From the second reich to the wiemar republic :: essays research papers

From the Second Reich to the Weimar RepublicThe Second ReichThe spirit of the hour ReichThe Kaiser was hereditary for life and he was the Supreme Commander of the armyThe prime minister was chosen by the Kaiser and was in addition usu wholey the chairman of the Bundesrat.The Bundesrat was the upper sept of parlia custodyt. Members were chosen by the State Government. The 17 Prussian representatives could veto every 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 class of parliament, with members elected by all men over the progress of 25, fewer could vote in PrussiaThis was very despotic as people had little say over the passing of laws. The Reichstag, the house of parliament that the people voted for, had very little indicator over the worldly concern of laws. The Kaiser was almost a dictator.Lud destructionorff realised that Germany was goin g 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 fearful 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 RepublicThe new governance wanted to introduce a parliamentary democracy. This was because President Wilson refused to offer two-eyed violet 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 RepublicThe 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 Chan cellor had the donjon 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 constitutionProportional Representation this meant that if a party received 5% of the votes, they would also receive 5% of the seats in the Reichstag.