Constituent assembly of the Free City of Frankfurt
The Constituent Assembly of the Free City of Frankfurt (also Constituent Assembly or Constituent Assembly ) was the constituent assembly of the Free City of Frankfurt as part of the revolution of 1848/1849 in the Free City of Frankfurt .
prehistory
Since 1816, the constitution amendment act was the constitution of the Free City of Frankfurt. According to Article 50, constitutional amendments required a two-thirds majority in the Senate and in the legislative body. However, there were no serious constitutional discussions in Frankfurt. A liberal opposition arose in Frankfurt as well, which had been organized in the so-called Monday wreath since the mid-1840s .
The March Revolution
On March 3, 1848, a people's assembly took place at what was then the riding arena, in which 2,000 people took part. Complete freedom of the press was introduced on March 4th, and freedom of association on March 27th, 1848 in Frankfurt. The Senate and Legislative Assembly passed a number of reforms, including the replacement of the tithe, the mitigation of military sentences, and others. A discussion about a new constitution also began.
On March 29, the Senate of the Free City of Frankfurt presented a proposal to the Legislative Assembly to set up a constitutional commission to advise on a constitutional revision. This commission should consist of 21 citizens: 11 should be determined by the legislative body (2 of them should be representatives of the rural communities) and 5 each should be determined by the Senate and the Permanent Citizens' Representation . The proposal was largely welcomed and a nine-member commission was elected to assess the Senate proposal. These included: Schöff Eduard Souchay , Maximilian Reinganum , Friedrich Kugler , Schöff Samuel Gottlieb Müller , Senator Georg Wilhelm Hessenberg , Master Butcher Martin May , Teacher Bardorf from Oberrad, Jacob Carl de Bary and Dr. med Johann Michael Mappes .
The constitutional question did not have a special priority in Frankfurt: the city hosted the pre-parliament and later the national assembly . These national institutions tied the population's interest. The Senate proposal by a constitutional commission was also no longer undisputed. At a people's assembly on May 3 in the Katharinenkirche , Julius Friedleben's demand was accepted that a constitutional council, i.e. a constituent assembly of 50 to 100 members, should instead be elected by direct election by all adult citizens.
The committee for assessing the Senate proposal was also divided. The majority submitted a modification of the Senate proposal to the Legislative Body on May 6th. According to this, 11 members should be determined by the legislative body, 2 representatives of the rural communities should also be nominated and 4 each should be determined by the Senate and the Permanent Citizens' Representation. The Legislative Body decided to postpone the constitutional question until July 1st. First of all, the opening of the National Assembly should be awaited.
The commission took up parts of the criticism of the Senate bill and modified it again. Now 25 members of the constitutional committee in the city and 5 by the rural parishes were to be elected. However, there was no right to vote for all city citizens: both Jews and residents were excluded from the right to vote. Despite heated discussion, the legislative body finally decided with 72 to 2 votes in favor of this draft, which was passed on July 1st as a "law concerning the election of a constitutional committee".
The Constitutional Committee
The Constitutional Committee was elected on August 24th. 3356 out of around 6850 eligible voters went to the polls and almost exclusively voted for the candidates who had proposed the Monday wreath and the German Association together. As the only representative of the Senate, Schöff Dr. Souchay against the fisherman Johann Philipp Ohlenschläger .
The following were elected:
The Constitutional Committee met on August 31, September 2 and September 11, chaired by Binding. Due to the majority structure, it was clear that he would not draft a constitution. Instead, a committee was elected to work out an electoral law for a constituent assembly (Kugler, Reinganum, Burkard, Friedleben and Binding). Their proposal for an electoral law was adopted unanimously (also with Souchay's approval) and submitted to the Senate. The bill provided for the abolition of Article 50a of the Constitutional Amendment Act, the abolition of the Legislative Body and the election of the Constituent Assembly. These regulations should follow the route for constitutional amendments provided for by the constitutional amendment.
The Senate approved the proposal and submitted it to the Legislative Body. After lengthy deliberations, the latter approved the proposal on October 9th without making any changes, thereby approving its own dissolution.
On October 17, 1848, the referendum on the constitutional amendments took place. In Department I, 349 citizens approved the bill, 97 rejected it. In the second section there were 774 supporters out of 172 opponents and in the third section 1189 supporters were against 278 votes against. There was thus nothing to prevent the election of the Constituent Assembly.
The elections
According to the electoral law, 120 members should be elected. Of these, 20 should be determined in the rural communities and 100 in the city. The voting process was simple: Each voter could write 100 (or 20) names of Frankfurt citizens on the ballot. The candidates with the most votes were elected.
Despite this simplicity, the electoral process was tricky for the electorate: who knew 100 eligible citizens? And above all: How should you know whether they would even accept the mandate? The election nomination lists of the political associations were therefore of crucial importance. These were printed and distributed and were used to help voters make decisions. Contrary to the election to the constitutional committee, there was no longer a common list. Montagskranzchen, the German Association and the Citizens Association made lists. 52 candidates were on both lists of Montagskräzchen and the German Association (of which 50 were elected). Among the others, the Monday wreath was the most successful with 48 elected candidates, the citizens' association was only able to push through 2 candidates.
The election itself took place on October 25, 1848 between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. and between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. 5239 voters cast valid votes in the city and 1,077 in the rural communities.
The historians Kriegk (4998), Schöff Souchay (4926) and Schöff de Neufville (4915) received the most votes.
For the elected representatives see the list of members of the Constituent Assembly of the Free City of Frankfurt .
By-elections
Due to resignations, by-elections became necessary over time. These were on 16./17. November 1848, May 3rd / 10th May (for the rural communities) 1849, June 8, 1849 and July 13, 1849 carried out according to the same electoral law.
The work of the Constituent Assembly
The Constituent Assembly met in 81 sessions. On average about 100 members were present. The assembly met in the Römer in Haus Limburg. The meetings were public; however, public interest was very low.
The assembly had the dual function of a parliament and a constituent assembly. In its role as parliament, the chamber decided at the beginning of its work to also take a position on questions of national politics and made many statements on the political situation in Germany.
As a legislature, the Constituent Assembly had the same rights as the previous Legislative Body. The constitution amendment act continued to apply. Since this gave the Senate the most important role, the Constituent Assembly had little influence. Most significant was the decision to give Jews and residents full civil rights. The unanimous decision of the Chamber on this point and its implementation as a law on February 20, 1849 was also a result of the adoption of the fundamental rights of the German people by the National Assembly on December 27, 1848.
At the meeting on November 25, 1848, a constitutional committee of 18 members was formed to draw up a constitution. It consisted only of majority representatives (Kugler, Binding, Hessenberg, Hadermann, Reinganum, Braunfels, Dr. jur. Friedleben, Meidinger, Supf, Thomas, Löw, Schwarzschild, Textor, Benkard, Dr. med Friedleben, Gillé, Vogt and G . Cook). After Gillé did not accept his election, Suchay was elected as the only representative of the minority.
The draft was based on the constitution of the Canton of Geneva . Human rights were guaranteed, and the judiciary and administration were separated. The role of parliament (Volksrath) should be strengthened. It should consist of 96 indirectly and secretly elected representatives (16 of them from the rural communities). The Senate should become the “Government Council” and consist of 7 members who are directly elected by the people. The churches turned against them with the ban on denominational schools.
In addition to the parliamentary opposition work (Binding submitted an alternative draft), the proponents of the old order presented the establishment of the “Partiotischer Verein” and a large number of petitions against the Constituent Assembly. On July 19, 1849, the majority and minority in the assembly tried to agree on a compromise draft constitution. Particularly with regard to the Senate (which should be determined for life again) the conservatives were accommodated.
In the vote on this draft, the minority lost with 26 to 76 votes. On December 3, 1849, the Constituent Assembly adopted the draft constitution by majority 63 votes to 43, with 2 abstentions.
The end of the Constituent Assembly
On December 29, 1849, the 31 representatives of the minority declared their resignation from the Constituent Assembly (Manhayn joined this step two days later). On December 31, 1849, the Senate decided not to put the drafts of the Constituent Assembly to a vote. Instead, the Legislative Body should be re-elected in accordance with the Constitutional Amendment Act. The Constituent Assembly was never officially dissolved, it was simply ignored. On January 3, 1850, Hadermann received a letter from the Senate asking him to return the keys to the Roman. Since he did not follow the request, the locks were exchanged. The following day the remaining members of the Constituent Assembly met for the last time. They elected a new presidium and decided to take legal action against the Senate. These resolutions had no effect, the Constituent Assembly was history.
See also
literature
- Matthias Weber: Constitution and Reform in the Vormärz and Revolutionary Period: the constituent assembly of the Free State of Frankfurt 1848–1850 . Frankfurt am Main 1996, OCLC 231709088 (dissertation, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main ).
- Richard Schwemer : History of the Free City of Frankfurt a. M. 1814-1866 . On behalf of the Municipal Historical Commission . 3 volumes (1910-1918). Baer & Co, Frankfurt am Main (especially 3rd volume, 1st part, p. 284 ff.).