| Foreword | [v] |
| [CHAPTER I] THE ORIGINS | |
| Section 1 THE REVOLUTION | |
| The Constitution of April 16, 1871, and the reforms of October, 1918 | [1] |
| The fall of the old régime | [12] |
| The republic of councils | [16] |
| Section 2 THE NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY | |
| The composition of the Assembly | [24] |
| The Provisional Constitution of February 10, 1919 | [28] |
| The adoption of the Constitution and supplementary laws | [35] |
| [CHAPTER II] TOWARD A UNIFIED STATE | |
| Section 1 TERRITORIAL STATUS OF THE STATES | |
| The problem of the dismemberment of Prussia | [43] |
| Modifications of the territories of states | [53] |
| The creation of a state—Thuringia | [57] |
| Section 2 DIVISION OF POWER BETWEEN THE REICH AND THE STATES | |
| The constitution of the states | [59] |
| The legislative power of the Reich | [61] |
| (1) Fundamental limits of power | [61] |
| (2) Supremacy of national over state laws | [65] |
| Administrative services of the government | [65] |
| Justice and the High Court | [68] |
| Section 3 JURIDICAL AND POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE REICH | |
| Is the Reich a federal state? | [69] |
| Prussia and the Reich | [72] |
| [CHAPTER III] THE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLE | |
| Section 1 THE PRINCIPLE | |
| The power of the state is derived from the people | [75] |
| The system of councils, or the dictatorship of the proletariat | [77] |
| The Chamber of Labour, or the Vocational Parliament | [82] |
| The Political Activity of the Unions | [91] |
| Section 2 THE APPLICATIONS | |
| The republic | [98] |
| Universal suffrage, the political parties and the electoral law | [100] |
| General principles | [103] |
| The electorate and eligibility | [109] |
| Preparations for elections | [112] |
| Distribution of seats | [113] |
| The actual working of the law | [115] |
| Direct government | [118] |
| [CHAPTER IV] PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT | |
| Section 1 THE REICHSTAG | |
| Privileges and guarantees accorded to the Reichstag | [131] |
| The rules of the Reichstag | [135] |
| The duration of the powers of the Reichstag | [137] |
| Powers of the Reichstag | [138] |
| 1. Powers of the Reichstag, as principal holder of sovereignty | [138] |
| 2. Legislative powers; how laws are proposed and passed | [139] |
| 3. Power of control; interpellations and committees | [147] |
| Section 2 THE PRESIDENT OF THE REICH | |
| The need for a strong president | [153] |
| The election of the President and the length of his term | [156] |
| The powers of the President | [162] |
| The responsibility of the President | [168] |
| Section 3 THE CABINET OF THE REICH | |
| The Chancellor and the Ministers according to the Constitution | [172] |
| The working of constitutional rules; how a Ministry is formed, how it works and is dissolved | [177] |
| Section 4 THE REICHSRAT | |
| General features of the Reichsrat | [186] |
| The composition and the functioning of the Reichsrat | [188] |
| Powers of the Reichsrat | [192] |
| [CHAPTER V] FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF GERMANS | |
| Legal and political aspects of fundamental rights and duties | [195] |
| Fundamental rights and duties of the individual | [202] |
| Fundamental rights and duties of communities | [216] |
| Religion and the churches | [222] |
| Instruction and the schools | [226] |
| [CHAPTER VI] THE ECONOMIC CONSTITUTION AND SOCIALIZATION | |
| Section 1 THE ECONOMIC CONSTITUTION | |
| The “anchorage” of the Councils in the Constitution | [236] |
| Constitutional provisions relative to the Councils | [244] |
| Factory Workers Councils | [248] |
| The Trade Unions and the Councils | [257] |
| The Provisional Economic Council | [263] |
| Section 2 SOCIALIZATION | |
| The problem of socialization | [269] |
| Collective economy | [275] |
| The regulation of the coal industry | [280] |
| CONCLUSION | |
| [APPENDIX] | |
| The Constitution of August 11, 1919 (text) | [297] |
The German Constitution
CHAPTER I
THE ORIGINS
Up to the autumn of 1918 Germany was under the Empire of the Constitution of April 16, 1871. Then in November, 1918, the work of Bismarck was suddenly overthrown and military defeat and revolution plunged Germany into chaos. How she worked out of it, through what vicissitudes she passed and with what groping she finally achieved her new Constitution is the question to examine first.
SECTION 1
THE REVOLUTION
The revolution of November, 1918, was preceded by partial reforms embodied at a late hour in the Constitution of 1871; and when it broke out, in a few hours it completely threw over all the apparatus of the old régime. A new government sprang up which for several weeks held power in the name of a minority and without any right other than that of force.