This note is concerned with a German who showed that he could adjust to totally new environments. He was on the losing side in the (German) Revolution of 1848 and was forced to flee Germany to save his life. He spent a while in Switzerland, but, hearing that a friend in Germany was imprisoned, he obtained a relative's passport and went to Germany where he helped the friend escape from prison. They escaped to England via Rostock. He sailed for America, arriving at Philadelphia in 1852. He spent three years there and then bought a farm in Wisconsin. Politically, he adopted the cause of abolition.
Already he had learned to speak English without a trace of an accent. By a speech in 1859 he helped defeat the "Know-Nothings" which made him a widely acclaimed speaker. After 1858 he was practicing law in Milwaukee and joined the young Republican Party. He was nominated for Lt. Governor but lost the election, perhaps because he was not yet a citizen. Having met and impressed Abraham Lincoln, he was appointed by Lincoln at the start of the Civil War as ambassador to Spain in an effort to prevent the European nations from recognizing the South.
Our man was very disappointed at this assignment as he wanted to be on the battlefield. Eventually he was appointed a Brigadier General and given command over a division formed mostly of German immigrants. On the battlefield he had mixed success, but his reputation was stained by jealous rivals.
He recommended a policy of reconciliation with the South. He became a newspaper publisher in St. Louis. Shortly after his 40th birthday he entered the US Senate from Missouri. From 1877 to 1881, he held the office of Secretary of the Interior under President Hayes. He worked to preserve the natural resources of the nation and tried to bring order and dignity to the relations with the severely pressed Indian tribes. He introduced a system of qualifications to the civil service to remove lower and middle level civil servants from political influence. Later he became an editor of the New York Evening Post and for several years he was the chief editorial writer for Harper's Weekly.
Carl Schurz, revolutionary warrior, farmer, lawyer, orator, candidate for political office, ambassador, brigadier general, publisher, senator, Secretary of the Interior, and writer died on 14 May 1906 and was mourned by friends and admirers on both sides of the Atlantic. He has been called the greatest American of German birth.
Carl's wife Margaretha Meyer, a fellow immigrant from Germany, whom he married in London just before coming to America, is credited with introducing the first kindergarten in the United States (at Watertown, Wisconsin).
(06 May 03)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.