German History 1740 1918 Final Study Guide Liberalism Political Catholicism and the Kulturkampf Class 10 16 I The Liberal Era 1866 1878 Bismarck cooperated with the liberals The Kulturkampf was a key element to destroy the influence of Catholicism in the political life of the German Empire In the end it was a failure because it weakened the liberals and Bismarck and created new problems Principles free trade freedom of speech and press greater say for people in government separation of church and state skepticism of democracy and a positive view of the state as a force for positive change free trade education law reform During this time the clergy controlled marriage education etc and the middle class was a minority in German society The majority wavered between demands of the state and the demands of the people They weren t democrats because they were hostile to the mob and their parties received strong support from civil servants A Dilemmas of German Liberalism should they challenge the government to win more control or align themselves with the government to influence from within After the victory of the Austro Prussian War 1866 many liberals hopped on the Bismarck bandwagon They were willing to forgive him for prior violations of the constitution The Indemnity Bill was passed in 1866 which granted retroactive forgiveness of Bismarck s actions This was controversial along liberals so a split occurred The Progressives rejected the bill saying that unity without freedom is the unity of slaves The National Liberals supported the bill saying that German unity is more important than a few paragraphs of the Prussian Constitution The task of national unity was their higher goal Many liberals were disappointed with Bismarck s Constitution and its independence of the imperial government from the Reichstag which could influence the law but not the government They controlled the budget passed taxes and legislation negotiated the wording of laws and discussed matters with public officials B The Problem of Responsible Government after 1871 Liberals were unsure if they wanted a government legally responsible for the parliament or only responsive There was a fear of universal male suffrage and democracy and no need to take direct control of the government because they and Bismarck seemed to share an agenda The liberal parties of enlightened opinion felt no need to campaign and had a grassroots organization They were getting what they wanted from 1866 78 unification a constitution a move towards free trade and the promise of a greater role in the government A The Rise of Political Catholicism around this time churches reorganized and a church tax was implemented There was Lutheran Reformed and Catholic The church was supported by the government and rights and privileges There was no civil marriage they needed a clergyman The church oversaw elementary education and schools were separated by confession They wouldn t switch confessions it was a cumbersome process and it was difficult to leave church altogether States were traditionally divided by confession With the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire more Catholics were living under Protestant rulers II Political Catholicism and the Kulturkampf political Catholicism organized to act for their interests they had experienced conflict with the state and protestant liberals The term Kulturkampf was coined by Rudolf Virchow who said The struggle against the Catholics has assumed the character of a great struggle for civilization Kulturkampf in the interest of humanity Holy Coat of Trier city on the Rhine worn by Jesus 1844 over 500 000 Catholics pilgrimage to see it There was a tendency in church teaching to emphasize the authority of the Pope ultramontanism In 1864 Pope Pius IX issued his Syllabus of Errors which specified liberal errors in political thought that were rejected by the Church It condemned 80 propositions as heresy many on political topics including pantheism naturalism rationalism socialism communism and secret societies In 1980 the Center Party was founded by a majority of Catholics who wanted to protect Catholic interests Individual state governments wanted to remove the clergy s control over education anti Catholic violence occurred The monastery was seen as a place of sexual perversion The Center Party stood for autonomy for the Catholic Church and the harmony among various classes Bismarck was extremely distrustful and attempted a series of measures to weaken the Center Party the Kulturkampf B The Decision to Launch the Kulturkampf Bismarck was extremely anti Catholic full of hate and cunning There was an alliance between the Catholic clergy and political radicals The behavior of Catholics orchestrated in Rome via the Jesuit order led Bismarck to believe that he could dismantle the Center Party He suffered from health problems such as headaches intestinal issues overate and drank and was often unable to sleep He also had an inflamed tendency to create a political enemy His enemies came naturally and the Center party was the first Reichsfeind enemy of the empire Kulturkampf laws implemented only in Prussia 1871 Pulpit Law sermons and homilies endangering the public peace banned 1872 the Jesuit Order was expelled from Germany 1872 School Law school supervision was put in the hands of the state in Prussia 1873 May Laws in Prussia all candidates for priesthood had to be registered with the Prussian government and pass a German culture exam 1875 civil marriage became compulsory C Liberal Support Catholic Resistance anti Catholicism was a feature of liberalism Liberals wanted a Kulturstaat culture state on the basis of a secular culture Catholics resisted laws new harsh laws By 1876 1 3 of all Catholic parishes in Prussia didn t have priests because the government refused to approve clergy Ludwig Windthorst was the leader of the Center Party who became an enemy of Bismarck while the party grew in the Reichstag In 1871 the Center Party had 61 seats 18 1 in 1874 they had 91 27 5 seats in 1877 they had 93 26 and by 1881 they held 98 23 2 seats The Catholics were unable to support the liberal parties because the liberals supported the Kulturkampf and therefore the Catholics voted for the Center Party A Catholic milieu developed This was certainly an unhealthy example of state repression III The End of the Kulturkampf by the end of the 1870s it was obvious that the Kulturkampf was a failure and Bismarck sought a new coalition with the