ding to a system to be devised by the Reichstag
itself. All ministers were to be responsible to this diet. July 22
there was convened at Vienna the first assembly of the new type, and
the organization of constitutional government was put definitely under
way.

*503. The Reaction.*--Recovery, however, on the part of the forces of
reaction was rapid. In Hungary the same sort of nationalistic feeling
that had inspired the Magyars to assert their rights as against
Austria inspired the Serbs, the Croats, and the Roumanians to demand
from the Magyar Government a recognition of their several traditions
and interests. The purpose of the Magyars, however, was to maintain
absolutely their own ascendancy in the kingdom, and every demand on
the part of the subject nationalities met only with contemptuous
refusal. Dissatisfaction bred dissension, and dissension broke
speedily into civil war. With consummate skill the situation was
exploited by the Vienna Government, while at the same time the armies
of Radetzky and Windischgraetz were stamping out every trace of (p. 455)
insurrection in Lombardo-Venetia, in Bohemia, and eventually in Vienna
itself. December 2, 1848, the easy-going, incompetent Emperor
Ferdinand was induced by the reactionaries to abdicate. His brother,
Francis Charles, the heir-presumptive, renounced his claim to the
throne, and the crown devolved upon the late Emperor's youthful
nephew, Francis Joseph I., whose phenomenally prolonged reign has
continued to the present day. Under the guidance of Schwarzenberg, who
now became the dominating figure in Austrian politics, the Hungarian
March Laws were abrogated and preparations were set on foot to reduce
Hungary, as other portions of the Imperial dominions had been reduced,
by force of arms. Pronouncing Francis Joseph a usurper, the Magyars
rose _en masse_ in defense of their constitution and of the deposed
Ferdinand. In the conflict which ensued they were compelled to fight
not only the Austrians but also their rebellious Roumanian, Croatian,
and Slavonian subjects, and their chances of success were from the
outset slender. In a moment of exultation, April 14, 1849, the Diet at
Budapest went so far as to declare Hungary an independent nation and
to elect Kossuth to the presidency of a supposititious republic. The
only effect, however, was to impart to the contest an international
character. Upon appeal from Francis Joseph, Tsar Nicholas I.
intervened in behalf of