The
North German Confederation ( ), came into
existence in August 1866 as a military alliance of 22 states of
northern Germany
with the
Kingdom of
Prussia
as the leading state. In July 1867 it was
transformed into a federal state.
It provided the country with a
constitution and was the building block of the German Empire
, which adopted most parts of the federation's
constitution and its flag.
Unlike the
earlier German
Confederation
, the North German Confederation was in fact a true
state. Its territory comprised the parts of the
German Confederation north of the river Main
, plus
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
and Prussia's eastern territories and the Duchy of
Schleswig, but excluded Austria
, Bavaria
, Württemberg
, Baden, Luxembourg
, Limburg
and the southern parts of the Grand Duchy of
Hesse
.
It cemented Prussian control over
northern Germany, and emanated that same
control via the
Zollverein
(Customs Union) and secret peace treaties (agreed with the southern
states the day before the
Peace
of Prague) into southern Germany.
Although it ceased to exist after the creation of the German Empire
in 1871, the federation was the building block for the German
constitution adopted that year. This constitution granted immense
powers to the new chancellor,
Otto von
Bismarck who was appointed by the President of the Bundesrat
(Prussia). This was because the constitution made the chancellor
'responsible,' however not accountable, to the Reichstag. This
therefore allowed him the benefit of being the link between the
emperor and the people. The Chancellor retained powers over the
military budget, after the constitutional crisis that engulfed
Wilhelm I in 1862. Laws also prevented
certain civil servants becoming members of the Reichstag, those who
were Bismarck's main opposition in the 1860s.
The
federation came into being after Prussia defeated Austria
and the
other remaining states of the German Confederation
in the Austro-Prussian War
of 1866. Otto
von Bismarck created the
constitution, which came into
force on
1 July,
1867,
with the King of Prussia,
William I, as its President, and
Bismarck as
Chancellor. The states
were represented in the
Bundesrat
(Federal Council) with 43 seats (of which Prussia held 17). Most
notably, Bismarck introduced universal male suffrage into the
confederation for elections to the
Reichstag. The Bundesrat membership
was extended before 1871 with the creation of the
Zollverein Parliament in 1867, an
attempt to create closer unity with the southern states by
permitting representatives to be sent to the Bundersrat.
Following
Prussia's victory over the Second
French Empire and the subsequently formed Third Republic in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, Bavaria
, Württemberg
, and Baden (together with
parts of the Grand Duchy
of Hesse
which had not originally joined the federation),
unified with the states of the
Federation to form the German Empire
, with William I taking the new title of
German Emperor (rather than Emperor of
Germany as Austria was not included).
Postage stamps
One of the functions of the confederation was to handle mail and
issue postage stamps; for details, see
postage stamps and postal history of the North German
Confederation.
List of member states
References
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0835982.html
http://flagspot.net/flags/de1867.html
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568400/north_german_confederation.html
(
Archived 2009-11-01)
See also