Establishment of a Democratic State in the BRD between 1949 and 1955

1. Basic Law

1.1. Upheld the ideas of pluralism

1.2. Electoral system was changed

1.3. Any party winning less than 5% of the popular vote was barred from parliament

1.4. Focus more on bigger parties in hopes of forming a more stable government

1.5. Constitution became more similar to that of the U.K. and the U.S.

1.6. Parliament was two-tiered structure

2. Proportional Democracy

2.1. Results of the 1949 Election

2.1.1. CDU/CSU won with 31% of votes (majority)

2.1.2. All other parties lost because they had less votes, which is how a democracy should work

2.2. Half of the seats in the Bundestag were elected by a majority vote (like the U.K.)

3. Pluralism

3.1. Christian Democratic Party

3.1.1. CDU wins election, Adenauer elected

3.2. The Free Democrats

3.3. Social Democratic Party

3.4. Communists

3.5. All these parties had different beliefs, but were now allowed to coexist

4. Liberalism

4.1. A more free market led to a better economic climate by 1955

4.2. Banning of political parties was prohibited