Pre world war one (1890-1914)

• Gov structure: The kaiser was head of armed forces, controlled foreign policy, appointed the chancellor
• Gov structure: The chancellor was in charge of government and had authority over the Bundesrat
• Gov structure: The Bundesrat was made up of 58 representatives from the states, introduced laws to the Bundestag and had the power to approve them
• Gov structure: The Bundestag was made up of 397 deputies and voted on laws introduced by the Bundesrat
• Gov weaknesses: The Chancellor could be dismissed by the Kaiser if they displeased him
• Gov weaknesses: The 25 states controlled their income tax individually, so it was hard for the government to raise money to cover it's spending
• Gov weaknesses: Prussia was the largest state so had the most representatives in the Bundesrat, their influence was dominant
• Gov weaknesses: Industrialisation led to a rise in Germany's urban population, poor working and living conditions were ignored by the Chancellor and Kaiser
• Prussian influence: They had 17 of the 58 representatives in the bundesrat, only 14 votes were needed to veto a law
• Prussian influence: The army was lead by Prussian officers and Germany's legal system was dominated by the powerful prussian noble land holders
• Agricultural production and heavy industries were replaced by modern industries, unification in 1871 accelerated this process
• Demographic changes: 1910 - 60% of Germans lived in towns and cities, there were 48 german towns with populations over 100,000. The population of Berlin doubled between 1875 and 1910.
• Socialism: By 1910 industrial workers in Germany were the biggest group in society
• Socialism: Workers faced poor working and living conditions
• Socialism: All men could vote, influencing politics through their support for the SPD
• Socialism: The SPD grew rapidly to become the largest party in the Reichstag by 1912
• Socialism: The increased popularity of the SPD caused several liberal reforms in an attempt to reduce their support
• Social reforms: Social insurance for healthcare, accidents, disability and old age had been introduced by the Chancellor in the 1880's
• Social reforms: The SPD improved working conditions, 1871 - banned sunday working and the employment of children under 13. 1900 - the length of time accident insurance could be claimed was increased. 1901 - industrial arbitration courts were introduced to settle disputes. 1903 - health insurance was extended and further restrictions were placed on child labour
• Navy laws: From 1898 germany expanded its navy. This was apart of weltpolitik which began in 1897.
• Success of Weltpolitik: Pleased the Kaiser, who was determined to make Germany a world power
• Success of Weltpolitik: It increased support for the Kaiser and his government
• Success of Weltpolitik: It won the government support from a majority of deputies in the Reichstag
• Problems of Weltpolitik: The governments majority in the Reichstag didn't last and they found it difficult to reform the Tariff in 1902
• Problems of Weltpolitik: The German government's budget went into deficit as it spent more on the army, navy and new colonies. The national debt went into 490 billion marks by 1913