ABSTRACT
On 18 May 1848 the National Assembly was opened in the Free City of Frankfurt amid popular acclaim up and down the country. The Frankfurt Assembly was elected on a non-uniform and often broad franchise. Many constituencies set great store by being represented by a nationally prominent personage, and in Catholic countries the Church had a great influence when candidates were selected. Whatever the Assembly’s failures, they did not stem from any lack of political experience and it is equally mistaken to regard its members as impractical theorists or abstract philosophers. The National Assembly studied the question of a provisional directorium in detail and the proposals made fluctuated between monarchical and republican forms. The War Minister issued an order to all German troops to give three cheers for the Reichsverweser and acknowledge him as their supreme commander. On 5 September the National Assembly voted by 238 to 221 to stay the execution of the armistice and the Leiningen ministry resigned.
