Abstract
Even before Gauss arrived in Gottingen, his decision to go there was vindicated by political developments. Soon after 1789, a series of short wars erupted between the “Roman Empire” and France, led since 1799 by the seemingly invincible Napoleon. These wars were concluded by the defeat of the German states between 1805 and 1807. In a last effort, the Prussian government sent Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick to St. Petersburg in 1806; his embassy was to sound out the possibilities of a coalition against France. The desired alliance with Russia did not materialize, and Prussia decided to proceed on its own to stop the French advance in central Europe.
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Notes
In the Seven Years War.
The Prussian army expected victory but it was disorganized and without a clear chain of command. The old Duke was not capable of bearing the responsibility of supreme command which had been forced upon him.
At the time, Gauss’s address was Steinweg 22, very close to the gate.
Napoleon’s brother Jerome was the ruler of the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia, a buffer state between France and Prussia. Generally, Jerome is not considered to have been a capable or efficient ruler, but this judgment may well be unfair. Jerome ruled for less than 10 years.
The question of the oath was to attain considerable importance in 1837, during the protest of the Göttingen Seven. Ordinarily, every German civil servant, including teachers and professors, had to give an oath of allegiance to his prince or, later, the constitution of his state.
Several times, the question came up in the correspondence with Gerling. Joseph left the service early to join one of the new railroad companies, where he was quite successful.
Westphalia imitated France where Napoleon created numerous counts, dukes, and princes.
G. E. Lessing is the most important German writer and poet of the 18th century. He lived in Hamburg before accepting the offer to come to Wolfenbüttel.
It strongly affected the nobility, which lost most of its political influence.
To be a lawyer was a desirable objective for the grandson of an unskilled laborer. This seems to be a safe assumption though we do not know any specifics.
See, eg., Golo Mann, Deutsche Geschichte des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts. Frankfurt 1958.
One of the first proponents of a German national literature was Martin Optiz, who lived and worked in the 17th century. Later, the rejection of foreign influences developed into a recurring theme, culminating in the (nationalistic) Sturm und Drang and romantic movements. The classical poetry of Wieland, Herder, Schiller, or Goethe was internationally minded.
See Hölderlin’s poem Empedokles—An die Deutschen.
Uhland, Das alte gute Recht (in Vaterländische Gesänge).
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© 1981 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
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Bühler, W.K. (1981). The Political Scene in Germany, 1789–1848. In: Gauss. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-49207-5_10
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