The Prussian House of Representatives (german: Preußisches Abgeordnetenhaus) was the
lower chamber
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or othe ...
of the
Landtag of Prussia
The Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag) was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Representat ...
(german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
from 1850 to 1918. Together with the
upper house
An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
, the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
(german: Preußisches Herrenhaus), it formed the Prussian
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
legislature. The Prussian House of Representatives was established by the Prussian constitution of 5 December 1848, with members elected according to the
three-class franchise. At first it was called simply the "Second Chamber," with the name "House of Representatives" (') introduced in 1855.
Franchise
From 1849, the election of representatives within the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
was performed according to the three-class franchise system. The election was
indirect. In the primary election, those with the right to vote went to the ballot and, in three separate classes, chose electors, who, in turn, chose the representatives for their constituency.
Several attempts to reform the voting procedure, which heavily favoured the
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
, were rebuffed by the House of Lords. The electoral law, which was one of the most progressive in Europe when it was introduced, thus stayed mostly unchanged until 1918. The House of Representatives itself decided to abolish it in 1918, but it had become redundant by the
German Revolution of 1918–1919
The German Revolution or November Revolution (german: Novemberrevolution) was a civil conflict in the German Empire at the end of the First World War that resulted in the replacement of the German federal constitutional monarchy with a dem ...
, which founded a republic.
The right to vote was open to every male Prussian over 24 years of age who had been living in a Prussian municipality for at least six months and had not been stripped of his rights by a court of law and was not in receipt of public pauper relief. To stand for election as a representative, one had to be over 30, be a Prussian for at least three years and not be stripped of civil rights by a court.
Legislative periods
The legislative period was at first three years, but, as for the Reichstag, it was changed to five years in 1888. The House was, however, dissolved by the king prematurely several times. From 1849 to 1918, there were 22 legislative periods.
Composition
Its size was first fixed at 350 seats, which changed to 352 with the incorporation of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
( en, Nothing without God)
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and
Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Hohenzollern-Hechingen was a small principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty.
History
The County of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the Coun ...
in 1849. Following annexations after the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
of 1866, the number of seats changed to 432 after the election of 1867. In 1876, another seat for the Duchy of Lauenburg was added. In 1906, ten seats were added, bringing the number to 443 for the elections of 1908.
The members of the House received monetary compensation for their work, unlike (until 1906) the members of the Reichstag. Therefore, many Reichstag members also sat in the House of Representatives. In 1903, 110 members of the Reichstag were likewise members of the Prussian House, that is, almost half of the House of Representatives' 236 seats. After 1906, the number of dual office-holders sank significantly, to only 45 in 1913.
From 1862, there was a clear liberal majority in the House. In the Prussian constitutional crisis of 1859–66, however, the Liberals were defeated by chancellor
Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
. After the war of 1866, the
National Liberals split from the Liberals, and the latter never regained their former strength.
The distribution of seats from 1867, at the beginning of the respective legislative period:
Notes:
1 Split from the conservatives;
2 Split from the National Liberals;
3 German Free-minded Party
The German Free-minded Party (german: Deutsche Freisinnige Partei, DFP) or German Radical Party was a short-lived liberal party in the German Empire, founded on 5 March 1884 as a result of the merger of the German Progress Party and the Liberal ...
;
4 Progressive People's Party (Germany)
The Progressive People's Party (german: Fortschrittliche Volkspartei, FVP) was a social liberal party of the late German Empire.
History
It was formed on 6 March 1910 as a merger of Free-minded People's Party, Free-minded Union and German Peop ...
Presidents
Abolition
The House of Representatives was abolished on 15 November 1918 by the Prussian revolutionary cabinet, led by
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
and
Independent Social Democrats. The last sign of life of the House of Representatives was a protest held by its vice-president, Felix Porsch, on 24 November 1918.
{{Authority control
Defunct lower houses
Politics of Prussia
1848 establishments in Prussia
1918 disestablishments in Germany