March demands

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Demands of the people in Baden, 1847

March demands are called demands that were made by the bourgeoisie throughout the German Confederation during the March Revolution of 1848 . These demands initially united democrats and liberals . They were based on the demands of the Mannheim People's Assembly of February 27, 1848 and were influenced by the French February Revolution .

The key requirements were:

  1. Arming the people with free choice of officers
  2. Freedom of the press
  3. Jury courts based on the English model
  4. immediate establishment of a German national parliament
  5. Human and civil rights
  6. German nation-state
  7. Agreed constitution
" The general desires of all peoples ". Caricature of the March demands in an engraving from 1848.

In various individual German states, the core demands have been expanded. For example, For example, the Wiesbaden People's Assembly on March 2nd also swore the military into the constitution , declared the ducal domains to be state property and convened the second chamber to pass universal suffrage and freedom of religion .

Further demands were the right of association and assembly, repeal of the Karlovy Vary resolutions , amnesty for political prisoners, the introduction of civil equality and ministerial responsibility .

In the further course of the revolution, some of the demands were approved by the respective monarchs under popular pressure and liberal March ministries were appointed. After the revolution was suppressed, the concessions were mostly withdrawn. But a parliamentary tradition and a memory of the revolution remained, which continued to have an effect.

literature

  • Ulrich Speck: 1848. Chronicle of a German Revolution (= Insel-Taschenbuch. 2214). Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main et al. 1998, ISBN 3-458-33914-0 .
  • Andreas Leutzsch: The ambivalence of the March demands - prelude to a German special path? In: Horst Walter Blanke (Ed.): "Every upheaval bears the character of its time". Ostwestfalen-Lippe 1848/49. Texts and documents (= publications of the historical museums of the city of Bielefeld. 14, ISSN  1615-1208 ). Historisches Museum, Bielefeld 1999, pp. 23–42.
  • Wolfgang J. Mommsen : 1848. The unwanted revolution. The revolutionary movements in Europe 1830–1849 (= Fischer. 13899). Revised edition. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-596-13899-X .