Map S.4.10     Reichstagswahlen von 1884

 

The following graphics show three aspects of the Reichstag elections of 28 October 1884. They were published in the Statistical Yearbook for the German Reich (1886), issued by the Royal Statistical Office.

 

The map below (No. 1) shows the rates of voter turnout at the polls in each of Germany’s 397 Reichstag constituencies. The lightest shade of red corresponds to a turnout rate between 26 and 45 percent. The darkest shade corresponds to a turnout rate of 80 to 87 percent. Turnout rates for 5: Dresden-Old City and 12: Leipzig-City are shown in the inset: they were both over 75 percent.

 

 

For each of Germany’s 397 Reichstag constituencies, the map below (No. 2) shows the party affiliation of the winning candidate and that of his principal opponent (as long as the latter won at least 20 percent of the popular vote). The infill color of the constituency represents the party of the winning candidate, the small circle represents that of his opponent. Again the constituencies of 5: Dresden-Old City and 12: Leipzig-City are shown in the inset.

 

 

The last graphic below (No. 3) shows the percentage of the popular vote won by the individual political parties and their representation in the 1884 Reichstag. The three main sections of this graphic, from top to bottom, show the parties’ fortunes (1) in the whole empire; (2) in more-urban and less-urban constituencies; and (3) in constituencies of mainly Protestant or mainly Catholic voters.

 

In section (1), the first row (S) shows the proportion of votes each party won. The second row (M) shows the proportion of Reichstag mandates (seats) it won. The same distinction between votes (S) and mandates (M) is shown for each of sections (2) and (3) as well. The Social Democratic Party won a higher proportion of votes than mandates, at least in most constituency types.

 

In sections (2) and (3), the height of each row corresponds to the relative number of enfranchised voters in each category.

 

In section (2), the first two rows (*) represent purely urban constituencies. The second two rows (+) represent constituencies whose inhabitants lived not only in a large city (at least 20,000 inhabitants) but also in rural areas. The third two rows (0) represent constituencies without a large city. One can see that the German Conservative Party (on the left, in gray) fared best in rural areas, whereas the Social Democratic Party (near the right, in red) was strongest in urban areas.

 

In section (3), the first two rows (E) represent constituencies with a population that was at least 75 percent Protestant; the second two rows (e) are constituencies with a Protestant majority. The third two rows (k) are constituencies with a Catholic majority, and the fourth two rows (K) are constituencies with a population at least 75 percent Catholic. The German Center Party (in pink), which denied that it was a purely confessional party but nonetheless represented mainly Catholic interests, was by far the strongest party in areas designed (k) and (K). By contrast, the German Conservative and Social Democratic Parties, among other parties, found their strongest support in Protestant areas.

 

 

Source: Kaiserliches Statistisches Amt, ed., Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich, Jg. 7 (Berlin: Puttkamer & Mühlbrecht, 1886), “Kartographische Darstellungen und Diagramme: Reichstagswahlen von 1884,” 1. Blatt, “Wahlbeteiligung”; 2. Blatt, “Parteistellung der Abgeordneten und ihrer Hauptgegenkandidaten”; 3. Blatt, “Stimmenzahl der einzelnen Parteien und ihre Vertretung im Reichstage.”

 

Copyright © 2017 James Retallack. All rights reserved. This page is part of the Online Supplement to James Retallack, Red Saxony: Election Battles and the Spectre of Democracy in Germany, 1860-1918 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017). ISBN 978-0-19-966878-6. Last updated: 3 March 2022.