The second half of the 19th century is remembered as a period of contested language policy, with rival advocates of Swedish and Finnish competing on a variety of fronts. The tension was already there from the point when Russia annexed Finland from Sweden, but with the rise of National Romanticism and nationalism under the stewardship of writers like Runeberg, Snellman and Lönnrot, an outright clash of ideologies was inevitable.

Johan Richard Danielson spent his teenage years in a Finland where the country’s past had already been 'constructed' for Finns. The Danielson family was technically Swedish-speaking, but both Johan and his brother were sent to Finnish-speaking schools. It is no surprise therefore that figures like the statesman Snellman and the historian Yrjö-Koskinen provided role models for his political and historical thinking.

Danielson made his public entry into politics in the 1880s. He was one of the founding members of the Young Finnish Party's Valvoja journal and also took part in the political debate on Finland's autonomy by publishing historical pamphlets. These studies reflected a decidedly nationalistic frame of reference and were translated into languages such as Swedish, German and even Russian. In academic circles, he was accused of sullying historical research with a political agenda and, moreover, of doing so in a way that might endanger the integrity of such research. However, in the 1880s he was lionized by Finns after he published a rejoinder to K. F. Ordin's criticism of the Fennoman cause.

During the years of Russian oppression (1899-1905) Danielson adopted Yrjö-Koskinen’s view of Russia and considered a policy of appeasement to be the best option. At the outset of the new century he published a book whose title posed a question: Mihin suuntaan? (‘Which direction should we take?’). Not only was the book a manifesto for the country’s domestic affairs, but it also revealed Danielson’s attitude towards the years of oppression. The constitutionalists believed that Danielson had opted for the wrong side, but for all that the book was generally well received. However, in his subsequent positon as minister without portfolio he changed his view and admitted that appeasement had been a mistake. He succeeded Yrjö-Koskinen as chairman of the Finnish Party. He changed his surname by deed poll to Danielson-Kalmari on J. V. Snellman’s day, May 12th, 1906, at the same time as some 25,000 Finns with Swedish surnames changed theirs.

Sources (in Finnish)

• Jukka Tervonen, ”J.R. Danielson-Kalmari. Historiantutkija ja opettaja”.(’J.R.Danielson-Kalmari, historian and teacher’) Gummerus kirjapaino Oy: Jyväskylä, 1991.
• Vesa Vares, ”Danielson-Kalmari, Johan Richard” National Biography of Finland online (Accessed 18.12.2014)
• Wikipedia, ”J.R. Danielson-Kalmari” (Accessed 18.12.2014)
• Historiallisia humanisteja-verkkosivusto (Historian humanists’ website) ”Johan Richard Danielson-Kalmari”. (Accessed 18.12.2014)