Editing History of Slovakia (section)

==== Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 ====
The heyday of the movement came to a sudden end after 1867, when the [[Habsburg]] domains in central Europe underwent a [[Ausgleich|constitutional transformation]] into the dual monarchy of [[Austria-Hungary]] as a result of the [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867]]. The territory of present-day Slovakia was included in the Hungarian part of the dual monarchy, dominated by the Hungarian political elite which distrusted the Slovak elite due to its Pan-Slavism, separatism and its recent stand against the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]. Matica was accused of Pan-Slavic separatism and was dissolved by the authorities in 1875; and other Slovak institutions (including schools) shared the same fate.

New signs of national and political life appeared only at the very end of the 19th century. Slovaks became aware that they needed to ally themselves with others in their struggle. One result of this awareness, the Congress of Oppressed Peoples of the Kingdom of Hungary, held in Budapest in 1895, alarmed the government. In their struggle Slovaks received a great deal of help from the Czechs. In 1896, the concept of Czecho-Slovak Mutuality was established in Prague to strengthen Czecho-Slovak cooperation and support the secession of Slovaks from the Kingdom of Hungary.

At the beginning of the 20th century, growing democratization of political and social life threatened to overwhelm the monarchy. The call for [[universal suffrage]] became the main rallying cry. In the Kingdom of Hungary, only 5 percent of inhabitants could vote. Slovaks saw in the trend towards representative democracy a possibility of easing ethnic oppression and a breakthrough into renewed political activity.

The Slovak political camp, at the beginning of the century, split into different factions. The leaders of the Slovak National Party, based in Martin, expected the international situation to change in the Slovaks' favor, and they set great store by Russia. The Roman Catholic faction of Slovak politicians led by Father [[Andrej Hlinka]] focused on small undertakings among the Slovak public and, shortly before the war, established a political party named the [[Slovak People's Party]]. The liberal [[intelligentsia]] rallying around the journal ''Hlas'' ("Voice"), followed a similar political path, but attached more importance to Czecho-Slovak cooperation. An independent [[Slovak Social Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Hungary|Social Democratic Party]] emerged in 1905.

[[File:Greater austria ethnic.svg|thumb|right|210px|A map of the [[United States of Greater Austria|federalization of Austria-Hungary]] planned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, with Slovakia as one of the member states]]

The Slovaks achieved some results. One of the greatest of these was the election success in 1906, when, despite continued oppression, seven Slovaks managed to get seats in the Assembly. This success alarmed the government, and increased what was regarded by Slovaks as its oppressive measures. [[Magyarization]] achieved its climax with a new education act known as the Apponyi Act, named after education minister Count [[Albert Apponyi]]. The new act stipulated that the teaching of Hungarian must be included as a subject in the curriculum of non-state-owned four years elementary schools in the framework of compulsory schooling, as a condition for those schools to receive state financing. Non-government organizations such as the [[Upper Hungary Magyar Educational Society]] supported Magyarization at a local level.

Ethnic tension intensified when 15 Slovaks were killed during a riot on the occasion of the consecration of a new church at Černová / Csernova near [[Rózsahegy]] / [[Ružomberok]] (see [[Černová tragedy]]). The local inhabitants wanted the popular priest and nationalist politician Andrej Hlinka to consecrate their new church. Hlinka contributed significantly to the construction of the church, but his bishop [[Alexander Párvy]] suspended him from his office and from exercising all clerical functions because of Hlinka's involvement in the national movement. This resulted in a wave of solidarity with Hlinka across all today's Slovakia. The villagers tried to achieve a compromise solution and to cancel the suspensions or to postpone consecration until the [[Holy See]] decided about the Hlinka case. Párvy refused to consent, and appointed ethnic Slovak dean Martin Pazúrik for the task. Pazúrik, as well as Hlinka, were active in the election campaign but supported Hungarian and Magyarone{{clarify|date=February 2024}} politicians and continuously adopted an anti-Slovak attitude.<ref>{{cite book | last = Kuruc | first = Štefan | editor-last = Kucík | editor-first = Štefan | chapter = Katolícka cirkev na slovenskom území Uhorska na začiatku 20. storočia | trans-chapter = Catholic Church in the Slovak territory of the Kingdom of Hungary at the beginning of the 20th century | title =  Mýtus a realita: medzinárodná konferencia 18. októbra 2007: zborník príspevkov z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie organizovanej Historickým ústavom Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku pri príležitosti stého výročia Černovskej tragédie | location = Ružomberok | publisher = Katolícka univerzita | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-80-8084-314-4 | page=70 }}</ref> The church had to be consecrated by force,{{clarify|date=February 2024}} with police assistance. Given where the event occurred, all 15 local gendarmes who participated in the subsequent tragedy were of Slovak origin. In the stress situation, the gendarmes shot dead 15 protesters among a crowd of about 300–400 villagers who tried to avoid the priests' convoy to enter their village.<ref>{{cite book | last=Holec | first=Roman | title=Tragédia v Černovej a slovenská spoločnosť | trans-title=The tragedy in Černová and the Slovak society | location=Martin | publisher=Matica slovenská | year=1997 | isbn= 9788070904367 | page=117}}</ref> All this added to Slovak estrangement from and resistance to Hungarian rule, and the incident raised international attention on violation of national rights of non-Hungarian minorities.

Before the outbreak of World War I, the idea of Slovak autonomy became part of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Archduke Franz Ferdinand]]'s plan of federalization of the monarchy, developed with help of the Slovak journalist and politician [[Milan Hodža]]. This last realistic attempt to tie Slovakia to Austria-Hungary was abandoned because of the [[Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand|Archduke's assassination]], which in turn triggered World War I.