The first ten articles, dealing with the individual, begin by declaring the equality of all Germans before the law. All titles of nobility are abolished, but they may be borne hereafter as parts of a name. Orders and decorations may not be conferred by the state, and "no German may accept titles or orders from a foreign government." [80] That part of the Bill of Rights contained in amendments i, iv, vi, and xiv of the American constitution is taken over in effect, but with much enlargement of the rights of the individual. Thus, to the provision for freedom of speech and the press is added the declaration that "no employment or salaried relation shall deprive any person of this right, and no person may prejudice him for making use of this right." Later, in the articles dealing with economic life, it is further provided:
"Freedom to associate for the protection and furthering of labor and economic conditions is guaranteed to every person and for all callings. All agreements and measures which endeavor to restrict or prevent the exercise of this freedom are illegal. [81]
[ [80] This goes even farther than the American constitution, which provides merely that "no person holding any office of profit or trust" under the federal government shall, without the consent of Congress, accept any present or title from a foreign power. (Art. I, sect. 9, par. 8.)
[ [81] Under this provision workmen cannot be required to sign contracts binding them not to join labor-unions, nor can employers contract with each other not to hire members of such unions.
A right to the protection of the Reich as against foreign countries is expressly granted "to all nationals of the Reich both within and without the territory of the Reich." [82] Nor may any German be delivered up to a foreign nation for prosecution or punishment. It is expressly provided that men and women "have, in principle, the same rights and duties." The right to assemble peaceably without previous notification or permission is granted—a flat contrast to the situation under the monarchy—but the Reichstag is empowered to enact a law requiring previous notification of such assemblages if they are to be held outdoors, and may prohibit them in case the public safety be threatened.
[ [82] This, too, is a departure from the American model. An American citizen has no constitutional right to the protection of his government while he is without the country.
Up to this point the Weimar constitution does not present any marked evidence of the circumstances under which it came into being. In comparison with the imperial constitution it may fairly be regarded as revolutionary, but considered by itself it is merely an advancedly democratic instrument with provisions insuring thoroughly parliamentary government in the best sense of the word. It is not until one reaches the articles dealing with social and economic life, the church and the school that the traces of Socialist influence become unmistakable. There, however, they are found on every page, beginning with the declaration that "motherhood has a right to the protection and care of the state," followed by an article providing that "illegitimate children are to be granted by legislation the same conditions for their bodily, mental and social development as are granted to legitimate children."
Essentially, of course, neither provision is especially Socialistic, but both really represent a compromise with the parties of the Left. The Majority Socialists tried to have an article inserted giving to illegitimate children full rights of inheritance with legitimate children of their father's estate, and the right to bear his name. The motion was defeated, 167 to 129 votes. The Independent Socialists wanted a provision protecting women civil servants who become mothers of illegitimate children, and granting them the right to be addressed as Frau (Mrs.) instead of Fräulein (Miss). This, too, was defeated.
Other articles due to Socialist advocacy, some of a principal nature, others merely doctrinaire, are:
Providing that legal rights may not be refused to any association because it has a political, politico-social or religious aim;
Providing that "no person is obliged to state his religious belief";
Disestablishing the state church;
Providing for secular (non-religious) schools, freeing teachers from the duty to give religious instruction, and permitting parents or guardians to free their children from religious instruction;
Providing that "the cultivation and use of land is a duty which the owner owes to the community. [83] Increase in value of the land which is not due to labor or the investment of capital in it is to be utilized for the good of the people";