Property and Civil Society in South-Western Germany 1820-1914Historians have often employed the concept of civil society, an intermediary realm between the family and the state, to analyse nineteenth century Europe and North America. They have concentrated on voluntary associations, the press and public meetings, the constituent elements of Jrgen Habermas's 'public sphere', in doing so overlooking a central element of nineteenth century civil society: property and its disposition, whether within the family or