Editing Weimar Constitution (section)

== Origin ==
{{Main|Weimar National Assembly}}
After the end of [[World War I]], the government of [[Imperial Germany]] collapsed during the early days of the [[German revolution of 1918–1919]]. In the following months, the far left parties that fought to establish a [[soviet republic]] were defeated by those of the moderate left that wanted a parliamentary republic. The victorious parties, led by [[Friedrich Ebert]] of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]] (SPD), scheduled an [[1919 German federal election|election on 19 January 1919]] – in which women for the first time had equal voting rights with men<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blume |first1=Dorlis |last2=Wichmann |first2=Manfred |date=31 August 2014 |title=Chronik 1919 |trans-title=Historical Chronicle 1919 |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/jahreschronik/1919 |access-date=16 October 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |publisher= |language=de}}</ref> – for a [[Weimar National Assembly|national assembly]] that was to act as Germany's interim parliament and draft a new constitution.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nohlen |first1=Dieter |author-link=Dieter Nohlen |title=Elections in Europe: A data handbook |last2=Stöver |first2=Philip |publisher=Nomos |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-832-95609-7 |location=Baden-Baden |page=762}}</ref> Because conditions in Berlin were still unsettled, the delegates met at [[Weimar]]. Ebert wanted the victorious Allies to be reminded of [[Weimar Classicism]], which included the writers [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] and [[Friedrich Schiller|Schiller]], while they were deliberating the terms of the [[Versailles Treaty]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Holste |first=Heiko |date=January 2009 |title=Die Nationalversammlung gehört hierher! |trans-title=The National Assembly belongs here! |work=Frankfurther Allgemeine Zeitung, Bilder und Zeiten Nr. 8, 10 |language=de}}</ref>

The initial draft of the constitution was written by the lawyer and liberal politician [[Hugo Preuss]], who headed the Ministry of the Interior.<ref>{{cite web |last=Michaelis |first=Andreas |date=14 September 2014 |title=Hugo Preuß |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/hugo-preuss |access-date=16 October 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref> He based his draft in large part on the [[Frankfurt Constitution]] of 1849 which was written after the [[German revolutions of 1848–1849]] and intended for a unified Germany that did not come to pass at the time. He was influenced as well by [[Robert Redslob|Robert Redslob's]] theory of parliamentarianism, which called for a balance between the executive and legislative branches under either a monarch or the people as sovereign.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mommsen |first=Wolfgang J. |title=Max Weber und die deutsche Politik 1890–1920 |publisher=Mohr |year=1974 |isbn=9783165358612 |edition=2nd |location=Tübingen |pages=372–375 |language=de |trans-title=Max Weber and German Politics 1890–1920}}</ref>

During July 1919, the National Assembly moved quickly through the draft constitution with most debates concluded within a single session and without public discussion of the issues.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wehler |first=Hans-Ulrich |author-link=Hans-Ulrich Wehler |title=Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte |publisher=C. H. Beck |isbn=978-3-406-32264-8 |volume=4 |location=Munich |publication-date=2003 |page=350 |language=de |trans-title=German Social History}}</ref> On 31 July the assembly adopted the new constitution by a vote of 262 to 75 with 1 abstention.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vor 100 Jahren: Weimarer Reichsverfassung verabschiedet |trans-title=100 Years Ago: The Weimar Constitution Adopted |url=https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2019/kw30-kalenderblatt-reichsverfassung-652448 |access-date=17 October 2024 |website=Deutscher Bundestag |language=de}}</ref> Friedrich Ebert, the first [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|president of Germany]], signed the Weimar Constitution on 11 August 1919, and it became effective on the 14th. [[1920 German federal election|A federal election was held on 6 June 1920]] for the new [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]].<ref name="NS">[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, D]] & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p. 762 {{ISBN|978-3832956097}}</ref>