Carl Schurz

author

Carl Schurz

1829–1906

A German-born revolutionary who became a major American statesman, he moved from the upheavals of 1848 Europe into the center of U.S. politics. His life touched journalism, the Civil War, the Senate, and the Interior Department, making him one of the most wide-ranging public figures of his era.

1 Audiobook

Report on the Condition of the South

Report on the Condition of the South

by Carl Schurz

About the author

Born in Rhenish Prussia in 1829, Carl Schurz took part in the democratic revolutions of 1848 before emigrating to the United States. He built a new career in America as a journalist, speaker, and political leader, becoming especially influential among German American voters.

During the Civil War, he served as a Union general, and after the war he went on to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate. He later served as secretary of the interior under President Rutherford B. Hayes, where he became closely associated with civil service reform and debates over federal policy in the American West.

Schurz also remained active as a writer and public commentator well after leaving office. Remembered for his sharp reforming voice and unusually international life story, he stands out as an immigrant who helped shape American political life in the nineteenth century.