The+Frankfurt+Parliament

 = The Frankfurt Parliament =



 The Frankfurt Parliament was a national assembly that began on the 18th May, 1848 in Frankfurt-am-Main. It was the result of the liberal revolutions that happened in March of that year and its main objective was to plan the unification of the German states. The German States included Prussia, Austria , Westphalia and the Rhine provinces.  It was called to order by the The Germanic Confederation and its members were elected by public voting (only by males at this time) and the elected members were made up of the prominent political figures of the time. Heinrich von Gagern was elected as president of the parliament.  The people elected did not utilize their time or newly gained power wisely in order to lead the German states into unity and peace. Instead countless debates were held that presented abstract issues and a declaration was composed called the Fundamental Rights of the German People. This was a declaration of the civil rights of the public and outlined proposed reform in the individual states. Within the parliament various sections began to appear amongst the people with the various factions advocating different aspects of the declaration and proposed actions. This naturally made work within the parliament and it began to weaken as a collective force.  Wars with Denmark slowed the process of establishing democracy enormously as Prussia sent troops to hinder the fighting and it dispersed soon after. Work continued after the fighting had died out however Prussia ’s involvement in the war caused conflict between Prussia and Austria  The parliament delegates adopted the establishment of a hereditary emperor who would govern the newly reformed states with the aid from a select ministry and a national elected parliament. Finally, the decision was made that a newly designed constitution would be put into place that united the German states and placed them under the control of the emperor. The Prussia / Austria conflicts caused the decision to be made that Austria would be left out of the constitution.  The position of emperor was presented to Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia in April 1849; however he did not accept the role. This was due to his distaste for the parliament and their revolutionary ideas. He also felt that if he had accepted the position of emperor and the terms of the constitution it would have given reason for war with Austria. He called the position a “Crown from the gutter”.  After Wilhelm’s refusal to accept the throne, much of the support from Prussia and Austria dispersed from the parliament. This lessened the parliaments power and credibility and many lesser delegates followed the leaders actions, and left. After this all military and political support was disbanded by the European super-powers and the parliaments purpose was lost. Shortly after, on the 31st May, 1849 , the parliament was closed and the remaining members dispersed, becoming the major cause for the failure of liberalism in Germany