Lajos Louis
Kossuth (1802-1894) was a leader of the 1848 Hungarian Revolution against
the Austrian Empire. The rebels demanded drastic political and social reforms
and were attempting to establish an independent republic. At first, they
were successful in driving out the Austrian forces, but when the Austrians
received military assistance from Russia, the tide turned and Kossuth fled
to the Ottoman (Turkish)Empire in 1849.
The Hungarian cause struck a positive chord in the United States because it represented for Americans, their own cherished values of freedom. With the assistance of a U.S. warship, Kossuth left the Ottoman Empire in the fall of 1851 and arrived in the United States on December 5, 1851, thirteen days before he sent this letter to Thomas MClintock, thanking him for raising funds for the cause. This letter from Louis
Kossuth to Thomas MClintock illustrates the global nature of reform
in the late 1840s and the far-ranging reform activities of the MClintocks
and other Progressive Quakers in the Waterloo area.
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