Czechoslovak declaration of independence
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Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence | |
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Purpose | To announce and explain separation of Czechoslovakia from Austria-Hungary |
The Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence or the Washington Declaration (
Background
In the autumn of 1918, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was collapsing. As one of his Fourteen Points, U.S. president Woodrow Wilson demanded for the empire's nationalities to have the "freest opportunity to autonomous development." On 14 October 1918, Foreign Minister Baron István Burián von Rajecz[2] asked for an armistice based on the Fourteen Points. In an apparent attempt to demonstrate his good faith, Emperor Charles I issued a proclamation two days later that would have significantly altered the structure of the Austrian half of the monarchy. Imperial Austria was to be transformed into a federal union composed of four parts: German, Czech, South Slav and Ukrainian (Galicia would be allowed to secede). Each was to be governed by a national council that would negotiate the future of the empire with Vienna, and Trieste was to receive a special status.[citation needed]
However, on the same day, a Czecho-Slovak provisional government joined the Allies. The provisional government had begun drafting a declaration of independence on 13 October and completed its task on 16 October. The document was drafted by
On the same day,
Contents
Much of the declaration catalogues a litany of grievances against the Habsburgs. The latter portion of the document declares a Czechoslovak Republic, with freedom of religion, speech, the press and the right of assembly and petition, separation of church from the state, universal suffrage, and equal rights for women. The declaration calls for a parliamentary political system with respect for rights of national minorities and equal rights. Social, economic, and land reform is announced, along with the cancellation of aristocratic privileges. The declaration uses the term "Czechoslovak nation" (národ československý), which deviates from the wording of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Agreements, which defined two separate Czech and Slovak nations.[8] The declaration is signed Masaryk (as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance), Milan Rastislav Štefánik (as Minister of National Defense) and Edvard Beneš (as Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Interior).[citation needed]
Further reading
- R.W. Seton-Watson: A History of the Czechs and Slovaks, Archon Books, 1965
- C.A. Watson: Hungary: A Short History, Edinburgh University Press, 1966
- Leo Valiani: The End of Austria-Hungary, Secker & Warburg, 1973
References
- ^ Declaration of Independence of the Czechoslovak Nation By Its Provisional Government. New York. 18 October 1918.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Hungarian foreign ministers from 1848 to our days". Mfa.gov.hu. Archived from the original on 21 June 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ^ Kovtun, G.J. (1985). The Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence: A History of the Document. Washington, D.C. pp. 46–8.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - The Outlook. 120 (September–December 1918). p. 406.
- ISBN 978-80-87173-47-3, pages 101–102, 124–125, 128, 129, 132, 140–148, 184–190.
- ISBN 978-80-87173-47-3, pp. 19–25, 84–99, 128, 129, 132–146, 164–171
- ISBN 978-0-8153-0092-2.
- ^ Grinnel, D. "The Pittsburgh Agreement" Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine Penn State University. Western Pennsylvania History. Accessed 28 October 2013