1. Bismarck’s Germany- Domestic POlicies
The Unification of Germany

2. The German Empire in 1871
Who (specifically) held control in the Reich?
Reichstag? Strengths and Weaknesses
Bundesrat?
Chancellor?
Was the Empire Prussia version 2.0?
Why was Bismarck so powerful after 1871?
What was the role of the army in the new Germany?
How united was Germany in 1871?
“Who” were Germans in 1871?
Farmer and Stiles

3. Domestic Policy
Bismarck and the Liberals…describe their relationship from what you know/remember?
“I stand above party or sectional interest”- however in the new Empire, he needed a parliamentary majority to get approval
The National Liberals- strongest political party for the 1870s- ideal allies?
They wished to increase the extent of power for the parliament and opposed many of his proposals…and yet…

4. Domestic Policy
Politics- political spectrum (what? why? trends over time?)
Germany had 8 political parties (or unions)
In the National Parliament (Reichstag), the deputies could block unwelcome amendments and could accept/reject legislation but not create it

5. Domestic Policy
See handout: Germany’s political parties
Based on what you have learned about Bismarck’s political maneuvering to date, which political parties do you believe are most likely to support him? Explain your choices.
Based on what you know about Bismarck’s priorities throughout the period of unification and consolidation, which political parties would have posed the most significant threat? Explain your choices.
For each political party, describe the electoral trends over time. Speculate about shifts in political power, indicated by these trends.

7. Kulturkampf
1870s struggle between the “Prussian” state and the Catholic church- struggle of cultures
Catholic tradition vs liberal modernization
South German states rejected Pope Pius IX’s doctrine of papal infallibility- Bismarck decided to lend his support to the movement…but why?

8. Kulturkampf
2/3 of all Germans were Protestant and the 1/3 that were Catholic were mostly in the south
1864 Syllabus of Errors (Pius IX)- all liberal notions were ‘errors’
Germans (intellectuals, liberals, middle class) fears that militant Catholicism would interfere with new Reich domestic reforms
So is this a political or religious struggle?
Wells page

10. Kulturkampf
1872- Catholic schools brought under state control, Jesuits banned
May Laws (Adalbert Falk Minister of Religion) 1873
The state educated priests
The state oversaw the Church’s jurisdiction over its own affairs in Rome
Clerical appointments could be vetoed
Priests lost their land/asset endowments
1875 Civil marriage compulsory for all couples

11. Effects of the Kulturkampf
See the political party handout
Wells
1878 Bismarck accepts defeat- but only because he had a new and worse enemy- socialists
Basically it backfired, but why?
Pius dies in 1878 (finally!), Leo XIII much more co- operative

12. Economics
Free trade- essential principle for the National Liberals (and the Zollverein)
1879- Bismarck ditched the liberals and free trade- turned to the Conservative and Centre party (see political party handout)
Instituted tariffs to protect German industry and farming
Why?

13. Economics
1870’s- Economic Depression- bad harvests, cheap wheat from USA and Russia
Bismarck (Junker, landowner)- German reliance on foreign grain would weaken the empire in times of war
Austria, France and Russia had adopted protective tariffs in the late 1870s- Bismarck saw he could follow suit despite opposition of liberals
One final problem- the cost of the new German Empire was oppressive to the revenue streams of Germany (not enough taxes- damn liberals)- new tariffs, new money

14. Political Factors
Political advantages to abandoning free trade- landowners and industrialists wanted tariffs- new base of support for Bismarck
1878 elections- look at the data*
1879 Tariff Act- “…let us finally close our doors and erect some barriers…in order to reserve for German industrialists at least the home market, which because of German good nature, has been exploited by foreigners”
Bismarck had firmly committed himself to the conservative side- National Liberals split (again)- liberal era is over

16. Bismarck and Socialism
1869 Social Democratic Worker’s Party (Marxist)
1875 Social Democratic Party (SPD)
Bismarck feared socialists- “criminals”
Socialism was a threat to the type of society he intended to maintain- class warfare essentially- increase of industry, increase of socialists

17. Assassination Attempts
1876 Bismarck was stopped trying to pass a law forbidding socialist publications
1878 assassination attempt on Wilhelm I (anarchist- no connection to the SPD)
1878 assassination attempt #2 on Wilhelm I (no connection to the SPD)
Liberals stopped his proposals so he dissolved the parliament election data*

20. Bismarck and Socialism
New Reichstag- October 1878 Anti-Socialist Laws
Trade unions and socialist organizations banned
Socialist meetings were to be broken up
Socialist publications banned
Results- the movement went underground in some parts, in other areas of Germany, the laws were interpreted differently
Proceeding elections- see data

21. State Socialism
Repression is one tactic- didn’t really work- so what else could he do?
Kill socialism with socialism- wean the working class by introducing state socialism
Strong tradition in Prussia (and Germany) that the most important role of the state was the promotion of the material well being of its people
“it is necessary to have a definite advancement in the welfare of the working classes”
1883 Sickness Insurance Act
1884 Accident Insurance Act
1889 Old Age and Disability Act
Otto Von Bismarck had just created the first welfare state