Folkenes forår i Jylland 1848

Fra censurens ophævelse 20. januar til Treårskrigens begyndelse 1. april

Resumé

Springtime of the Peoples in Jutland in 1848

Based on newspapers and petitions, the aim of the article is to explore political activity and political ideas circulating in Jutland in early 1848. The first and most active group consisted of liberal members of the Assembly of Estates in Viborg. They organized a large meeting and produced a petition to the newly crowned king Frederik VII, urging a free constitution for a state comprising the Kingdom of Denmark and the Duchy of Schleswig. The second part of the article examines political activity in the towns. In most towns nothing happened. Where something did happen, it was predominantly national and liberal in character, characterized by ad hoc organization and personal networks. This is seen as a sign of the absence of political associations in the previous period. The last part of the article studies political activity in the countryside which was generally characterized by inactivity. Building on personal networks, three petitions, all loyal to absolutism, were circulated without coordination. Political activity occurred in approximately five percent of the parishes, a level which mirrors the lack of political associations in rural areas.