Constitution of the German Empire (1871)

Bismarcks federal charter engineering unity under Prussian dominance.

Overview

Proclaimed April 16, 1871 with the new empire, the constitution of the Kaiserreich created a federal state of kingdoms and duchies presided over by the King of Prussia as German Emperor. It granted a Reichstag elected by universal male suffrage, remarkably democratic for its day, but kept real power with the Kaiser, the chancellor responsible only to him, and the Bundesrat of state governments. No parliamentary confidence rules bound the chancellor. The structure survived until 1918, and historians credit its clever mixture of democratic facade and authoritarian core with stability and stagnation alike.