which of the following is false with respect to the frankfurt parliament of 1848 a the elected members drafted a) constitution under which German nation to be headed by monarchy subject to parliament. b) Friedrich Wilhelm IV accepted the promotion
Answers
Despite belated attempts to organize a common resistance by the German governments, Frederick William was eventually completely overwhelmed by the revolution in March 1848, which was inspired by the revolution of the preceding month in France. He could neither prevent the street fighting in Berlin by last-minute concessions nor ride the wave; after the withdrawal of the troops to barracks, he masked his submission to the revolution by a processional ride through Berlin under the black and red and golden flag, the symbol of the united Germany, by paying homage to the bodies of the victims of the soldiery, and by his promise that “Prussia is henceforth merged in Germany.” Finally he had to convene a Prussian national assembly. Under the influence of his entourage, however, he roused himself to a stubborn resistance: he appointed his uncle, the Count of Brandenburg (a son of Frederick William II’s last morganatic marriage), prime minister; removed the assembly from Berlin and then dissolved it; and imposed a constitution the first moderately liberal draft of which was modelled on that of Belgium. These measures restored the leading role to the crown and its instruments, the army and the bureaucracy, firmly supported by the recently formed Conservative party.
When, on April 3, 1849, Frederick William refused the imperial crown offered by the national assembly in Frankfurt am Main—because as a true conservative he would accept it only from the German princes—he destroyed the constitution drafted by that assembly. Under Russian and English pressure, moreover, he had withdrawn Prussian support of the rising in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, aimed at overthrowing Danish rule there. Next, however, largely contravening his previous policy, he attempted to establish a German union under Prussian leadership (1849–50)—though this, as a “Little German” federation, should remain allied with a “wider” federation embracing Austria. When Austria challenged this union, the King shrank from war, preferring capitulation at the Punctation of Olmütz convention. Though Prussia had to return to the federal Diet at Frankfurt am Main, Prussian leadership of the German customs union, which excluded Austria, remained unchallenged.
In religious affairs Frederick William, in 1841, settled the “Cologne church conflict” on terms very favourable to the Roman Catholics, with whom, largely influenced by his love for the old and picturesque, he had great sympathy; he also furthered the reconstruction of Cologne cathedral. On the other hand, he actively promoted the joint Anglican-Lutheran bishopric of Jerusalem.
Final years.
The final years of his reign were a period of reaction. Frederick William, rejecting the bureaucratic absolutism of his prime minister Otto von Manteuffel, worked above all for recasting the constitution of 1848 in a conservative mold. This included the disastrous introduction of three-class suffrage according to income in 1850 instead of universal suffrage, the retention of the monarchical character of army and bureaucracy, the reestablishment of the conservative district assemblies and the provincial diets, and the conversion (1854) of the first chamber into a house of lords entirely dominated by the predominantly aristocratic landowners. He believed this house of lords to be modelled on the English upper house, but in a political testament he implored his successors to refuse to take the oath on the Prussian constitution.
In 1857 a stroke resulted in paralysis. From this time on, with the exception of brief intervals, the King’s mind was clouded, and his brother William (afterward emperor) took on the duties of government, becoming regent in 1858. Frederick William died at Sanssouci Palace in 1861.
Hans Herzfeld
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False statement:
b) Friedrich Wilhelm IV accepted the promotion
- Frankfurt is a city in German.
- A large number of political associations whose members were middle-class professionals, businessmen and artisans came together in the city of Frankfurt.
- They decided to vote for an all-German National Assembly.
- The Frankfurt parliament convened in the Church of St Paul on 18 May 1948.
- 831 elected members gathered there to take their places.
- They drafted constitution under which German nation to be headed by monarchy subject to parliament.
- They offered the crown to Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia.
- But Friedrich Wilhelm IV rejected the promotion.
- Hence, Friedrich Wilhelm IV accepted the promotion is the false statement with respect to the frankfurt parliament of 1848 a the elected members drafted.
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