Development of a national movement in multi-ethnic Hungary called for a solution to the national minority issue. Emergent nations with their own linguistic, educational and cultural demands set the stage for political developments. The Magyars favored the idea of a centralized state. This was unacceptable to other nations including the Slovaks, and they expressed their disapproval. This was, in essence, a romantic, impractical idea since the Magyar population numbered less than half the total population. In the 1830’s a new generation of Slovaks began to make themselves heard. They had grown up under the influence of the national movement at the Evangelic Lyceum in Bratislava where the Czecho-Slovak Society had been founded in 1827. Initially, the society operated in accordance with the ideas of Kollar. In the latter part of the decade, when Ludovit Stur came to the fore, its activities intensified. In the true spirit of European romanticism these young Slovaks burned with the idea of national independence. The most prominent representatives of the new generation were, along with Ludovit Stur, Jozef Miloslav Hurban (1817-1888) and Michal Miloslav Hodža (1811-1870).

The Declaration of the Slovak Nation (Martin, October 30, 1918)

The beginning of the group’s extensive efforts on behalf of national awareness, were linked to their visit to the ruins of Devin castle woven about with legends of the past with reminders of Great Moravia. It was here that they swore to be true to the national cause and decided to travel around Slovakia to drum up support for their ideas. All this led to the formulation of the first Slovak political manifest. Ludovit Stur expressed his philosophy in one sentence: “My country is my being, and every hour of my life shall be devoted to it.”