Preview

To what extent did the constitution ensure that the Kaisers power was preserved?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
598 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To what extent did the constitution ensure that the Kaisers power was preserved?
To what extent did the constitution ensure that the Kaisers power was preserved?
Kaiser had all power over Germany and with the desire for changes in the way Germany was run resulted in the improvements such as the creation of a constitution which was without a doubt crucial to the consolidation of the Kaisers position.
The constitution consisted of 25 federal states, within this there were 4 kingdoms, 12 Duchies, 6 Grand Duchies and 3 free cities. At first the Kaiser had pretty much entire control over all of these states however at this point the Kaiser had great control over each of these states, however each one did have a government which could decide healthcare system, education and justice policies. The states were at this point happy with this situation so on the whole they were content to remain part of Germany.
The Kaiser had autocratic control over diplomatic policy and this meant he could even dismiss his own chancellor. Basically he could control the entire political system of Germany as he could select people who agreed with his policies. He also made a rule that in order to rule the Kaiser must be a Prussian, ensuring his control over the German people. His rule also meant he could change the constitution so that these rules had to stay in place. The control of these factors played a big role in keeping his position a stable one.
The chancellor was the chief minister of the Reich, the only person who controlled him was the Kaiser with his ability to dismiss state secretaries and anyone else who he didn’t like. He was pretty much dictated entirely by the Kaisers wishes and could also easily be ignored by him. In any case the Kaiser would obviously choose someone who would obey his every order to prevent any questioning of his authority.
The Bundesrat was the upper house in the parliament, it had 58 members and could change the constitution (in theory) the idea of the group was to stop radical legislation. The elections were split into 3

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the Wiemar constitution it allows for the president to make decisions when there is an emergency in the country. When the stock market crashed in 1929 the United States, who was a big backer of money in Germany, pulled their money out of the German economy it sent the country into panic and some confusion. The Reichstag fell into gridlock and the president of Germany took control by exercising the emergency power clause in the Wiemar Constitution. President Hindenburg appointed temporary chancellors which both failed to control what was going on in their country which led Germans to look alternatively for answers and some started voting for the Nazi splinter group. While numbers of Nazi in the government began to rise people started noticing one of their members Adolph Hitler as a man…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Germany was a parliamentary democracy based on the constitution that Germany was run by. The Bundesrat being part of the constitution consisted of 58 members who were elected by the state assemblies, the Bundesrat had the power in theory to the law making process and by this having this possibly the right to alter the constitution. The Bundesrat had the power to veto legislation against a bill, therefore being able to stop such laws that would not be in favour of Germany. As well as this, the Bundesrat and the Reichstag had joint legislative power. The Reichstag was elected members represented by constituencies and were all male over the age of twenty five. One of the most significant points in favour of Germany being a democracy is that Bismark introduced universal male suffrage elections in 1871. This is clearly an example of a parliamentary democracy because it allowed people of all classes to vote; meaning that every layer of society had the opportunity to be represented. However importantly over the Bundesrat the Reichstag was significantly in power of the financial affairs and the banking system of Germany and perhaps most importantly the control the Reichstag had over the defence budget which was vital federal government expenditure. It had grown from being 100 million marks in 1890 to rapidly increasing to 2,405 million marks by 1913. Although the Kaiser did have the right to dissolve the Reichstag they still could hold elections after this. Furthermore the constitution was based on parliamentary democracy to an extent because members were elected into their positions. They held the power of money that…

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The end of the Great War had forced the Kaiser to abdicate to Holland and brought an end to the Germany’s Imperial government. The Weimer Republic had emerged from the Revolution. The new democratic government had been forced upon by the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles also disbanded the German Air force and reduced its army and navy, loss of territories, reparations, Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria and were to take the blame.…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The economic crisis caused his resign. He was followed by Kurt von Schleicher. Because of the civil war like situation the Reich was ruled on martial law since the end of WWI. Papen secretly negotiated with the President Hindenburg to dismiss Schleicher and make him, Papen, chancellor again, with Hitler as vice chancellor (the NSDAP had 30% of votes and was the strongest party). Hindenburg agreed but Hitler didn't accept to be "vice chancellor". Papen then changed his goal and asked the President to make Hitler the chancellor and him, Papen, vice. That deal was agreed and carried…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the period of the second Reich, the Kaiser managed to keep a huge amount of power within it. With the ability to dismiss the chancellor and the Reichstag, it can be seen that the Kaiser could manipulate the governing powers until they became a united power which had the same views as him. However, it can be argued that this power that the Kaiser had could not be used freely, as he was limited by how popular he was with both the population and the army. It was this constraint of popularity which meant that the Kaiser had to control what he did in order to keep both the army and the people on his side, meaning that he didn’t have absolute personal rule.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Between the years 1900-1913 the Kaiser' rule became less powerful as the years went on. Although he did still remain I power. On theory of this is the Daily Telegraph Affair in 1908. The Kaiser had slipped a very important statement concerning the foreign policies. As a result he was given an o confidence vote and had to make an apology to the government about his mistake. However the Kaiser still remained in power - showing that he still had an input in how Germany was run but it also shows that the Reichstag had gotten more confident as they are were challenging the Kaiser rule. This theory suggests that the Kaiser was becoming less powerful than he originally was, and between the years 1900-1913 he controlled German politics but to a minimum.…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With chancellor Otto Bismark, Germany went through a wars that would help bring the people together and make them have pride in their nation. The Austria-Prussian war was between Prussia and Austria over the lands of Holstein, Prussia was able to defeat Austria which meant they had a better military as well as more land. Bismark knew that threw wars, Germany would come together as a nation. The other war that helped unify Prussia was the Franco-Prussian war where Prussia defeated France and took their lands of ALcraine and lorraine. By having wars, Germany was able to come together and have a sense of nationalism for being superior in continental…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kaiser Wilhelm II came to power in 1888 after Wilhelm I died and a brief reign from Frederick III, his behaviour could be unpredictable and although he was the grandson of Queen Victoria he was anti-British, however he admired them at the same time. He believed in the divine right of kings, the theory claimed that, kings were only answerable to God, and it was sinful for their subjects to resist them. Wilhelm II was determined to exercise much more direct control over government than his grandfather, this was apparent in 1890 when Wilhelm disagreed with Bismarck’s anti-socialist policies, colonial expansion and relations with Russia, consequently Bismarck retired ‘because of his health’. Wilhelm II was determined to reinstate the importance of the imperial throne, as opposed to the country being run by parliament, he wanted to demonstrate how important an all-powerful monarch was. This can be seen by Germany having 4 chancellors under Wilhelm II and each for less than ten years; Wilhelm II wished to have weak chancellors that he could easily control.…

    • 1941 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    On 30th January, 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Hindenburg, but why did he get this prestigious honour - why did Hitler become Chancellor? There are four main reasons as to why this happened, and they are as follows: the Weimar government 's weaknesses; his own leadership skills and the Nazis tactics; the Great Depression; and political manoeuvring between von Schleicher and von Papen. It is to be shown, however, that it really down to the involvement of von Schleicher and von Papen that Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany, when he did.…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The reasons for Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in 1933 have been debated heavily by a number of Historians. Causes, ranging from Germany’s authoritarian historical background and the effects of World War One on German Society to Hitler’s very own charisma as a leader and speaker, have all been considered as reasons for his lucky ascent into power. Yet there is no denying that for all Hitler’s charm, Nazi support by late 1932 was flailing and the people never actually elected him as Chancellor. So, this begs the question; why would Hindenburg (The German president at the time) choose to put Hitler, a man he had claimed to strongly dislike, into a position of power over the Reichstag and the German people? Although there are many long term reasons for Hindenburg’s decision; a shared miscalculation by certain groups of people in power can be seen as a very important cause.…

    • 2322 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Article 48 was also included in the constitution with democratic intentions but could be abused in an undemocratic way. It gave the President the powers in an emergency to issue presidential decrees which did not have to be approved by the Reichstag. After 1930, Hindenburg could appoint whoever he wanted to as Chancellor and this enabled Hitler to become Chancellor in 1933.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hitler’s Appointment as Chancellor  Papen and other businessmen wrote a letter to President Hindenburg urging him to appoint Hitler to Chancellor, and Hindenburg reluctantly did. When Hindenburg died Hitler consolidates the offices of Chancellor and President into the “Fuhrer”. The army then took an oath of loyalty directly to Hitler.…

    • 1517 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Weimar Constitution (rules) is set up which makes Germany a democracy with a President, Chancellor and a Reichstag, elected by proportional representation.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The problems that Germany faced pre-1914 should not be underestimated. The clash of the booming middle and urban working class in contrast to the poor agricultural working class. Such Industrialisation during this period had created economic demands for the acquisition of raw materials and markets beyond Europe, this lead to radical nationalist pressure groups forming, such as the Pan-German League, which reflected the radicalisation of the middle classes and peasantry who feared the rise of the socialists. The existence of political divisions as stated before lied at the responsibility of the constitution. The weakness of the Reichstag and parties unwilling to work together entrenched divisions. The constitution allowed Prussia to dominate the Bundesrat as only 14 votes were needed to block a motion, Prussia controlling 17 out of 58 seats meant that nothing could be…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Rise of Adolf Hitler

    • 606 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hitler’s political abilities were outstanding. In order to attract and unite the German citizens, he used his personality, propaganda and wisely planned his speeches. Hitler used simple and concise language during his speeches so all citizens will understand him more and hopefully support him. He also had strong propaganda slogans painted promises of an alluring future for Germany. His first and most significant point was the “rebirth” of Germany to after the catastrophic Treaty of Versailles, which would be abolished when he seized power along with the other reparations. He promised to improve economic prosperity by changing the strategy that the current government used. A German whom had given Hitler…

    • 606 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics