1877 German federal election

none December 2023 1877 German federal election German Empire parliamentary no 1874 German federal election 1874 yes 1877 01 10 1878 German federal election 1878 All 397 seats in the Reichstag 199 8,943,028 4.92% 5,422,647 (60.64%) 0.60pp 130x130px Die Gartenlaube (1874) b 093 (cropped).jpg Rudolf von Bennigsen National Liberal Party (Germany) 1867 26.86%, 147 seats 127 20 26.67% 0.19 pp Ludwig Windthorst 1872 JS (cropped).jpg Ludwig Windthorst Centre Party (Germany) 26 May 1874 27.72%, 91 seats 93 2 24.83% 2.89 pp Otto von Helldorff.jpg Otto von Helldorff German Conservative Party 7 June 1876 6.78%, 21 seatsResults of the Prussian conservatives 40 19 9.59% 2.81 pp Victor Herzog von Ratibor (cropped).jpg Viktor I, Duke of Ratibor Free Conservative Party 7.49%, 32 seats 38 6 7.85% 0.36 pp DFP German Progress Party 8.83%, 48 seats 34 14 7.64% 1.19 pp Polen Polish Party 4.02%, 14 seats 14 0 4.00% 0.02 pp File:Karte der Reichstagswahlen 1877.svg 450px Map of results (by constituencies) President of the Reichstag Max von Forckenbeck National Liberal Party (Germany) President of the Reichstag after election Max von Forckenbeck National Liberal Party (Germany) A federal election for the third Reichstag of the German Empire was held on 10 January 1877.Nohlen Dieter Dieter Nohlen Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook Stöver Philip Nomos 2010 978-3-8329-5609-7 Baden-Baden 788 It was a regularly scheduled election based on the three-year legislative period established in the imperial constitution. The voting was strongly influenced by the economic downturn that had followed the Panic of 1873. Conservative, protectionist parties and, to a lesser extent, social democrats gained seats at the expense of liberal and free trade parties, particularly the National Liberals Historical background The sharp economic downturn that began in late 1873 significantly affected the 1877 Reichstag election. Known in Germany as the "founders' crash" (de Gründerkrach) because it followed the period of rapid growth after the founding of the Empire in 1871, the worldwide Panic of 1873 triggered an economic depression that lasted until 1879 in Germany. Particularly hard hit were workers who lost their jobs and members of the middle class who relied on income from stocks.Leicht Johannes 11 November 2015 Gründerkrach und Gründerkrise Founders' Crash and Founders' Crisis https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/kaiserreich/industrie-und-wirtschaft/gruenderkrach 3 August 2025 Deutsches Historisches Museum de The economic problems caused Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to shift away from the free trade policies supported by the National Liberals, who were the largest party in the Reichstag. In an early reaction to his policy changes, Rudolph von Delbrück, head of the Reich Chancellery and a strong proponent of free trade, resigned in 1876. The same year saw the founding of the German Conservative Party, which supported protectionism and endorsed Bismarck's overall policies.Ullrich Volker Die nervöse Großmacht 1871–1918: Aufstieg und Untergang des deutschen Kaiserreichs Fischer e-books 2013 978-3-596-19784-2 Kindle Frankfurt am Main 61 de The Nervous Great Power 1871–1918. Rise and Fall of the German Empire On the political Left, the rival General German Workers' Association (de Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein, ADAV) and Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany (de Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands, SDAP) merged in 1875 to form the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (de Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands, SAPD).Sprenger Christian 14 September 2014 Die Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands (SAP) The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (SAP) https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/kaiserreich/innenpolitik/sozialistische-arbeiterpartei-deutschlands-sap 7 August 2025 Deutsches Historisches Museum de The hardships that the working class faced because of the founders' crash led to a strengthened sense of solidarity among them that was reflected in the SAPD's showing in the 1877 election.Wehler Hans-Ulrich 9z5pLhoWdhwC 798 yes Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte C.H. Beck 1995 2nd 3 Munich 798 de German Social History Electoral system The election was held under general, equal, direct and secret suffrage. All German males over the age of 25 years were able to vote except for active members of the military and recipients of poor relief. The restrictions on the military were meant to keep it from becoming politicized, while men on relief were considered to be open to political manipulation. The constitutional guarantee of a secret vote was not safeguarded at the time, since ballot boxes and polling booths were not introduced until 1903.21 March 2016 21. März 1871 – Erster Reichstag konstituiert sich 21 March 1871 – The First Reichstag is Convened https://www1.wdr.de/stichtag/stichtag-reichstag-konstituierung-100.html 8 June 2025 WDR If no candidate in a district won an absolute majority of the votes, a runoff election was held between the first- and second-place finishers. It was possible for a replacement candidate to be introduced in a runoff.Steinsdorfer Helmut W-PWrXVOywQC 9 yes Die Liberale Reichspartei (LRP) von 1871 Steiner 2000 978-3-515-07566-4 Stuttgart 9 de The Imperial Liberty Party (LRP) of 1871 Results The election overall was favorable to Bismarck. The German Conservative Party gained 19 seats, the liberal-conservative German Reich Party 6 and the Socialist Workers' Party 3. In spite of losing 20 seats, the National Liberals remained the largest party in the Reichstag. The other major loser was the liberal German Progress Party, down 14 seats. The new Löwe-Berger Group, which had split from them in 1874,13 November 1886 Wilhelm Lowe-Kalbe bXw5AQAAMAAJ 494 yes Illustrirte Zeitung de 2263 494 won 9 seats. Turnout was just under 61%. #F8F9FA 13 Social Democratic Party of Germany 4 German People's Party (1868) 34 German Progress Party 14 Independent Liberals #EEDC82 0 1 Danish Party #FFA54F 14 Polish Party #FFA54F 15 Alsace-Lorraine Party #FFA54F 127 National Liberal Party (Germany) 0 0 93 Centre Party (Germany) 4 German-Hanoverian Party 38 German Reich Party 0 40 German Conservative Party National Liberal Party 1440266 127 −0.19 −20 Centre Party 1341295 93 −2.89 +2 German Conservative Party 517811 40 +2.81 +19 Socialist Workers' Party 493447 13 +2.38 +3 German Reich Party 424228 38 +0.36 +6 German Progress Party 412769 34 −1.19 −14 Polish Party 216157 14 −0.02 0 Alsace-Lorraine Parties 199976 15 −0.82 0 Löwe-Berger GroupSplit from the German Progress Party in 1874. Liberal Union (Germany) 93471 9 New New German-Hanoverian Party 85591 4 +0.17 0 Independent liberals #EEDC82 65266 5 −0.14 +1 German People's Party 44894 4 +0.08 +3 Independent conservatives #007FFF 23187 0 +0.01 −1 Danish Party 17277 1 −0.06 0 Old Liberals #008000 7080 0 −0.04 0 Schleswig-Holstein Particularist Liberals #EEDC82 5614 0 −0.17 0 Others 12324 0 −0.13 0 Unknown 368 0 +0.01 0 21626 0 8943028 Wahlen in Deutschlandhttps://wahlen-in-deutschland.de/krtw.htm Reichstag 1867-1918 Wahlen in DeutschlandNotes: Alsace-Lorraine Protesters #DCBFA3 93395 7 +11.34 +1 Clericals Centre Party (Germany) 55752 3 −16.59 −6 Autonomists #B59631 50829 5 +6.12 +5 German Progress Party 2891 0 +1.41 0 German Reich Party 435 0 +0.21 0 Others 1234 0 0 2614 0 322871 Wahlen in Deutschlandhttps://wahlen-in-deutschland.de/kuRlElsass.htm Reichstag 1867-1918 - Elsass-Lothringen Wahlen in Deutschland Aftermath After two assassination attempts against Emperor Wilhelm I in May and June 1878 and disputes over the planned Anti-Socialist Law that Bismarck introduced as a result, the third Reichstag was dissolved by the Emperor at Bismarck's request, and a new election was held on 30 July 1878."Reichstag Dissolution" (July 7, 1878) https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=1442 10 August 2025 German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) References Category:Federal elections in Germany Category:1877 elections in Germany Category:Elections in the German Empire Category:January 1877 in Europe