A Revolutionary Moment in European Democracy

While Britain was reforming its electoral system in 1867, a more radical democratic experiment unfolded in Central Europe. The North German Confederation adopted universal male suffrage through the Equal Suffrage Law originally passed by the Frankfurt Parliament at St. Paul’s Church on March 27, 1849. This bold move granted direct voting rights to all men aged 25 and older – a standard more democratic than Britain’s contemporaneous reforms. Otto von Bismarck had announced this decision on April 9, 1866, as part of his Confederation reform proposal. The Iron Chancellor correctly anticipated this would fundamentally reshape German politics by positioning Prussia as more progressive than the liberals while strengthening monarchist sentiment among the common people.

The 1867 Election: A Political Earthquake

On February 12, 1867, constitutional assembly elections were held across all 17 member states of the North German Confederation, established in August 1866. The results reshaped the political landscape:

– The newly formed National Liberal Party emerged victorious with 80 of 297 seats
– The Progressive Party (left-wing liberals) secured only 19 seats
– Conservatives formed the second-largest bloc with 59 representatives
– Free Conservatives (Bismarck loyalists) claimed 39 seats
– August Bebel became the first workers’ representative elected under the Saxon People’s Party banner

This election marked several firsts in German political history, including the entry of working-class representation into national politics and the consolidation of Bismarck’s conservative-liberal alliance.

Crafting a Federal Constitution

The assembly’s primary task was adopting a constitution for the North German Confederation. When representatives convened in Berlin on February 24, 1867, they faced a Prussian-drafted proposal designed by Bismarck that established:

– A federal state with the Prussian king as permanent president
– A Bundesrat (Federal Council) composed of appointed ambassadors
– A chancellor as the sole minister accountable to parliament
– No bill of rights, deemed incompatible with federalism

Through skillful negotiation, National Liberals strengthened the chancellor’s position while maintaining the Bundesrat’s dominance. The final document, approved on April 16 by a 230-53 vote, created a system with democratic elections but non-parliamentary government – a contradiction that would shape German politics for decades.

The Bismarckian Paradox: Democracy Without Parliamentarianism

The 1867 constitution represented a political masterstroke that:

– Introduced equal suffrage with secret ballots
– Maintained executive dominance over the legislature
– Created temporary solutions for military budgeting
– Established Prussia’s leadership while accommodating smaller states

This system allowed Bismarck to outflank liberals democratically while preserving royal prerogatives. As constitutional historian Ernst Rudolf Huber noted, it transferred executive power to the chancellor while reducing the Bundesrat to an advisory role.

Economic Integration and Southern Resistance

Following constitutional adoption, Bismarck pursued economic unification through:

– The July 7, 1867 Customs Union agreement
– Creation of a Customs Parliament (Zollparlament)
– Extension of market freedoms across member states

However, 1868 elections for the Customs Parliament revealed persistent south German resistance to Prussian leadership, particularly in Bavaria and Württemberg where regionalists prevailed. The Main River remained a cultural and political dividing line.

The Rise of Organized Opposition

New political forces emerged to challenge Bismarck’s system:

– The Social Democratic Workers’ Party (founded August 1869 in Eisenach)
– Continued Catholic and particularist resistance
– Growing liberal frustration with executive dominance

These developments foreshadowed the pluralistic party system that would characterize imperial Germany.

The Path to Empire: 1870-1871

The Franco-Prussian War became the catalyst for completing German unification:

– Bismarck manipulated the Ems Dispatch to provoke French declaration of war
– South German states honored military alliances with Prussia
– Rapid Prussian victories, especially at Sedan (September 2, 1870)
– Paris fell after a prolonged siege in January 1871

During the conflict, Bismarck negotiated the November Treaties (Novemberverträge) with south German states to transform the Confederation into a German Empire, offering Bavaria special concessions to secure participation.

Proclamation of the German Empire

On January 18, 1871 – exactly 170 years after Prussia’s royal coronation – William I was proclaimed German Emperor in Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors. The new federal constitution:

– Retained the North German Confederation’s basic structure
– Incorporated Bavaria’s “reserved rights”
– Created weighted voting in the Bundesrat
– Maintained universal male suffrage

This hybrid system satisfied neither full democrats nor traditionalists but provided a workable framework for national unity.

Legacy and Historical Significance

The North German Confederation’s experiment in controlled democracy:

– Created Europe’s most progressive suffrage system
– Established Prussia’s dominance within a federal structure
– Demonstrated Bismarck’s political genius
– Set precedents for the Imperial constitution
– Revealed tensions between democratic forms and authoritarian substance

As British statesman Benjamin Disraeli observed, the resulting German Empire represented a continental revolution more significant than the French Revolution in its political consequences. Bismarck had harnessed democratic mechanisms to build a conservative nation-state that would dominate Central Europe for nearly half a century.

The Confederation’s story remains essential for understanding how modern Germany balanced popular participation with elite control – a tension that continues to shape democratic governance worldwide. Bismarck’s calculated gamble on universal suffrage created a model of top-down democratization that influenced political development across Europe and beyond.