Carl Ploug

Carl Parmo Ploug (29 October 1813 – 27 October 1894) was a Danish poet, editor and politician.

Ploug was born in Kolding, Denmark, to assistant professor and future head instructor Christian Frederik Ploug (1774–1837) and Parmone Caroline née Petersen (1784–1860). On 6 July 1854 he married Frederikke Elisabeth née Michelsen (1834–1904) in Vartov Church. He graduated in 1829, after which he studied language and history.

In 1839 he became a contributor to the National Liberal magazine Fædrelandet. Ploug was a member of the Danish Constituent Assembly in 1848, where he belonged to Orla Lehmann and Henrik Nicolai Clausen's branch, which is usually referred to as the "left wing" of the National Liberal party. Ploug was a member of Folketinget from 1853 to 1857, and a member of Landstinget almost continuously from 1859 to 1890.

He gave the war of 1864 his warmest support, and he encouraged the people to fight, partly in the blind belief that Sweden would come to Denmark's military aid. The "brotherly people" did not, and the defeat of Austria-Prussia gave him a serious blow. When the National Liberals' proposal for a constitutional amendment was not adopted by Rigsrådet ('the Council of the Realm'), Ploug urged national unity to protect what remained of the fatherland, and therefore supported the conservative proposal, which was adopted as the Constitution of 1866. He suddenly fell ill on 27 October 1894, a few days before he was due to unveil the bust of Jens Christian Hostrup at the Regensen, and died the same day in Copenhagen.

Life and work

Ploug had three younger siblings. His poems reveal that he had a happy childhood. Ploug then opted for history and literature without obtaining a degree. He joined Fædrelandet on Orla Lehmann's recommendation and worked for a number of years as an uncompromising writer, committed to the fight against absolute monarchy and for Scandinavism, and a champion of Danishness and the preservation of the Danish language in Schleswig. He became editor of in 1841 and held this post until 1881. The means, according to Ploug, was for the childless Frederik VII to be succeeded by the Swedish crown prince. The plan was well received by the two royal houses, but the mutual assurances of brotherhood remained rhetorical and suffered final defeat when Sweden-Norway failed to support Denmark militarily during the Second Schleswig War. Ploug's uncompromising approach meant that even in the "golden age" of national liberalism from 1855 to 1863, he found himself at odds with leading politicians. Even his close friend Lehmann, who was Minister of the Interior in Carl Christian Hall's government from 1861 to 1863, briefly antagonized him, and Ploug criticised this government for being unclear in its defence of the . During the Second Schleswig War, Ploug sought to stir up the national spirit with agitational messages in . He blamed the defeat at the Battle of Als and the ceding of the duchies on Christian IX. He also sought, when defeat was a fact, to revive the Scandinavian idea of union, but the Swedish "allies" did not want to be involved in a struggle for the reconquest of Schleswig. After the defeat, the National Liberal leaders moved to the right in Danish politics, and Ploug was elected to several positions of trust in the party Højre. In the years leading up to his death, he emerged as one of the extreme conservatives, in part because of his opposition to women's suffrage.

Various streets in Denmark, such as Carl Plougs Vej in Frederiksberg, and Carl Plougs Veg in Aarhus, are named after him. In a small garden complex at the corner of Carl Plougs Vej and Danasvej stands a bust of Carl Ploug. The bust was also created by Vilhelm Plessen. It was originally placed outside the Student Association's building on H. C. Andersens Boulevard but was moved to its current location in 1972. An inscription on the plinth reads:

Carl Plougsvej in the southern part of Kolding is also named after Carl Ploug. Ploug is also commemorated by a memorial at Koldinghus. The memorial was created by Carl Martin-Hansen and installed in 1899.

Vilhelm Bissen's father, Herman Wilhelm Bissen, has also created a bust of Ploug (marble, 1857). It is now in the collection of in the Nivaagaard Museum north of Copenhagen.