Wilhelm von Kardorff (8 January 1828 in

Neustrelitz Neustrelitz (; East Low German: ''Niegenstrelitz'') is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 ...

– 21 July 1907) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

landowner and politician who supported the

Free Conservative Party The Free Conservative Party (german: Freikonservative Partei, FKP) was a liberal-conservative political party in Prussia and the German Empire which emerged from the Prussian Conservative Party in the Prussian Landtag in 1866. In the federal ele ...

. From the founding of the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

in 1867 until his death he was one of the most influential members of his party.

Sidney B. Fay Sidney Bradshaw Fay (13 April 1876 in Washington, D.C. – 29 August 1967 in Lexington, Massachusetts) was an American historian, whose examination of the causes of World War I, ''The Origins of the World War '' (1928; revised edition 1930) remains ...

, 'Reviewed Work: Wilhelm von Kardorff: Ein Nationaler Parliamentarier im Zeitalter Bismarcks und Wilhelms II, 1828-1907 by Siegfried von Kardorff', ''The Journal of Modern History'' Vol. 9, No. 4 (Dec., 1937), pp. 529-530 He was educated at

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 ...

and Halle, where he fought 31

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

Carlton J. H. Hayes Carlton Joseph Huntley Hayes (May 16, 1882 – September 2, 1964) was an American historian, educator, diplomat, devout Catholic and academic. A student of European history, he was a leading and pioneering specialist on the study of nationalism. ...

, 'Reviewed Work: Wilhelm von Kardorff, ein nationaler Parliamentarier im Zeitalter Bismarcks und Wilhelms II, 1828-1907 by Siegfried von Kardorff', ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 43, No. 1 (Oct., 1937), pp. 126-128 He joined the

Prussian 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 e ...

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in the late 1840s and during the next decade purchased large estates in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. He greatly admired

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

and enjoyed a close friendship with him.G. P. Gooch, 'Reviewed Work: Wilhelm von Kardorff: ein Nationaler Parlamentarier im Zeitalter Bismarcks und Wilhelms II, 1828-1907 by Siegfried von Kardorff', ''The English Historical Review'' Vol. 51, No. 204 (Oct., 1936), pp. 713-714 Following the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...

and the consequent

economic depression An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economical downturn that is result of lowered economic activity in one major or more national economies. Economic depression maybe related to one specific country were there is some economic ...

, Kardorff campaigned for the restoration of

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

, founding the Central Association of German Industrialists in 1876. This campaign was successful, with Bismarck passing a

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...

in 1879.

G. P. Gooch George Peabody Gooch (21 October 1873 – 31 August 1968) was a British journalist, historian and Liberal Party politician. A follower of Lord Acton who was independently wealthy, he never held an academic position, but knew the work of histo ...

considered this the greatest achievement of Kardorff's career. Kardorff was the Reichstag's primary expert on economic affairs. His economic ideas were influenced by

Henry Charles Carey Henry Charles Carey (December 15, 1793 – October 13, 1879) was the leading 19th-century economist of the American School, and chief economic adviser to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Carey is best known for the book ''The Harmony of Interest ...

and he fought unsuccessfully for the adoption of

bimetallism Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, typically gold and silver, creating a fixed rate of exchange betwee ...

, persuading the Reichstag but not the British, who favoured

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. He also opposed

Leo von Caprivi Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli (English: ''Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprara, and Montecuccoli''; born Georg Leo von Caprivi; 24 February 1831 – 6 February 1899) was a German general and statesman who served as the cha ...

's commercial treaties that led to freer trade and campaigned for higher tariff rates, succeeding in

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

Notes

Further reading