Nine demands from Nassau
The citizens of the Duchy of Nassau formulated their call for civil rights with the Nine Demands of Nassau on March 1, 1848 in the course of the March Revolution under the leadership of the liberal politician August Hergenhahn . The demands, which corresponded completely to the liberal thinking of the bourgeoisie, received the following nine points in this order:
- Popular armament
- Freedom of the press
- Convocation of a German parliament
- Swearing in of the military on the constitution
- Freedom of association
- Public jury proceedings
- Conversion of the domains into state property
- Right to vote for all citizens
- Religious freedom
They were spread across the country through leaflets and word of mouth. On March 4, 1848, a crowd of 30,000 people, which corresponded to about a third of the male population of the duchy, gathered on Schloßplatz in Wiesbaden in front of the city palace , called for the duke and threatened to storm the palace.
Duke Adolf von Nassau , who in the tradition of his father was actually strictly conservative and reactionary, traveled in a hurry from Berlin , bowed to the pressure of the liberal freedomists and inevitably agreed to the demands as far as possible. Hergenhahn was named Prime Minister of the Duchy on April 16, 1848 . Some progressive laws were subsequently passed under him.