View source for Free Conservative Party

{{Short description|Moderate right-wing German party (1866–1918)}}
{{About|the party that existed in [[Imperial Germany]]|the post-World War II party|Deutsche Reichspartei}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Free Conservative Party
| native_name      = Freikonservative Partei
| colorcode        = {{party color|Free Conservative Party}}
| leader1_title    = Founders
| leader1_name     = [[Carl Ferdinand von Stumm-Halberg]]<br>[[Wilhelm von Kardorff]]
| split            = [[Prussian Conservative Party]]
| foundation       = {{Start date|1866|07|28|df=yes}}
| dissolution      = {{end date|1918|12|13|df=yes}}
| successor        = [[German National People's Party|DNVP]] <small>(right-wing factions)</small><br>[[German People's Party|DVP]] <small>(moderate factions)</small>
| headquarters     = Berlin, [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]
| newspaper        = ''Die Post''
| ideology         = <!-- It is the ideology of the time when the party existed. Do not change the political position of "Liberal conservatism" and "Progressive conservatism".-->[[Liberal conservatism]]<ref name="libcon1">{{cite book|editor=Philip G. Dwyer |title=Modern Prussian History: 1830-1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGvJAwAAQBAJ&dq=liberal+conservative+Freikonservative+Partei&pg=PA93 |quote= The liberal conservatism of the parliamentary group around Bethmann–Hollweg would later appear in the FreiKonservative Partei. |date=2014 |page=93 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781317887003 }}</ref><ref name="libcon2">{{cite book|editor=Marco E.L. Guidi, Massimo M. Augello |title=Economists in Parliament in the Liberal Age: (1848–1920) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgwkDwAAQBAJ&dq=FK:+Freikonservative+Partei+(Liberal+Conservative+Party);+FrVp:+Freisinnige+Volkspartei+(Liberal+People%27s+Party);+K:+Konservative+Partei+(Conservative+Party);+Linke+(Left);+Linkes+Zentrum+(Left+Centre);&pg=PT195 |quote= ... FK: Freikonservative Partei (Liberal Conservative Party); FrVp: Freisinnige Volkspartei (Liberal People's Party); K: Konservative Partei (Conservative Party); Linke (Left); Linkes Zentrum (Left Centre); ... |date=2014 |page=93 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781351941778 }}</ref><br/>[[Progressive conservatism]]<br/>[[Protestantism in Germany#Rebirth of political Protestantism|Political Protestantism]]<br/>[[East Elbia]] [[Regionalism (politics)|regionalism]]<br/>[[German nationalism]]<br/>[[Agrarianism]]<br />[[Conservatism]]<ref>Takuhiro Otake, " The People's Conservatives in the Weimar Republic (I): An Attempt at Neo-Conservatism," Shigaku, Vol. 53, No. 2/3, Mita Historical Society, 1983.</ref><br />[[Moderate conservatism]]<ref>Matthias Alexander: Die Freikonservative Partei 1890–1918. Gemäßigter Konservatismus in der konstitutionellen Monarchie. Droste, Düsseldorf 2000, ISBN 3-7700-5227-7 .</ref><br />[[Criticism of socialism|Anti-socialism]]<ref>Takuhiro Otake, " The People's Conservatives in the Weimar Republic (I): An Attempt at Neo-Conservatism," Shigaku, Vol. 53, No. 2/3, Mita Historical Society, 1983.</ref><br />Anti-[[Reactionary|reactionarism]]<ref>Takuhiro Otake, " The People's Conservatives in the Weimar Republic (I): An Attempt at Neo-Conservatism," Shigaku, Vol. 53, No. 2/3, Mita Historical Society, 1983.</ref><br />{{nowrap|[[Constitutional monarchy|Constitutional monarchism]]}}<ref>Takuhiro Otake, "The People's Conservatives in the Weimar Republic (I): An Attempt at Neo-Conservatism," Shigaku, Vol. 53, No. 2/3, Mita Historical Society, 1983.</ref><br />[[Protectionism]]<ref>Wehler, Hans-Ulrich (1995). Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte [German Social History] (in German). Vol. 3. Munich: C.H. Beck. p. 345. ISBN 3-406-32263-8</ref>
| position         = <!-- It is the political position of the time when the party existed. Do not change the political position of "Centre to centre-right".-->[[Centrism|Centre]] to [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]]
| colors           = {{color box|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}|border=darkgray}} [[Blue|Sky blue]]
| country          = Germany
}}
The '''Free Conservative Party''' ({{langx|de|Freikonservative Partei}}, FKP) was a [[Liberal conservatism|liberal-conservative]]<ref name="libcon1">{{cite book|editor=Philip G. Dwyer |title=Modern Prussian History: 1830-1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AGvJAwAAQBAJ&dq=liberal+conservative+Freikonservative+Partei&pg=PA93 |quote= The liberal conservatism of the parliamentary group around Bethmann–Hollweg would later appear in the FreiKonservative Partei. |date=2014 |page=93 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781317887003 }}</ref><ref name="libcon2">{{cite book|editor=Marco E.L. Guidi, Massimo M. Augello |title=Economists in Parliament in the Liberal Age: (1848–1920) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgwkDwAAQBAJ&dq=FK:+Freikonservative+Partei+(Liberal+Conservative+Party);+FrVp:+Freisinnige+Volkspartei+(Liberal+People%27s+Party);+K:+Konservative+Partei+(Conservative+Party);+Linke+(Left);+Linkes+Zentrum+(Left+Centre);&pg=PT195 |quote= ... FK: Freikonservative Partei (Liberal Conservative Party); FrVp: Freisinnige Volkspartei (Liberal People's Party); K: Konservative Partei (Conservative Party); Linke (Left); Linkes Zentrum (Left Centre); ... |date=2014 |page=93 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781351941778 }}</ref> political party in [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] and the [[German Empire]] which ran as the '''German Reich Party''' ({{langx|de|Deutsche Reichspartei}}, DRP) in the federal elections to the [[Reichstag (German Empire)|Reichstag]] beginning in 1871.

The party was formed when it split from the [[Conservative Party (Prussia)|Prussian Conservative Party]] in 1866. It was a minimally organized "party of notables" whose members came largely from the wealthier upper classes. Politically, the Free Conservatives stood between the [[German Conservative Party]] and the [[National Liberal Party (Germany)|National Liberal Party]]. During the chancellorship of [[Otto von Bismarck]], it generally gave him its strong support, and many of its members were ministers and diplomats. After [[Wilhelm II]] became emperor in 1888, the party lost a significant portion of its earlier strength. It took a staunchly nationalist stance during World War I and disbanded in 1918 during the early weeks of the [[German revolution of 1918–1919|German revolution]]. The majority of its members then joined the right-wing [[German National People's Party]].

== History ==
=== Founding and organisation ===
[[File:Wilhelm von Kardorff (BerlLeben 1903-02).jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Wilhelm von Kardorff]], one of the founders of the Free Conservative Party]]
The Free Conservative Party split from the [[Conservative Party (Prussia)|Prussian Conservative Party]] in 1866 as a result of disagreements over Chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]]'s policies in the wake of the [[Austro-Prussian War]]. Unlike the original party, the Free Conservatives supported the territorial annexations that led to the founding of the [[North German Confederation]] under Prussia's leadership.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Asmuss |first1=Burkhard |last2=Scriba |first2=Arnulf |date=2 September 2016 |title=Die Freikonservative Partei 1866–1918 |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/kaiserreich/innenpolitik/freikonservative-partei |access-date=2 January 2025 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref> They also favoured the advancement of commerce and industry and trusted that Bismarck would incorporate elements of modernity into Prussia's tradition of authoritarian rule.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Craig |first=Gordon Alexander |url={{Google books|mbP-PWnoHnIC|page=11|plainurl=yes}} |title=Germany, 1866–1945 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-198-22113-5 |location=Oxford, UK |page=11}}</ref> On 28 July 1866, along with some members of the [[Old Liberals]], they formed the Free Conservative Association, which within the year renamed itself the Free Conservative Party.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meister |first=Aloys |url={{Google books|hfwrAQAAIAAJ|page=210|plainurl=yes}} |title=Gebhardts Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte |publisher=Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft |year=1923 |volume=3 |location=Stuttgart |page=210 |language=de |trans-title=Gebhardt's Handbook of German History}}</ref> After the founding of the German Empire in 1871, the party ran in the [[Reichstag (German Empire)|Reichstag]] elections as the German Reich Party ({{Lang|de|Deutsche Reichspartei}}).<ref name=":0" />

The party was poorly organised internally and consisted of little more than the party contingents in the Reichstag and the [[Prussian Landtag|Prussian ''Landtag'']]. To establish a connection between the two, a national committee was formed in 1870, but it was not particularly active. Its office in Berlin was staffed by only one person. Before 1890 there was no official party leader, and the first party conference did not take place until 1906. Beginning in 1907, the official party structure consisted of an electoral association which was led by an executive board and committee. In the party's later phase, regional associations were established as well.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stalmann |first=Volker |title=Regierung, Parlament und Öffentlichkeit im Zeitalter Bismarcks. Politikstile im Wandel |publisher=Schöningh |year=2003 |isbn=3-506-79223-7 |editor-last=Gall |editor-first=Lothar |editor-link=Lothar Gall |location=Paderborn |pages=91–126 |language=de |trans-title=Government, Parliament and the Public in the Age of Bismarck: Changing Political Styles |chapter=Die konservativen Parteien |trans-chapter=The Conservative Parties (1867–1918)}}</ref>

The party newspaper was {{Lang|de|Die Post}}, which switched allegiance to the anti-government [[Pan-Germanism|Pan-German]] camp in 1910.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?werk=Brockhaus&id=132952&imageview=true |title=Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon |publisher=Brockhaus |year=1895 |edition=14th |volume=13 |location=Leipzig |page=313 |language=de |trans-title=Brockhaus Conversational Dictionary}}</ref>

=== Party manifesto ===
The Free Conservatives had no fixed party program until 1906;<ref name=":0" /> before then its founding manifesto, presented on 27 October 1867, served in place of one. The manifesto expressed only high-level political tenets. It saw the North German Confederation as an "extension of the Prussian monarchy" and praised its accomplishments as an absolute monarchical power, but then went on to say that absolutism's time had ended. The Confederation's people needed to have a part in determining their own destiny, and "the monarchy itself requires the cooperation of the people in order to fulfil its lofty mission". The party believed in a constitution but opposed the [[separation of powers]]:<ref name=":2" /><blockquote>We honour the state constitution as a source of strength for the monarchy, as an unfolding of popular customs and traditions, as the guarantor of the freedom of the church, of the equality of confessions, of the separation of political rights from religious faith. We also fight the antiquated doctrine of separation of powers; we counter that notion confidently with the principle of the communal exercise of unified state authority.</blockquote>The manifesto stated that the party would support both federal and state governments when their policies placed the national interest first but would, "with true loyalty to king and Fatherland", uphold free conservative principles when a government's policies parted from them.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Imperial and Free Conservative Party, Founding Manifesto (October 27, 1867)4 |url=https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=680 |access-date=4 January 2025 |website=GHDI (German History in Documents and Images)}}</ref>

=== Membership ===
The Free Conservative Party was a "party of notables" ({{Lang|de|Honoratiorenpartei}}), a party whose members came largely from the wealthy upper class and {{Lang|de|[[Bildungsbürgertum]]}} (educated middle class) and were able to participate in politics because of their financial independence. Many were high-ranking civil servants, military men, university professors and representatives of trade and industry. Because its members filled a large number of posts as ministers and state undersecretaries, it was sometimes referred to as the party of "ministers and diplomats". Rather than exercising policy influence through a party apparatus, it did so through personal contacts, including many at the imperial court.''<ref name=":1" />''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beck |first=Hermann |url={{Google books|BG9Or-27pdsC|page=17|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Fateful Alliance. German Conservatives and Nazis in 1933: the Machtergreifung in a New Light |publisher=Berghahn Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-845-45496-8 |location=Oxford, UK}}</ref> In the 1867 Reichstag it was represented by three princes, two dukes, nine counts and eleven barons. Its leading members were the landowner [[Wilhelm von Kardorff]] and mining industrialist [[Carl Ferdinand von Stumm-Halberg|Carl Ferdinand von Stumm]]. Geographically it had particular strengths in [[Silesia]] and Prussia's [[Rhine Province]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wehler |first=Hans-Ulrich |author-link=Hans-Ulrich Wehler |title=Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=1995 |isbn=3-406-32263-8 |volume=3 |location=Munich |page=345 |language=de |trans-title=German Social History}}</ref> The party had close ties to the nationalist [[Pan-German League]] (founded in 1891) and the [[German Agrarian League]] (1893).<ref name=":0" />

=== Policies ===
{{Conservatism in Germany|Parties}}
Politically, the Free Conservatives stood between the [[National Liberal Party (Germany)|National Liberals]] and the [[German Conservative Party]]. As a decidedly pro-government party, they supported Bismarck's anti-Catholic ''[[Kulturkampf]]'' and, as the party of the elites, his [[Anti-Socialist Laws]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1878 it was the driving force behind the shift towards a protective tariff policy.{{Sfn|Wehler|1995|p=639}} With support from some members of the German Conservative Party, the Free Conservatives opposed Bismarck when he ended the ''Kulturkampf'' and began to introduce social reforms such as health insurance for workers. They wanted to see the Anti-Socialist Laws strengthened and advocated a stronger military and more colonisation.{{Sfn|Wehler|1995|p=924}} From 1887 to 1890 (the final years of Bismarck's chancellorship), it was one of the cartel parties – an electoral alliance of the Free Conservatives, the German Conservative Party and the National Liberals – which Bismarck saw as his only reliable source of support.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Röhl |first=John C. G. |date=1966 |title=The Disintegration of the Kartell and the Politics of Bismarck's Fall from Power, 1887–90 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2637730 |journal=The Historical Journal |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=61 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X00026376 |jstor=2637730 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> With the cartel in the majority following the [[1887 German federal election|1887 Reichstag election]], it was able to push through the second seven-year military budget (septennate) that Bismarck wanted.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Heinrich August |author-link=Heinrich August Winkler |title=Der Lange Weg nach Westen |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=2014 |isbn=978-3-406-66080-1 |volume=1 |location=Munich |pages=254 |language=de |trans-title=The Long Road to the West}}</ref>

At the beginning of the [[Wilhelmine]] era (1890–1918), the party lost 22 seats in the [[1890 German federal election|1890 Reichstag election]], dropping from 41 to 19. It never recovered its former strength; the greatest number of seats it was able to achieve afterwards was 28 in the [[1893 German federal election|1893 election]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wahlen in Deutschland bis 1918. Reichstag Wahlen |trans-title=Elections in Germany to 1918. Reichstag Elections |url=https://wahlen-in-deutschland.de/krtw.htm |access-date=9 January 2025 |website=Wahlen in Deutschland |language=de}}</ref> The party continued to oppose moves towards parliamentarisation but was open to changes in the [[Prussian three-class franchise]], which weighted votes by the amount of taxes paid, as long as they did not lead to an equal, universal manhood voting system such as was used in elections to the national Reichstag.<ref name=":0" />

During the First World War, the party advocated annexationist war aims, opposed the Reichstag's [[Reichstag Peace Resolution|1917 peace resolution]] and supported the militaristic [[German Fatherland Party]] after it was founded in 1917.<ref name=":0" /> On 13 December 1918, during the early weeks of the [[German revolution of 1918–1919|German revolution]], the executive board of the Free Conservatives advised party members to join the right-wing [[German National People's Party]] (DNVP), effectively disbanding the 52-year-old party.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmitz |first=Sven-Uwe |url={{Google books|jYrsLlwRPXEC|page=110|plainurl=yes}} |title=Konservativismus |publisher=VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften |year=2009 |isbn=978-3-531-91610-1 |location=Wiesbaden |page=110 |language=de |trans-title=Conservatism}}</ref>

== Election results ==
{| class=wikitable
|+ Reichstag<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schröder |first1=Valentin |title=Wahlen in Deutschland bis 1918 |url=https://wahlen-in-deutschland.de/krtw.htm |website=Wahlen in Deutschland |access-date=28 October 2025 |language=German |trans-title=Elections in Germany until 1918}}</ref>
! rowspan="2"| Date
! colspan="3"| Votes
! colspan="2"| Seats
! rowspan="2"| Rank
|-
! No.
! %
! ± pct
! No.
! ±
|-
! [[February 1867 North German federal election|February 1867]]
| 348,537
| 9.33
| ''New''
| {{composition bar|39|297|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| ''New''
| align="center"| 4th
|-
! [[August 1867 North German federal election|August 1867]]
| 205,792
| 8.95
| {{decrease}} 0.38
| {{composition bar|36|297|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{decrease}} 3
| {{increase}} 4th
|-
! [[1871 German federal election|1871]]
| 343,098
| 8.83
| {{decrease}} 0.12
| {{composition bar|37|382|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
| {{decrease}} 5th
|-
! [[1874 German federal election|1874]]
| 388,840
| 7.49
| {{decrease}} 1.34
| {{composition bar|32|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{decrease}} 5
| {{increase}} 4th
|-
! [[1877 German federal election|1877]]
| 424,228
| 7.85
| {{increase}} 0.36
| {{composition bar|38|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{increase}} 6
| {{decrease}} 5th
|-
! [[1878 German federal election|1878]]
| 785,631
| 13.64
| {{increase}} 5.79
| {{composition bar|57|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{increase}} 19
| {{increase}} 3rd
|-
! [[1881 German federal election|1881]]
| 382,149
| 7.50
| {{decrease}} 6.14
| {{composition bar|27|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{decrease}} 30
| {{decrease}} 6th
|-
! [[1884 German federal election|1884]]
| 387,637
| 6.85
| {{decrease}} 0.65
| {{composition bar|28|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
| {{steady}} 6th
|-
! [[1887 German federal election|1887]]
| 736,389
| 9.77
| {{increase}} 2.92
| {{composition bar|41|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{increase}} 13
| {{steady}} 6th
|-
! [[1890 German federal election|1890]]
| 461,307
| 6.38
| {{decrease}} 3.39
| {{composition bar|19|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{decrease}} 22
| {{steady}} 6th
|-
! [[1893 German federal election|1893]]
| 437,972
| 5.71
| {{decrease}} 0.67
| {{composition bar|28|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{increase}} 9
| {{steady}} 6th
|-
! [[1898 German federal election|1898]]
| 337,601
| 4.35
| {{decrease}} 1.36
| {{composition bar|22|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{decrease}} 6
| {{steady}} 6th
|-
! [[1903 German federal election|1903]]
| 336,617
| 3.54
| {{decrease}} 0.81
| {{composition bar|21|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{decrease}} 1
| {{steady}} 6th
|-
! [[1907 German federal election|1907]]
| 471,863
| 4.19
| {{increase}} 0.65
| {{composition bar|24|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{increase}} 3
| {{steady}} 6th
|-
! [[1912 German federal election|1912]]
| 396,948
| 3.25
| {{decrease}} 0.94
| {{composition bar|14|397|{{party color|Free Conservative Party}}}}
| {{decrease}} 10
| {{steady}} 6th
|}

== Notable members ==
* [[Hans Hartwig von Beseler]], general
* [[Johann Viktor Bredt]], expert in constitutional law
* [[Hermann von Dechend]], financial expert 
* [[Hans Delbrück]], historian
* [[Karl Rudolf Friedenthal]], businessman and solicitor
* [[Hermann von Hatzfeldt]], civil servant and general
* [[Hugo zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen]], politician, mining industrialist and general 
* [[Wilhelm von Kardorff]], politician and agricultural estate owner
* [[Karl Max, Prince Lichnowsky]], diplomat
* [[Eduard von Liebert]], military officer, colonial administrator and statesman
* [[Viktor I, Duke of Ratibor]], politician
* [[Carl Ferdinand von Stumm-Halberg]], politician and mining industrialist 

== See also ==
{{Portal|Conservatism|Germany|Politics}}
* [[Agrarian conservatism in Germany]]
* [[Conservatism in Germany]]
* [[Liberal conservatism]]
* [[Progressive conservatism]]

== References ==
<references/>

{{German Empire political parties}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1866 establishments in Prussia]]
[[Category:1918 disestablishments in Prussia]]
[[Category:Centre-right parties in Europe]]
[[Category:Centrist parties in Germany]]
[[Category:Christian political parties in Germany]]
[[Category:Conservative parties in Germany]]
[[Category:German nationalist political parties]]
[[Category:Liberal conservative parties in Germany]]
[[Category:National conservative parties]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1866]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1918]]
[[Category:Political parties of the German Empire]]
[[Category:Political parties of Prussia]]
[[Category:Progressive conservatism]]
[[Category:Protestant political parties]]