1848-1900: Revolution, Liberalism, Modernization
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Item Speech at the Pittsburgh Banquet, 1852Kossuth, Lajos (Common Council of the City of New York, 1852)Lajos Kossuth was the leader of the 1848 revolution in Hungary, which was defeated with the help of imperial Russia in 1849. His speech outlines the goals of the Hungarian nationalist cause to an American audience in 1852, at a time when he was in exile. He argues that Russia presents the only obstruction to freedom and democracy in Hungary, claiming that Russia is supported by despots detrimental to all of Europe and in violation of American principles of freedom. The speech presents an appeal for American support of Hungarian independence.Item Reports of the U.S. Representative in Vienna, 1877U.S. Representative in Vienna (Government Printing Office, 1878)Includes reports on the details of Austro-Hungarian dualism, Austrian and Hungarian policy vis-a-vis the declining Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and the so-called "Eastern Question" and a variety of other issues relating to the foreign and domestic policy of Austria-Hungary.Item Stirring Times in Austria, 1898Twain, Mark; Clemens, Samuel (1898)Mark Twain spent two years (1897-1899) traveling in Central Europe, staying mostly in Vienna. While there, he reported on the famous sittings of the Austrian House in 1897 during which the conservative government sought to push through the renewal of the Ausgleich [Compromise] agreement against the will of the German Liberals (Twain calls them "the Left" or "the Opposition"). The government at the time was headed by Count Badeni (a Polish aristocrat whose full name was Kazimierz Felix), known as a "strong man" for his overbearing governance of Galicia. His appointment resulted in the slow collapse of German control over the monarchy. The reason for the 1897 legislative crisis was that Badeni had issued a language ordinance that gave Czech equal status with German even within the "inner service" (meaning between government departments). The German liberal opposition was so incensed that it vowed to obstruct the Ausgleich renewal until, in Twain?s words, "the obnoxious Czech-language measure should be shelved." In the wake of the often violent protests, both within the House and in Prague, Vienna, Graz, and elsewhere in the monarchy, Emperor Franz Joseph dismissed Badeni. In the absence of a majority within the House, however, legislative action came to be undertaken increasingly by imperial emergency provisions which the parliament was not in session. This in turn further sapped the government of its remaining legitimacy. Twain outlines all these events with characteristic wit in this piece.Item Principalities of the Danube, 1877Towle, George M. (J.R. Osgood & Co., 1877)A description and history of the peoples of Serbia and the Romanian principalities from 1877.Item Letter of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer to Mr. William E. Gladstone, April 11, 1878Strossmayer, Bishop Josip Juraj (Constable and Co., 1911)Strossmayer expresses shock that England wishes to be allied with Hungary "who know no policy save that of blind hate and aversion towards the Slavs." Fears the Brits will turn over Balkan Slavs to oppression by Greeks. (See other letters from Strossmayer to Gladstone, 1876-1878)Item Letter of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer to Mr. William E. Gladstone, February 13, 1878Strossmayer, Bishop Josip Juraj (Constable and Co., 1911)Strossmayer writes to Gladstone more on the Eastern Question (see his other letter from 1876-1878). Says there is an urgent need to free the Christians from Ottoman (Turkish) oppression by granting them autonomy. Recommends territorial gains for Serbia.Item Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer to Mr. William E. Gladstone, February 10, 1877Strossmayer, Bishop Josip Juraj (Constable and Co., 1911)Strossmayer writes of the need for Europe to intervene in Turkey (on behalf of the Slavs of the Ottoman Empire) to protect Christians against atrocities by the Muslim administration. (See other letters from Strossmayer to Gladstone, 1876, 1878)Item Letter of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer to Mr. William E. Gladstone, October 1, 1876Strossmayer, Bishop Josip Juraj (Constable and Co., 1911)Bishop Strossmayer, who signs as "Bishop of Bosnia" (a Croat bishop based in Djakovo, in Slavonia) writes to Gladstone expressing sympathy for the granting of full administrative autonomy or independence to Bosnia and Bulgaria to free them from the Ottoman imperial influence and make them good Christians again.Item Archduke Palatine Stephen to the Hungarian Diet, July 8, 1848Archduke Palatine Stephen (Phinney & Co., 1852)Archduke Palatine Stephen speaks to the Hungarian Diet about "preserving the integrity of the Hungarian realm" in the face of assaults by "evil-disposed, rebellious agitators" (especially in Croatia). Also speaks of Ferdinand's sanction of the union of Transylvania with Hungary. Assures Hungary of the king's respect for and loyalty to Hungary.Item The Development of German-Czech Relations, 1898Turk (Tuerk), Karl (Lehmann/Alldeutscher Verband, 1898)Discusses several aspects of Czech-German relations since 1848 from a German perspective. Talks about how Slavs in general and Czechs in particular are edging Germans out of cultural and political life in Austria.