Gustav Struve facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gustav Struve
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| Born | 11 October 1805 |
| Died | 21 August 1870 (aged 64) |
| Occupation | Surgeon, politician, lawyer and publicist |
Gustav Struve, also known as Gustav von Struve for a time, was an important German figure. He was born on October 11, 1805, in Munich, Bavaria, and passed away on August 21, 1870, in Vienna, Austria. Gustav Struve was a lawyer, politician, and writer. He played a big part in the German revolutions of 1848–1849 in Baden, Germany, fighting for more freedom and a unified Germany. He also lived in the United States for over ten years, where he continued his work as a reformer.
Contents
Growing Up and Early Career
Gustav Struve was born into a family with a background in diplomacy. His father, also named Gustav, worked as a Russian diplomat in different European cities. Young Gustav grew up in Munich and later studied law at universities in Göttingen and Heidelberg.
After his studies, he worked in the civil service for a short time. In 1833, he moved to Baden and became a lawyer in Mannheim. He started writing for newspapers, supporting liberal politicians in the Baden parliament. His ideas became more and more focused on democracy, where people have the power. He also believed in early forms of socialism, which means wanting a fairer society for everyone.
Because of his strong opinions, he often got into trouble for his writings. In 1847, he decided to drop the "von" from his name. This was a sign of his democratic beliefs, showing he didn't want to be linked to the old noble titles. Gustav Struve also studied phrenology, which was a popular idea at the time about how the shape of your head could tell you about your personality.
Leading Up to the Revolution
The years before the 1848 revolutions in Germany were a time of tension. Many people wanted more freedom and a say in how their country was run. Gustav Struve was strongly against the ideas of Klemens Wenzel von Metternich. Metternich was a powerful leader in Austria who wanted to keep things the way they were, with kings and princes in charge. Struve, however, wanted big changes and more power for the common people.
The German Revolutions of 1848
When the revolutions began in 1848, Gustav Struve became a key leader in Baden. He worked closely with Friedrich Hecker, another revolutionary. Both Struve and Hecker wanted a republic, meaning a country ruled by elected representatives, not a king. They believed all of Germany should be united as a federation, where different states work together.
Struve and Hecker tried to start an uprising in Konstanz in April 1848. They hoped many people would join their march to Karlsruhe. However, not many people joined, and their group was stopped by troops in the Black Forest.
After this first attempt failed, Struve and Hecker fled to Switzerland. But Struve didn't give up. He wrote about the "Basic Rights of the German People" and made plans for a revolution to turn Germany into a republic. In September 1848, he tried again to start an uprising in Lörrach, but it also failed, and he was captured and put in prison.
The May Uprising in Baden
In 1849, Gustav Struve was freed during another uprising in Baden. The Grand Duke of Baden, Leopold, had to flee. On June 1, 1849, Struve helped set up a temporary government led by a liberal politician named Lorenz Brentano.
However, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (who later became Wilhelm I of Germany) marched into Baden with his army. Brentano was hesitant to fight, which made Struve and his supporters unhappy. They felt Brentano wasn't acting fast enough. So, Struve and his group took over the government. The revolutionaries tried to fight the Prussian troops, but they were greatly outnumbered. On July 23, the revolutionaries were defeated at Rastatt, and the revolution in Baden ended.
Life After the Revolution
Gustav Struve managed to escape being executed. He fled into exile, first to Switzerland and then, in 1851, to the United States.
In the USA, Struve lived in cities like Philadelphia and New York City. He worked as a writer and editor for German-language newspapers. He also wrote several books, including a large "World History" that took him 30 years to complete. This book shared his ideas about how history should be seen from a democratic point of view.
Struve was also interested in education and supported German public schools in New York City. He became involved in American politics, supporting presidential candidates like John C. Frémont in 1856 and Abraham Lincoln in 1860.
During the American Civil War, Struve joined the Union Army as a captain. He was one of many German immigrants who fought for the Union, known as the Forty-Eighters. He was an abolitionist, meaning he was against slavery. He believed slavery should be ended in the United States.
Returning to Germany
Gustav Struve never became an American citizen because he still felt his main goal was to fight for democracy in Europe. In 1863, the German government offered forgiveness to those involved in the revolutions, so Struve returned to Germany.
His first wife, Amalie, had passed away in 1862. Back in Germany, he married again. In 1865, Abraham Lincoln appointed him as a U.S. consul in Sonneberg, Germany. However, the local German states refused to accept him because of his strong political writings. Gustav Struve passed away in Vienna on August 21, 1870.
Vegetarianism
Gustav Struve was also a very important figure in the early vegetarian movement in Germany. He became a vegetarian in 1832, inspired by the writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
He wrote the first German novel about vegetarianism in 1833. In 1868, he founded the Stuttgart Vegetarian Society. He also wrote a book about plant-based food in 1869. Struve believed that being a vegetarian was connected to the idea of people governing themselves in a republic.
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Gustav Struve, a German politician and revolutionary.
See also
In Spanish: Gustav Struve para niños
