Struve application

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The Struve motion is a comprehensive and radical motion by the lawyer, radical democrat and later revolutionary Gustav Struve (1805–1870) on March 31, 1848 in the German pre-parliament in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt . He anticipated the constitutional order of later, more liberal German constitutions. The majority of the MPs in the pre-parliament rejected him.

Discussion in the Frankfurt Parliament

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Gustav Struve begins his application with a short preliminary report on the situation in Germany at the time , which was characterized by the “slavery and dumbing down” of the population . The reasons for this are the political system that has brought Germany "more than once to the brink of ruin" (1). The famine in Upper Silesia is cited as an example of the grievances in Germany . He also names the participation of the population in the “order of things” as the task of the assembly. This should secure the freedom of the German population and promote equality for all. The measures that Struve believes are necessary for this are set out in 15 articles.

The aim is to transform the army from a standing to a well-trained national army . The civil servants were to be replaced by a government made up of “freely elected men of the people” (Art. 1 & 2). In addition, there should be relief for the German population through the introduction of a progressive income and wealth tax . In addition, a customs duty is planned at the German borders to protect trade and industry (Art. 3). Furthermore, the abolition of all privileges of nobles and rich people as well as the introduction of German citizenship are called for (Art. 4). A municipal law should also come into force in order to prevent the state from patronizing the municipalities (Art 5). The closure of all monastic institutions is also mentioned as a requirement (Art. 6). An elementary demand is the separation of church and state and the right to education . School fees should be abolished. He also called for the equality of all creeds (Art. 7). At the same time, the abolition of various laws and institutions is called for. This affects both non-public criminal and jury courts and numerous restrictions on personal freedom (Articles 8-10). The promotion of workers and the middle class is decisive for improving the situation in Germany (Art. 11). Struve therefore demands a ministry for workers and that the state should influence the market (Art. 12). He also denounces the “thousandfold” laws that “differ from one another”. He calls for uniform and current laws that secure the freedom of the citizen and his intellectual and material well-being (Art. 13). Gustav Struve also called for the dissolution of the German Confederation and the hereditary monarchy . He demanded that national unity should be achieved through the establishment of a nation state (Art. 14 & 15).

At the end of his application, he calls on the German population for support. His demands are the "principles" to form a nation-state Germany. He wants to convince the majority to agree with his opinion and support him. He also states that he has already begun drafting laws, which he wanted to show that he was trying hard to enforce his demands. In conclusion, it can be stated that Struve's motion was an attempt to convince the German National Assembly of his proposals for a democratic and social structure.

Intention and occasion

The intention of the author was not only to criticize the existing system, but he also brought in his own suggestions for improvement and demands which, in his opinion , would have led to a more social and just Germany. The reason for his application was primarily the intensification of the already existing revolutionary efforts as a consequence of the "famine years" since 1845, as well as the first meeting of the pre-parliament in the Paulskirche, on the first day of which he made this application.

Effects

The “Struve application” of March 31, 1848 was rejected by the pre-parliament. Struve followed his ideas consistently. At the Offenburg meeting of September 12, 1847, he had already introduced this into the 13 popular demands passed there . Struve and others were now ready to use force to enforce it. In April 1848, Struve took part in the Hecker procession and, a few months after its suppression from the Swiss asylum, dared a new attempt with his Struve putsch , which came to a miserable end in the battle for Staufen . The high treason trial against him became a platform for revolutionary propaganda, with his lawyer, Lorenz Brentano , being able to make a name for himself. After his conviction on March 30, 1848, Struve was freed again on May 11 (at the beginning of the third Baden uprising ) and also participated in this uprising. He came into conflict with the Baden revolutionary government under Brentano, who did not share Struve's radical views. After the third uprising in Baden was suppressed, Struve went into American exile - the demands of Struve's application could not be implemented in Germany for a long time.

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Struve then represented a radical minority position. He stands in the tradition of the Jacobins. Individual demands have a demagogic effect .

There were a number of Republicans who did not consider Struve's work to be conducive to their cause, although they largely agreed with him in substance. Mögling formulated this point of view in a letter to Emma Herwegh : “I'm just glad that the Baden government caught the Struve, this is a real stroke of luck for us, because Struve would have done us even more damage. In this way he uses us as martyrs, but cannot harm us. "

At that time, the program appeared to be too radical for large sections of the bourgeoisie. Rather, they envisioned a constitutional monarchy as the ideal form of government.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Uni Graz, person register website of Uni Graz accessed on January 22, 2014
  2. Herbert Ammon, Drama des Scheiterns website "www.jungefreiheit.de", accessed on January 22, 2014
  3. Udo Leuschner, On the History of German Liberalism Website "www.udo-leuschner.de", accessed on January 22, 2014
  4. ^ Theodor Mögling to Emma Herwegh, Strasbourg, December 4, 1848. In: Marcel Herwegh (Ed.): Letters from and to Georg Herwegh. Munich 1898, p. 257. (online in the Internet Archive)