Stenographische Berichte der Verhandlungen der Zweiten
Kammer des preu§ischen Landtags 1849-1855 und
Stenographische Berichte der
Verhandlungen des preu§ischen
Hauses der Abgeordneten 1855-1918
Now on 1600
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The
stenographical reports of the debates of the Prussian Representatives reflect the discourse of an epoch
characterized by numerous streams of development. For this reason the reports provide a unique foundation on
which to evaluate historical processes.
1849
is justifiably regarded as a year of defeat, not just for the Prussian, but for
the entire German parliamentary system. The National Assembly in Frankfurt, the
first democratically elected parliament of a proto-united Germany, was
dissolved as a result of the revitalized forces of reaction. The Prussian king,
Friedrich Wilhelm II, rejected the
crown of the German Empire offered to him by the Paul's Church Parliament with
the remark "soiled by the folk," and the constitution, developed over
months of work by parliamentary committee, was no longer worth the paper on
which it was written. Such was the
contemporary judgment of the vast majority. The revolutionary uprising of 1848
and the liberal forces of the separate states, however, had extracted two
concessions from the kings of the German Union, the Prussian king and the
Habsburg Kaiser: constitutions should be developed and representations of the
people should be founded. These concessions were fulfilled, if only with major
reservations.
Viewed
from a contemporary standpoint, both the Prussian Parliament and the
constitution, imposed at the king's mercy, can be regarded as a success for the
forces of conservative reaction and offered only limited fulfilment of the
fundamental requirements of a democratically elected representative government.
The three-class voting system, in conjunction with the pronounced possibilities
for the Crown to exercise influence, demonstrate that the Prussian Constitution
and the resulting parliament represent a step backwards in comparison to the
acclaimed achievements of Paul's Church in 1848-49. Whereas the latter could be
considered almost exemplary from the standpoint of democratic theory, the
king's constitution represented a regression in the history of parliamentary
systems. The success of the Prussian Parliament in the following 70 years can
therefore be judged as all the more extraordinary. The defense in the 1860s of
the highest privilege of the parliamentarians–the right to determine the
budget–along with the development of social laws and securing of
political-legal ministerial responsibility, are testimony to the achievements
of the Second Chamber of the Prussian Parliament and its successor, the
Prussian House of Representatives. The following important aspects can be
presented as examples among the range of achievements:
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The development of political parties: the stenographical reports clearly
delineate the development of political streams such as German Liberalism. The
formulation of the corresponding contemporary liberal body of thought, as well
as the founding of the first party groupings of liberal members of parliament,
are excellent examples of the importance of these documents. Similarly, it is
possible to trace the cohesion of the German Social Democrats within Prussia at
the end of the 19th century, represented in parliament for the first time under
this name at the beginning of the 20th century.