The Imperial Constitution campaign (german: Reichsverfassungskampagne) was an initiative driven by radical democratic politicians in Germany in the mid-19th century that developed into the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

like fighting in several German states known also as the May Uprisings (''Maiaufstände''). These conflicts against the counter-revolutionaries began in May 1849 and varied in length and intensity depending on the region. Some lasted until July that year. They marked the end phase of the popular and nationalist March Revolution that had started a good year before in March 1848. The Imperial Constitution campaign had as its goal the recognition of the Constitution of St. Paul's Church that had been put together by the first pan-German, democratically elected parliament, the

Frankfurt Assembly The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

. The campaign was triggered by the refusal of the imperial crown by Prussia's King

Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

and the dissolution of the national assembly. Its parliamentarians then formed the so-called

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. "Rump" ...

for several weeks in Stuttgart, the capital of the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...

, until this assembly, too, was dissolved by force by Württemberg troops. The call for a campaign was supported by Georg Friedrich Kolb, Heinrich Herrmann Riemann and others. In the wake of this call there were republicanist motivated uprisings, for example in the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxo ...

(

May Uprising in Dresden The May Uprising took place in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony in 1849; it was one of the last of the series of events known as the Revolutions of 1848. Events leading to the May Uprising In the German states, revolutions began in March 1848, start ...

), in the then Bavarian Palatinate ( Palatine Uprising), in the Prussian provinces of

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

( 1847 Iserlohn Uprising) and

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

(the Storming of the Zeughaus in Prüm and the Elberfeld Uprising of May 1849) and especially in the Grand Duchy of Baden (see

Baden Revolution The Baden Revolution (german: Badische Revolution) of 1848/1849 was a regional uprising in the Grand Duchy of Baden which was part of the revolutionary unrest that gripped almost all of Central Europe at that time. As part of the popular libera ...

) where, for a short time, a republic was proclaimed. With the military defeat of this last rebellion, primarily by Prussian troops, the March Revolution of 1848/1849 in the states of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

finally ended on 23 July 1849 with the capture of Rastatt Fortress, the last bastion of the Baden revolutionaries, by federal forces under Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian leadership.

External links

''Die deutsche Reichsverfassungskampagne''
by Friedrich Engels, written 1849/50, full text, links to individual chapters at mlwerke.de {{Authority control Frankfurt Parliament German revolutions of 1848–1849