Friends of Peasants, King and Democracy: rhetoric and concepts put to use by peasant association in the battle for Danish Constitution of 1849

Abstract

This article investigates ‘BondevennernesSelskab’ – a Danish peasant association – in the political and social conflicts following the wave of revolutions in Europe 1848. In the twilight of Danish absolutism, Denmark’s first modern political peasant movement came to play a significant part in the battle for the coming constitution. From a declared democratic position, the association orchestrated a remarkably well-organised election campaign signalling the dawn of a new political era and causing great commotion among established elites. Focusing on rhetorical patterns and conceptual usage by members of the peasant association, the article analyses how the association legitimised their claim for a democratic suffrage with reference to the absolute monarch. Keywords: Democracy, conceptual history, associations, constitution, absolutism, 1848, emancipation, peasant politics, popular sovereignty.