Frankfurt Parliament
Also called: Frankfurt Assembly · Topic: The Rise of Nationalism in Europe · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 1 "The Rise of Nationalism in Europe"
Meaning
The Frankfurt Parliament was an all-German national assembly that met during the revolutions of 1848. On 18 May 1848, 831 elected deputies came together in the Church of St Paul in Frankfurt. They wrote a constitution for a united German nation. Under it, Germany would be a monarchy controlled by a parliament. The parliament matters because it was the liberal middle class's attempt to unite Germany. That attempt failed.
Example
The deputies offered the crown of Germany to Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia, and he refused it. The parliament was led by the middle classes. It ignored the demands of workers and artisans and so lost their support. In the end, troops broke it up. Women were allowed in only as watchers in the visitors' gallery.
Don't confuse with
- William I and Bismarck: they united Germany by war, and Germany was proclaimed an empire at Versailles in 1871. The Frankfurt crown was offered to Friedrich Wilhelm IV, not to them.