From the Second Reich to the Wiemar Republic

From the Second Reich to the Weimar Republic

The Second Reich

The constitution of the second Reich:

The Kaiser was hereditary for life and he was the Supreme Commander of the army

The Chancellor was chosen by the Kaiser and was also usually the chairman of the Bundesrat.

The Bundesrat was the upper house of parliament. Members were chosen by the State Government. The 17 Prussian representatives could veto any law.

The Reichstag was less important than the Bundesrat in making laws. They could only approve the laws proposed by the Chancellor and the Bundesrat. The Reichstag was the lower house of parliament, with members elected by all men over the age of 25, fewer could vote in Prussia

This was very undemocratic as people had little say over the passing of laws. The Reichstag, the house of parliament that the people voted for, had very little power over the creation of laws. The Kaiser was almost a dictator.

Ludendorff realised that Germany was going to be defeated in 1918. He told the Kaiser that the war must end. In October, the Germans asked President Woodrow Wilson to organise an end to the fighting. He agreed but demanded that the Kaiser must go. Starvation and riots spread though Germany and on 30th October, the German Navy refused to launch a desperate attack on the British Navy. The Kaiser finally agreed to abdicate and on the 11th November an armistice was signed. This was the end of the Second Reich.

The Weimar Republic

The new government wanted to introduce a parliamentary democracy. This was because President Wilson refused to offer peace to the Germans until it had a government which wanted democracy. However, this meant that some Germans felt that democracy was being forced upon them by their enemies.

The constitution of the Weimar Republic:

The President was in power for 7 years and was elected by all adults over the age of 21. He was the Supreme Commander of the army and he chose the Chancellor.

The Chancellor had the support of a majority of the Reichstag.

The Reichstag was the lower house of parliament, elected by all adults over the age of 21. It was more important than the Reichsrat and could make laws.

The Reichsrat was the upper house of parliament and could only approve laws proposed by the Chancellor and the Reichstag.

Weaknesses of the new constitution:

Ð'* Proportional Representation Ð'- this meant that if a party received 5% of the votes, they would also receive 5% of the seats in the Reichstag. This encourages a lot of parties to be formed as it means that they all stand the chance of winning a few seats. However, this makes it nearly impossible for any one party to win the 51% of the seats needed to form a government on their own. This meant that German governments tended to be coalition. This meant that the different parties found it difficult to agree with issues such as the depression.

Ð'* Article 48 Ð'- This meant that in an emergency, the President rule by decree, abandoning democracy. This happened