German Progress Party
|
German Progress Party
Deutsche Fortschrittspartei |
|
|---|---|
| Leaders |
Johann Jacoby, Hans Victor von Unruh, Adolph Diesterweg, Eugen Richter, Rudolf Virchow, Albert Hänel, Albert Traeger |
| Founded | June 6, 1861 |
| Dissolved | March 5, 1884 |
| Preceded by | "Old liberal" group, German National Association |
| Merged into | German Free-minded Party |
| Headquarters | Berlin |
| Newspaper |
Der Volksfreund (1868-1872) Der Reichsfreund(1882-1884) |
| Ideology |
Liberalism Federalism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Grey |
The German Progress Party (German: Deutsche Fortschrittspartei, DFP) was the first modern political party in Germany, founded by liberal members of the Prussian House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus) in 1861, in opposition to Minister President Otto von Bismarck.
Upon the failed revolutions of 1848, several deputies in the Landtag diet of Prussia maintained the idea of constitutionalism as it had been developed in the Vormärz era. In the 1850s these "Old Liberals" gathered in a parliamentary group around Georg von Vincke, an originally conservative Prussian official and landowner (Junker). Vincke, former member of the Frankfurt Parliament, a polished orator and firebrand, had fallen out with Prime Minister Otto Theodor von Manteuffel over his reactionary policies and in 1852 even fought a duel with Bismarck after a heated verbal exchange in parliament (both men missed).
When under the regency of William I of Prussia from 1858 the Prussian policies of the "new era" turned towards a more centrist stance, a left-wing group under Max von Forckenbeck seceded and allied with members of the German National Association to form the "German Progress Party" on 6 June 1861. Among the founders were Rudolf Virchow, Theodor Mommsen, Werner von Siemens, Benedict Waldeck, Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch, Hans Victor von Unruh, Wilhelm Loewe and Johann Jacoby.
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