jul 31, 1919 - Weimar Constitution agreed

Description:

The National Assembly voted in the new constitution. It was called the Weimar Constitution, and the new Republic was known as the Weimar Republic.

Strengths of the Weimar Constitution:
- Germany was now a democracy
- People of both sexes over 21 could now vote
- No one person had too much power; the electorate chose the president, who chose the chancellor, who led the elected Reichstag in making laws, and the laws were usually reviewed by the elected Reichsrat
- there were still local governments, which controlled police, courts and schools

Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution:
- proportional representation often led to unstable coalition governments
- in a crisis, it was hard to make fast, clear decisions due to the lack of majorities
- the President could claim emergency powers in a crisis, which essentially made him a dictator
- some of the elected parties were opposed to democracy (the DNVP nationalists and KPD communists)

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