Nationalism and the Crowd in Liberal Hungary, 1848-1914

Hungary's revolutionary crowd of 1848 was defeated in 1849, but crowds of other kinds and crowd politics remained central to Hungary over the next 50 years. This text describes how the crowd's shifting cast of characters participated in the making of Hungary in the troubled Austro-Hungarian empire. Audiences at theatres, fairs, statue raisings and commemorations of national figures; political rallies; ethnic mobs; May Day celebrations; monarchical festivities; and war rallies all take up places in this history. Not only insurgent crowds, but festive ones as well have political and material goals, Alice Freifield finds. She argues that parading in front of a spectator crowd may have confirmed noble particpants in their claims to be spokespersons of the nation, but the chastened crowd could also feels its presence was instrumental. As the crowd became an instrument to advance the elite's agenda, it was never a slave to the lears of simply manipulated by them, as it too demanded deference from its pageant masters. Hope for liberal nationalism, which Hungarina crowds carried from their experience of 1848, thus continued to confront the monarchy, its bureaucracy and the gentry.

About the Author :
Alice Freifeld is an assistant professor of history at the University of Florida. She has lived in Budapest in 1972, 1979-80, and 1994-1995. She was a research scholar of the East European Studies program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 1994. Alice Freifeld is an assistant professor of history at the University of Florida. She has lived in Budapest in 1972, 1979-80, and 1994-1995. She was a research scholar of the East European Studies program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 1994.

Review :
An important and highly readable contribution to Hungarian and Habsburg history. -- Robert Nemes Austrian Studies Newsletter Freifeld brings liberal Hungary to life by focusing her attention on 'the chastened crowd' that replaced the revolutionary crowd of 1848-1849. -- Lee Congdon American Historical Review Freifeld's subject is the cohesive power of nationalism; the people in her book are essentially supportive of authority, provided it can be seen to represent the purposes of the nation... A refreshing work, written with verve and wit. -- R.J.W. Evans English Historical Review Freifeld not only discusses the actions and sentiments of the politicians, as is done in most of the works on this period, but she discusses the efforts of the common people who sought to change the system in which they lived... Nationalism and the Crowd most certainly deserves acclaim for its research, originality, and presentation. -- Judith Fai-Podlipnik History Freifeld's book stands as a rich panoply of public action in nineteenth-century Hungary. -- Paul Hanebrink Jounral of Modern History Makes good use of Austrian sources, including the press, as well as an impressive amount of Hungarian material. -- Laszlo Peter Austrian History Yearbook