Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann

Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann ( born May 13, 1785 Wismar, † December 5, 1860 in Bonn ) was a German historian and statesman; known as one of the " Göttingen Seven" and co-author of Paulskirchen Constitution of 1848.

Training

Friedrich Dahlmann was born in Mecklenburg, Wismar, the son of the mayor and syndic Johann Christian Ehrenfried Dahlmann (1739-1805) on 13 May in 1785. Wismar was at the time of his birth was under Swedish rule, why Dahlmann was a Swedish subject. He received his first scientific studies at the Latin School in Wismar. In 1802 he entered the University of Copenhagen, where his mother, a brother took his. Predominant inclination led him to the study of classical philology. Since he was the teacher in Copenhagen poorly suited to promote it, Dahlmann decided in 1804 to go to Halle, where Friedrich August Wolf exercised a great attraction for him. His studies were interrupted by his own illness and the death of his father, who left only scanty means, and he came again to Copenhagen, but only in order to drive private study, and then spent several years in Wismar. In 1809 he traveled to Dresden, where he finished a close friendship with Heinrich von Kleist, and from where he visited the battlefield of Aspern with this during the Franco - Austrian War.

Professional and policy

In Wittenberg he acquired in 1810 with a dissertation on Ottokar of Bohemia the Doctor of Philosophy degree; In 1811 he qualified as a professor in Copenhagen as a lecturer in philology, received in 1812 a mandate to hold historical lectures at the University of Kiel and was hired in 1813 as an associate professor there. In the speech (Kiel 1815), which he held in the conference organized by the University of celebration of the Battle of Waterloo, he urged with serious words to work on the political rebirth of Germany.

As secretary of the Schleswig-Holstein knighthood, he entered with zeal and determination of their rights and was shifted in an oppositional position to the Danish government. He was not promoted to full professor and took therefore willingly in 1829 a reputation as a professor of German history and political science to Göttingen to. There he devoted himself with great success of teaching, but was again involved in politics by saying, according to the so-called. Göttingen Revolution ( January 1831 ) posted as a deputy of the University to the Governor General the Duke of Cambridge, whose confidence won, drawn upon detection of the Constitution to rate and was chosen by the University to its representatives in the Second Chamber.

Both his speeches and his article in the " Hanoverian newspaper" excited by their ruthless frankness and her independent judgment on all sides often impetus, and he felt with his political views in isolation. A fruit of his then- practical and theoretical studies in politics was the manual of the policy: The policy returned to the base and the measure of the given states, of which only the first band (Göttingen 1835, 3rd edition, Berlin 1847) has been released.

The sphere of activity, the Dahlmann himself had created in Göttingen, was prepared to a sudden end by the breach of the constitution King Ernst August, 1837. Dahlmann wrote the draft of a protest, which held that the proceedings of the king for a coup, which could absolve anyone from the payments made to the State Constitution Oath; six of Dahl 's colleagues signed this declaration. The consequence was their dismissal and expulsion (see " Göttingen Seven" ). Dahlmann, the classic pamphlet even wrote about the constitutional issue to understanding, first went to Leipzig, where they seemed to want to make it a place of quiet activity, a plan, but failed due to the anxiety of the Ministry. Instead, he went to Jena, where he ( 1840-43, 3 vols Hamburg) wrote his excellent, reaching up to the Reformation history of Denmark.

After the accession of Frederick William IV Dahlmann November 1, 1842 was appointed as a professor at the University of Bonn. There he soon gained an extensive efficacy. His lectures were the most visited in Bonn, he was widely regarded as a political authority, and the government also brought in important university matters his advice. Among the lectures, which he held in Bonn, especially the rose of the English and French Revolution produced by its political importance; they were soon printed ( History of the English Revolution, Leipzig 1844, 6th Edition 1864, History of the French Revolution, Leipzig 1845, 3rd edition 1864), sold like hot cakes and given the political judgment of the middle classes in Germany.

At the event, the German scholar meetings, which are held in the years 1846 and 1847, had the meaning of a German Pre-Parliament, Dahlmann took a lively interest. He played a very important, influential role in the national movement of the year 1848. Already in the beginning of the same, he was asked by the newly appointed Minister Graf Schwerin to participate in the discussions on the Prussian constitution, soon after a Prussian steward to the Bundestag to Frankfurt am Main sent, it even appointed to the actual parliamentary messenger, but he refused because he was convinced that he can act more in a freer position. The draft constitution of the 17 trustees, in which the unit thought came to so resolute expression is mainly Dahl 's work. He was also Speaker of the Constitutional Committee of the National Assembly.

On the question of hegemony, he was responsible for the unification under Prussian leadership to the exclusion of Austria, but found so that neither the King of Prussia nor in the majority of Parliament applause. In general, he lacked for a practical policy the rapid realization of possibility and practicality and the bold decision, as his behavior on September 1, 1848 in the matter of Malmö armistice and its inability to form a ministry showed. But he entered in 1849 decided yet for the Prussian Empire a.

To participate in the Gotha Nachparlament and in support of the Prussian Union efforts to Dahlmann decided only with great self-denial: he was convinced that that path will not lead to the goal. But he got himself elected in the Erfurt Parliament and also appeared in the summer of 1850 in the Prussian First Chamber, where he confronted the rush of restoration efforts brave, but without success. Later he withdrew completely from political life and devoted himself with zeal to his teacher. More and more lonely, he abandoned himself to the feeling of bitter resignation and drew only since the turn of events in Prussia 1858 new courage. He died in 1860, recognized as one of the most important politicians and noblest patriots of Germany.

The constitutional question in Dahl 's scientific work

Dahlmann is also the author of several scientific journals. In accordance with his active political life touch these writings Whatever the constitutional issues of the day. In Dahlmann can often be distinguished only with difficulty between purely historical and political science works. The story was Dahlmann as a source for solving current political issues. Of his works on the revolutions in France and England, for example, are marked. Conversely, it is often argued in the more political- theoretical writings on the basis of the story.

The best-known theoretical writings are the essay " A word about the Constitution ", emerged during Dahlmanns time in Kiel, as well as its above- mentioned main work " The policy is returned to the bottom and the measure of the given states ," emerged during Dahl 's time as a professor in Göttingen. In both documents the evolutionary grown British constitutional model will ultimately be worked out as the historically appropriate to the German situation. Is meant for Dahlmann so a single responsible government to the monarch on one side and a parliament on the other side, which divides itself as representatives of the nobility and citizens of two chambers. The fact that in the UK already parliamentarism political practice was for the purposes of a dependent of the parliamentary majority government, was overlooked.

The strong focus on historical arguments and the concomitant rejection of revolutionary upheavals on the basis of abstract theories (for an appropriate negative example recognized Dahlmann in France) is probably the reason that Dahlmann was assessed in the scientific literature in retrospect often different. Although he is regarded as the most "liberal " sideline, with assessments such as " liberal- conservative " or even to find " conservative."

Family

He was married twice. His first wife was Julie Hegewisch ( 1795-1826 ). He had married in 1817 in Kiel, she was the daughter of the Kiel professor Dietrich Hermann Hegewisch ( 1746-1812 ). The couple had three sons and a daughter. The daughter Dorothea (1822-1847) married the Tübingen professor August Ludwig Reyscher ( 1802-1880 ). His son, Hermann (1821-1894) was Landgerichtsdirektor in Marburg, the others died young.

His second wife was 1829 in Kiel Luise von Horn ( 1800-1856 ). She was the daughter of the Danish Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Bogislaw of Horn and Sophie Georgine Luise of Warnstedt and granddaughter of the Prussian Major-General Friedrich Magnus von Horn.

Works

• Research from the field of history ( Volume 1, Altona, 1821; Band 2: " Herodotus ", 1824) - Vol 2 scans at Internet Archive
• Issue of Neocorus ' history of Dithmar, in Saxon language (Kiel 1827)
• Source studies of German history, for their own presentations of German history sorted (Göttingen 1830, 5th edition, edited by Waitz, 1883. ).
• The policy, attributed to the reason and the measure of the given states, Göttingen 1835 ( digitized and full text in German Text Archive ), Leipzig 1847
• History of Dännemark, 1843 - scans the Internet Archive
• First lecture at the Rhenish College. November 28, 1824, Bonn 1842
• History of the English Revolution, Leipzig 1844
• History of the French Revolution to the foundation of the Republic, Leipzig 1845 - scans the Internet Archive - digitized and full text in German Text Archive
• Two revolutions, 1853 - scans the Internet Archive
• Its held in Kiel in 1826 Lectures on the History Dithmarschens gave Kolster (Leipzig, 1873 ) supplemented out. See A. Springer, Friedr. Christian. Dahlmann (Leipzig 1870-72, 2 band)
• Small speeches and writings, ed. of C. Varrentrapp, Stuttgart 1886