The Development and Early Fate of a Republican Revolutionary

Abstract

Pestalozzi was 16 years old when the youth unrest in Zurich became visible in 1762. The same year saw the publication of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract and Emile, or on Education, which heated up cultural criticism in Europe and gave the young revolutionaries in Zurich additional impetus. In Zurich the years from 1762 to 1767 were marked by the youth movement that was oriented towards ancient republican ideals. The movement came to a standstill around 1767 because the political authorities massively restricted the protests and because the activists entered marriageable age, with their interests shifting accordingly. This was also the case for Pestalozzi, who was accepted into the circle of young patriots in 1764, became engaged to marry in 1767, and moved away from Zurich to—very much in the style of the republican ideal—learn about farming. In 1769 Pestalozzi married his betrothed, Anna Schulthess (1738–1815), and they bought farmland to become virtuous country people.