'May laws' definitions:

Definition of 'May laws'

From: GCIDE
  • Kulturkampf \Kul*tur"kampf`\, n. [G., fr. kultur, cultur, culture + kampf fight.] (Ger. Hist.) Lit., culture war; -- a name, originating with Virchow (1821 - 1902), given to a struggle between the Roman Catholic Church and the German government, chiefly over the latter's efforts to control educational and ecclesiastical appointments in the interest of the political policy of centralization. The struggle began with the passage by the Prussian Diet in May, 1873, of the so-called
  • May laws, or
  • Falk laws, aiming at the regulation of the clergy. Opposition eventually compelled the government to change its policy, and from 1880 to 1887 laws virtually nullifying the May laws were enacted. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] Kumish

Definition of 'May laws'

From: GCIDE
  • May laws \May laws\
  • 1. See Kulturkampf, above. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  • 2. In Russia, severe oppressive laws against Jews, which have given occasion for great persecution; -- so called because they received the assent of the czar in May, 1882, and because likened to the Prussian May laws (see Kulturkampf). [Webster 1913 Suppl.]