author
Friedrich Kapp
1824–1884
A German-American lawyer, writer, and politician, he helped turn the history of Germans in the United States into a serious subject of study. His work also reflected a life shaped by the upheavals of 19th-century Europe and America.
1 Audiobook
Der Soldatenhandel deutscher Fürsten nach Amerika
by Friedrich Kapp
About the author
Born in Hamm, Westphalia, on April 13, 1824, Friedrich Kapp studied at Heidelberg and later trained in law in Berlin. After the failed revolutions of 1848, he left Germany and settled in New York, where he practiced law and became active in public life among German immigrants.
Kapp is especially remembered for his writing on German-American history. He wrote extensively about German immigration to the United States and helped document the experiences and contributions of Germans in America with unusual seriousness for his time. His books also covered figures such as Johann Kalb and Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, showing his strong interest in the ties between Germany and the United States.
He eventually returned to Germany, where he continued his career as a writer and politician and later served in the Reichstag. He died in Berlin on October 27, 1884. Today, he stands out as an important early historian of German America as well as a public figure who moved between two countries and two political worlds.