Germany 1861-1869

Synopsis

Between 1861 and 1869 legislation banning trade unions was revised in parts of the German Federation. This process of reform culminated in the 1869 Gewerbeordnung, or industrial code, of the North German Federation, which made trade unions legal throughout most of the German states. This occurred as part of a wave of liberal measures in the German region during the 1860s that granted a variety of political and economic freedoms. Progressive liberals supported the workers' right to organize as part of this wider program of liberal economic reform. They also wished to gain the support of the workers for the liberal cause. However, this aim was not successful, as workers moved away from liberal workers' associations to form independent, working-class political parties. From the mid-1860s unions were formed in many different trades, as workers grasped the opportunity to press...