Congress of German Economists
The first congress of German economists , also known as the National Economic Congress , took place in Gotha in 1858 . This and the following congresses campaigned for free trade and generally a liberalization of economic life, such as freedom of trade or freedom of movement, and were open to representatives of the cooperative system on the basis of self-help. Richard Cobden's Anti-Corn Law League and its successful campaign from 1838–1846 to abolish grain tariffs served as political inspiration .
History of the Congresses
prehistory
Viktor Böhmert was editor-in-chief of the Bremer Handelsblatt and published an appeal for a "Congress of German Economists" in this newspaper on May 23, 1857. He also sent this appeal to the editorial offices of about twenty larger German newspapers, which also printed it. Many editors, merchants, officials and politicians expressed their approval for this plan. The charity congress in Frankfurt am Main in September 1857 then became the "cradle of the economic congress". On September 19, 1857, the charity congress approved a "call for the formation of economic associations" and Adolf Lette proposed that the first congress of German economists be held in Gotha in autumn 1858 .
Congress in Gotha
In Gotha, under the direction of lawyer Dr. Henneberg formed a local committee to prepare the congress. The first congress of German economists met in Gotha from September 19 to 22, 1858, at which 109 participants from all German states were present. On September 20th, the General Assembly unanimously approved a statute that the congress should meet in a different location every year and that a "permanent deputation" should prepare the congresses.
The agenda of the Gotha congress included "freedom of trade", "association" and "customs legislation". The Assembly elected three committees for these three subjects. In the committees and in the general assembly, it was of the opinion that "instead of the guilds that have been overcome by modern technology, the voluntary cooperatives should help the traders move forward."
Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch gave a speech about the advance payment associations and associations he founded and managed to get the congress to accept his economic policy guidelines. A heated discussion arose because of the customs issue. The contrast between the protective collectors and free traders was very pronounced. The Austrians present were particularly committed to the protective tariff. The Hanoverian Rudolf von Benningsen , who was elected chairman of the German National Association a year later , tried to mediate between the two groups and finally proposed an adjournment. The free traders won at the following congresses.
At the end of the congress in Gotha, the assembly elected to the "Permanent Deputation": Adolf Lette (Berlin), Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch (Potsdam), Karl Braun (Wiesbaden), Rudolf von Benningsen (Hanover), Eduard Pickford (Heidelberg) and the Finance Councilor Hopf (Gotha). This deputation was the first all-German political leadership group of the Liberals and Democrats.
Other congresses and their economic effects
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Until 1863 the "Permanent Deputation" consisted of the President, two Vice-Presidents and three secretaries. In 1863 this committee was expanded from six to nine members. Every economist could voluntarily take part in the work of the deputation, which had to prepare the congresses. Other main participants of the congresses were its long-time chairman Julius Faucher , Max Wirth , Theodor Barth , Max von Forckenbeck , John Prince-Smith , Otto Michaelis , Heinrich Bernhard Oppenheim and Eugen Richter .
The convention met once a year in late summer. 1858 in Gotha, 1859 in Frankfurt am Main, 1860 in Cologne, 1861 in Stuttgart, 1862 in Weimar, 1863 in Dresden, 1864 in Hanover, 1865 in Nuremberg, 1866 in Braunschweig (due to the German-German war on a smaller scale), 1867 in Hamburg, 1868 in Breslau, 1869 in Mainz, 1870 canceled due to the Franco-German War , 1871 in Lübeck, 1872 in Danzig, 1873 in Vienna, 1874 in Krefeld, 1875 in Munich, 1876 in Bremen, 1878 in Posen, 1880 in Berlin, 1882 in Mannheim, 1883 in Koenigsberg, 1885 in Nuremberg.
During the four days of the Congress, five lectures were given on economic issues. The participants discussed each lecture and passed resolutions that were published in the German newspapers. The focus was on the following topics from 1858 to 1867: cooperatives, patent legislation, trade legislation, banking issues, freedom of movement, housing issues, insurance, customs union constitution , postal services, railways, monetary units and gold currency.
The increasing liberalization in the German economic area, first in the German Customs Union , then in the North German Confederation and the German Reich that followed, as well as national unification were welcomed and supported by the Congress. Because of the influence on politics that the congress enjoyed, the politicians close to the congress of German economists or even participating in it were also referred to as the free trade party . The National Economic Congress was able to provide important impulses for politics (e.g. introduction of the gold standard in 1871 , restriction of banknotes in 1874 ).
Economic associations were founded by the participants in the congresses, such as the Economic Society for East and West Prussia , co-founded by Max von Forckenbeck, who had attended the gathering of economists in Gotha, and the Economic Society in Berlin by John Prince-Smith and Otto Michaelis.
The congress of German economists was the model for the formation of other associations and congresses. The German Trading Day was founded in 1860 . The German Juristentag and the Congress of Doctors , Craftsmen's Associations and Trade Associations came into being.
Political effects
The meetings of the congresses of German economists and the regional conferences promoted the talks between the liberal and democratic politicians of the German states. They not only exchanged ideas about economic policy, but also agreed to establish political organizations and parties. After the second Congress of Economists, which took place in Frankfurt am Main in 1859, the German National Association was formed , and numerous politicians from the Economics Congress in Frankfurt were involved in its founding. The congress in Braunschweig in August 1866 took part in the founding of the National Liberal Party in Northern Germany and adopted an economic program that was decisive for the National Liberal Party at the Constituent Reichstag of the North German Confederation and influenced the design of the German Reich constitution. On the XI. At the congress of German economists from September 1 to 4, 1869 in Mainz, the National Liberals discussed the merger of the liberals of the southern German states, who founded a national liberal party for southern Germany in Karlsruhe in 1870.
The end of the congresses
With the rise of protectionism from the end of the 1870s, the congress lost its importance. The year 1880 was a fateful year for the German free trade movement, for German liberalism and for the Congress of German Economists. In 1880 the Reichstag approved Bismarck's protective tariff policy , which then also led to the split in the National Liberal Party . The Congress of German Economists met for the 22nd and last time in Nuremberg in 1885. The meeting scheduled by the Permanent Deputation in Braunschweig in 1866 was not counted as a full-fledged congress due to the smaller framework caused by the war.
The reports on the negotiations of the annual congresses had been in print since 1861; Furthermore, the permanent deputation of the National Economic Congress together with the National Economic Society published the publication Volkswirtschaftliche Zeitfragen until after 1900 .
Web links
literature
- Gerhard Eisfeld: The emergence of the liberal parties in Germany 1858-1870. Study on the organizations and programs of the Liberals and Democrats. Verlag für Literatur und Zeitgeschehen, Hannover 1969, (at the same time: Bonn, Universität, Dissertation, 1967).
- Volker Hentschel : The German free traders and the economic congress 1858 to 1885 (= industrial world. Series of publications of the working group for modern social history. 16). Klett, Stuttgart 1975, ISBN 3-12-903680-6 (At the same time: Hamburg, University, dissertation, 1974: History of the German Free Trade Party and the Congress of German Economists from 1858 to 1885. ).