A national assembly within a federation
Elected in March 1871, the imperial Reichstag opened in Berlin on 21 March. It extended the North German Confederation’s parliamentary arrangements to southern states and initially had 382 members. Legislation required majority agreement in both the elected Reichstag and the Bundesrat representing state governments.
The emperor appointed the chancellor. The original constitution nevertheless gave the assembly authority over its rules, officers and members’ credentials, as well as legislative initiative and petitions. The institution preceded its purpose-built parliamentary building, occupied in 1894.
Suffrage and unequal representation
Election law generally enfranchised German men aged twenty-five and above, with exclusions including serving military personnel. Women were excluded. Single-member constituencies required an absolute majority, with a runoff between the leading two candidates when necessary.
Constituency boundaries remained largely unchanged despite migration and urban growth. Increasing numbers of voters in industrial centers still elected the same single representative as sparsely populated districts. Equal individual votes therefore coexisted with marked inequalities in representation between constituencies.
Legislation, budgets and public politics
The Reichstag could reject bills and participate in budget legislation, but the original 1871 framework provided no parliamentary mechanism for dismissing the chancellor through a confidence vote. Early dissolution required a Bundesrat resolution and imperial assent. Military finance and multi-year commitments complicated annual budgetary influence.
Public proceedings and published speeches made it an arena of mass politics. Parties participated in social legislation and electoral mobilization. In 1912 the Social Democrats won 34.8 percent of votes and 110 seats, becoming the largest parliamentary group without thereby obtaining control of the executive.