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STEIN, HEINRICH FRIEDRICH KARL, BARON...

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Originally appearing in Volume V25, Page 873 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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STEIN, HEINRICH See also:FRIEDRICH KARL, See also:BARON VOM tNu zuM (1757-1831), See also:German statesman, was See also:born at 'the See also:family See also:estate near See also:Nassau, on the 26th of See also:October 1757. He was the ninth See also:child of Karl Philipp, Freiherr vom Stein; the See also:maiden name of his See also:mother was von Simmern. His See also:father was a See also:man of stern and irritable temperament, which his far more famous son inherited, with the addition of intellectual gifts which the father entirely lacked. The family belonged to the See also:order of imperial knights of the See also:Holy See also:Roman See also:Empire, who occupied a See also:middle position between See also:sovereign princes and subjects of the empire. They owned their own domains and owed See also:allegiance only to the See also:emperor, but had no votes for the See also:diet. In his old See also:age he ex-pressed his gratitude to his parents for " the See also:influence of their religious and truly German and knightly example." He added, " My view of the See also:world and of human affairs I gathered as a boy and youth, in the solitude of a See also:country See also:life, from See also:ancient and See also:modern See also:history, and in particular I was attracted by the incidents of the eventful history of See also:England." The influence of See also:English ideas, which was so potent a See also:factor in the lives of See also:Voltaire, See also:Rousseau, Talleyrand and many others in the 18th See also:century, was therefore potently operative in the See also:early career of Stein. He does not seem to have gone to any school; but in 1773 he went with a private See also:tutor to the university of See also:Gottingen in See also:Hanover, where he studied See also:jurisprudence, but also found See also:time to pursue his studies in English history and politics, whereby, as he wrote, " my predilection for that nation was confirmed." In 1777 he See also:left Gottingen and proceeded to See also:Wetzlar, the legal centre of the Holy Roman Empire, in order to see the working of its institutions and thereby prepare himself for the career of the See also:law. Next, after a stay at each of the See also:chief See also:South German capitals, he settled at See also:Regensburg (Ratisbon) in order to observe the methods of the Imperial diet. In 1779 he went to See also:Vienna, gave himself up to the See also:gay life of that See also:capital, and _then proceeded to See also:Berlin early in 1780. There his admiration for See also:Frederick the See also:Great, together with his distaste for the pettiness of the legal See also:procedure at Wetzlar, impelled him to take service under the Prussian monarch. He was fortunate in gaining an See also:appointment in the See also:department of mines and manufactures, for at the See also:head of this See also:office was an able and intelligent See also:administrator, Heinitz, who helped him to See also:master the principles of See also:economics and See also:civil See also:government. In See also:June 1785 he was sent for a time as Prussian See also:ambassador to the courts of See also:Mainz, See also:Zweibrucken and See also:Darmstadt, but he soon See also:felt a distaste for See also:diplomacy, and in 1786-1787 he was able to indulge his See also:taste for travel by a tour in England,where he pursued his researches into commercial and See also:mining affairs.

In See also:

November 1787 he became Kammerdirektor, i.e. director of the See also:board of See also:war and domains for the See also:king's possessions See also:west of the See also:river See also:Weser; and in 1796 he was appointed supreme See also:president of all the Westphalian See also:chambers dealing with the See also:commerce and mines of those Prussian lands. Among the benefits which he conferred on these districts, one of the chief was the canalization of the river See also:Ruhr, which thenceforth became an important outlet forthe See also:coal of that region. He also improved the See also:navigation of the Weser, and kept up well the See also:main roads committed to his care. On the 8th of June, 1793 he married the countess Wilhelmine, daughter of See also:Field See also:Marshal See also:Count Johann See also:Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn, a natural son of King See also:George II. of Great See also:Britain. Stein's early training, together with the sternly See also:practical See also:bent of his own nature, made him completely impervious to the See also:enthusiasm which the See also:French Revolution had aroused in many minds in See also:Germany. He disliked its methods as an interruption to the orderly development of .peoples. Nevertheless he care-fully noted the new See also:sources of See also:national strength which its reforms called forth in See also:France. Meanwhile See also:Prussia, after being at war with France during the years 1792-95, came to terms with it at See also:Basel in See also:April 179.5, and remained at See also:peace until 18o6, though See also:Austria and South Germany continued the struggle with France for most of that See also:interval. Prussia, however, lost rather than gained strength at this time; for Frederick See also:William III„ who succeeded the weak and sensual Frederick William II. in November 1797, was lacking in fore-sight, See also:judgment and strength of See also:character. He too often allowed public affairs to be warped by the See also:advice of See also:secret and irresponsible counsellors, and persisted in the policy of subservience to France inaugurated by the treaty of Basel. It was under these untoward circumstances that Stein in 1804 took office at Berlin as See also:minister of See also:state for See also:trade. He soon felt constrained to protest against the effects of the Gallophil policy of the chief minister, See also:Haugwitz, and the evil influences which clogged the See also:administration.

Little, however,, came of Stein's protests, though they were urged with his usual incisiveness and See also:

energy. Prussian policy continued to progress on the path which led to the disaster at See also:Jena (Oct. 14, 1806). The king then offered to Stein the See also:portfolio for See also:foreign affairs, which the minister declined to accept on the ground of his incompetence to See also:manage that department unless there was a See also:complete See also:change in the See also:system of government. The real See also:motive for his refusal was that he desired to see See also:Hardenberg take that office and effect, with his own help, the necessary administrative changes. The king refused to accept Hardenberg, and, greatly irritated by Stein's unusually outspoken letters, dismissed him altogether, adding that he was " a refractory, insolent, obstinate and disobedient See also:official." Stein now spent in retirement the months during which See also:Napoleon completed the ruin of Prussia; but he saw Hardenberg called to office in April 1807 and important reforms effected in the See also:cabinet system. During the negotiations at See also:Tilsit, Napoleon refused to See also:act with Hardenberg, who there-upon retired. See also:Strange to say, the French emperor at that time suggested Stein as a possible successor. No other strong man was at See also:hand who could See also:save the See also:ship of state; and on the 4th of October 1807 Frederick William, utterly depressed by the terrible terms of the treaty of Tilsit, called Stein to office and entrusted him with very wide See also:powers. Stein was now for a time virtually See also:dictator of the reduced and nearly bankrupt Prussian state. The circumstances of the time and his own convictions, gained from study and experience, led him to See also:press on drastic reforms in a way which could not otherwise have been followed. First came the.

See also:

Edict of.Emancipation, issued at See also:Memel on the 9th of October 1807, which abolished the institution of See also:serfdom throughout Prussia from thg 8th of October 181o. All distinctions affecting the See also:tenure of See also:land (See also:noble land, peasants' land, &c.) were also swept away, and the principle of See also:free trade in land was established forthwith. The same famous edict also abrogated all class distinctions respecting occupations and callings of any and every See also:kind, thus striking another See also:blow at the See also:caste system which had been so rigorous in Prussia. Stein's next step was to strengthen the cabinet by See also:wise changes, too complicated to be enumerated here. He also furthered the progress of the military reforms which are connected more especially with the name of See also:Scharnhorst (q.v.); they refashioned the Prussian See also:army on modern lines, with a reserve system. Stein's efforts were directed more towards civil affairs; and in this See also:sphere he was able to issue a measure of municipal reform (Nov. 19, 18o8) which granted See also:local self-government on enlightened yet practical lines to all Prussian towns, and even to all villages possessing more that' 800 inhabitants. Shortly afterwards the reformer had to flee from Prussia. In See also:August 18o8 the French agents, who swarmed throughout the land, had seized one of his letters, in which he spoke of his See also:hope that Germany would soon be ready for a national rising like that of See also:Spain. On the loth of See also:September Napoleon gave orders that Stein's See also:property in the new See also:kingdom of See also:Westphalia should be confiscated, and he likewise put pressure on Frederick William to dismiss him. The king evaded compliance; but the French emperor, on entering See also:Madrid in See also:triumph, declared (See also:December 16) le nomme Stein to be an enemy of France and the See also:Confederation of the See also:Rhine; and ordered the See also:confiscation of all his property in the Confederation. Stein saw that his life was in danger and fled from Berlin (See also:Jan.

5, 1809). Thanks to the help of his former colleague, Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Reden, who gave him an See also:

asylum in his See also:castle in the See also:Riesengebirge, he succeeded in See also:crossing the frontier into Bohemia. For three years he lived in the See also:Austrian Empire, generally at See also:Brunn; but in May 1812 he received an invitation from the emperor See also:Alexander I. to visit St See also:Petersburg, seeing that Austria was certain to range herself on the See also:side of France in the forth-coming Franco-See also:Russian War. At the crisis of that struggle Stein may have been one of the influences which kept the See also:tsar determined never to treat with Napoleon. When the miserable remains of the See also:Grand Army reeled back into Prussia at the See also:close of the See also:year, Stein urged the Russian emperor to go on and free See also:Europe from the French domination. Events now brought Stein rapidly to the front. On the 3oth of December 1812 the Prussian See also:general Yorck signed at Tauroggen a See also:convention with the Russian general Diebich for neutralization of the Prussian See also:corps at and near Tilsit, and for the free passage of the Russians through that See also:part of the king's dominions. The Russian emperor thereupon requested Stein to act as provisional administrator of the provinces of See also:East and West Prussia. In that capacity he convened an See also:assembly of representatives of the local estates, which on the 5th of See also:February 1813 ordered the See also:establishment of a See also:militia (See also:Landwehr), a militia reserve and a final See also:levy (See also:Landsturm). The energy which Stein infused into all around him contributed not a little to this important decision, which pushed on the king's government to more decided See also:action than at that time seemed possible. Stein now went to See also:Breslau, whither the king of Prussia had proceeded; but the annoyance which Frederick William felt at his. irregular action lessened his influence. The treaty of See also:Kalisch between See also:Russia and Prussia cannot be claimed as due to his actions, which were reprehended in See also:court circles as those of a fanatic.

At that time the great patriot See also:

fell See also:ill of a See also:fever and complained of See also:total neglect by the king and court. He recovered, however, in time to take part in the drafting of a Russo-Prussian convention (See also:March 19, 1813) respecting the administration of the districts which should be delivered from French occupation. During the varying phases of the See also:campaign of 1813 Stein continued to urge the need of war d outrance against Napoleon. The See also:Allies, after the entry of England and Austria into the See also:coalition, conferred on Stein the important duties of superintending the administration of the liberated territories. After the great See also:battle of See also:Leipzig (Oct. 16—19, 1813) Stein entered that See also:city the See also: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 See also: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 See also:race." He now desired to see Germany reconstituted as a nation, in a See also:union which should be at once strong for purposes of See also:defence and founded on constitutional principles. His statesmanlike projects were foiled,.partly by the See also:short-sightedness of Germanrulers and statesmen, but also by the See also:craft whereby the Austrian statesman Metternich (q.v.) gained the See also:alliance of the rulers of south and central Germany for his empire, on the under-See also:standing that they were to retain their old governing See also:power unimpaired. Thus it was in vain that Stein, during the See also:congress of Vienna, pressed for an effective union of the German See also:people. Austria and the secondary German states resisted all proposals in this direction; and Stein blamed the Prussian See also:chancellor Hardenberg for betraying an indefiniteness of purpose which probably resulted from the same unfortunate defect in Frederick William of Prussia. Stein shared in the See also:desire of all Prussian statesmen at that time. to have See also:Saxony wholly absorbed in their kingdom. In that, as in other matters, he was doomed to disappointment.

On the 24th of May 1815 he sent to his See also:

patron, the emperor Alexander, a detailed See also:criticism of the federal arrangements proposed for Germany, showing that they fulfilled not one of the requirements for real union and constitutional government which had been so loudly demanded by the German people during the struggle of 1813. The See also:remainder of Stein's career must be briefly dismissed. He passed into retirement after the congress of Vienna, and saw with See also:pain and disgust the postponement of the representative system of government which Frederick William had promised to Prussia in May 1815. He refused to act as Prussian representative at the See also:Frankfort diet, which he regarded as a See also:mere See also:travesty of the central federal institution which he had hoped to see. By indirect means he did what he could to check the violence of See also:political reaction, but he was conscious of his weakness, and that fact embittered the later days of a man who was intensely proud and self-assertive. His chief See also:interest was in the study of history, and in 1818—182o he worked hard to establish the society for the encouragement of See also:historical See also:research and the publication of the Monumenta Germanise histories, of which his future biographer, See also:Pertz, became the director. Stein died on the 29th of June 1831. He left three daughters. In some respects there has been a tendency to magnify the achievements of Stein. As usually happens with men of great force of character, the See also:work of less noteworthy individuals is ascribed to the one commanding See also:personality. This was so even during the fourteen months of phenomenal activity, October 1807 to December 18o8. More painstaking research has shown that the See also:credit for originating many of the far-reaching reforms then promulgated must be shared with Heinrich Theodor von Schon and many others.' It is now recognized that the king himself at that time rendered unsuspectedly large services to the cause of reform.

A popular See also:

legend named him as the founder of the Tugendbund, an institution which he always distrusted. But when this is granted, it still remains true that Stein's enlightenment, insight into the needs of the time, and almost superhuman energy, imparted to the reform See also:movement a momentum which ensured its triumph at the most See also:critical See also:period which Prussia or any great See also:European state passed through in the 19th century. All his contemporaries were impressed, or even awed by the determination and intellectual power of this remark-able man. His conversation had the effect of calling out all the powers of his interlocutors. " A conversation with him (wrote Varnhagen von Ense) was a continual contest, a, continual danger." This See also:mental pugnacity sometimes degenerated into rudeness; and on several occasions his impetuosity led him to take false steps. Still, when we take into See also:consideration the magnitude of his achievements; when we recollect that in 18o8 he intended his municipal reform to serve as the See also:foundation for free institutions for the Prussian provinces, and thereafter for the whole kingdom; when we realize the grandeur of his schemes in 1813—1815 for the union of the German people in a federal ' Thus Schon's memorandum on the abolition of serfdom was the basis of the law of emancipation ; and Stein's Politisches Testament was also based on a draft by Schon. Schon was born in 1773, entered the Prussian civil service in 1793, and subsequently held various high ministerial appointments. He was made castellan (Burggraf) of See also:Marienburg on his retirement in 1842, and died in 1856. The See also:share claimed by him in Stein's reforms has been the subject of some controversy. system which would combine strength with political See also:liberty—we shall find it difficult to overrate the importance of his contribution to the See also:solution of the most complex political problem of modern times. The chief authority on Stein is the See also:biography by G. H.

Pertz (6 vols., 1849–'855), but few English readers will find the need of going beyond the admirable Life of Stein, by See also:

Sir See also:John See also:Seeley (3 vols., See also:Cambridge, 1878), which contains a full bibliography. These See also:works are corrected at a few points by Max See also:Lehmann's Leben Steins (Leipzig, 1902–1903). For side-See also:lights on his career and character, see H. F. K., Baron vom Stein, Lebenserinnerungen (See also:Hagen, 1901); C. T. See also:Perthes, Politische Zustdnde and Personen in Deutschland zur Zeit der franzosischen Herrschaft (2 vols., See also:Gotha, 1862); Denkwurdigkeiten See also:des Staatskanzlers Fursten von Hardenberg, ed. by L. von See also:Ranke (5 vols., Leipzig, 1877) ; Varnhagen von Ense, Denkwurdigkeiten (6 vols., See also:Mannheim, 1837–1842; English ed., See also:London, 1847) ; A. Stern, Abhandlungen and Aktenstiicke aus der preussischen Reformzeit 5807–5815 (Leipzig, 1885) ; M. Philippson, Geschichte des preussischen Staatswesens 1786–1813 (2 vols., Leipzig, 188o) ; M. Lehmann, Knesebeck and Schon (Leipzig, 1875) ; J. P. Hassel, Geschichte der preussischen Politik, 1807–1815 (Leipzig, 1881); the Vicomte See also:Jean d'Ussel, Etudes sur l'annee 1813; la defection de la See also:Pelisse (See also:Paris, 1907).

(J. H1..

End of Article: STEIN, HEINRICH FRIEDRICH KARL, BARON VOM

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