A nemzet nem szívesen látott vendége? Kossuth-ellenesség az Egyesült Államokban, 1851–1852
The Unwelcome Guest of the Nation? Anti-Kossuth Sentiment in the United States, 1851–1852

Summary/Abstract: After the collapse of the Hungarian War of Independence in 1849, Lajos Kossuth and many of the participants of the revolutionary movement were forced into exile and were offered temporary shelter in the Ottoman Empire, which was probably the only way how they could escape the retaliation of the Habsburgs. Eventually, their freedom was brought about by the United States, which, in response to the pressure of the American public, invited him to visit the country as the Nation’s Guest in 1851. His half-a-year lecture tour in America is regarded as one of the pivotal episodes in the history of Hungarian-American links and it contributed to forming the freedom-fighter image of Hungarians overseas. Most works discussing Kossuth’s visit have presented it as a major success citing Kossuth’s immense popularity in the United States as a proof. What they have failed to explain, however, was why Kossuth had lost basically all his previous popularity towards the end of his visit and why he proved to be unable to secure American support – financial, political and military – for a new Hungarian freedom struggle. This paper seeks the answers to the questions what powers turned against Kossuth during his ’Tour de America’ and how their activities contributed to the overall failure of his tour.

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