ECON1131 Lecture Notes - Constitutional Monarchy, Bicameralism, Industrial Revolution
Document Summary
On 1845, there were small german states ruled by princes that were no yet unified. The northern part of germany began to experience industrial revolution, a bit later than britain. Governments in the german states were forced to call for a single election that established a parliament led by liberal nationalists (the frankfurt assembly) that attempted to create a constitution to unify. They were divided over how germany should be unified. Debated whether or not to have a small germany focused in the north (kleindeutch) or a large. King fredrick william iv of prussia refused to be emperor of the germans because he did not want to rule as a constitutional monarch with limited powers. By 1849, the assembly has disbanded because no rulers would accept the constitution they had written. Leadership was then passed to the more conservative prussian monarchy.
