w reasons as to why parliament was never in session. Weber had wanted proportional party representation, and every party had a place, no matter how small they were. Together, there were 28 parties in the German parliament(*5). This prevented clear majorities and the two-party system never formed(*6). And since the Germans wanted to model their constitution after the best qualities in the American constitution, this element should have been present in theirs.
             Also many Germans weren't used to the idea of peacefully resolving conflicts. They relied on the old ways, which involved the president making the decisions. To them, parliament was just "the game of the parties." They believed all of the power was in the president and Article 48(*7).
             Realizing the benefits of not keeping parliament in session, the presidents would use their power to settle disputes rather than parliament. Article 48 allowed the president to manipulate the system and achieve power. Friedrich Ebert was the first president under the Weimar constitution. He preferred to use his power rather than force parliament to settle their differences(*8). When Hindenburg came along, he used presidential prerogative to appoint and dismis
             ...