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Documents - Politics II: Parties and Political Mobilization
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1.   "Pulpit Law" (December 10, 1871)
As the Kulturkampf ("cultural struggle") with the Catholic Church escalated in the early 1870s, Bismarck, supported by anticlerical liberals, passed a series of laws against what he regarded....
2.   School Inspection Law (March 11, 1872)
Control over education was an issue hotly contested by the Prussian government and the Catholic Church during the “cultural struggle” known as the Kulturkampf. The Prussian School Inspection....
3.   Anti-Jesuit Law (July 4, 1872)
The term Kulturkampf (“cultural struggle”) was coined by the German pathologist and liberal politician Rudolf....
4.   Karl Biedermann to Eduard Lasker, Agonizing over Liberalism’s Stance on Exceptional Laws (June 12, 1872)
Generally, the liberals were a driving force behind Bismarck's efforts to restrict Catholic influence in state affairs. However, the following letter by Karl Biedermann (1812-1901), a former 1848er....
5.   Association of German Catholics, Founding Manifesto (July 8, 1872)
The anti-church legislation passed by the German national and state governments led to the further politicization of Catholics and their organization in various associations. Though stressing patriotic....
6.   Bismarck’s Conception of a modus vivendi with Rome (December 19, 1882)
On February 20, 1878, Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903) succeeded Pius IX (1792-1878). The new Pope’s policy toward Germany was more conciliatory than his predecessor’s and contributed to the de-escalation....
7.   Bismarck’s Speech to the Prussian House of Deputies on the "Polish Question" (January 28, 1886)
Bismarck’s Kulturkampf (“cultural struggle”) against the Catholic Church included – and at times appeared driven by – a determined effort to undermine Polish nationalism in Prussia’s eastern....
8.   Wilhelm Liebknecht on Elections to Parliament as a Means of Agitation (May 31, 1869)
On May 31, 1869, a new electoral law for the North German Reichstag was passed. It introduced universal, equal, direct, and secret suffrage for all male residents. This law, in fact, endorsed voting....
9.   August Bebel Criticizes the Franco-Prussian War and the Annexation of Alsace-Lorraine in a Speech before the North German Reichstag (November 26, 1870)
The Social Democrats, who were pacifists on principle and opponents of the annexation of foreign territory, rejected Bismarck's plans to incorporate Alsace-Lorraine during the Franco-Prussian War....
10.   Eduard Stephani to Rudolf von Bennigsen on the National Liberals' Motives for Supporting Bismarck (July 14, 1878)
After two assassination attempts were made on Kaiser Wilhelm I in May and June....
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