The Imperial Constitution campaign () was an initiative driven by
radical democratic
Radical democracy is a type of democracy that advocates the radical extension of equality and liberty. Radical democracy is concerned with a radical extension of equality and freedom, following the idea that democracy is an unfinished, inclusive, ...
politicians in Germany in the mid-19th century that developed into the
civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
like fighting in several German states known also as the May Uprisings (''Maiaufstände''). These conflicts against the counter-revolutionaries began in May 1849 and varied in length and intensity depending on the region. Some lasted until July that year. They marked the end phase of the popular and nationalist March Revolution that had started in March 1848.
The Imperial Constitution campaign had as its goal the recognition of the
Frankfurt Constitution
The Frankfurt Constitution () or Constitution of St. Paul's Church (), officially named the Constitution of the German Empire () of 28 March 1849, was an unsuccessful attempt to create a unified German nation from the states of the German Confe ...
that had been put together by the first pan-German, democratically elected parliament, the
Frankfurt Parliament
The Frankfurt National Assembly () was the first freely elected parliament for all German Confederation, German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848).
The ...
. The campaign was triggered by the refusal of the imperial crown by King
Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the th ...
and the dissolution of the national assembly. Its parliamentarians then formed the so-called
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament describes the members of the Long Parliament who remained in session after Colonel Thomas Pride, on 6 December 1648, commanded his soldiers to Pride's Purge, purge the House of Commons of those Members of Parliament, members ...
for several weeks in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, the capital of the
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806.
Geogr ...
, until this assembly, too, was dissolved by force by Württemberg troops. The call for a campaign was supported by Georg Friedrich Kolb, Heinrich Herrmann Riemann and others.
In the wake of this call there were republican motivated uprisings, for example in the
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...
(
May Uprising in Dresden
The May Uprising took place in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony in 1849; it was one of the last of the series of events known as the Revolutions of 1848.
Events leading to the May Uprising
In the German states, revolutions began in March 1848, start ...
Westphalia
Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
(1847 Iserlohn Uprising) and
Rhineland
The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
(the Storming of the Zeughaus in
Prüm
Prüm () is a town in the Westeifel (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. Formerly a district capital, today it is the administrative seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Prüm (Verbandsgemeinde), Prüm.
Geography
Prüm lies o ...
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918.
The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...
(see
Baden Revolution
The Baden Revolution () of 1848/1849 was a regional uprising in the Grand Duchy of Baden which was part of the Revolutions of 1848, revolutionary unrest that gripped almost all of Central Europe at that time.
As part of the popular liberal Revol ...
) where, for a short time, a republic was proclaimed.
With the military defeat of this last rebellion, primarily by Prussian troops, the March Revolution of 1848/1849 in the states of the
German Confederation
The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...
finally ended on 23 July 1849 with the capture of
Rastatt Fortress
Rastatt Fortress () was built from 1842 to 1852. The construction of this federal fortress was one of the few projects that the German Confederation was able to complete. The fortress site covered the Baden town of Rastatt and, in 1849, played a ...
, the last bastion of the Baden revolutionaries, by federal forces under Prussian leadership.