Notes on Domestic Policies vs ...........

Domestic Policies:
B The Reich’s Constitution
The influence of Prussia
  * German Empire created in 1871..
  * Empire was a federal state which consisted of the 4 kingdoms (Prussia, Bavaria, Wurtemberg and Saxony).
The Reichstag (Imperial Assembly)
  * Bismarck was voted chancellor
  * Had theoretical control over any changes to the military budget
  * He sacrificed this weapon by agreeing in 1874 because he did not want any constitutional conflict.
  * Bismarck left it and did not want anything to do with it anymore.
The Bundesrat and the Emperor
  * Bundesrat had the power to initiate legislation, with the approval of the Emperor it had the authority to declare war and to settle disputes between states.
  * The balance of forces in the German constitution showed very clearly that it was designed to block and prevent any major changes or development in the future.
C Parties, Philosophies and pressure groups
The Conservatives
  * Remained a dominate force in the Landtag, which it dominated through local influence.
  * The Reichspartei enjoyed a broader geographical basis of support , among landowners and industrialists alike,
  * Consistently supported the Imperial Chancellor   due to his great achievements in the foundation of the Reich..
The Centre Party
  * Dedicated to the interests of the Catholic Church
  * Strong in Bavaria and in the Rhineland, the party was led in the Reichstag by a Catholic Hanoverian, Ludwig Windthorst.
The liberals and the left
  * In the 1870s Bismarck had his most enthusiastic supporters in the National Liberals, all together on the idea for a centralised state. Also for progressive social and constitutional legislation.
  * To the left was the Progress Party who shared the National Liberal’s enthusiasm for free trade and the rule of law but they were opposed to the centralism and militarism of the Bismarckian state.
The ‘Great Depression’ and its political impact
  * The economic history of...