The Old Liberals (
''German'': Altliberale) were 19th-century liberals who, after 1849, stood in the tradition of the moderate,
constitutional liberalism
Constitutional liberalism is a form of government that upholds the principles of classical liberalism and the rule of law. It differs from liberal democracy in that it is not about the method of selecting government.
The journalist and scholar F ...
of the
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 ...
and the
revolution of 1848/49. In a narrower sense, the term refers to a parliamentary group in the
Prussian House of Representatives
The Prussian House of Representatives () was the lower chamber of the Landtag of Prussia (), the parliament of Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the upper house, the Prussian House of Lords, House of Lords (), it formed ...
. Its origin was the Vincke faction in the 1850s. After 1866, if they had not gone over to the
German Progress Party
The German Progress Party (, DFP) was the first modern political party in Germany, founded by liberal members of the Prussian House of Representatives () in 1861 in opposition to Minister President Otto von Bismarck.
History
Upon the failed R ...
in 1861, their deputies became part of the
National Liberal Party or the
Free Conservative Party
The Free Conservative Party (, FKP) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative political party in Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia and the German Empire which ran as the German Reich Party (, DRP) in the federal elections to the Reichstag (Ger ...
.
The term altliberal is contemporary and was used by
Robert von Mohl
Robert von Mohl (17 August 1799 – 4 November 1875) was a German jurist. He was the father of diplomat Ottmar von Mohl and salonnière Anna von Helmholtz, and brother of Hugo von Mohl, Moritz Mohl and Julius von Mohl.
From 1824 to 1845 he wa ...
after 1849 to describe the supporters of a constitutional system of government.
Literature
* Gerd Fesser : ''Old Liberals (Al) 1849–1876.'' In: Dieter Fricke and others (ed.): ''Encyclopedia of party history.'' Vol. 1. Bibliographic Institute, Leipzig 1983,
DNBbr>
850223156 pp. 59–65.
* Walter Tormin : ''History of the German parties since 1848.'' 2nd edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart et al. 1967,
DNBbr>
458434701 pp. 48, 57, 59.
See also
*
History of liberalism
Liberalism, the belief in freedom, Political equality, equality, democracy and human rights, is historically associated with thinkers such as John Locke and Montesquieu, and with Constitutional monarchy, constitutionally limiting the power of the ...
References
Liberalism in Germany
Classical liberalism
History by political party
Politics of Prussia
{{Germany-poli-stub