12: Bismarck and the German Empire
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Building the Bulwarks of the Twentieth Century Nation
Throughout the various events narrated in the two preceding
chapters the hand of Bismarck was everywhere visible. He had
proved himself a statesman of the highest powers, and these
powers were devoted without stint to the aggrandizement of
Prussia. As for the surrounding nations and their rights and
immunities, these did not count as against his policies.
Conscience did not trouble him. The slaughter of thousands of men
on the battle-field did not disturb his equanimity. He was
unalterably fixed in his purposes, unscrupulous in the means
employed, shrewd, keen and far-sighted in his measures, Europe
being to him but a great chess-board, on which his hand moved
kings, knights, and pawns with mechanical inflexibility. To him
the end justified the means, however lacking in justice or mercy
these means might prove.
Denmark was despoiled to extend the territory of Prussia to the
north. Austria, Bismarck's unwary accomplice in this act of
spoliation, was robbed of its share of the spoils, and drawn into
a war in which it met with disastrous defeat, the prestige of
Prussia being vastly increased on the field of Sadowa.
Subsequently came the great struggle with France, fomented by his
wiles and ending in triumph for his policies So far all had gone
well for him, the final outcome of his schemes resulting in the
unification of the minor German states into one powerful empire.
BISMARCK AS A STATESMAN
It was in the formation of the modern German Empire that the
far-sighted plans of Bismarck culminated. King William was a
willing partner for this purpose, moving as he suggested and
doing as he wished. The states of Germany, aside from Austria,
had actively participated in the recent war, the steps towards
unification which had been taken during the few preceding years
having now reached the point in which a complete amalgamation
might be effected.
The Holy Roman Empire, which had lasted throughout the medieval
period in some phase of strength and power, at times predominant,
at times little more than a title, had received its death-blow
from the hands of Napoleon and vanished from the historic stage.
It was Bismarck's design to restore the German Empire - not the
old, moth-eaten fiction of the past, but an entirely new one -
and give Prussia the position it had earned, that of the great
center of German racial unity. In this project Austria, long at
the head of the old empire, was to have no part, the imperial
dignity being conferred upon the venerable King William of
Prussia, a monarch whose birth dated back to the eighteenth
century, and who had lived throughout the Napoleonic wars.
UNITING THE GERMAN STATES
Near the close of 1870 Bismarck concluded treaties with the
ambassadors of the South German States, in which they agreed to
accept the constitution of the North German Union. These treaties
were ratified, after some opposition from members of the lower
house, by the legislatures of the four states involved. The next
step in the proceeding was a suggestion from the king of Bavaria
to the other princes that the imperial crown of Germany should be
offered to King William of Prussia.
When the North German diet at Berlin had given its consent to the
new constitution, a congratulatory address was despatched to the
Prussian monarch at Versailles. It announced to the aged
hero-king the nation's wish that he should accept the new
dignity. He replied to the deputation in solemn audience that he
accepted the imperial dignity which the German nation and its
princes had offered him. On the 1st of January, 1871, the new
constitution was to come into operation.
WILLIAM I CROWNED AT VERSAILLES
The solemn assumption of the imperial office did not take place,
however, until the 18th of January, the day on which, one hundred
and seventy years before, the new emperor's ancestor, Frederick
I, had placed the Prussian crown on his head at Konigsberg, and
thus laid the basis of the growing greatness of his house. It was
an ever-memorable coincidence that, in the superb-mirrored hall
of the Versailles palace, where since the days of Richelieu so
many plans had been concocted for the humiliation of Germany,
King William should now proclaim himself German emperor. After
the reading of the imperial proclamation to the German people by
Count Bismarck, the Grand Duke led a cheer, in which the whole
assembly joined amid the singing of national hymns. Thus the
important event had taken place which again summoned the German
Empire to life, and made over the imperial crown with renewed
splendor to another royal house. Barbarossa's old legend, that
the dominion of the empire was, after long tribulation, to pass
from the Hohenstaufen to the Hohenzollern, was now fulfilled; the
dream long aspired after by German youth had now become a reality
and a living fact.
The tidings of the conclusion of peace with France, whose
preliminaries were completed at Frankfort on the 10th of May,
1871, filled all Germany with joy, and peace festivals on the
most splendid scale extended from end to end of the new empire,
in all parts of which an earnest spirit of patriotism was shown,
while Germans from all regions of the world sent home expressions
of warm sympathy with the new national organization of their
fatherland.
A SIGNIFICANT DECADE
The decade just completed had been one of remarkable political
changes in Europe, unsurpassed in significance during any other
period of equal length. The temporal dominion of the pope had
vanished and all Italy had been united under the rule of a single
king. The empire of France had been overthrown and a republic
established in its place, while that country had sunk greatly in
prominence among the European states. Austria had been utterly
defeated in war, had lost its last hold on Italy and its position
of influence among the German states. And all the remaining
German lands had united into a great and powerful empire,
promising to gain such extraordinary military strength that the
surrounding nations looked on in doubt, full of vague fears of
trouble from this new and potent power introduced into their
midst.
Bismarck, however, showed an earnest desire to maintain
international peace and good relations, seeking to win the
confidence of foreign governments, while at the same time
improving and increasing that military force which had been
proved to be so mighty an engine of war.
In the constitution of the new empire two legislative bodies,
already possessed by the Confederation of North German States
were provided for - the BUNDESRATH or Federal Council, whose
members are annually appointed by the respective state
governments and the REICHSTAG or representative body. whose
members are elected by universal suffrage for a period of three
years, an annual session being required. Germany, therefore, in
its present organization, is practically a federal union of
states, each with its own powers of internal government, and with
a common legislature approximating to our Senate and House of
Representatives. But this did not make the German emperor a
parliamentary monarch. From the fact that the consent of both
assemblies was necessary to change the law, he governed as he
pleased and had no other ministerial representative than the high
chancellor of the empire, depending solely on the sovereign.
After 1870 he was in the empire what he had been previously in
Prussia, the essential representative of the country and the
supreme head of the military forces.
The remaining incidents of Bismarck's remarkable career may be
briefly given. It consisted largely in a struggle with the
Catholic Church organization, which had attained to great power
in Germany, and was aggressive to an extent that roused the
vigorous opposition of the chancellor of the empire, who was not
willing to acknowledge any power in Germany other than that of
the emperor.
King Frederick William IV, the predecessor of the reigning
monarch, had made active efforts to strengthen the Catholic
Church in Prussia, its clergy gaining greater privileges in that
Protestant state than they possessed in any of the Catholic
states. They had established everywhere in North Germany their
congregations and monasteries, and by their control of public
education seemed in a fair way eventually to make Catholicism
supreme in the empire.
THE PROBLEM OF CHURCH POWER
This state of affairs Bismark set himself energetically to
reform. The minister of religious affairs was forced to resign,
and his place was taken by Falk, an energetic statesman, who
introduced a new school law, bringing the whole educational
system under state control, and carefully regulating the power of
the clergy over religious and moral education. This law met with
such violent opposition that all the personal influence of
Bismarck and Falk was needed to carry it, and it gave such deep
offense to the pope that he refused to receive the German
ambassador. He declared the Falk law invalid, and the German
bishops united in a declaration against the chancellor. Bismarck
retorted by a law expelling the Jesuits from the empire.
In 1873 the state of affairs became so embittered that the rights
and liberties of the citizens seemed to need protection against
a priesthood armed with extensive powers of discipline and
excommunication. In consequence Bismarck introduced, and by his
eloquence and influence carried, what were known as the May Laws.
These required the scientific education of the Catholic clergy,
the confirmation of clerical appointments by the state, and the
formation of a tribunal to consider and revise the conduct of the
bishops.
These enactments precipitated a bitter contest between Church and
State, while the pope declared the May Laws null and void and
threatened with excommunication all priests who should submit to
them. The State retorted by withdrawing its financial support
from the Catholic church and abolishing those clauses of the
constitution under which the Church claimed independence of the
State. Pope Pius IX died in 1878, and on the election of Leo XIII
attempts were made to reconcile the existing differences. The
reconciliation was a victory for the Church, since the May Laws
ceased to be operative, the church revenues were restored and the
control of the clergy over education in considerable measure was
regained. New concessions were granted in 1886 and 1887, and
Bismarck felt himself beaten in his long conflict with his
clerical opponents, who had proved too strong and deeply
entrenched for him.
PROGRESS OF SOCIALISM
Economic questions became also prominent, the revenues of the
empire requiring some change in the system of free trade and the
adoption of protective duties, while the railroads were acquired
as public property by the various states of the empire. Meanwhile
the rapid growth of socialism excited apprehension, which was
added to when two attempts were made on the life of the emperor.
These were attributed to the socialists, and severe laws for the
suppression of socialism were enacted. Bismark also sought to cut
the ground from under the feet of the socialists by an endeavor
to improve the condition of the working classes. In 1881 laws
were passed compelling employers to insure their workmen in case
of sickness or accident, and in 1888 a system of compulsory
insurance against death and old age was introduced. None of these
measures, however, checked the growth of socialism, which very
actively continued.
In 1882 a meeting was arranged by the chancellor between the
emperors of Germany, Russia, and Austria, which was looked upon
in Europe as a political alliance. In 1878 Russia drifted
somewhat apart from Germany, but in the following year an
alliance of defense and offense was concluded with Austria, and a
similar alliance at a later date with Italy. This, which
continued to 1914, was known as the Triple Alliance. In 1877
Bismarck announced his intention to retire, being worn out with
the great labors of his position. To this the emperor, who felt
that his state rested on the shoulders of the "Iron Chancellor,"
would not listen, though he gave him indefinite leave of absence.
On March 9, 1888, Emperor William died. He was ninety years of
age, having been born in 1797. He was succeeded by his son
Frederick, then incurably ill from a cancerous affection of the
throat, which carried him to the grave after a reign of
ninety-nine days. His oldest son, William, succeeded on June 15,
1888, as William II.
WILLIAM II AND THE RESIGNATION OF BISMARCK
The liberal era which was looked for under Frederick was checked
by his untimely death, his son at once returning to the policy of
William I and Bismarck. He proved to be far more positive and
dictatorial in disposition than his grandfather, with decided and
vigorous views of his own, which soon brought him into conflict
with the equally positive chancellor. The result was a rupture
with Bismarck, and his resignation (a virtual dismissal) from the
premiership in 1890. The young emperor proposed to be his own
minister and subsequently devoted himself in a large measure to
the increase of the army and navy, a policy which brought him
into frequent conflicts with the Reichstag, whose rapidly growing
socialistic membership was in strong opposition to this
development of militarism.
The old statesman, to whom Germany owed so much, was deeply
aggrieved by this lack of gratitude on the part of the
self-opinionated young emperor, in view of his great services to
the state. The wound rankled deeply, though a seeming
reconciliation took place. But the political career of the great
Bismarck was at an end, and he died on July 30, 1898. It is an
interesting coincidence that almost at the same time died the
distinguished but markedly different statesman of England,
William Edward Gladstone. Count Cavour, another great European
statesman of the latter half of the nineteenth century, had
completed his work and passed away nearly forty years before.
The career of William II soon became one of much interest and
some alarm to the other nations of Europe. His eagerness for the
development of the army and navy, and the energy with which he
pushed forward its organization and sought to add to its
strength, seemed significant of warlike intentions, and there was
dread that this energetic young monarch might break the peace of
Europe, if only to prove the irresistible strength of the
military machine he had formed. But as years went on the
apprehensions to which his early career and expressions gave rise
were quieted, and the fear that he would plunge Europe into war
lessened. The army and navy appeared to some as rather a costly
plaything of the active young man than an engine of destruction,
while it tended in considerable measure to the preservation of
peace by rendering Germany a power dangerous to go to war with.
The speeches with which the emperor began his reign showed an
exaggerated sense of the imperial dignity, though his later
career indicated far more judgment and good sense than the early
display of overweening self-importance promised, and the views of
William II eventually came to command far more respect than they
did at first. He showed himself a man of exuberant energy.
Despite a permanent weakness of his left arm and a serious
affection of the ear, he early became a skilful horseman and an
untiring hunter, as well as an enthusiastic yachtsman, and there
were few men in the empire more active and enterprising than the
Kaiser.
OLD AGE INSURANCE
A principal cause of the break between William and Bismarck was
the imperial interference with the laws for the suppression of
socialism. As already stated, the old chancellor had established
a system of compulsory old age insurance, through which workmen
and their employers - aided by the state - were obliged to
provide for the support of artisans after a certain age. The
system seems to have worked satisfactorily, but socialism of a
more radical kind grew in the empire far more rapidly than the
emperor approved of, and he vigorously, though unsuccessfully
endeavored to prevent its increase. Another of his favorite
measures, a religious education bill, he was obliged to withdraw
on account of the opposition it excited. On more than one
occasion he came into sharp conflict with the Reichstag
concerning increased taxation for the army and navy, and a strong
party against his autocratic methods sprang up, and forced him
more than once to recede from warmly-cherished measures.
POLITICAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS IN GERMANY
It may be of interest here to say something concerning the
organization of the German empire. The constitution of this
empire, as adopted April 16, 1871, proposes to "form an eternal
union for the protection of the realm and the care of the welfare
of the German people," and places the supreme direction of
military and political affairs in the King of Prussia, under the
title of Deutscher Kaiser (German emperor). The war-making powers
of the emperor, however, are restricted, since he is required to
obtain the consent of the Bundesrath (the Federal Council) before
he can declare war otherwise than for the defense of the realm.
His authority as emperor, in fact, is much less than that which
he exercises as King of Prussia, since the imperial legislature
is independent of him, he having no power of veto over the laws
passed by it. His actual military power, however, is practically
supreme, as demonstrated in the opening events of the war of
1914.
The legislature, as stated, consists of two bodies, the
Bundesrath, representing the states of the union, whose members,
58 in number, are chosen for each session by the several state
governments; and the Reichstag, representing the people, whose
members, 397 in number, are elected by universal suffrage for
periods of five years. The German union, as constituted in 1914,
comprised four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven
principalities, three sovereign cities, and the Reichsland of
Alsace-Lorraine; twenty-six separate states in all. It included
all the German peoples of Europe with the exception of those in
Austria.
The progress of Germany within the modern period has been very
great. The population of the states of the empire, 24,831,000 at
the end of the Napoleonic wars, had become, a century later, over
64,000,000, having added 40,000,000 to the roll of inhabitants.
The country, once divided into an unwieldy multitude of states,
often of minute proportions, has become consolidated into the
number above named, each of these possessing some degree of
importance. These, as combined into a federal union, or empire,
have an area of 208,830 square miles, of which Prussia holds the
lion's share, its area being 134,605 square miles.
The presidency of the empire belongs to the king of Prussia and
is hereditary in his family. Besides the Imperial Parliament,
each state has its own special legislature and laws, but
railroads regarded as necessary for the defense of Germany or the
facilitating of general communications may come under a law of
the empire, even against the opposition of the members of the
confederation whose territory is traversed. The states have their
respective armies, but it is the emperor who disposes of them; he
appoints the heads of the contingents, approves the generals, and
has the right to establish fortresses over the whole territory of
the empire.
The wealth of the German empire has grown in a far greater area
than its population, it having developed into the most active
manufacturing country in Europe. Agriculture has similarly
advanced, and one of its chief products, that of the sugar beet,
has enormously increased, beet-root sugar being among its chief
industrial yields. In addition, Germany has grown to be one of
the most active commercial nations of the earth. Thus it has
taken a place among the most active productive and commercial
countries, its wealth and importance being correspondingly
augmented. These particulars are of interest as showing the
standing of Germany at the outbreak of the war of 1914 and
indicating its degree of ability to bear the fearful strain of so
great a war.
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