5. Demanding Political Freedom

5.
Demanding Political Freedom

Address by the Hungarian Parliament (March 14, 1848)and

Demands of the Hungarian People (March 15, 1848)

As word of the February Revolution in Paris spread, it inspired people seeking change to stage public demonstrations across Europe, including in Hungary. Long under Habsburg control, in the 1830s a growing segment of the Hungarian population advocated for national self-determination. They faced stiff opposition, however, from the absolutist, autocratic court in Vienna. When protests there prompted the Austrian emperor Ferdinand to agree to a series of concessions, including forming a constitutional government, the Hungarian Parliament wasted no time in stepping up the pressure for reform. On March 14, it met in Pozsony near Vienna and approved the following address to Ferdinand, written by Magyar nationalist Lajos Kossuth (1802–1894). Inspired by the news, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, calling for Hungary’s liberation from Habsburg tyranny. With the crowds’ support, a group of university students composed the twelve-point demands of the Hungarian people. Although the ensuing revolution was ultimately crushed, in 1991 the National Assembly of Hungary designated March 15 as one of three national days commemorating Hungary’s statehood.

From G. A. Kertesz, ed., Documents in the Political History of the European Continent 1815–1939 (London: Oxford University Press, 1968), 123–26.

Address by the Hungarian Parliament

Your Majesty,—events which have recently transpired impose upon us the imperative duty of directing your attention to those exigencies which our fidelity towards the reigning house, the legal relations of the monarchy at large, and our love for our country prescribe. Reverting to the history of the past, we are reminded that for three centuries not only have we been hindered from giving free development to the constitutional spirit of our country, in accordance with the demands of the time, but our most zealous efforts have with difficulty succeeded in preserving it. The cause of this has been that the government of Your Majesty has not followed a constitutional direction, and consequently has been at variance with the independent character of our Government. This alone has hitherto prevented the development of the constitutional system in Hungary; and it is clear that unless the direction be changed, and Your Majesty’s Government is made to harmonize with constitutional principles, the throne of Your Majesty, no less than the monarchy itself, endeared to us by virtue of the Pragmatic Sanction,1 will be placed in a state of perplexity and danger, the end of which we cannot foresee, and which must entail unspeakable misery upon our country. Having been called together by Your Majesty for the purpose of carrying out measures of reform, we have resolved that upon the basis of an equal taxation we will take our share in those public burdens by which the expenses of the municipal administration have hitherto been defrayed, and provide for what farther shall be required. We have also resolved to free the country from feudal burdens, indemnifying at the same time the proprietors of the soil; and thus, by reconciling the interests of the people and the nobility, to strengthen the throne of Your Majesty, and establish it upon the well being of the country at large. One of the most important of our tasks is to alleviate the burdens of the peasantry, as regards the quarterings and the necessary provisions for the soldiery. Believing in the necessity of reform, as regards the municipalities of the towns and districts, we are likewise of opinion that the time has arrived for granting political rights to the people. The country has a right to expect measures to be carried out for raising our industrial resources, our commerce, and our agriculture. At the same time the spirit of our constitution demands free development under a true representative system, and the intellectual interests of the nation likewise demand support, based upon freedom. Our military institutions require a thorough reform,—a reform the urgency of which is pressed upon us by a regard to Your Majesty’s throne and the safety of our country. We cannot longer consent to a postponement of the constitutional application of the state revenues of Hungary, and the rendering an exact account of the revenue and expenditure. In entertaining several of these questions it becomes requisite, from our relations with the hereditary provinces, to reconcile as far as possible our mutual interests, and reserving in all cases our national rights and independence, we readily offer to those countries the hand of brotherhood. We are moreover convinced, that all measures proposed as aids to our constitutional progress, and to the elevation of the moral and material condition of our country, can only attain real value and vitality when a national government shall exist independent of foreign influence, which may give its sanction to such measures; and which, based on true constitutional principles, shall be responsible to the nation, the voice of which it will duly represent. For these reasons it is that we consider the conversion of the present system of a government by boards and commissions into a responsible Hungarian ministry, the chief condition, the most essential guarantee of all measures of reform.

Demands of the Hungarian People

  1. Freedom of the press; abolition of censorship.
  2. A responsible ministry with its seat in the capital.2
  3. An annual parliament in Budapest.3
  4. Political and religious equality before the law.
  5. A national guard.
  6. Taxes to be paid by all.4
  7. Abolition of serfdom.
  8. Jury system. Equality of representation.
  9. A national bank.
  10. The military to take an oath to the constitution; Hungarian soldiers not to be stationed abroad, foreign soldiers to be removed.
  11. Political prisoners to be freed.
  12. Union with Transylvania.5

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. What are the key reforms proposed in the address by the Hungarian Parliament? How do they reflect both liberal and nationalist ideals prevalent throughout much of Europe at the time?

    Question

    NzdSKBLzMdE3+dR2SEsQS0Pgiznkf+ddmZ4R75xglCqYv1S4nU7jF94vcR/jnYceXkOOezUDltLDrtAuhOBTlEszoT/zapY/lH+m/EQf5YCCtWwwPvF8aK2SZeIrmsYKmw3LLOWIqfXCckNIXiYwu4bviyhojdXntO3rlVpMyryvIEbpjVWsWRKDvAaR90Kv4iW+TNYUMJOQc68+SsRf8h8oLWcXE9n7OLrahxb9ublQbIden3aKkjTRCml2MtcykOgNYhCqzqb9VVPS+sJ5fivGDNqSiMX0eGDUYAiYNzM=
    What are the key reforms proposed in the address by the Hungarian Parliament? How do they reflect both liberal and nationalist ideals prevalent throughout much of Europe at the time?
  2. In what ways do the March 15 demands build on these reforms and seek to translate them into practice?

    Question

    q3z0xmcij+eNItTU6N9sy/+agSV8OpbB2W+Q8Yo4caOWlfOheuihd85sWUO4mEsajzYUSOHbVp5XBcV2l0X1Bl/qcICkau89x19B+uvo88XKQRXjfUt8JnMZ4w+sA03CBmkkPAje43blwa8kJW7Apux6omKXSDOJeyzB+zJDTF1Q2I+oDj1IiDbLdxgW1CSx
    In what ways do the March 15 demands build on these reforms and seek to translate them into practice?
  3. Do you see any similarities between these demands and contemporary expectations regarding the basis of democratic governments and the rights of their citizens?

    Question

    LxXwGnqnpvvSgkReA8lED6PplGfkWLWOzBqNZ5i3RMzuuGqMEzfPkm8xwWg/9AfBYm7KqsUOZWAqEsrM1Ad1aR5+gnqwxISGMGaTfySdrDmuuwclcDJFIRo34r/xcaYuDfmd9iTyScP9dCajzGfWnV2SL0IJ0TLOdLQP0jQYKlo2Xs5a1YIogE4S07j6NK3oU3Dd2R/PK8rOL5YJReaCZ7igOvRLRDtoAZ/ouNsc6WE8QwcIhC27pxks5A0DULMrfY8Ew9CtciQPG8TB
    Do you see any similarities between these demands and contemporary expectations regarding the basis of democratic governments and the rights of their citizens?