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70-465: According to James C Hunt, the Agrarian League was launched to protest the reduction in tariffs against imported grains; The old tariffs were designed to keep prices high for the farmers; this kept food prices high for urban consumers. The new tariffs were designed to lower the cost of food to consumers, and open up new business opportunities for German exporters. The League was organized nationally like

140-545: A decisive role. They chose members of the presidium that was responsible for routine administrative activities and decided on speakers and the composition of committees. The parliamentary groups in the Empire were generally associations of deputies from the same party. The parties elected an executive committee, usually from the respective party leadership. They financed themselves through contributions from members. Regular meetings were held to discuss parliamentary procedure. There

210-629: A decline in the prices of wheat and rye until 1894, when they increased until 1898. In 1898 the price of wheat in Prussia was 39s.10d. per imperial quarter. This declined to 32s.1d. in 1900 but rose again to 35s.2s. in 1902. The price of rye in Prussia remained steady: it was 7s.3d. per cwt. in 1898 and 7s.2d. in 1902. The agrarian interest (represented by the Junker -dominated German Agrarian League ) complained of urbanisation caused by industrialisation; this

280-716: A few restrictions, all men 25 and older were allowed to vote, secretly and equally, in direct elections. The Reichstag met throughout the First World War, but was prevented from sitting during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 . Its last session took place on 26 October 1918. Its successors were the Weimar National Assembly (February 1919 to June 1920), followed by the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic that met for

350-399: A general debate on the principles of the draft was to take place. Not until the second reading were the individual articles allowed to be debated. At that point amendments could also be proposed. In the third reading, there was to be a synthesis of the results from the first and second readings. Newly proposed motions had to have the support of at least thirty deputies. Finally, the entire draft

420-471: A key position in the Reich's institutionalized decision-making structure. The Reichstag's position with respect to the government depended on its internal political makeup. The German multi-party system made it difficult to form parliamentary majorities. Bismarck played the parties against each other, relying on shifting majorities or compliant coalitions. After the turn to a more conservative Reichstag in 1878–79,

490-529: A kind of salary from 1876 on. Numerous parliamentarians were also employed as party functionaries or journalists for the party press. In 1898 about 40% of Social Democratic deputies were party employees and another 15–20% were employed by the socialist free trade unions . In the conservative camp, the German Agrarian League ( Bund der Landwirte ) supported Reichstag members financially and expected political support in return. Industrial associations and

560-449: A member of parliament with their profession. Max Weber also counted Prussian Junkers , industrialists, pensioners and high officials among the group. The majority of businessmen, on the other hand, were rarely free because of the demands of their occupation. This was even more true for workers. Financial compensation could come through support from a member's party or an interest group. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) paid its deputies

630-504: A political party, with local chapters, centralized discipline, and a clear-cut platform. It fought against free trade, industrialization, and liberalism. Its most hated enemy was socialism, which it blamed on Jewish financial capitalism. The League helped establish grassroots anti-Semitism of the sort that flourished into the 1930s. The Reichstag was dissolved in June 1878 because it refused Bismarck's Anti-Socialist Law . Chancellor Bismarck in

700-497: A role in the change. There were few non-voters left for the government to win over. With the exception of the 1907 election , new elections no longer brought any changes that would have improved the government's position. On the other hand, the contrast between the political camps continued to intensify, making joint action against the government more difficult. In October 1918, with the prospect of imminent defeat in World War I and in

770-498: A separate lobbying division for elected members of the Reichstag. In addition the organisation provided things like purchasing cooperatives which offered economic benefits to the members and acted as incentives to retain membership. By 1913 the BDL had over 330,000 members, employed more than 350 staff at headquarters, and approximately 400 regional workers. The goal of the BDL was to preserve

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840-476: A single member by absolute majority, which meant that – unlike under the proportional representation of the Weimar Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany – there were only directly elected deputies. If no candidate received an absolute majority in the first round, a runoff election was held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. Runoff elections became increasingly important during

910-453: A state secretary (minister) subordinate to him, or to a state government, had to resign his seat in the Reichstag. No allowances were paid because there were to be no professional politicians. In practice this meant that deputies had to have the time available and be able to afford the office financially. Candidates who were not wealthy or civil servants were thus at a disadvantage. Lawyers and journalists, for example, were able to combine being

980-401: Is secured." But the BDL also came to the defense of the mom and pop shops as against big-city department store chains, they safeguarded the interests of the rural and small urban middle class, the shop assistants, rural workers, sailors and fishermen and small wine growers. Basically they took all non-industrial workers, and small businesses under their wing. The most major demand of the BDL was

1050-508: The BDL and the party, and the BDL would withdraw its support from a troublesome conservative candidate, or throw its weight on a parliamentary vote over to the minority parties. However, the BDL's attempt to act independently of the Conservative Party did not always work. Thus in the Reichstag elections of 1903 the BDL attempted to run their own candidates, however only four were elected to the Reichstag. After this failure, Conservatives and

1120-430: The BDL programme. Contemporary critics claimed that this was an unconstitutional practice, but it wasn't legal challenged, and the loss of BDL support could be critical for a candidate. As the BDL was not a political party, they had representation in most of the parliamentary caucuses. After nearly every election there would be up to 100 Reichstag members who belonged to the BDL or were otherwise politically tied to them. In

1190-735: The BDL recognized their need for each other, and there was greater unanimity. In the areas where the Conservatives were poorly represented, for example, in the Province of Hanover , in Hesse and in the Palatinate , the BDL worked together with the right wing of the National Liberals . After all, the BDL had enlisted the support of about 60% of the National Liberal candidates for their programme before

1260-568: The BDL to form large voting blocks which helped sway many a rural election, using machine politics . As the BDL grew in strength, the Conservative Party depended upon them more and more for the defense of conservative positions in the Reichstag and in regional assemblies. However, this dependence ultimately changed the character of the party. The goals of the old-time conservatives, empire and enforced morality, defense of "throne and altar", became less important, while higher income for agroproducers gained in importance. Sometimes conflicts arose between

1330-527: The Catholic Church acted similarly. A government-funded expense allowance was made available in 1906, but the 3,000 marks per year was too little to live on. The makeup of the Reichstag showed that these types of financial provisions could not prevent something like professional political class from developing. The proceedings of the Reichstag were public (Article 22 of the Reich Constitution), and

1400-574: The Prussian parliament, the BDL could always rely on at least a third of the deputies. During World War I, the BDL, consistent with its conservative position, had expansive war aims. At the beginning of the Weimar Republic, it merged with the Deutscher Landbund (German Agricultural League) and others to form the Reichslandbund (RLB) (Reich Agricultural League)in 1921, which then further merged with

1470-688: The Reichstag of the German Empire. Reichstag elections were held in the following years: German tariff of 1902 The German tariff of 1902 was a protectionist law passed by the Reichstag (under the guidance of Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow ) that raised tariffs on agricultural imports into Imperial Germany . It became law on 25 December 1902. One of Bülow's predecessors, Leo von Caprivi , had negotiated commercial treaties with Austria-Hungary and Italy that had led to increased imports of foreign grain. Along with good harvests this caused

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1540-419: The Reichstag president did not come from a strong party, he had to follow the council to a greater extent than if he came from a strong one. Until 1884 members of the presidium were not members of the council of elders. After that, the first vice president was also head of the council. In 1899 the president assumed the function himself. Under Article 23 of the constitution, one of the Reichstag's central rights

1610-701: The Union of German Farmers to form the Grüne Front (Green Front). However, the strong Junker influence in the Grüne Front drove many farmers out. Nonetheless in 1933 under the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) it became the Reichsnährstand (State Food Society). Reichstag (German Empire) The Reichstag ( German: [ˈʁaɪçstaːk] ) of the German Empire

1680-463: The actual farmers. Both the landlords and the farmers felt the shifting of political and economic power away from the land, and desired to maintain their vested interests. As a result, they worked closely with the political parties most aligned with that interest, but most especially with the Conservative Party (DKP). By 1897 the BDL was headed by a three-member Executive Committee, one of whom

1750-483: The administration that adjusted electoral boundaries to reflect population changes. The Reichstag was suspicious of the administration because it had regularly manipulated district boundaries in Prussian state elections. But in the following decades, the Bundesrat, as a part of parliament, prevented a legislative adjustment of electoral districts. Deputies were considered representatives of the entire German people and under

1820-545: The big cities and industrial centers, large differences arose in the populations of the individual electoral districts. In 1912 there were twelve electoral districts with fewer than 75,000 inhabitants and twelve with more than 400,000, the largest of which, electoral district 10 in Potsdam , had 1,282,000. The layout of the electoral districts, which was based on the 1864 census and did not change afterwards, disadvantaged those political parties that had their constituencies primarily in

1890-477: The cities. The small electoral districts that coincided with individual "dwarf" states continued to send one deputy to the Reichstag because the federal structure of the Reich required that each state have a seat regardless of population, as was notably the case in Schaumburg-Lippe , with a population of about 45,000 in 1912. An 1869 electoral law stipulated that it was parliament and not a statutory order by

1960-465: The constitution stated that additional revenues "shall be raised, as long as no taxes of the Empire shall have been established, by assessing the several States of the Empire according to their population, the amount of the assessment to be fixed by the chancellor of the Empire in accordance with the budget agreed upon." Also in the area of foreign policy, parliament's rights of participation were limited. Only in customs, trade, transport and similar areas

2030-423: The constitution were not bound by instructions. They enjoyed immunity from prosecution on the basis of their office and security against loss or other financial burden (indemnity), as well as protection from disciplinary sanctions resulting from their political actions as parliamentarians. Strong emphasis was placed on the separation between the executive and parliament. A deputy who was appointed Reich chancellor or

2100-408: The day by demanding an explanation from a minister). An interpellation required the consent of 30 deputies. The chancellor was not obliged to appear in the Reichstag or to answer questions. In practice, however, chancellors did so in order to justify their positions. Control of the executive was further developed in the committees. A minor reform of the Reichstag's rules of procedure in 1912 introduced

2170-538: The deputies who were elected in July, or about one-third of the members of the Reichstag , including the influential group that would found the Economic Association ( Wirtschaftliche Vereinigung ) some years later with Wilhelm von Kardorff , Berthold von Ploetz and Diederich Hahn. By the end of 1893 the BDL had over 200,000 members. Only about 1% were rural landlords , with 24% coming from large family-owned farms, and

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2240-407: The early 1880s agriculture employed more people than industry and trade combined. However, Germany was fast becoming an industrialized state with increased rural exodus to the cities. After Bismarck resigned in 1890 and Leo von Caprivi became chancellor, the demands of industry were much more compelling, and the free trade treaties with Russia and Austria as well as legislation favorable to industry

2310-414: The end of the Empire. The expansion of parliamentary committees was halting. The number of members depended on the strength of the parliamentary parties. In the council of elders ( Seniorenkonvent ), generally made up of members of the parties' leadership, agreement was reached on committee chairmanships. Unlike the rules of procedure for the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic, there was no specification of

2380-505: The exception of eight small states that formed their own electoral districts even though they had fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. Since the electoral district boundaries were based on the borders of the individual German states, some electoral districts consisted of widely separated areas. The fragmentation was particularly pronounced in the Thuringian states . Due to differing rates of population growth caused primarily by internal migration to

2450-412: The executive branch and could engage the public through its debates. The emperor had little political power, and over time the position of the Reichstag strengthened with respect to both the imperial government and the Bundesrat. Reichstag members were elected for three-year terms from 1871 to 1888 and following that for five years. It had one of the most progressive electoral laws of its time: with only

2520-486: The first time in June of 1920. The 1871 Constitution of the German Empire did not change the legal form of the parliament as it had been laid down for the Reichstag of the North German Confederation in its 1867 constitution . Members were elected by universal, equal and secret manhood suffrage, with the voting age set at 25. The suffrage was quite extensive both in comparison to other countries and to

2590-456: The general election of 1907. In parts of the southwestern states of Germany, the BDL operated in conjunction with or as the local farmers' union or league. The BDL met with some successes and some failures. After several years they brought down the Caprivi government over the question of tariffs. But they never got the strict import restrictions on grain that they desired. The new tariff act of 1902

2660-524: The hope of obtaining more favorable peace terms from the Allies , parliament enacted constitutional reforms that required the Reichstag's approval for declaring war and making peace and that made the chancellor dependent on the confidence of the Reichstag rather than the emperor. But the reforms were not enough for either the Allies or the people of Germany, and in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , brought an end to

2730-544: The hope that these would give greater leverage to the government in the negotiations due when the treaties expired in 1906. He also wished for greater specialisation in the tariff schedules to enable specific duties to be lowered without having to reduce those on others. The tariff bill was introduced in the Reichstag in 1901 but due to the intense debate over it, the bill was not passed until December 1902. The tariff schedule introduced maximum and minimum duties on wheat, rye, oats and malting barley. These minimum rates were

2800-582: The increasingly complex economy and society led to a further need for legal regulations. By at times voting down major proposals supported by both the government and the emperor, the Reichstag showed its growing importance in the law-making process. Universal manhood suffrage (one of the most liberal voting rights of its time) resulted in large-scale political mobilization. Voter turnout rose from 51% in 1871 to 85% in 1912. Parties and interest groups of all kinds formulated their interests and effectively brought them to bear in parliament. The Reichstag thus also held

2870-534: The latest. The Reichstag was dissolved only four times: in 1878 , 1887 , 1893 , and 1906 . The initiative always came from the chancellor, who hoped that the Reichstag parties supporting him would gain seats. Such an outcome was uncertain, which was a main factor behind the low number of Reichstag dissolutions. The Reichstag based its internal organization on the rules of procedure of the Prussian House of Representatives . They remained in force until 1922, after

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2940-406: The leading position of agriculture in the economy and politics of Germany. In one of the founding documents it says: "German agriculture is the primary and most important industry, the strongest support of the empire and of the several states. To protect and strengthen agriculture is our first and most serious task because by the blossoming and flourishing of agriculture, the welfare of all professions

3010-477: The life of the Empire. Whereas in the 1874 Reichstag election , runoffs had to be held in 46 of the 397 electoral districts (11.6%), in the 1890 election there were 147 (37%) and 190 in 1912 (47.9%). In 1871 the Reichstag consisted of 382 deputies. After the addition of fifteen electoral districts to Alsace–Lorraine in 1874, there were 397 until the end of the Empire in 1918. The electoral districts were initially drawn to include about 100,000 people each, with

3080-444: The long term against the will of the Reichstag because it had to pass the laws by a majority vote and approve the budget. The chancellor therefore needed the Reichstag's political support even if he did not have to resign in the event of a vote of no confidence. Although the chancellor was not accountable to parliament, he still depended on parliament's approval for laws and the budget. The newly formed Reich needed additional laws, and

3150-487: The lowest that could be levied in any future commercial treaty. The maximum duty on wheat was 7.50 marks per 100kg, the minimum duty was 5.50 marks. The maximum duty on rye and oats was 7 marks, the minimum was 5 marks. The maximum duty on malting barley was 7 marks, the minimum 4 marks. In the treaties negotiated afterwards, the minimum rates on grain (which came into force in March 1906) were generally used. The duty on maize

3220-406: The military, they were denied the franchise, although they had the right to stand for election. Also ineligible to vote were men dependent on public assistance for the poor, those over whose assets bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings had been initiated, and those who had been declared incapacitated or been deprived of their civil rights by a court judgment. In the 1912 Reichstag elections , 22.2% of

3290-424: The newly elected parliament relied on a broad agro-conservative majority with the slogan: Agriculture is owed by the state the same attention as industry; if both do not go hand in hand, the strength of one will not suffice for a lack in the other. Bismarck helped foster support from these conservatives by enacting several tariffs protecting German agriculture, and incidentally industry, from foreign competition. In

3360-411: The numbers or tasks of committees. Reichstag members elected a president and his deputies. The president represented the parliament externally and had the task of maintaining internal order. He set the agenda, and members could reject it only by a majority vote. The president could call speakers to order, request that they be deprived of the floor if they disobeyed, or exclude them from the session. It

3430-409: The official rules of procedure. As the governing body of the Reichstag, leading representatives of the parties came together to vote on such matters as the agenda, committee appointments and procedural issues. The decisions of the council of elders were not subject to the majority principle, but were made unanimously. From around 1890, parties were represented in the body according to their strength. If

3500-556: The parties often confined themselves to either reacting to or obstructing government measures. The parties' limited willingness to compromise among themselves made it easier for the government to achieve its goals. It resorted if necessary to dissolving the Reichstag, the possibility of which always played a background role for parliamentary decisions. After the Bismarck era, the threat of dissolution became less and less important. The fact that fixed political electoral camps were forming played

3570-506: The political side they along with their political ally, the Conservative Party, were unable to prevent the fall of the Bülow government over budget issues and the reform of the inheritance tax in 1909. Overall, the BDL operated a highly successful lobbying effort both within and outside the Reichstag and regional assemblies. The BDL solicited the various candidates before the elections and only supported those who affirmed in writing their support of

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3640-575: The population (14.442 million men) were eligible to vote; by comparison the figures were 16% in Great Britain and 28% in the United States. The percentage eligible to vote in Reichstag elections was also significantly higher than in German state elections, such as in Prussia , Bavaria and Saxony , where the right to vote was subject to additional conditions. Elections were held in districts that elected

3710-427: The press reported widely on the debates. The electoral period was three years until 1888, then five. The Reichstag had no right of self-assembly but was convened annually by the emperor , an act that proved to be a formality. The Bundesrat was allowed to dissolve the Reichstag with the emperor's consent. New elections had to be held within sixty days, and the newly elected Reichstag had to be convened after 90 days at

3780-463: The protectionist tariffs. BDL members, rural, conservative and generally Protestant, in general despised the immorality of city life, and often associated it with Jews. They believed that Jews were genetically incapable of farming. Within the BDL this anti-semitism served a unifying function to help bring together the divergent interests of the Junker landowners and Hessian peasants. This commonality allowed

3850-455: The rest being small plot and tenant farmers. However, the leadership were from that 1%, primarily the Junkers from the east Elbe region, Saxony and Pommerania . Exemplifying this control was Conrad Freiherr (Baron) von Wangenheim, a Pommeranian with extensive estates, who was chairman from 1898 to 1920. Thus the organisation favored the landlord interests as well as playing up to the interests of

3920-406: The restoration of protective tariffs on food stuffs. Other major demands were: With these were a host of minor demands such as strengthening the disease control on meat imports, thus making them more expensive, and a ban on adding yellow food colouring to margarine, thus increasing the market for domestic butter. When the tariffs were raised in the Bülow tariff bill , the demand changed to defending

3990-448: The right of each deputy to put a minor question to the Reich chancellor. The question was answered without subsequent debate. Furthermore, the right of interpellation was extended by allowing the question under discussion to be put to a vote. Under the constitution, the Reichstag had no direct influence on the appointment or dismissal of the chancellor, which was a matter for the emperor. In practice, however, no policy could be implemented in

4060-477: The total amount as Bismarck had originally envisaged; instead the expenditures were broken down in detail, and the Reichstag could discuss each item separately. In this context, the discussion of the budget became the central debate on the government's actions as a whole. Military budgets were set for a period of seven years, dropping later to five. It was very difficult to reduce the military budget, and even attempts to influence individual items met with problems. In

4130-445: The various German state parliaments. In most countries at that time, votes were not equal but weighted by such factors as class or income ( census suffrage ). Prussia , for example, the largest state in the Empire, used a three-class franchise in elections to the Prussian House of Representatives , with votes weighted by the amount of tax paid. Since it was thought that allowing men in active military service to vote would politicize

4200-493: The years between the adoption of a new military budget, parliament had no say in what was by far the Reich's largest area of expenditure. There were also limits to parliamentary influence over revenue. Indirect taxes and customs duties were fixed for a longer period than the budget, which limited parliament's leeway, and contributions from the states were outside the Reichstag's competence. Parliament could reject new revenues, but it could not impose them on its own. Article 70 of

4270-550: Was Germany's lower House of Parliament from 1871 to 1918. Within the governmental structure of the Reich, it represented the national and democratic element alongside the federalism of the Bundesrat and the monarchic and bureaucratic element of the executive, embodied in the Reich chancellor . Together with the Bundesrat, the Reichstag had legislative power and shared in decision-making on the budget. It also had certain rights of control over

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4340-406: Was approval of international treaties required (Articles 4 and 11). In the making of alliances, agreements did not even need to be made known to parliament. Declarations of war or peace were a matter for the emperor. He needed the consent of the Bundesrat but not the Reichstag. For any area of government action, the Reichstag had the right of petition or interpellation (interruption of the order of

4410-486: Was inadmissible to enter into a debate about the emperor. If a member dared to do so, the president intervened. The members of the Bundesrat enjoyed a special position in parliament. They were not subject to the presidential power of order and had the right to be heard. The chancellor as such did not have the right to speak, but in practice he was almost always a member of the Bundesrat. Parliamentary parties were not mentioned in parliamentary rules, but they de facto played

4480-548: Was indeed a victory for agrarians. However, as Nick Koning shows, it was not simply forced through by the aristocracy or agrarians. Instead it resulted from a new shift in the position of the urban interests that created an industrial-agrarian agreement. That agreement was initiated by the industrialists, not the junkers. The BDL was particularly effective on small issues, where the Reichstag members were less committed to their constituencies, such as forbidding yellowing of margarine and stiff restrictions on brandy and sugar imports. On

4550-439: Was no compulsion to belong to a parliamentary party. The threat of exclusion was nevertheless an important means of internal discipline. Abstaining from a vote was often the option for members in disagreement. Party discipline became more and more prevalent as time went on. Discipline was weakest in the middle-class parties in which individual voting behavior was for a long time not uncommon. The council of elders operated outside

4620-425: Was put to a vote. The Reichstag's core responsibility was its budgetary authority and thus the decision on the Reich's budget in the form of a law (Article 69). Otto von Bismarck , who was Chancellor from 1871 to 1890, had proposed a budget covering three years, but the Reichstag enforced a period of one year. If unbudgeted expenditures occurred, a supplementary budget had to be passed. The Reichstag did not vote on

4690-421: Was robbing the land of agricultural workers. They denounced the policy of the trade treaties that had facilitated the increase in industrial exports but which had also increased agricultural imports. Instead, they lobbied for increased duties for all branches of agriculture. Their pressure was the decisive factor in bringing about higher rates of agricultural protection. Bülow's policy was to increase tariffs in

4760-518: Was seen as a threat to agriculture. The inaugural meeting of the Bund der Landwirte was held in the Berlin Tivoli Brewery and was attended by some ten thousand people. It drew its support from the most Protestant areas of the empire, northern and central Germany, and particularly from Prussia. In May 1893, just three months after its establishment, it campaigned for farmers' rights and won over 140 of

4830-411: Was that it could propose bills (its legislative initiative) and that a bill could become law only with its consent. The Reichstag shared both rights with the Bundesrat (Article 16). Even though no law could be enforced against the will of the state governments represented in the Bundesrat, the latter's importance in everyday constitutional life gradually diminished. On the first reading of a bill, only

4900-400: Was the chairman. It had a number of divisions, a speakers bureau which sent out inspirational speakers to the farming villages in the less labour-intensive winter months, an electoral division to identify candidates to support and to lobby candidates into supporting BDL initiatives, during election run-ups they had a propaganda division that provided BDL viewpoints on the candidates. There was

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