn’t stand up to the people so they gave them what they wanted, the Kaisers abdication.
This was successful because Safe guards were put in place to ensure that no one could ever take all power as Hitler Did when he was President of the post war Reichstag. The West German parliament made sure of this by making it so the president had to be elected into power, and didn’t have overall power over the government. Furthermore rules were put in place stating that parties needed at least 5% of the votes in order to gain a seat in parliament. This was a success as it prevented any extremist parties from getting seats within the Bundestag. One political party with in the bundestag was the CDU.
Victory against France in 1871 led to the unification of the states of North Confederation with the rest of the kingdoms and a new constitution based on the North Confederation’s one was created. The author was Germany’s first Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and it aimed in preserving the power of the elite. The new German Reich was consisted of twenty-five states, four kingdoms, six grand duchies, twelve duchies and principalities and three free cities, and also the territory of Alsace-Loraine that was seized from France in 1871. Each state had a different government and constitution with forms of it varying from near absolutism to universal suffrage. The states were also responsible for things like education, police, justice and health care, whereas the domestic affairs were in the hands of state government.
‘The political establishment in Germany succeeded in maintaining the status quo through a policy of moderate reform’ How far do you agree with this judgement? With Germany being a relatively young country, they encountered the problems of every other growing country before them, the major problem being trying to maintain a somewhat order in their political establishment whilst also trying to keep up the status quo. Germany’s political system during the early twentieth century was somewhat similar to America’s legal system; this is due to the fact that there was one main political leader, The Kaiser, and he was then followed by a constitution which consisted of a variety of parties which collectively was known as the Reichstag. However, this is where one of Germany’s problems occurs, this problem being the fact that Germany was infact an autocracy, meaning the Kaiser had the overall power to make decisions that affected the country and also to override any decision that was brought to light or agreed in the Reichstag. The fact that Germany was an autocracy, meaning they were ruled by one single leader, meant that decisions were only made by the Kaiser and this was due to the fact that the Kaiser had the power to override the decisions of the Reichstag.
They felt that the king was abusing his power as a monarch and therefore their rebellion was for a just cause of declaring the independence they wanted. The American Revolution created a new politically independent nation that could make its own decisions and was free of economic limiting statutes. The Revolution called for social change, but little change was initiated during this period. These political, social, and economic ideals helped design the framework of our democratic nation. Socially, the American Revolution only slightly changed America.
None of these ideas was particularly innovative, but taken together they provided a blueprint for England’s first empire.” (Pg 77), England had too much power for other nation to survive, England had change most of their trade policies, but if England didn’t change their trade policies, other counties wouldn’t not have fair opportunity to experience and compete with England. England also led idea of mercantilism economic system to show England’s great power. Mercantilism is economic system that establishes colonies and a merchant marine, and developing industry and mining to attain a favorable balance of trade. Since England had many colonies, mercantilism was England’s main economic system. England trades its good from other colonies.