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Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein | |
|---|---|
| Reichsfreiherr | |
 Heinrich Friedrich Karl Reichsfreiherr vom und zum Stein (painting byJohann Christoph Rincklake) | |
| Born | (1757-10-25)25 October 1757 Nassau,County of Nassau,Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 29 June 1831(1831-06-29) (aged 73) Cappenberg Castle,Province of Westphalia,Kingdom of Prussia |
| Occupation | Politician; Minister |
Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein (25 October 1757 – 29 June 1831), commonly known asBaron vom Stein, was aPrussianstatesman who introduced thePrussian reforms, which paved the way for theunification of Germany. He promoted the abolition ofserfdom, withindemnification to territorial lords; subjection of the nobles to manorial imposts; and the establishment of a modern municipal system.
Stein was from an oldFranconian family. He was born on the family estate nearNassau, studied atGöttingen, and entered thecivil service. Prussian conservatism hampered him in his efforts to bring about changes. In 1807, he was removed from office by the King for refusing to accept the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs but was recalled after thePeace of Tilsit.
After it became known that he had written a letter in which he criticisedNapoleon, Stein was obliged to resign, which he did on 24 November 1808 and retired to theAustrian Empire, from which he was summoned to theRussian Empire by TsarAlexander I in 1812. After theBattle of Leipzig in 1813, Stein became head of the council for the administration of the reconquered German countries.
Stein was the ninth child of Karl Philipp Freiherr vom Stein, and Henriette Karoline Langwerth von Simmern.[1] Stein is the descendant of an ancient imperial family. Like many of his generation, he greatly admiredFrederick the Great.[2]
In his old age, Stein would express his gratitude to his parents for the influence. He added:
My view of the world and of human affairs I gathered as a boy and youth, in the solitude of a country life, from ancient and modern history, and in particular I was attracted by the incidents of the eventful history of England.[1]
In 1773 Stein went to theUniversity of Göttingen to studyjurisprudence. He also found time to pursue his studies in English history and politics.[1]
In 1777 Stein left Göttingen and proceeded toWetzlar, the legal centre of theHoly Roman Empire. He observed the workings of its institutions and prepare himself for a career inlaw. Next, after a stay at each of the chief south German cities, he settled atRegensburg to observe the methods of theImperial Diet. In 1779 he went toVienna. He proceeded toBerlin early in 1780.[1]
In Berlin, his admiration forFrederick the Great, together with his distaste for the pettiness of the legal procedure atWetzlar, compelled him to take service in the monarchy ofPrussia. He gained a position in the department of mines and manufactures. At the head of that department wasFriedrich Anton von Heynitz who was a master ofeconomics andcivil government. In June 1785, Stein was sent for a time as Prussian ambassador to the courts ofMainz,Zweibrücken, andDarmstadt. Between 1786 and 1787, Stein went on a tour in England where he pursued his research into commercial and mining affairs.[1][3]
In November 1787, Stein was appointedKammerdirektor, director of the chamber of war and domains, for the king's possessions west of the riverWeser. From 1796 until 1803, he was supreme president of all theWestphalian chambers dealing with the commerce and mines of Prussian lands with a seat inMinden. One of the chief benefits he conferred on these districts was the canalization of the riverRuhr which became an important outlet for thecoal of that region. He also improved the navigation of theWeser.[1]
Stein's early training and his sternly, practical mentality made him completely impervious to the enthusiasm that his contemporaries had shown for theFrench Revolution. He disliked the methods of the revolutionaries which he saw as an interruption to the orderly development of peoples. Nevertheless, he carefully noted the new sources of national strength that arrose from reforms in France.[1]
After being at war with France in 1792 to 1795,Prussia came to terms with the new revolutionary government in France atBasel in April 1795. The two nations remained at peace until 1806. However,Austria and southern Germany continued the struggle against France for most of that time. In Prussia,Frederick William III succeededFrederick William II in November 1797. Unfortunately, Frederick William III listened to the advice of secret and irresponsible counsellors and persisted to undermine thePeace of Basle.[1]
Stein in 1804 took office as minister of state for trade in Prussia. This made him responsible for indirect imposts, taxes, manufactures, and commerce.[4] While in office he introduced useful reforms in his department, particularly by abolishing various restrictions on the internal trade of the nation, but he was hampered in his endeavors by the spirit of Prussian conservatism. Stein was not at ease with the effects of the Francophile policy by the chief ministerChristian Graf von Haugwitz. Little came of Stein's protests, but he continued to protest. Prussian policy continued to progress on the path that led to the disaster atBattle of Jena starting on 14 October 1806.[1]
Stein was offered the portfolio for foreign affairs, which Stein declined to accept on the ground of his incompetence to manage that department unless there was a complete change in the system of government.[citation needed] Stein desired forKarl August von Hardenberg to take that office and bring into effect, with Stein's own help, the necessary administrative changes. The Prussian king refused to accept Hardenberg and, greatly irritated by Stein's unusually outspoken letters, dismissed Stein altogether because he was "a refractory, insolent, obstinate and disobedient official".[1] Stein spent the months in whichNapoleon completed the ruin of Prussia in retirement.[citation needed]
Stein got to seeKarl August von Hardenberg who had been called to office in April 1807. Important reforms were effected in the cabinet system. During the negotiations atTilsit,Napoleon refused to act upon Hardenberg's recommendations and Hardenberg thereupon retired. Surprisingly, Napoleon, who had as yet no idea of Stein's deep and earnest patriotism,[4] suggested Stein as a possible successor. No other strong man was at hand who could save the ship of state, and on 8 October 1807Frederick William III of Prussia, utterly depressed by the terrible terms of theTreaty of Tilsit, called Stein to office and entrusted him with very wide powers.[1]
Stein was now for a time virtually dictator of the reduced and nearly-bankruptPrussian state. The circumstances of the time and his own convictions, gained from study and experience, led him to press on drastic reforms in a way that could not otherwise have been followed.[citation needed]
First came theOctober Edict, issued atMemel on 9 October 1807, which abolished the institution ofserfdom throughout Prussia from 8 October 1810.[citation needed]Karl August von Hardenberg supported the October Edict. At the heart of the reform efforts was the conviction that the Prussian state could be reinvigorated if the most talented people in Prussia's society were actively involved in the work ofgovernment. In June 1807 Stein expanded on this thesis in theNassauer Denkschrift. Stein in December 1807 wrote to Hardenberg, contemplating that it "is essential that the nation become accustomed to managing its own affairs, so that it will emerge from this state of infancy in which an anxious and officious government attempts to keep the people".[5]
All distinctions affecting theland tenure, including land owned by thenobility andpeasants' land, were swept away and the principle offree trade in land was established. TheOctober Edict also abrogated all class distinctions respecting occupations and callings of any and every kind, thus striking another blow at thecaste system that had been so rigorous in Prussia.[citation needed]
Stein's next step was to strengthen the cabinet by wise changes.[citation needed]
Stein issued a measure formunicipal reform on 19 November 1808 which granted localself-government on enlightened yet practical lines to all Prussiantowns and even to allvillages possessing more than 800 inhabitants.[6]
While Stein's efforts were directed more towards civil affairs, he also furthered the progress of the military reforms, which are connected more especially with the name ofGerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst. They refashioned thePrussian army on modern lines, with a reserve system. Military service was made obligatory for all classes.[7]
Shortly afterwards, the reformer had to flee from Prussia. In August 1808, the French agents, who swarmed throughout the land, had seized one of his letters, in which he spoke of his hope that Germany would soon be ready for a national rising like that ofSpain. On 10 September, Napoleon gave orders that Stein's property in the new kingdom of Westphalia should be confiscated, and he likewise put pressure on Frederick William to dismiss him.The king evaded compliance, but the French emperor, on enteringMadrid in triumph, declared (16 December) Stein to be an enemy of France and the Confederation of the Rhine and ordered the confiscation of all his property in the Confederation. Stein saw that his life was in danger and fled from Berlin (5 January 1809). Thanks to the help of his former colleague, CountFriedrich Wilhelm von Reden, who gave him an asylum in his castle in theRiesengebirge, he succeeded in crossing the frontier intoBohemia.[8]
For three years, Stein lived in theAustrian Empire, generally atBrno, but in May 1812, in danger of being surrendered by Austria to Napoleon,[4] he received an invitation to visitSaint Petersburg from EmperorAlexander I of Russia, who saw that Austria was certain to be on the side of France in the forthcomingFranco-Russian War. At the crisis of that struggle, Stein may have been one of the influences that kept the tsar determined never to treat with Napoleon. When the miserable remains of the Grand Army reeled back into Prussia at the close of the year, Stein urged the Russian emperor to go on and free Europe from the French domination.[citation needed]
Events now brought Stein rapidly to the front. On 30 December 1812, the Prussian generalLudwig Yorck von Wartenburg signed theConvention of Tauroggen with the Russian generalHans Karl von Diebitsch for neutralization of the Prussian corps at and near Tilsit and for the free passage of the Russians through that part of the king's dominions. The Russian emperor requested Stein to act as provisional administrator of the provinces of East and West Prussia. In that capacity, he convened an assembly of representatives of the local estates, which on 5 February 1813, ordered the establishment of amilitia (Landwehr), a militia reserve and a final levy (Landsturm).[citation needed]
The energy that Stein infused into all around him contributed not a little to this important decision, which pushed on the king's government to more decided action than then seemed possible. Stein now went toBreslau, to where the King of Prussia had proceeded, but the annoyance that Frederick William felt at his irregular action lessened his influence.[8]
The 1813Treaty of Kalisz between Russia and Prussia cannot be claimed as due to Stein's actions, which were reprehended in court circles as those of a fanatic. At that time, the great patriot fell ill of a fever and complained of total neglect by the king and court.[citation needed]
He recovered, however, in time to take part in the drafting of a Russo-Prussian convention (19 March 1813) respecting the administration of the districts that should be delivered from French occupation. During the varying phases of the campaign of 1813 Stein continued to urge the need of warà outrance against Napoleon.[citation needed]
The Allies, after the entry of England and Austria into the coalition, conferred on Stein the important duties of superintending the administration of the liberated territories. After theBattle of Leipzig (16–19 October 1813), Stein entered that city the day after its occupation by the Allies and thus expressed his feelings on the fall of Napoleon's domination:
There it lies, then, the monstrous fabric cemented by the blood and tears of so many millions and reared by an insane and accursed tyranny. From one end of Germany to the other we may venture to say aloud that Napoleon is a villain and the enemy of the human race.[8]
Stein wanted to see Germany reconstituted as a nation but was frustrated by Austrian diplomat PrinceKlemens Wenzel von Metternich, who gained the alliance of the rulers of south and central Germany for his empire, on the understanding that they were to retain their old powers. Austria and the secondary German states resisted all unifying proposals, and Stein blamed the Prussian chancellorHardenberg for vacillation.[citation needed]
Stein shared in the desire of Prussian statesmen to absorbSaxony; in that too, he was doomed to disappointment. On 24 May 1815, he sent to his patron, the emperor Alexander, a detailed criticism of the federal arrangements proposed for Germany. He retired after theCongress of Vienna and disliked the postponement of the representative system of government that Frederick William had promised to Prussia in May 1815.[8]
His chief interest was in the study of history, and from 1818 to 1820, he worked hard to establish the society for the encouragement of historical research and the publication of theMonumenta Germaniae historica, of which his future biographer,Georg Heinrich Pertz, became the director.[citation needed]
Stein died atSchloss Cappenberg inWestphalia on 29 June 1831.[8]His burial ground is in the city ofBad Ems nearKoblenz.[citation needed]
Research has shown that Stein's credit for originating many of the far-reaching reforms of 1807/8 must be shared withTheodor von Schön and many others. A popular legend named him as the founder of theTugendbund, an institution that he always distrusted.[3][9]
Stein's enlightenment, insight into the needs of the time, and energy gave momentum to the reform movement.[citation needed]
On 8 June 1793 he married the Countess Wilhelmine Magdalene von Wallmoden (22 June 1772 – 15 September 1819), daughter ofJohann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn, an illegitimate son of KingGeorge II of Great Britain. They had three daughters,[8] including Henriette Luise (2 August 1796 – 11 October 1855).[citation needed]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Rose, John Holland (1911). "Stein, Heinrich Friedrich Karl, Baron vom und zum". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 871–873.
