author
Carl Schurz
1829–1906
A fiery revolutionary in Europe and a reform-minded statesman in America, he lived one of the 19th century’s most eventful public lives. His story moves from the failed revolutions of 1848 to the Civil War, the U.S. Senate, and the fight for cleaner government.
1 Audiobook
Report on the Condition of the South
by Carl Schurz
About the author
Born in Liblar in Prussia in 1829, Carl Schurz came of age during the democratic upheavals of 1848. After taking part in the failed German revolution, he fled Europe and eventually built a new life in the United States, where his gifts as a speaker and writer quickly drew attention.
Schurz served the Union during the American Civil War as a general, then went on to a remarkable political career. He was U.S. minister to Spain, a senator from Missouri, and later Secretary of the Interior under President Rutherford B. Hayes. Across journalism and politics, he became known as an eloquent advocate of reform and civil service standards.
He remained an influential public voice long after leaving office, writing, speaking, and pushing for higher ethical standards in government. Remembered as a German American journalist, soldier, and statesman, Schurz died in New York in 1906.