1874 German federal election

none December 2023 1874 German federal election German Empire parliamentary no 1871 German federal election 1871 yes 1874 01 10 1877 German federal election 1877 All 397 seats in the Reichstag 199 8,523,446 11.33% 5,219,830 (61.24%) 10.23pp 130x130px Die Gartenlaube (1874) b 093 (cropped).jpg Rudolf von Bennigsen National Liberal Party (Germany) 1867 28.97%, 117 seats 147 30 26.86% 2.11 pp 115px Hermann von Mallinckrodt Centre Party (Germany) 1870 18.21%, 58 seats 91 33 27.72% 9.51 pp German Progress Party 130 95 German Progress Party 9.04%, 45 seats 48 3 8.83% 0.21 pp Victor Herzog von Ratibor (cropped).jpg Viktor I, Duke of Ratibor Free Conservative Party 8.83%, 37 seats 32 5 7.49% 1.34 pp Conservative Party (Prussia) 130 95 Conservative Party (Prussia) 13.51%, 56 seats 21 35 6.78% 6.73 pp Polish Party 130 95 Polish Party 4.54%, 13 seats 14 1 4.02% 0.52 pp Karte der Reichstagswahlen 1874.svg 390px Map of results (by constituencies) President of the Reichstag Eduard von Simson Independent politician President of the Reichstag after election Max von Forckenbeck National Liberal Party (Germany) A federal election for the second Reichstag of the German Empire was held on 10 January 1874. The National Liberal Party remained the largest party in the Reichstag, with 147 of the 397 seats.Nohlen Dieter Dieter Nohlen Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook Stöver Philip Nomos 2010 978-3-8329-5609-7 Baden-Baden 788 The Centre Party, which had campaigned against the anti-Catholic laws introduced by the government of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, was able to double its vote total from the previous election and placed second. The Conservative and Imperial Liberal parties lost the most seats. Historical background The most significant political event to affect the 1874 election was the start in July 1871 of the Kulturkampf (Cultural Struggle), an attempt to suppress the political power of Catholicism in Germany. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck feared that Catholics' loyalty lay more with the Vatican than Germany, and many liberals saw the Catholic Church as politically reactionary. Although the majority of the anti-Catholic laws affected only Prussia, they were nevertheless a major concern for all German Catholics since Prussia accounted for about two-thirds of the German population. One of Bismarck's chief goals in the de Kulturkampf was to break the Catholic Centre Party.Kirby George H. Hamerow Theodore S. 30 June 2025 Germany https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany 1 July 2025 Encyclopedia Britannica Catholics made up about one-third of both Prussia's and the Empire's population, and the Centre Party, which had been founded only in December 1870, had placed second in the 1871 election with 58 seats. Catholics were most heavily concentrated in the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine, which had just been won from France in the Franco-Prussian War, in Bavaria, Baden, and the Prussian provinces of Rhineland, Westphalia and heavily Polish Posen.Protestanten, Katholiken, Juden und andere: Bevölkerung nach Konfession (1. Dezember 1871) Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and others: Population by religion (December 1, 1871) https://germanhistorydocs.org/de/reichsgruendung-bismarcks-deutschland-1866-1890/ghdi:document-5069 29 June 2025 German History in Documents and Images (GHDI) de 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 major gainers in the 1874 election were the National Liberal Party and the Centre Party; losses affected primarily the Conservative Party and the short-lived Imperial Liberal Party. Rather than suppressing the Catholic vote, the Kulturkampf served to consolidate political Catholicism.Ergebnis der Reichstagswahl am 10. Januar 1874 Results of the Reichstag Election on 10 January 1874 https://www.dhm.de/lemo/bestand/objekt/reichstagswahl-10-januar-1874 3 July 2025 Deutsches Historisches Museum de The Centre Party more than doubled the number votes it had received in 1871, from just under 708,000 to over 1.4 million. It was the most votes of any party, although the Centre won 56 fewer seats than the National Liberals. Such a result was possible under the Empire's electoral system if a party was more successful at winning majorities in individual districts and/or won more runoff elections. There were 46 runoffs for the 397 seats in 1874.Ritter Gerhard A. Wahlgeschichtliches Arbeitsbuch: Materialien zur Statistik des Kaiserreichs 1871–1918 C.H. Beck 1980 3-406-07610-6 Munich de Electoral History Workbook: Materials on Statistics of the German Empire 1871–1918 Einführung Introduction 1874 was the first year that representatives from Alsace–Lorraine were elected to the Reichstag. All 15 opposed the German annexation of the region.Les députés protestataires d'Alsace-Lorraine The protesting deputies of Alsace-Lorraine https://www2.assemblee-nationale.fr/decouvrir-l-assemblee/histoire/1914-1918/les-deputes-protestataires-d-alsace-lorraine#node_4345 3 July 2025 Assemblée nationale fr #F8F9FA 10 Social Democratic Party of Germany 1 German People's Party (1868) 48 German Progress Party 4 Independent Liberals #EEDC82 0 1 Danish Party #FFA54F 14 Polish Party #FFA54F 15 Alsace-Lorraine Party #FFA54F 147 National Liberal Party (Germany) 8 Imperial Liberal Party 0 91 Centre Party (Germany) 4 German-Hanoverian Party 32 German Reich Party 1 Independent Conservatives #007FFF 21 Conservative Party (Prussia) Centre Party 1438792 91 +9.51 +33 National Liberal Party 1394250 147 −2.11 +30 German Progress Party 458133 48 −0.21 +3 German Reich Party 388840 32 −1.34 −5 Conservative Party 352050 21 −6.73 −35 Alsace-Lorraine parties 234545 15 New New Polish Party 208797 14 −0.52 +1 General German Workers' Association Social Democratic Party of Germany 179250 3 +2.01 +3 Social Democratic Workers' Party 171873 7 +2.25 +6 Imperial Liberal Party 98072 8 −5.16 −25 German-Hanoverian Party 73436 4 −1.48 −3 Independent liberals #EEDC82 69905 4 −0.58 −1 German People's Party 39110 1 −0.01 0 Independent conservatives #007FFF 21546 1 +0.04 0 Danish Party 19856 1 −0.16 0 Schleswig-Holstein Particularist Liberals #EEDC82 13945 0 +0.09 −2 Old Liberals #008000 8937 0 −0.47 −2 Others 18806 0 +0.21 0 Unknown 111 0 −0.02 0 29576 +15 8523446 Wahlen in Deutschlandhttps://wahlen-in-deutschland.de/krtw.htm Reichstag 1867-1918 Wahlen in Deutschland Alsace-Lorraine Clericals Centre Party (Germany) 106106 9 New Protesters #DCBFA3 83082 6 New Autonomists #B59631 45357 0 New National Liberal Party 5072 0 0 Social Democratic Workers' Party 680 0 0 Others 1605 0 0 2252 New 319477 Wahlen in Deutschlandhttps://wahlen-in-deutschland.de/kuRlElsass.htm Reichstag 1867-1918 - Elsass-Lothringen Wahlen in Deutschland References Category:Federal elections in Germany Election Category:Elections in the German Empire Category:January 1874 in Europe