How successful was Bulow as Chancellor?
C/B aim – to explain both sides and reach an overall assessment
B/A aim – to explain both sides, reach an overall assessment, and link this to
what it suggests about autocracy and democracy
• What does this book
suggest about the
Chancellorship of
Bulow?
• How successful do
you think his
Chancellorship was
based on this book
cover?
Hoemework – due Monday 29th
September
• Read pp. 39-42 Access to History and pp. 1619 in Edexcel and answer the following. You
may need to do some additional research for
some parts.
– What was Bulow’s background?
– What successes did Bulow have as Chancellor?
– What problems did Bulow face as Chancellor?
Overview
• 1873 – his father was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under Bismarck
• 1880s and 1890s – Bulow had diplomatic postings in Russia. He tried to
remove prince Hohenlohe as ambassador to France and take his place.
• 1897 – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Eulenburg (another Prussian
Junker) advised Bulow on how to manage Wilhelm, largely to praise him
and never contradict him. Bulow agreed to the Kaiser’s request that he
would build the navy without starting a war. Previously the Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs had always been subordinate to the Chancellor in
managing foreign affairs, especially when Bismarck was Chancellor (he
resigned in 1890). However, Bulow managed to become more influential
than the Chancellor in foreign affairs and had regular meetings with the
Kaiser to discuss them. They also began discussing domestic affairs.
• 1900 – became Chancellor
– Whilst he was chancellor accident insurance was passed, industrial arbitration
courts were founded, health insurance was extended child labour was further
controlled
•
•
•
•
1903 – Moroccan Crisis
1904-1906 – Herero Uprising
1907 – Hottentot election
1908 – Daily Telegraph Affair leading to his resignation in 1909
How did Bulow become Chancellor
and what did he bring to the position?
• Prince Hohenlohe was made Chancellor in 1897, he wasn’t
particularly influential, his secretaries of state had a much
stronger role, he rarely appeared in parliament. He made it
well known he wanted to retire. Bulow made many of the
decisions as foreign secretary and being close to the Kaiser.
Hohenlohe became tired of public discussions about when
Bulow would replace him.
• Eventually Hohenlohe handed in his resignation, Bulow
travelled to Berlin by train, where the Kaiser met him from the
train, and made him Chancellor.
What does this
cartoon
suggest?
How is he going
to achieve this?
Sammlungspolitik
• Policy of Concentration
– Openly declared that he aimed to build an alliance of
conservative interests in the Reich between the
conservatives, liberals, Junker and industrialists to halt the
threat of socialism. He was happy to accommodate centre
party too. Blue Black block (the blue conservatives and the
black centre party)
– What emphasis did he place on foreign policy?
• What social reforms were passed to support the
aims of the Bulow Block?
– 1902 Tariff Law
• Tariffs had been an issue of much debate since they were
reduced in the 1890s under Caprivi. The Conservatives and
the Agarian League wanted higher tariffs to protect
agriculture, the SPD and Left Liberals wanted lower tariffs to
reduce the price of bread.
• Tariffs were restored to the pre-1892 levels. This was passed
in the Reichstag with the support of the Centre, the National
Liberals and the Free Conservatives. The conservatives
forces would have like them to become even higher.
– The SPD gained more votes as a result of opposing the tariffs
– The Conservatives saw a reduction in their vote
• How successful was Bulow in achieving his aims?
The Budget
• Expense of Weltpolitik
• Proposed inheritance tax and increased indirect
taxes. The SPD opposed the increase in indirect
taxes and the conservative forces opposed
inheritance tax. The budget stayed the same and
the government kept overspending. It wasn’t
until 1912 under another chancellor that they
managed to increase inheritance tax and start to
reduce the deficit.
• How successful was Bulow?
• Up to 1906 how successful was Bulow in
achieving his aims and why was he successful?
Herero Uprising
• Read your text and answer these questions
•
– What caused the Herero Uprising?
– What happened during the Herero Uprising?
– What was the outcome of the Herero Uprising?
– How may this have affected Bulow?
Herero Uprising
• As letters, reports and photographs returned to Germany and were
spread through newspapers and word of mouth a considerable
number of Centre Party members were scandalised. Matthias
Erzberger was a Centre Party deputy who recently joined the
Reichstag. He became their colonial specialist and gave speeches
about German colonialism. He agreed with colonisation but argued
that Germany needed to be more ‘enlightened’. He argued that
black men had immortal souls ‘just as Europeans’ and he was
hooted by the other side of the house. Initially the SPD supported
the war, however later the SPD’s chairman Bebel said that it was a
war of ‘butchery and enslavement’, to which Bulow replied saying
that ‘seldom or never has a colonial war been conducted in such a
patient and human manner’.
• What impact did the Herero Uprising have on German politics?
• Was Bulow achieving his aim?
Hottentot Election
There seemed to be a lack of parliamentary accountability or even
control over foreign policy. By 1906 it was clear it was extremely
expensive, by December of 1906 it had cost the state 456 million
marks, or 12 dreadnoughts. In May 1906 a bill was proposed to
increase spending to accommodate the building of a new railway in
South West Africa and compensate settlers for their losses. A bill was
also proposed to make the Colonial Department of the Foreign Office,
over which the Reichstag had some influence, into an independent
imperial office, over which the Kaiser would only have influence and
they would have none. The centre party voted against these bills. The
Reichstag was dissolved as it had no working majority with which to
pass new bills and laws to give to the government. A new election was
called for January 1907, the ‘Hottentot’ election – this is an offensive
term for the Khoi people in GSWA.
Bulow led a group of conservative
parties who promised to form a
coalition who would support
Bulow, they were the Bulow Bloc
(this is different to the earlier one!)
– this was made up of the
Conservatives, Free Conservatives,
Agrarian league, National Liberals,
Progressives, Pan-Germans and
Anti-Semites. They campaigned on
a nationalist Weltpolitik platform.
The SPD and Centre party
campaigned for votes against
them. Bulow warned that if they
voted for the SPD or Centre party
they would then form a red-black
block (different to the black-blue
block from earlier) which could in
theory strengthen reformist and
gradualist socialism – which many
people were scared of. The SPD
and Centre party campaigned on
humanitarian and living and
working condition policies.
What do you think the
outcome would be?
• The SPD gained half a million votes but lost half their
seats, they reduced from 96 to 43 – why do you think
this happened?
– Unequal constituency sizes which favoured rural seats
• Centre party – won 105 out of 397, still remaining the
largest party.
• The Bulow Bloc won 216 seats out of 397.
• Why were the results like this?
• What does this show you about Wilhemine Germany?
• How successful was Bulow?
How successful was Bulow as
Chancellor?
• Add as many points as you can and reach an overall
judgement so far.
• What did his success rely on? (personality, give reasons)
Unsuccessful
Successful
How autocratic was Wilhemine
Germany?
Knowledge test
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SoY040X
eik
• How accurate is this clip?
• Homework
• What happened in the Daily Telegraph Affair?
• Why was this affair significant for Wilhemine
Germany?
• How far did Bulow achieve his aims of
Sammlungspolitik, reducing the threat of
Socialism and maintaining a good relationship
with the Kaiser, in this affair?