{"id":1928,"date":"2018-01-20T15:25:33","date_gmt":"2018-01-20T15:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=1928"},"modified":"2026-05-06T15:39:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:39:34","slug":"political-systems-within-second-reich","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/european-history\/weimar-nazi-germany\/political-systems-within-second-reich\/","title":{"rendered":"Political systems within the Second Reich"},"content":{"rendered":"

Political systems within the Second Reich<\/h4>\n

Following unification of Germany<\/a> in 1871 the political structure of the Second Reich was roughly as follows:
\nThe Second Reich <\/a>was made up of 25 German states. Each of these retained its own Prince, as each had previously been a Princedom. These states were represented on a National Level by the Reichsrat, the upper house of legislative Parliament.<\/p>\n

\"Election<\/a>
Election results in the era of the Second Reich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Kaiser in the Second Reich<\/h3>\n

The Head of State was the Kaiser. This role was an hereditary one based upon the old Kingdom of Prussia. The Kaiser had the right to summon the Reichstag and dismiss it as and when he felt appropriate. He also had the power to appoint and dismiss the Chancellor and all government ministers. It was these Ministers who would propose legislation to the two houses of Parliament.<\/p>\n

The Reichstag and Reichsrat<\/h4>\n

The Reichstag was the main legislative body. This institution was democratically elected every 3 years, with all men over the age of 25 having the vote. This body debated issues and voted on proposed legislation. The Reichsrat had the power to veto legislation passed by the Reichstag.<\/p>\n

Each State within the Reich had its own local legislative body that dealt with local issues.<\/p>\n

In brief, the legislative bodies worked something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
The Kaiser<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
The Reichstag<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
The Reichsrat<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n

The chancellor and government ministers<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n
Elected by Universal Male Suffrage every 3 years (Voting age was 25) The Kaiser was able to summon and\/ or dismiss the Reichstag.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
Was an assembly of the representatives of the 26 states that made up the Unified Germany. One representative from each state was a member of the Reichsrat. The Reichsrat had the right to veto Legislation passed by the Reichstag.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
Appointed directly by the Kaiser. They proposed legislation to be passed by the reichstag.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Germany 1919 – 1945 Links<\/h2>\n

The Second Reich<\/h3>\n

Unification of Germany<\/a> – Political systems within the Second Reich<\/a> – German Society during the Second Reich<\/a> – Collapse of the Second Reich<\/a><\/p>\n

Weimar Republic<\/h3>\n

Interim Government<\/a> –\u00a0Founding of the Weimar Republic<\/a> –\u00a0Impact of the First World War on Germany<\/a> –\u00a0The Treaty of Versailles and its impact on Germany<\/a> –\u00a0Weimar Constitution<\/a>1919-1923: Years of Crisis?<\/a> –\u00a0Spartacist Uprising<\/a> –\u00a0Kapp Putsch<\/a> – Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold<\/a> – Reparations<\/a> –\u00a0Hyperinflation in Germany, 1923<\/a> –\u00a01924-1928: A Golden Era?<\/a> – 1925 Presidential Election<\/a> – Gustav Stresemann<\/a> –\u00a0German Foreign Relations 1919-1932<\/a> –\u00a0Germany in the Great Depression<\/a> \u00a0–\u00a0Failings of the Weimar Republic<\/a> – Dada Movement<\/a><\/p>\n

Rise of the Nazi Party<\/h3>\n

The Munich Putsch<\/a> –\u00a0Did the Economic Crisis of 1923 help the Nazi’s?<\/a> –\u00a0Origins of the Nazi Party<\/a> –\u00a0Rise of the Nazi Party<\/a><\/p>\n

Nazi Germany<\/h3>\n

Totalitarian Regime in Nazi Germany<\/a> –\u00a0How did Hitler consolidate power?<\/a> –\u00a0Mein Kampf<\/a> –\u00a0Nazi methods of control<\/a> –\u00a0Opposition to the Nazi Regime<\/a> –\u00a0Organisation of the Nazi Party<\/a> –\u00a0Fuhrerprinzip<\/a> –\u00a0Kristallnacht<\/a> –\u00a0Youth and Education<\/a> –\u00a0Goering and the 2nd 4 Year Plan<\/a> –\u00a0Anti-Jewish Boycott, 1933<\/a> –\u00a0Nazi Anti-Semitism<\/a> –\u00a0DAF (The German Labour Front)<\/a> –\u00a0Propaganda in Germany 1919-39<\/a> –\u00a0Economic Policy of the Nazi Party<\/a> – Kreisau Circle<\/a> – The Confessing Church<\/a> – Catholic Church<\/a> – Edelweiss Pirates<\/a><\/p>\n

Biographies<\/h3>\n

Ludwig Beck<\/a> – Dietrich Bonhoeffer<\/a> – Bishop Clemens von Galen<\/a> – Carl Goerdeler<\/a> – Robert Ley<\/a> – Helmuth von Moltke<\/a> – Martin Niemoller<\/a> – Erwin Rommel<\/a>\u00a0– Hjalmar Schacht<\/a> – Sophie Scholl<\/a> – Albert Speer<\/a> – Claus von Stauffenberg<\/a> –\u00a0Fritz Todt<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Political systems within the Second Reich Following unification of Germany in 1871 the political structure of the Second Reich was roughly as follows: The Second Reich was made up of 25 German states. Each of these retained its own Prince, as each had previously been a Princedom. These states were represented on a National Level… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2854,"parent":13,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1928","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1928\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}