Frankfurter Nationalversammlung

Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, the National Assembly or parliament, founded in 1848 and lasting until March 1849. The impact of the February Revolutions in France resulted in massive popular demands in Germany and the Austrian Empire for constitutional change (see Revolutionen 1848-9), and the Diet (Bundestag) of the German Confederation (see Deutscher Bund) was driven to appoint a small committee of 17 to prepare for a revision of the constitution. By the end of March 1848 an independent preliminary parliament (Vorparlament) was established under the leadership of Heinrich von Gagern. This appointed a committee of 50 members (Fünfzigerausschuß) whose call for the election of a National Assembly was accepted by the Diet, which thus ceased to function.

The Frankfurt Parliament opened its sessions on 18 May 1848 in St Paul's Church (see Paulskirche) under the presidency of Heinrich von Gagern. Archduke Johann of Austria (see Johann, Erzherzog) was elected Reichsverweser. The Parliament consisted of representatives from the member states of the old Confederation, based on the ratio of 1:70, 000. The 16 states which had a population of less than 70, 000 were allocated one representative each. Independent male citizens over 24 were eligible. The aim of the Parliament was to create a united Germany on a parliamentary and constitutional basis. Representatives also included a minority of non-German members (e.g. Danes, Italians, Poles), and members were not necessarily in favour of national unity. The majority of representatives were educated men of liberal convictions, members of the academic and legal professions, a preponderance which earned it the nickname Professorenparlament.

Of the various committees, the constitutional committee (Verfassungsausschuß) was of central importance, but from the late autumn of 1848 the Assembly was divided between those who sought full unity (Großdeutsche) and those who wished to detach Austria from Germany (Kleindeutsche). In December 1848 von Gagern replaced the Austrian von Schmerling as head of the ministry, in order to resolve the deadlock by a compromise, in accordance with which there would be two federal states, a small one (Engerer Bund) headed by Prussia, and a large one (Weiterer Bund) including German Austria. But Schwarzenberg, head of the Austrian government, succeeded in March 1849 in having the entire Habsburg Empire included, and the Assembly agreed to a modified constitution providing for a hereditary emperor, direct elections, an imperial ministry responsible to parliament, and an imperial diet (Reichstag) consisting of two houses, the Staatenhaus and the Volkshaus (Gesamtstaatsverfassung, 4 March 1849). On 28 March Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia was elected emperor (receiving 290 votes with 248 abstentions), but he rejected the crown. Thereupon Austria and Prussia withdrew their representatives and other states followed their example, so that the Parliament shrank to a minority of the republican left. On finding themselves locked out of the Paulskirche, they moved to Stuttgart (30 May 1849), where the army intervened. There were fresh risings in Saxony (Dresden), the Palatinate (Pfalz), and Baden (resulting in the temporary institution of a republican government). The leaders were officers from Prussia's Polish territories. Many of them suffered imprisonment and execution when they were finally defeated at Rastatt by Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (see Wilhelm I).

Since Friedrich Wilhelm's professed aim was to promote German unity, it is surprising that he withdrew at the precise moment when this goal had been achieved. The King's own explanation was that he could not accept a crown stained with the blood of revolutions, but this does not explain the hurried dissolution of the Parliament. Many reasons have been put forward for the failure of the Frankfurt Parliament. It has been held that it was doomed from the start because of its intellectual and ideological character. Its members tended to be men of lofty ideals and good will without experience in practical politics. Subsequent events revealed an important factor in the century-old rivalry between Austria and Prussia; Friedrich Wilhelm may have feared an armed conflict with Austria, which was indeed the ultimate outcome of the Austro-Prussian dualism (see Deutscher Krieg).

The reinstatement of the German Confederation was enforced by Austria's diplomatic victory over Prussia, the culmination of which was the treaty of Olmütz (1850, see Olmützer Punktation), at which Prussia's own plans to replace the Parliament of all German states by a smaller parliament came to grief (see Preussische Union).

The writers Ludwig Uhland and Anton A. von Auersperg (see Grün, Anastasius) were members of the Frankfurt Parliament. Hebbel was considered, but not elected. Noted members supporting von Gagern included Arndt, Jacob Grimm, Gervinus, and Dahlmann.