The politics of the 'unpolitical german': Liberalism in German local government, 1860-1880

Historical Journal

Volumn 42, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 675-704

  Palmowski, Jan ^a  

^a CHRIST CHURCH   (United Kingdom)

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EID: 4243298752     PISSN: 0018246X     EISSN: 14695103     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0018246X99008602     Document Type: Article

References (232)

1. For a classic account of this bourgeois self-understanding in the late imperial era, see T. Mann, Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen (Frankfurt, 1956), esp. p. 108.
2. See also F. Stern, 'The political consequences of the unpolitical German', in F. Stern, The failure of illiberalism (New York, 1972), pp. 3-25;
3. R. Dahrendorf, Society and democracy in Germany (2nd edn, New York, 1979), esp. pp. 314-27;
4. H.-U. Wehler, Das deutsche Kaiserreich 1871-1918 (7th edn, Göttingen, 1994), pp. 64-7.
5. D. Blackbourn and G. Eley, The peculiarities of German history: bourgeois society and politics in nineteenth-century Germany (Oxford, 1984);
6. J. Kocka, Bürgertum im 19. Jahrhundert (3 vols., Munich, 1988)
7. especially J. Kocka, 'Bürgertum und bürgerliche Gesellschaft im 19. Jahrhundert. Europäische Entwicklungen und deutsche Eigenarten', in ibid., 1, pp. 11-76;
8. J. Kocka, 'German history before Hitler: the debate about the German Sonderweg', Journal of Contemporary History, 23 (1988), pp. 3-16;
9. D. Blackbourn, 'The German bourgeoisie: an introduction', in D. Blackbourn and R. J. Evans, eds., The German bourgeoisie (London, 1991), pp. 1-46.
10. Wehler, Kaiserreich, pp. 78-83, 90-5;
11. D. Stegmann, Die Erben Bismarcks: Parteien und Verbände in der Spätphase des Wilhelminischen Deutschlands (Cologne and Berlin, 1970);
12. H.-J. Puhle, 'Parlament, Parteien und Interessenverbände 1890-1914', in M. Stürmer, ed., Das kaiserliche Deutschland: Politik und Gesellschaft 1870-1918 (Düsseldorf, 1970), pp. 340-77.
13. The classic account of this 'charismatic leadership' is M. Stürmer, Regierung und Reichstag im Bismarcktaat 1871-1880 (Düsseldorf,.1974) .
14. D. Langewiesche, Liberalismus in Deutschland (Frankfurt, 1988), p. 133.
15. G. Eley, 'Notable politics, the crisis of German liberalism, and the electoral transition of the '1890s', in K. H. Jarausch and L. E. Jones, eds., In search of a liberal Germany: studies in the history of German liberalism from 1789 to the present (Oxford, 1990), pp. 187-216;
16. D. Langewiesche, 'Liberalismus und Bürgertum in Europa', in Kocka, ed., Bürgertum im 19. Jahrhundert, III, pp. 384-6;
17. B. Fairbairn, 'Political mobilization', in R. Chickering, Imperial Germany: a historiographical companion (Westport, CT, 1996), pp. 303-42.
18. By far the best summary of the by now burgeoning research on Saxony is S. Lässig and K. H. Pohl, eds., Sachsen im Kaiserreich: Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft im Umbruch (Weimar, Cologne, and Vienna, 1997).
19. See also the forthcoming J. Retallack, ed., Saxony in German history: culture, society, and politics, 1830-1933 (Ann Arbor, MI), and the special issue on 'Saxon signposts' in German History, 17 (1999).
20. L. Gall and D. Langewiesche, eds., Liberalismus und Region (Munich, 1995).
21. See especially D. Langewiesche, 'Liberalismus und Region', ibid., p. 15.
22. For an argument in favour of putting the local context 'at the centre of research on German liberalism', see also K. H. Pohl, '"Einig", "Kraftvoll", "Machtbewußt". Überlegungen zu einer Geschichte des deutschen Liberalismus aus regionaler Perspektive', Historische Mitteilungen im Auftrage der Ranke-Gesellschaft, 7 (1994), pp. 61-80.
23. Local government is not considered at all in Wehler's Kaiserreich.
24. H. Croon, 'Die Stadtvertretungen in Krefeld und Bochum im 19. Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Selbstverwaltung der rheinischen und westfälischen Städte', in R. Dietrich and G. Oestreich, eds., Forschungen zu Staat und Verfassung: Festgabe für Fritz Hartung (Berlin, 1958), pp. 289-306;
25. W. Hofmann, Die Bielefelder Stadtverordneten: ein Beitrag zur bürgerlichen Selbstverwaltung und sozialem Wandel (Berlin, 1964);
26. W. Köllmann, Sozialgeschichte der Stadt Barmen (Tübingen, 1960).
27. This was emphasized in the first important study to highlight the prominence of liberalism in local government, J. Sheehan, 'Liberalism and the city in nineteenth-century Germany', Past and Present, 51 (1971), pp. 116-37, here p. 130.
28. J. Reulecke, Geschichte der Urbanisierung in Deutschland (Frankfurt, 1985), pp. 131-9;
29. W. R. Krabbe, Die deutsche Stadt im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (Göttingen, 1989), pp. 147-8;
30. H. Matzerath, Geschichte der Urbanisierung in Preuβen 1815-1914 (Stuttgart, 1985), p. 361;
31. H. Pogge von Strandmann, 'The liberal monopolies of power in the cities of imperial Germany', in L. E. Jones and J. Retallack, eds., Elections, mass politics and social change in modern Germany: new perspectives (Cambridge, 1992), pp. 93-117, here pp. 102ff;
32. W. Hardtwig, 'Großstadt und Bürgerlichkeit in der politischen Ordnung des Kaiserreichs', in L. Gall, ed., Stadt und Bürgertum im 19. Jahrhundert (Munich, 1990), pp. 40-6;
33. M. Niehuss, 'Party configurations in state and municipal elections in southern Germany, 1871-1914', in K. Rohe, ed., Elections, parties and political traditions: social foundations of German parties and party systems, 1867-1987 (Oxford, 1990), pp. 101-3;
34. H.-U. Wehler, Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte. 3. Band: Von der 'Deutschen Doppelrevolution' bis zum Beginn des Ersten Weltkrieges 1849-1914 (Munich, 1995), pp. 1053-4.
35. One of the rare case studies of urban liberalism anywhere in imperial Germany is, in fact, S. Wolf, Liberalismus in Frankfurt am Main: torn Ende der Freien Stadt bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg (1866-1944) (Frankfurt, 1987). Unfortunately, Wolf assesses Frankfurt liberalism almost exclusively in its local context, and most of the book is narrative, rather than argumentative.
36. Note the different titles of the successive volumes of the official history of the Frankfurt city council. K. Maly, Die Macht der Honoratioren: Geschichte der Stadtverordnetenversammlung 1867-1900 (Frankfurt, 1992);
37. K. Maly, Das Regiment der Parteien: Geschichte der Frankfurter Stadtverordnetenversammlung 1900-1933 (Frankfurt, 1995).
38. The persistence of notable politics until the advent of the SPD in 1900 has been maintained by one of the best works on Frankfurt local government: J. D. Rolling, 'Liberals, socialists, and city government in imperial Germany, 1900-1918' (Ph. D. thesis, Madison, 1979), p. 208.
39. This study's main argument is thus fundamentally opposed to Ralf Roth's work on the Frankfurt bourgeoisie and its politics. R. Roth, Stadt und Bürgertum in Frankfurt am Main: ein besonderer Weg von der ständischen zur modernen Bürgergesellschaft 1760-1914 (Munich, 1996);
40. R. Roth, 'Liberalismus in Frankfurt am Main 1814-1914. Probleme seiner Strukturgeschichte', in Gall and Langewiesche, eds., Liberalismus und Region, pp. 41-85.
41. The number of important works produced in this context seems exhaustive, but a good starting point is Kocka's three-volume edition of the Bürgertum cited above, which is available in English in a.shortened version: J. Kocka and A. Mitchell, eds., Bourgeois society in nineteenth-century Europe (Oxford and Providence, 1993).
42. Other important work includes W. Conze and J. Kocka, eds., Bildungsbürgertum im 19. Jahrhundert (4 vols., Stuttgart, 1985-9);
43. U. Frevert, Bürgerinnen und Bürger: Geschlechterverhä ltnisse im 19. Jahrhundert (Göttingen, 1988);
44. T. Mergel, Zwischen Klasse und Konfession: Katholisches Bürgerlum im Rheinland 1794-1914 (Göttingen, 1994);
45. J. Breuilly, Labour and liberalism in nineteenth-century Europe: essays in comparative history (Manchester, 1992).
46. An introduction into the project's central aims and methodology is L. Gall, 'Stadt und Bürgertum im Übergang von der traditionalen zur modernen Gesellschaft', in L. Gall, ed., Stadt und Bürgerlum im Übergang von der traditionalen zur modernen Gesellschaft (Munich, 1993), pp. 1-12.
47. Unfortunately, Frank Möller's study on Augsburg and Giesela Mettele's work on the Cologne bourgeoisie have been published too late to be considered in this survey.
48. A first attempt to arrive at a clearer understanding of different types of political activity is Dieter Hein, 'Partei und Bewegung. Zwei Typen moderner politischer Willensbildung', Historische Zeitschrift, 236 (1996), pp. 69-97.
49. Thomas Weichel, Die Bürger von Wiesbaden: von der Landstadt zur 'Weltkurstadt' 1780-1914 (Munich, 1997), pp. 324-33.
50. R. Zerback, München und sein Stadtbürgertum: eine Residenzstadt als Bürgergemeinde 1770-1870 (Munich, 1997), pp. 293-4, 299.
51. H.-W. Hahn, Altständisckes Bürgertum zwischen Beharrung und Wandel: Wetzlar 1869-1870 (Munich, 1991), pp. 447-72, esp. pp. 459-60.
52. In many ways, Wetzlar fits Walker's descriptions of the German 'home towns'. M. Walker, German home towns: community, state, general estate, 1648-1871 (Ithaca, 1971).
53. K. Schambach, Stadtbürgertum und industrieller Umbruch: Dortmund 1789-1870 (Munich, 1996), pp. 338-41.
54. Schambach, Stadtbürgertum, pp. 325-7, 335-42.
55. P.-C. Witt, 'Kommunalpolitik in Harburg zwischen Interessen lokaler Eliten und Entstehung einer modernen Leistungsverwaltung (1967-1914) ', in J. Ellermeyer et al., eds., Harburg: von der Burg zur Industriestadt (Harburg, 1988), pp. 219-49, here pp. 228-30.
56. I. Fischer, Industrialisierung, sozialer Konflikt und politische Willensbildung in der Stadtgemeinde: Ein Beitrag zur Sozialgeschichte Augsburgs 1840-1914 (Augsburg, 1977), p. 232.
57. Fischer, Sozialgeschichte Augsburgs, pp. 231-4, 255-60.
58. On Augsburg's confessional divisions, see E. François, Die unsichtbare Grenze: Protestanten und Katholiken in Augsburg 1848-1866 (Sigmaringen, 1991).
59. W. Chrobak, 'Politische Parteien, Verbände und Vereine in Regensburg 1869-1914. Teil II', Verhandlungen des Historischen Vereins für Oberpfalz und Regensburg, 120 (1980), here pp. 214-40;
60. Zerback, München, pp. 278-95;
61. R. Zerback, 'Unter der Kuratel des Staates - Die Stadt zwischen dem Gemeindeedikt von 1818 und der Gemeindeordnung von 1869', in R. Bauer, ed., Geschichte der Stadt München (Munich, 1992), pp. 274-306;
62. E. Angermair, 'München als süddeutsche Metropole - Die Organisation des Großstadtausbaus 1870-1914', in ibid., esp. pp. 327-8. As in Freiburg, the Kulturkampf gained added ferocity in Munich through the realization of nondenominational schooling at the local level. Stefan Fisch, Stadtplanung im 19. Jahrhundert: das Beispiel München bis zur Ära Theodor Fischer (Munich, 1988), pp. 36-43.
63. D. Brosius, 'Die Industriestadt. Vom Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts bis zum Ende des 1. Weltkriegs', in K. Mlynek and W. R. Röhrbein, eds., Geschichte der Stadt Hannover. Band 2: Vom Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts bis in die Gegenwart (Hanover, 1994), pp. 273-404, esp. pp. 305-13, pp. 340-6.
64. J. Retallack, '"Why can't a Saxon be more like a Prussian?" Regional identities and political culture in Germany, 1866-67', in Canadian Journal of History, 32 (1997), pp. 28-55, esp. pp. 39-40.
65. P. Hüttenberger, 'Die Entwicklung zur Großstadt bis zur Jahrhundertwende (1856-1900) ', in Düsseldorf. Geschichte von den Ursprüngen bis ins 20. Jahrhundert. Band 2: Von der Residenzstadt zur Beamtenstadt (1614-1900) (Düsseldorf, 1988), esp. pp. 589-608;
66. P. Hüttenberger, 'Vom ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert bis zum Ende des Ersten Weltkriegs', in Düsseldorf. Geschichte von den Anfängen bis ins 20. Jahrhundert. Band 3: Die Industrie-und Verwaltungsstadt (20. Jahrhundert) (Düsseldorf, 1989), pp. 82-8;
67. H.-J. Behr, 'Zwischen Vormärz und Reichsgründung', in F.-J. Jakobi, ed., Geschichte der Stadt Münster. Band 2: Das 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (Münster, 1993), pp. 79-130, esp. p. 82;
68. H. Gründer, '"Krieg bis auf's Messer"-Kirche, Kirchenvolk und Kulturkampf (1872-1887) ', in ibid., esp. pp. 133, 147-51;
69. J. Herres, 'Das Preussische Koblenz', in Geschichte der Stadt Koblenz. Band 2: Von der französischen Stadt bis zur Gegenwart (Stuttgart, 1993), pp. 49-102.
70. This 'Protestant Prussian' milieu contrasted sharply with the 'indigenous traditional Roman Catholic' milieu in all three towns. However, its implications for local politics as such are only clear in the articles on Münster. It is also discussed, albeit in a more summary manner, in the study on Düsseldorf. Local politics as such are not investigated in the Koblenz history, but given the similar social and denominational circumstances, it seems reasonable to assume that national controversies such as the Cologne church dispute of 1837 had similar politicizing effects for local politics there as they did in Münster.
71. See also T. Mergel, Zwischen Klasse und Konfession: Katholisches Bürgertum im Rheinland 1794-1914 (Göttingen, 1994), pp. 132-3.
72. Emil Zenz, Geschichte der Stadt Trier im 19. Jahrhundert, I (Trier, 1979), pp. 94-104.
73. For the example of Trier, see ibid., pp. 64-73.
74. Outside the Rhineland: Hahn, Altständisches Bürgertum, pp. 355-97.
75. In general, see Karl-Georg Faber, 'Die kommunale Selbstverwaltung in der Rheinprovinz im 19. Jahrhundert', in Rheinische Vierteljahresblä tter, 30 (1965), pp. 132-51.
76. The fight for self-government as an important catalyst of bourgeois politicization is the main theme in Giesela Mettele, 'Verwalten und Regieren oder Selbstverwalten und Selbstregieren?', in Gall, ed., Stadt und Bürgertum, pp. 343-65.
77. M. John, 'Kultur, Klasse und regionaler Liberalismus in Hannover 1848-1914', in Gall and Langewiesche, eds., Liberalismus und Region, pp. 178-83;
78. R. Lembke, Johannes Miquel und die Stadt Osnabrück unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1865-1869 (Osnabrück, 1962), pp. 8-10.
79. The catalyst for this attention was D. Blackbourn, Class, religion and local politics in Wilhelmine Germany (London and New Haven, 1980).
80. See also the pioneering L. Gail, 'Die parteiund sozialgeschichtliche Problematik des badischen Kulturkampfs', in A. Schäfer, ed., Neue Forschungen zu Grundproblemen der badischen Geschichte im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (Karlsruhe, 1973), pp. 93-132.
81. G. Blod et al., 'Unruhe im "Pfaffenstädtchen"', Reaktion, "Neue Ära" und Kulturkampf (1850-1870) ', in H. Haumann and H. Schadek, eds., Geschichte der Stadt Freiburg im Breisgau. Band 3: Von der badischen Herrschaft bis zur Gegenwart (Stuttgart, 1992), pp. 135-41.
82. In general, see Gall, 'Problematik', pp. 104-11.
83. U. Olliges-Wieczorek, Politisches Leben in Münster - Parteien und Vereine im Kaiserreich (1871-1914) (Münster, 1995);
84. Gründer, '"Krieg bis auf's Messer"', esp. p. 131.
85. Electoral participation rose from 8 per cent in the third class in 1870 to 43.5 per cent in 1872, to 52 per cent in 1874, and to 67.5 per cent in 1876. In 1874, 80 per cent of the electorate in the first and second class participated in the local elections. By contrast, electoral participation in national elections moved from 199 per cent in 1871 to 58.2 per cent in 1874, to 53.0 per cent in 1876.
86. Olliges-Wieczorek, Politisches Leben in Münster, pp. 31-5, 324-30.
87. E. Zenz, Die kommunale Selbstverwaltung der Stadt Trier 1814-1959 (Trier, 1959), pp. 59-61;
88. E. Zenz, Geschichte der Stadt Trier im 19. Jahrhundert (Trier, 1979), pp. 107-33.
89. Cf. the rates of electoral participation at Prussian state elections in T. Kühne, Handbuch der Wahlen zum preussischen Abgeordnetenhaus 1867-1918 (Düsseldorf, 1994), p. 778.
90. Faber, 'Die kommunale Selbstvenvaltung', p. 147.
91. For the example of Trier, see Zenz, Selbstverwaltung, pp. 62-5.
92. N. Schlossmacher, Düsseldorf im Bismarckreich: Politik und Wahlen, Parteien und Vereine (Düsseldorf, 1985), p. 90. Pohl, 'Überlegungen', pp. 69-70.
93. For Stuttgart and Württemberg in general, see Waibel, Frühliberalismus, pp. 79-107.
94. For the example of Ulm, see H. E. Specker, ed., Ulm im 19. Jahrhundert: Aspekte aus dem Leben der Stadt (Stuttgart, 1990), pp. 292-300.
95. Within Württemberg, Stuttgart was no exception in the formation of opposite local political camps. R. Waibel, Frühliberalismus und Gemeindewahlen in Württemberg (1817-1855) : das Beispiel Stuttgart (Stuttgart, 1992), pp. 14-5.
96. Waibel, Frühliberalismus, pp. 274-358.
97. P. Nolte, Gemeindebürgertum und Liberalismus in Baden 1800-1850 (Göttingen, 1994);
98. P. Nolte, 'Gemeindeliberalismus. Zur Entstehung und sozialen Verankerung der liberalen Partei in Baden 1831-1855', Historische Zeitschrift, 252 (1991), pp. 57-93.
99. For a detailed analysis of the operation of the franchise, see Waibel, Frühliberalismus, pp. 53-78.
100. Nolte, Gemeindebürgertum, pp. 103-14.
101. L. Gall, Der Liberalismus als regierende Partei: das Grossherzogtum Baden zwischen Restauration und Reichsgründung (Wiesbaden, 1968).
102. Nolte, Gemeindebürgertum, pp. 415-31.
103. Specker, ed., Ulm, p. 300;
104. Waibel, Frühliberalismus, pp. 445-54.
105. L. Gall, Bürgertum in Deutschland (Berlin, 1989), pp. 365-73;
106. Blod et al., 'Unruhe im "Pfaffenstädtchen". pp. 130-64;
107. G. Zang, ed., Provinzialisierung einer Region: Regionale Unterentwicklung und liberale Politik in der Stadt und im Kreis Konstanz im 19. Jahrhundert (Frankfurt, 1978).
108. Only towards 1900 did national and religious conflict increase in east Elbia, whereupon the cities assumed a critical role. Ruled by the Protestant German bourgeoisie, the cities were often regarded as social, cultural, and economic 'bastions' in an increasingly hostile Roman Catholic, Polish environment.
109. J. Knudsen, 'The limits of liberal politics in Berlin, 1815-48', in K. H. Jarausch and L. E. Jones, eds., In search of a liberal Germany: studies in the history of German liberalism from 1789 to the present (Oxford, 1990), pp. 111-31.
110. In particular, the city council formed an important stronghold from whence leading left liberals such as Virchow and Mommsen created the German Progressive party in 1861. G. Richter, 'Zwischen Revolution und Reichsgründung (1848-1870) ', in W. Ribbe, ed., Geschichte Berlins. 2. Band: von der Märzrevolution bis zur Gegenwart (Munich, 1988), pp. 678-8;
111. M. Erbe, 'Berlin im Kaiserreich (1871-1918) ', ibid., pp. 759-63. Particularly in the 1870s, Frankfurt left liberals frequently pointed to Berlin as a model of the ways in which left-liberal politics could be conducted.
112. See, for example, Frankfurter Zeitung, 22 Nov. 1872 (1. Blatt).
113. E. J. Hahn, 'Rudolf von Gneist (1816-1895). The political ideas and political activity of a Prussian liberal in the Bismarck period', (D. Phil, thesis, Yale, 1971), here p. 21.
114. In addition to Hahn, 'Rudolf von Gneist', see also G. A. Pope, 'The political ideas of Lorenz Stein and their influence on Rudolf Gneist and Gustav Schmoller' (D. Phil, thesis, Oxford, 1987). Among his central works are R. Gneist, Selfgovernmmt: Communalverfassung und Verwaltungsgerichte in England (3rd edn, Berlin, 1871);
115. R. Gneist, Geschichte und heutige Gestalt der englischen Communalverfassung oder des Selfgozernment (Berlin, 1863);
116. R. Gneist, Verwaltung, Justiz, Rechtsweg: Staatsverwaltung und Selbstverwaltung nach englischen und deutschen Verhältnissen mil besonderer Rücksicht auf Verwaltungsreformen und Kreis-Ordnungen in Preuβen (Berlin, 1869).
117. H. Preuß, Gemeinde, Staat, Reich als Gebietskörperschaften: Versuch einer deutschen Staatskonstruktion auf Grundlage der Genossenschaftstheorie (Berlin, 1889; repr., Aalen, 1964).
118. In general, see S. Grassmann, Hugo Preuß und die deutsche Selbstverwaltung (Lübeck and Hamburg, 1965), here pp. 6-12.
119. M. Hettling, 'Von der Hochburg zur Wagenburg. Liberalismus in Breslau von den 1860er Jahren bis 1918', in Gall and Langewiesche, eds., Liberalismus und Region, pp. 253-76.
120. It is difficult to gain an impression of the importance of politics in local government from F. Gause, Die Geschichte der Stadt Königsberg in Preussen. 2. Band: Von der Königskrönung bis zum Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkrieges (Cologne and Graz, 1968), pp. 507-55, 562-9.
121. In early 1868, the Frankfurter Zeitung tried hard to convince a sceptical audience that elections to the Magistral were, in fact, political, since the Magistrat needed political astuteness in its dealings with the state authorities. As examples where the Magistrat had already been chosen on such political grounds, the newspaper singled out the cities of Berlin, Cologne, Königsberg, and Breslau. Frankfurter Zeitung, 19 Jan. 1868 (1. Blatt).
122. D. Langewiesche, 'Die Anfänge der deutschen Parteien. Partei, Fraktion und Verein in der Revolution von 1848/49', Geschichte und Gesellschaft, 4 (1978), pp. 324-61.
123. D. Langewiesche, 'Frühliberalismus und Bürgertum 1815-1849', in L. Gall, ed., Bürgertum und bürgerlich-liberale Bewegung in Mitteleuropa (Munich, 1997), pp. 90-3, 116-20.
124. P. Steinbach, 'Politisierung und Nationalisierung der Region im 19. Jahrhundert. Regionalspezifische Politikrezeption im Spiegel historischer Wahlforschung', in P. Steinbach, ed., Problems politischer Participation im Modernisierungsprozeβ (Stuttgart, 1992), pp. 321-49;
125. P. Steinbach, Die Politisierung der Region: Reichs-und Landtagswahlen im Fürstentum Lippe 1866-1881 (Passau, 1989), esp. pp. 972-3.
126. The following discussion of Frankfurt liberalism includes liberals as well as democrats. The democrats are treated as liberals in the broadest sense because they regarded themselves as belonging to the 'liberal' ('freiheitlich') movement. Against the National Liberals, the Democrats also argued repeatedly that they alone represented liberalism in its 'true', undiluted form.
127. M. Wettengel, Die Revolution con 1848/1849 im Rhein-Main Raum: Politische Vereine und Revolutionsalltag im Groβherzogtum Hessen, Herzogtum Nassau und in der Freien Stadt Frankfurt (Wiesbaden, 1989), pp. 195-212.
128. Wetengel, Revolution, pp. 50-62;
129. Roth, Stadt und Bürgerlum, p. 418.
130. T. Nipperdey, Deutsche Geschichte 1800-1866: Bürgerwelt und starker Staat (Munich, 1983), pp. 633-4.
131. H.-U. Wehler, 'Die Geburtsstunde des deutschen Kleinbürgertums', in H.-J. Puhle, eds., Bürger in der Gesellschaft der Neuzeit (Göttingen, 1991), pp. 199-209, esp. pp. 203-5.
132. This is opposed to the line taken by Roth, who insists that Frankfurt followed 'a peculiar path' to modernity. Roth, Stadt und Bürgerlum, passim.
133. Volksfreund, 23 Oct. 1863.
134. The view that these meetings encouraged popular political participation is expressed in Frankfurter Reform, 11 Oct. 1865. Frankfurter Reform, 8 Oct. 1865.
135. In 1851, the Frankfurter Volksbote gave up reporting on national events because these were beyond the control of the bourgeoisie anyway. Thereafter, it concentrated on local affairs. Frankfurter Volksbote, 31 Dec. 1856.
136. See also Frankfurter Volksbote, 16 Nov. 1856.
137. U. Bartelsheim, 'Die Politisierung und Demokratisierung der kommunalen Selbstverwaltung. Kommunalpolitik in Frankfurt am Main 1850-1900' (D. Phil, thesis, Frankfurt, 1995), p. 373 (Table 1).
138. In Dortmund, electoral participation rose from 17 per cent in 1851 to 25.7 per cent in 1859, and to as much as 42 per cent in 1863. In Barmen, over 50 per cent of the electorate voted in 1863. In Frankfurt, participation never reached 40 per cent or more. If Schambach, then, comes to the conclusion that participation levels in Dortmund before 1870 were low, they were still higher than those of Frankfurt. Schambach, Stadtbürgertum, pp. 327-30.
139. Bartelsheim, 'Politisierung', p. 373 (Table 1).
140. Ibid., pp. 32, 34.
141. out of an electorate of almost 11, 000. Frankfurter Reform, 5 Oct. 1864.
142. This applies even to the democrats' main battlecry of the time, the abolition of life tenure for senators. Frankfurter Reform, 20 Dec. 1865.
143. Paragraph 1 of the statutes committed the members to work for a democratic and liberal ('freiheidich') development mainly of local affairs. Apart form this, the statutes were concerned with regulations on membership. Frankfurter Reform, 10 Oct. 1866.
144. W.-A. Kropat, Frankfurt zwischen Provinzialismus und Nationalismus: die Eingliederung der' Freien Stadt' in den preuβischen Staat (1866-71) (Frankfurt, 1971), pp. 38-9. 7, 368 votes were cast, out of about 20, 000 eligible voters - the latter figure is an estimate made on the assumption that the number of people eligible for the vote would be roughly proportional to the total population, which remained static from 1867 to 1871. In 1871, 20, 151 were eligible to vote.
145. Wolf, Liberalismus, p. 175.
146. G. A. Ritter, Wahlgeschichtliches Arbeitsbuch: Materialien zur Statistik des Kaiserreichs 1871-1918 (Munich, 1980), pp. 142-3.
147. Passavant soon became a member of the Magistrat and entered the local National Liberal Association upon its foundation in 1873. Institut für Stadtgeschichte, Frankfurt (IfSG) S2/3066;
148. R. Jung; 'Dr. Ernst Passavant', in Alt-Frankfurt, 1 (1909), pp. 125-8;
149. N. M. Hope, The alternative to German unification: the anti-Prussian party: Frankfurt, Nassau, and the two Hessen 1859-1867 (Wiesbaden, 1973), pp. 33-4; Bartelsheim, 'Politisierung', p. 118.
150. '...as a result of last year's events, the various liberal parties have changed so much in character that it is virtually impossible to classify people [i.e. candidates] according to their previous party label'. Frankfurter Zeitung, 18 June 1867 (2. Blatt). Frankfurter Zeitung, 29 Sept. 1867 (1. Blatt).
151. See the account of the events of 15 to 21 July 1866 in IfSG S3/A 4.770. The Prussian Annexation of Frankfurt in 1866: Chronicles.
152. Kropat, Frankfurt, p. 23.
153. Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Wiesbaden (HStAW) 405 n. 40 fos. 47-52; Zeitungsberichte, January to March 1868. This is but one example of the police president's appreciation of the general aversion felt by the citizens to Prussian rule. In fact, it was the main theme of virtually all his quarterly reports until 1869.
154. See, for example, the following reports of that year, HStAW 405 n. 40 fos. 75-7 and fos. 112-14; Zeitungsberichte, 18 May 1868 and 28 Nov. 1868. On this subject, see also Kropat, Frankfurt, pp. 46-9.
155. Frankfurter Zeitung, 10 Nov. 1868 (1. Blatt);
156. Frankfurter Journal, 9 Nov. 1868.
157. 'Heiliger Wilhelm, der Du bist in Berlin, /Vertilgt werde Dein Namen auf Erden. /Dein Reich werde eine Republik /Dein Wille geschehe Nimmer mehr /Unser täglich Brod gibst Du uns doch nicht /Bezahle unsere Schulden wie wir die Deinigen bezahlen mußten /Führ uns nicht in die Bismarcksche Politik /Sondern erlöse uns von dem Übel Deiner Herrlichkeit. /Denn Du hast weder Kraft noch Saft noch Herrlichkeit /Fort rait Dir in Ewigkeit. /Amen'. IfSG S1/11.4. This is only one of several versions of this satire which have survived, many of which can be found in IfSG S3/A4769.
158. HStAW 405 n. 1065 fo. 14; Zeitungsbericht, 28 Feb. 1869.
159. 'We have done our duty before the elections, and, now that the new Magistrat has been chosen, we will exercise our due journalistic control on both councils firmly and rigorously.' Frankfurter Zeilung, 21 Jan. 1868.
160. Frankfurter Zeiung, 31 Oct. 1868. In principle, the Frankfurter Journal agreed. Frankfurter Journal, 19 Nov. 1868 (1. Beilage).
161. For an introduction to the Democratischer Wahlverein, see Wolf, Liberalismus, pp. 21-5.
162. Frankfurter Zeitung, 18 June 1867 (2. Blatt).
163. See also Frankfurter Zeitung, 30 June 1867 (1. Blatt).
164. Frankfurter Zeitung, 8 July 1867 (1. Blatt).
165. In 1864, for example, it was J. A. Hammeran, editor of the rival newspaper Frankfurter Journal, not Sonnemann, who was among the twenty-nine signatories of the democrats' call for the annual electoral meeting. Frankfurter Reform, 7 Oct. 1864, p. 473.
166. See also Frankfurter Reform, 8 Oct. 1865.
167. H. Heenemann, 'Die Auflaghenhöhe der deutschen Zeitungen. Ihre Entwicklungen und ihre Probleme' (D. Phil, thesis, Berlin, 1929), p. 49.
168. See the outcry by the Democrat Eduard Fay, who wanted nothing but the destruction of the 'brutal yoke of Prussiandom', which was the 'curse' for Frankfurt and for Germany as a whole. IfSG S1/11.
169. See also the democrat commemoration of Robert Blum's death. The martyr for a democratic Germany was simply adopted as a martyr for a democratic Frankfurt. Frankfurter Zeitung, 13 Nov. 1868 (2. Blatt).
170. For a fuller discussion of this rhetoric, see J. Palmowski, Urban Liberalism in Imperial Germany: Frankfurt am Main, 1866-1914 (Oxford, 1999), pp. 56-64.
171. Frankfurter Zeitung, 16 July 1867 (1. Blatt).
172. This was, on a rare occasion, even admitted by the Frankfurter Zeitung. Frankfurter Zeitung, 25 Nov. 1866 (1. Blatt).
173. P. Alexandre, '"Die Frankfurter Latern". Une Publication Satirique editée par Friedrich Stoltze' (Ph. D. thesis, Metz, 1980), pp. 48-50.
174. C. Funck, Lebenserinnerungen: Mit einer Einführung von Ludwig Heilbronn (Frankfurt, 1921), pp. 53-4.
175. See, for instance, the Frankfurter Journal, 18 Feb. 1869;
176. Frankfurter Zeitung, 14 Nov. 1868 (2. Blatt).
177. See M. Reinganum's speech in Frankfurter Zeitung, 24 Nov. 1874 (Abendblatt).
178. In the 1871 run-off elections, Sonnemann received 3, 758 votes against 3, 679 for his rival.
179. Wolf, Liberalismus, pp. 48-51. Wolfs number of forty-three 'gatherings' in 1878, taken at face value from a report in the Frankfurter Zeitung, is slightly misleading, in that it is not clear what form these gatherings took. Many of these may have been just private committee meetings. The first available complete set of police reports from 1879 shows that there were twenty-three principal gatherings that year. Reports from subsequent years suggest similar levels of frequency.
180. See, for example, HStAW 407 n. 1382 fos. 55, 58-60: Democratic Association meetings in September and October 1882.
181. HStAW 407 n. 1381 fo. 51: Democratic Association meeting, 17 Mar. 1879.
182. Wolf, Liberalismus, p. 61.
183. The necessity of a party newspaper was constantly outlined as one of its most pressing issues. See, for example, HStAW 407 n. 1501 fos. 244-6: Progressive Association meeting, 21 Mar. 1887.
184. HStAW 407, n. 160 fo. 99: National Liberal Association meeting, October 1878.
185. Ibid., fo. 112: National Liberal Association meeting, September 1879.
186. See also ibid., fos. 122-5: Membership list of the National Liberal Association, 1880; HStAW 407, n. 1382 fo. 131: Membership statistics for the Democratic Association. By 1882, that figure had grown to 495 members according to the figures given by the Democratic Association, or 527 according to the figures of the Prussian authorities. HStAW 407 n. 1501 fo. 5: Progressive Association meeting, 7 Jan. 1879.
187. Michael Ostrogorski noted for England:' Even in places where the political pulse has beaten strongly, and where the Caucus has been a decided success, as at Birmingham, the proportion of those affiliated to the party Organizations does not exceed eight or ten per cent of the total number of electors.' M. Ostrogorski, Democracy and the organisation of political parties (London, 1902), 1, p. 332.
188. The participation rates for the 1880 council elections have been taken from Wolf, Liberalismus, p. 130.
189. Frankfurter Zeitung, 22 Nov. 1876 (Abendblatt);
190. Frankfurter Zeitung, 23 Nov. 1876 (Mittagsblatt).
191. Maximilian Reinganum, in Frankfurter Zeitung, 20 Nov. 1874.
192. In 1874 despite its opposition to the Democrats' introduction of politics, the National Liberal Neue Frankfurter Presse insisted that voters elect the anti-Democrat 'unpolitical' list in its entirety. Neue Frankfurter Presse, 24 Nov. 1874 (1. Blatt).
193. HStAW 407 n. 1501 fo. 126: Progressive Association meeting, 20 Nov. 1882.
194. The Democrats almost always nominated National Liberals for the fourth electoral district, which was a National Liberal stronghold. See also HStAW 407 n. 1501 fos. 215-16: Progressive Association meeting, 21 Oct. 1885.
195. J. D. Rolling, 'Das Problem der "Politisierung" der kommunalen Selbstverwaltung in Frankfurt am Main 1900-1918', Archiv für Frankfurter Geschichte und Kunst, 57 (1980), p. 185.
196. In general, see Sheehan, 'Liberalism and the city', pp. 135-7.
197. For neighbouring Wiesbaden Thomas Weichel has similarly shown how the 'unpolitical' postulate was employed by the different bourgeois political fractions as a political tool. For instance, in marginal districts candidates from other parties were nominated on a party slate so as to increase the acceptability of the list as a whole. Weichel, Die Bürger, pp. 328-30.
198. Frankfurter Presse, 27 Nov. 1872;
199. Neue Frankfurter Presse, 24 Nov. 1874 (1. Blatt).
200. IfSG NL Fay, S1/11.6:SauerlSnder to Fay, 23 Sept. 1867. There exist guidelines of conduct in the council for Democrats. IfSG NL Fay, S1/11.3 (undated).
201. The composition of the committees is in IfSG, Mitteilungen aus den Protokollen der Stadtverordnetenversammlung, 1875 (§§1-7) and 1877 (§§40-4). Party affiliations for the council members have been worked out from fragmentary membership lists, appearances of candidates in political meetings, and signatures on political pamphlets.
202. I19 This view is nicely summarized in T. Nipperdey, Deutsche Geschichte 1866-1314, II: Machtstaat vor der Demokratie (Munich, 1992), pp. 158-9;
203. W. Hofmann, 'Aufgaben und Struktur der kommunalen Selbstverwaltung im Zeitalter der Hochindustrialisierung', in K. G. A. Jeserich, H. Pohl, G.-C. von Unruh, eds., Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte (Stuttgart, 1984), III, pp. 613-16;
204. Fisch, Stadtplanung im 19. Jahrhundert, pp. 49-50.
205. Frankfurter Zeitung, 24 Jan. 1868 (1. Blatt).
206. Bartelsheim, 'Politisierung', ch. 3.
207. Ibid., pp. 131-2.
208. Ibid., pp. 212-13.
209. Frankfurter Zeitung, 19 Jan. 1868 (1. Blatt).
210. The Progressives were much more reticent about municipal expenditure on public buildings and the city's infrastructure. In the 1890s, the National Liberals accepted the support from the Mittelstand groups, one of whose main goals was the introduction of voluntary guilds. Still, in practice, the National Liberals did little to comply with this demand.
211. Sheehan, 'Liberalism and the city', p. 126;
212. Wehler, Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte 1849-1914, p. 535.
213. W. Hofmann, Zwischen Rathaus und Reichskanzlei: die Oberbürgermeister in der Kommunal-und Staatspolitik des Deutschen Reiches von 1890-1933 (Berlin, Stuttgart, Köln, and Mainz, 1974), pp. 38 ff.
214. Frankfurter Beobachter, 19 Nov. 1879.
215. See, for example, J. Miquel, 'Verfassung und Verwaltung der Provinzen und Gemeinden des Königreichs der Niederlande', Preuβische Jahrbücher, 24 (1869), pp. 312-40, esp. pp. 339-40.
216. See also his speech on 18 Mar. 1876 on the proposed city ordinance, in Johannes von Miquel's Reden, ed. W. Schultze and F. Thimme (Halle, 1911), II, pp. 302-17.
217. HStAW 407 n. 1381 fos. 114-15: Democratic Association meeting, 17 Nov. 1879.
218. Johannes von Miquel's Reden, ed. Schultze and Thimme, n, pp. 61ff. (speech on Church and Education of 3 Feb. 1871), and ibid., pp. 244-6 (speech of 11 Mar. 1875 on 'the State and Local Secondary Schools').
219. A. Anderhub, Verwaltung im Regierungsbezirk Wiesbaden 1866-1835 (Wiesbaden, 1977), pp. 238-42.
220. Miquel's report of 31 May 1880 to the Wiesbaden education authorities in which he summarized-deferentially, but firmly-the position of Frankfurt liberalism on denominational schooling and which subsequently became one of the cornerstones of the Frankfurt liberals' defence of their position, is reprinted in E. J. Müller, Aufklärungen über den Schulkampf im Jahre 1904 and 1905 in Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt, 1905), pp. 82-5.
221. H. K. Weitensteiner, 'Karl Flesch-Kommunale Sozialpolitik in Frankfurt am Main' (D. Phil, thesis, Frankfurt, 1976), here p. 116.
222. The argument that popular political organization can cement the power of existing elites is not new, but has been made in Ostrogorski, Democracy, 1, pp. 329-70, 580 ff.
223. The city's most exclusive association, the 'Casinogesellschaft', split in 1869. The old 'Casinogesellschaft' was led by the National Liberal leader, Georg Varrentrapp, while the members of the new 'Casinogesellschaft' followed Leopold Sonnemann. In 1876, both associations reunited. This has been taken as evidence that associational life continued to provide an overarching 'unpolitical' context for a united 'liberal milieu', despite the existence of three liberal parties. Roth, Stadt und Bürgertum, pp. 510-12.
224. Considering the insults traded particularly between Sonnemann's and Varrentrapp's supporters during local, state, and national elections, this is highly unlikely. The underlying unity of the bourgeoisie is belied by the necessity of the association's split in the first place. Rather, the reunion in 1876 is evidence that the association no longer served any political function.
225. For the general context, see Hein, 'Partei und Bewegung', pp. 73-83.
226. Given that Frankfurt has been held up as a model for the unity of liberalism at the local level in Germany, the evidence presented in this article might suggest conversely that Frankfurt could be regarded as a model for the competition that did, in fact, exist between various liberal movements at the local level. Pohl, 'Überlegungen', pp. 71, 74.
227. For a detailed treatment of the 'milieu', see Rohe, ed., Elections, parties and political traditions, pp. 1-25;
228. K. Rohe, Wahlen und Wählertraditionen (Frankfurt, 1992), pp. 57-121.
229. For a recent assertion of the validity of the concept of the 'milieu', see K. Rohe, 'Politische Kultur-politische Milieus: Zur Anwendung neuerer theoretischer Konzepte in einer modernen Landesgeschichte', in Lässig and Pohl, eds., Sachsen im Kaiserreich, pp. 177-90.
230. The classic articles in this debate are L. Gall, 'Liberalismus und "Bürgerliche Gesellschaft". Zu Charakter und Entwicklung der Liberalen Bewegung in Deutschland', Historische Zeitschrift, 220 (1975), pp. 324-56;
231. W. J. Mommsen, 'Der deutsche Liberalismus zwischen "Klassenloser Bürgergesellschaft" und "Organisiertem Kapitalismus". Zu einer neuen Liberalismusinterpretation', Geschichte und Gesellschaft, 4 (1978), pp. 77-90;
232. L. Gall, '"Ich wünschte ein Bürger zu sein". Zum Selbstverständnis des Deutschen Bürgertums im 19. Jahrhundert', Historische Zeitschrift, 245 (1987). pp. 601-23.