Gustav Struve, known as Gustav von Struve
until he gave up his title (11 October 1805 in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
– 21 August 1870 in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
), was a German surgeon, politician, lawyer and publicist, and a revolutionary during the
German revolutions of 1848–1849
The German revolutions of 1848–1849 (), the opening phase of which was also called the March Revolution (), were initially part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many European countries. They were a series of loosely coordinated pro ...
in
Baden, Germany
The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.
It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...
. He also spent over a decade in the United States and was active there as a reformer.
Early years
Struve was born in Munich the son of a Russian diplomat
Johann Christoph Gustav von Struve, whose
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
came from the lesser nobility. His father Gustav, after whom he was named, had served as Russian Staff Councilor at the Russian Embassy in Warsaw, Munich and The Hague, and later was the Royal Russian Ambassador at the Badonian court in Karlsruhe. The younger Gustav Struve grew up and went to school in Munich, then studied law at universities in
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
and
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. For a short time (from 1829 to 1831) he was employed in the civil service in
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to:
Places
*Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
*Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany
**Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony
*Olde ...
, then moved to
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
in 1833 where in 1836 he settled down to work as a lawyer in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
.
In Baden, Struve also entered politics by standing up for the liberal members of the Baden parliament in news articles. His point of view headed more and more in a radical
democratic, early
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
direction. As editor of the ''Mannheimer Journal'', he was repeatedly condemned to imprisonment. He was compelled in 1846 to retire from the management of this paper.
In 1845, Struve married
Amalie Düsar on 16 November 1845 and in 1847 he dropped the aristocratic "von" from his surname due to his democratic ideals.
He also gave attention to
phrenology, and published three books on the subject.
Pre-revolutionary period
During ''
Vormärz
' (; English: ''pre-March'') was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848 March Revolution in the states of the German Confederation. The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after the ...
'', the years between the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
in 1815 and the
revolutions of 1848-49, Struve was strongly against the politics of
Metternich
Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...
, a strict
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
and
reactionary
In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...
against the democratic movement who ruled
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
at the time and had a strong influence on restoration Germany with his
Congress system
The Concert of Europe was a general consensus among the Great Powers of 19th-century Europe to maintain the European balance of power, political boundaries, and spheres of influence. Never a perfect unity and subject to disputes and jockeying fo ...
.
The revolution begins
Along with
Friedrich Hecker
Friedrich Franz Karl Hecker (September 28, 1811 – March 24, 1881) was a German lawyer, politician and revolutionary. He was one of the most popular speakers and agitators of the 1848 Revolution. After moving to the United States, he served as ...
, whom he had met in Mannheim, Struve took on a leading role in the revolutions in Baden (see
History of Baden
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
) beginning with the
Hecker Uprising, also accompanied by his wife Amalie. Both Hecker and Struve belonged to the radical democratic, anti-
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
ist wing of the revolutionaries. In Baden their group was particularly strong in number, with many political societies being founded in the area.
When the revolution broke out, Struve published a demand for a
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, to include all Germany, but this was rejected by "Pre-Parliament" (''Vorparlament''), the meeting of politicians and other important German figures which later became the
Frankfurt Parliament
The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...
.
Dreams of a federal Germany
Struve wanted to spread his radical dreams for a federal Germany across the country, starting in southwest Germany, and accompanied by Hecker and other revolutionary leaders. They organised the meeting of a revolutionary assembly in
Konstanz
Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
on 14 April 1848. From there, the ''Heckerzug'' (Hecker's column) was to join up with another revolutionary group led by the poet
Georg Herwegh
Georg Friedrich Rudolph Theodor Herwegh (31 May 1817 – 7 April 1875) was a German poet,Herwegh, Georg, The Columbia Encyclopedia (2008) who is considered part of the Young Germany movement.
Biography
He was born in Stuttgart on 31 May 1817, ...
and march to
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
. Few people joined in the march, however, and it was headed off in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
by troops from
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
.
Hecker and Struve fled to
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, where Struve continued to plan the struggle. He published ''Die Grundrechte des deutschen Volkes'' (The Basic Rights of the German People) and made a "Plan for the Revolution and Republicanisation of Germany" along with the revolutionary playwright and journalist
Karl Heinzen
Karl Peter Heinzen (22 February 1809 – 12 November 1880) was a revolutionary author who resided mainly in Germany and the United States. He was one of the German Forty-Eighters. He advocated terrorist violence against ruling dynasties and unin ...
. On 21 September 1848 he made another attempt to start an uprising in Germany, in
Lörrach
Lörrach () is a town in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, including the ...
. Once again it failed, and this time Struve was caught and imprisoned.
May Uprising in Baden
Struve was freed during the May Uprising in Baden in 1849.
Grand Duke
Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...
Leopold of Baden fled and on 1 June 1849 Struve helped set up a provisionary republican parliament under the liberal politician
Lorenz Brentano
Lorenzo Brentano (November 4, 1813 – September 18, 1891) was a German revolutionary and journalist who served as President of the Free State of Baden during the 1849 Baden Revolution. Following the failure of the revolutions, he and many o ...
. Prince Wilhelm of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, later to become
Wilhelm I of Germany
William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...
, set out for Baden with troops. Afraid of a military escalation, Brentano reacted hesitantly - too hesitantly for Struve and his followers, who overthrew him. The revolutionaries took up arms and, led by
Ludwik Mieroslawski
Ludwik () is a Polish given name.
Notable people with the name include:
* Ludwik Czyżewski, Polish WWII general
* Ludwik Fleck (1896–1961), Polish medical doctor and biologist
* Ludwik Gintel (1899–1973), Polish-Israeli Olympic soccer player
...
, tried to hold off the Prussian troops, who far outnumbered them. On 23 July the revolutionaries were defeated after a fierce battle at
Rastatt
Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was a ...
and the revolution came to an end.
Post-revolutionary life
Gustav Struve, along with other revolutionaries, managed to escape execution, fleeing to exile, first in Switzerland and then in 1851 to the US.
In the USA, Struve lived for a time in Philadelphia. He edited ''Der Deutsche Zuschauer'' (The German Observer) in New York City, but soon discontinued its publication because of insufficient support. He wrote several novels and a drama in German, and then in 1852 undertook, with the assistance of his wife, the composition of a universal history from the standpoint of radical republicanism. The result, ''Weltgeschichte'' (World History), was published in 1860.
It was the major literary product of his career and the result of 30 years of study. From 1858 to 1859, he edited ''Die Sociale Republik''.
He also promoted German public schools in New York City. In 1856, he supported
John Frémont
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
for U.S. president. In 1860, he supported
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
.
At the start of the 1860s, Struve joined in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
in the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
, a captain under
Blenker, and one of the many German emigrant soldiers known as the
Forty-Eighters
The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who participated in or supported the Revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe. In the German Confederation, the Forty-Eighters favoured unification of Germany, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human r ...
. He resigned a short time later to avoid serving under Blenker's successor, the Prussian Prince
Felix Salm-Salm
Prince Felix Constantin Alexander Johann Nepomuk of Salm-Salm (25 December 1828 – 18 August 1870) was a Prussian military officer of princely birth and a soldier of fortune.
Salm-Salm served in the Schleswig-Holstein Army (Prussian Army), Aus ...
. Struve was an abolitionist, and opposed plans to create a colony of freed slaves in Liberia because he thought it would hinder the abolition of slavery in the United States.
Return to Germany
He never became naturalized since he felt his primary objective was to battle the despots of Europe.
[Wittke, p. 206.] In 1863, a general amnesty was issued to all those who had been involved in the revolutions in Germany, and Struve returned to Germany. His first wife had died in
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
in 1862.
Back in Germany, he married a Frau von Centener.
Lincoln appointed him U. S. consul at
Sonneberg
Sonneberg in Thuringia, Germany, is the seat of the Sonneberg district. It is in the Franconian south of Thuringia, neighboring its Upper Franconian twin town Neustadt bei Coburg.
Sonneberg became known as the "world toy city", and is home to ...
in 1865, but the
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
n states refused to issue his exequatur
due to his radical writings.
On 21 August 1870 he died in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
where he had settled in 1869.
Vegetarianism
Struve was a leading figure in the initial stage of the German
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
movement. He had become a vegetarian in 1832 under the influence of
Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
's treatise ''
Émile''.
[Treitel, Corinna. (2017). ''Eating Nature in Modern Germany: Food, Agriculture and Environment, c.1870 to 2000''. Cambridge University Press. p. 42-43. ]
Struve authored the first German vegetarian-themed novel, ''Mandaras Wanderungen'' in 1833.
[Puskar-Pasewicz, Margaret. (2010). ''Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism''. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 115. ] He founded the Vegetarische Gesellschaft Stuttgart (Stuttgart Vegetarian Society) in 1868.
He wrote the vegetarian book ''Pflanzenkost'', in 1869.
Historian Corinna Treitel has noted that Struve linked "vegetarianism to republican self governance."
Works
* ''Politische Briefe'' (Mannheim, 1846)
* ''Das öffentliche Recht des deutschen Bundes'' (2 vols., 1846)
* ''Grundzüge der Staatswissenschaft'' (4 vols., Frankfort, 1847–48)
* ''Geschichte der drei Volkserhebungen in Baden'' (Bern, 1849)
* ''Weltgeschichte'' (6 vols., New York, 1856–59; 7th ed., with a continuation, Coburg, 1866–69)
* ''Das Revolutionszeitalter'' (New York, 1859–60)
* ''Diesseits und jenseits des Oceans'' (Coburg, 1864-'5)
* ''Kurzgefasster Wegweiser für Auswanderer'' (Bamberg, 1867)
''Pflanzenkost die Grundlage einer neuen Weltanschauung''(Stuttgart, 1869)
* ''Das Seelenleben, oder die Naturgeschichte des Menschen'' (Berlin, 1869)
* ''Eines Fürsten Jugendliebe'', a drama (Vienna, 1870)
His wife Amalie published:
* ''Erinnerungen aus den badischen Freiheitskämpfen'' (Hamburg, 1850)
* ''Historische Zeitbilder'' (3 vols., Bremen, 1850)
References
External links
The Democrats: Gustav von Struve: Motion in the German Pre-Parliament (March 31, 1848) fro
by
Howard Williams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Struve, Gustav
1805 births
1870 deaths
19th-century American journalists
Physicians from Munich
People from the Electorate of Bavaria
German religious humanists
German revolutionaries
German-American Forty-Eighters
German vegetarianism activists
Politicians from Munich
Journalists from Munich
Male journalists
German male non-fiction writers
Phrenologists
Gustav
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
University of Göttingen alumni
Heidelberg University alumni
American abolitionists
American male journalists