Identifier: modernhistoryeur00west (find matches)
Title: Modern history; Europe
Year: 1904 (1900s)
Authors: West, Willis Mason, 1857- (from old catalog)
Subjects:
Publisher: Boston, Allyn and Bacon
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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§388) GERMANY AND METTERNICH. 393 and it ivas composed of sovereigns,1 not of peoples. Each of thethirty-eight states controlled its own government, its ownarmy, its own tariffs, and its own foreign diplomacy, and theyeven kept the right to form alliances among themselves orwith foreign powers, — although they did promise not to makewar upon each other. The Confederacy did not even sendambassadors to foreign countries. It had no distinct execu-tive, judicial, and legislative departments: its one organ wasthe Federal Diet at Frankfort. This was merely a standingconference of ambassadors appointed by the sovereigns tospeak their wills. The Austrian representative presided ; butno really important action could be taken without the consentof every state.2 Naturally, it was almost impossible to dobusiness. Before many years the Diet was the laughingstockof Europe. As Dr. Judson says, It was not a government atall; it was a polite and ceremonious way of doing nothing.The union amounted t

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