Prussia pointed already to the eventual realization of these aspirations
under the leadership of that powerful state. The history of Germany
during the period from 1815 to 1848 is a story largely of the growth
of these twin ideas of constitutionalism and nationality, and of (p. 197)
the relentless combat which was waged between their exponents and the
entrenched forces of autocracy and particularism. Gradually the
results of this conflict found expression through two developments,
(1) the promulgation of liberalizing constitutions in a majority of
the states and (2) the building of the Zollverein, or customs union.

The original draft of the Federal Act of 1815 pledged every member of
the Confederation to establish a constitution within a year. In the
final form of the instrument, however, the time limit was omitted and
what had been a specific injunction became but a general promise. The
sovereigns of the two preponderating states, Austria and Prussia,
delayed and eventually evaded the obligation altogether. But in a
large number of the lesser states the promise that had been made was
fulfilled with despatch. In the south the ground had been cleared by
the Napoleonic domination, and the influence of French political
experimentation was more generally felt, so that, very naturally, the
progress of constitutionalism was most rapid in that quarter. The new
era of constitution-making was inaugurated by the promulgation of the
fundamental law of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, January 8, 1816. In rapid
succession followed similar grants in Schaumburg-Lippe, January 15, 1816;
Waldeck, April 19, 1816; the grand-duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, May 5,
1816; Saxe-Hildburghausen, March 19, 1818; Bavaria, May 26, 1818;
Baden, August 22, 1818; Lichtenstein, November 9, 1818; Wuerttemberg,
September 25, 1819; Hanover, December 7, 1819; Brunswick, April 25,
1820, and the grand-duchy of Hesse, December 17, 1820. Instruments
promulgated later during the period under review include those of
Saxe-Meiningen, in 1829; Hesse-Cassel, Saxe-Altenburg, and Saxony, in
1831; Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, in 1833; Lippe, in 1836; and Luebeck,
in 1846. In a number of the states mentioned, including Bavaria,
Baden, Wuerttemberg, and Saxony, the constitutions at this time granted
are still in operation. Many of them were, and some of them remain,
highly illiberal. But, in the aggregate, the ground gained in behalf
of constitutional and enlightened government t