Christian Magnus Falsen
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Christian Magnus Falsen (14 September 1782 – 13 January 1830) was a Norwegian statesman, jurist and historian. He was a member of the
Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...
and was one of the writers of the
constitution of Norway The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish language, Danish: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian Bokmål: ; Nynorsk, Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the N ...
. Falsen has been named the father of the Norwegian constitution. Falsen's constitutional draft contained an almost literal copy of part of the U.S. Declaration of Independence: "All men are born free and equal: they have certain natural, essential and unchangeable rights. These are freedom, security, and property". Falsen's draft became the single most important direct source to the 1814 constitution.


Biography

Christian Magnus Falsen was born in Christiania, now
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, Norway. He was the son of Enevold de Falsen (1755–1808), a dramatist and author of a war song ''Til vaaben''. In 1802, he graduated with a degree in law at the
University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...
. In 1807, Christian Magnus Falsen was appointed a barrister. In 1808 he became circuit judge at Follo and lived in
Ã…s, Akershus Ã…s is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Follo, Norway, Follo Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ã…s. ...
Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...
, Norway. After
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ceded
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to
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in 1814 he played an important part in politics. Falsen led the Independent Party (''Selvstendighetspartiet'') that wanted complete independence and was prepared to resist Sweden militarily. He upheld King Christian Frederick and, after the separation of Norway from Denmark, assisted in drafting a constitution for Norway. During the drafting of the Norwegian constitution, Falsen was one of the principle authors of the
Jew clause The Jew clause (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is the colloquial name of the second paragraph of the Constitution of Norway from 1814 to 1851 and from 1942 to 1945. The clause, in its original form, banned Jews from entering Norway, and also ...
, which prohibited
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from entering Norway., This document was modeled upon that adopted by
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in 1791 and which was approved on 17 May 1814 by the
Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...
(''Riksforsamlingenat'') at
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. He was also strongly inspired by
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
and the
Constitution of the United States of America The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
. He is often called Father of the Norwegian Constitution — ''Grunnlovens far''. Falsen had a son in the spring of 1814 who he named Georg Benjamin, in honor of U.S. presidents
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
and
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
. Falsen held a seat in the
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and generally favored conservative political positions. In 1822 he was appointed Attorney General of the Kingdom, a post which he held for three years. In 1825 he became
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for
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, and in 1827 president of the Supreme Court. In 1828 he suffered from a stroke and did not return to the office. Christian Magnus Falsen is buried at Gamlebyen Churchyard. Next to his gravestone is the gravestone of his second wife. In 1804, he married Anna Birgitte Munch (1787-1810), with whom he had the son Enevold Munch Falsen (1810–80). In 1811, after her death, he married Elisabeth Severine Böckmann (1782-1848). She was the widow of Brede Stoltenberg, a brother of the tradesman Gregers Stoltenberg. With her he had the children Henrik Anton Falsen (1813–66) and Elisabeth Christine Falsen (1820–76).


American influence

Falsen's admiration for the
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was rooted in its democratic ideals, legal system, and the innovative spirit that defined the early years of the U.S. Falsen's fascination with the United States began at a young age through the influence of his father. From his father, Enevold De Falsen, he had absorbed his American ideals. He studied
American history The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...
throughout his life. He studied law at the
University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...
, where he had access to an extensive collection of books and writings on American history and political philosophy. Falsen delved into the works of influential American figures such as
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
,
James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
, and
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
, which exposed him to the revolutionary ideas that shaped the birth of the United States. Falsen later wrote the first biography of
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
in the Norwegian language, which was a highly laudatory biographical sketch of George Washington. In his Washington biography, Falsen described him as the epitome of moral strength, marked by a serious thoughtfulness and an extraordinary self-mastery and unselfishness based on the laws of honor and common sense. Falsen has been nicknamed "Norway's
James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
". He was well-orientated on the political and constitutional developments in America. He was impressed by the American independence movement. Falsen also argued for a bicameral system similar to what he called the "world's greatest constitution": the American Constitution. Falsen was chairman of the Constituent Assembly's committee charged with drafting the constitution and at times served as the president of the assembly. The constitutional draft by Johan Gunder Adler and Falsen, the Adler-Falsen draft, was overwhelmingly inspired by the U.S. Constitution. Falsen's draft became the single most important direct source of the
Norwegian Constitution The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish: ; Norwegian Bokmål: ; Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll. ...
. The constitutional draft contained an almost literal copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence: "All men are born free and equal: they have certain natural, essential and unchangeable rights. These are freedom, security, and property". The draft incorporated a word-for-word translation of Article 30 of the 1780
Massachusetts Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual states that make up the United States of America. It consists of a preamble, declaration ...
, articulating the principle of the separation of powers. Other provisions also showed parallels to the U.S. Constitution, including listing the parliament's legislative powers and its method of compensating lawmakers. The Norwegian constitutional rule of parliamentary immunity from arrests and the first article of the U.S. Constitution were particularly striking. The same was true of the rules for impeaching cabinet members. It also included corresponding parts of the New Hampshire Constitution. The sentence "Laws, not men should govern" was directly translated from the Massachusetts Constitution. When Norway joined the U.S. in 1814 as one of the world's first constitutional states, a proposal was made to the Constitutional Assembly that Norway would adopt
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as a new national flag, with five stars, one for each Norwegian diocese. The proposal did not pass. Falsen was a great admirer of U.S. Presidents
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
and
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
. In 1814, he baptized his son Georg Benjamin in their honor. Falsen would later publish a pamphlet on July 4, 1814, about the prospects of a new state where he pointed the American model: "For seven years they fought against the terrible odds. Not in vain, brethren, should these gorgeous examples shine before our eyes!". In 1817, Falsen wrote that the Norwegian Constitution "in particular when it comes to the representation of the people, it almost exclusively kept the American Constitution in view."Wasser, Henry and Sigmund Skard (2016). ''Americana Norvegica: Norwegian Contributions to American Studies, Volume 1''. University of Pennsylvania Press. Page 51. ISBN 9781512806939.


Note


References


Other sources

* Daa, Ludvig Kristensen (1860) ''Magnus Falsen, et Bidrag til Norges Konstitutions Historie'' (Christiana) * Vullum, Erik (1881) ''Kristian Magnus Falsen, Grundlovens Fader'' (Christiana) *Indrebø, Gustav (1919) ''Det norske generalprokurørembættet: Chr. M. Falsen 1822-1825'' (Christiana) *Østvedt, Einar (1945) Christian Magnus Falsen: linjen i hans politikk. (Oslo: H. Aschehoug and co)


Related Reading

*Barton, H. Arnold (2002) ''Sweden and Visions of Norway: Politics and Culture 1814-1905'' (Southern Illinois University Press) {{DEFAULTSORT:Falsen, Christian Magnus 19th-century Norwegian historians 1782 births 1830 deaths Fathers of the Constitution of Norway Chief justices of Norway Presidents of the Storting 19th-century Norwegian judges University of Copenhagen alumni People from Ås, Akershus Members of the Storting 1821–1823 Members of the Storting 1818–1820 Members of the Storting 1815–1817