Carl Schurz
A German revolutionary who became a fierce American reformer, fighting for the Union, civil rights, and honest government.
1829–1906 (age 77)·US Secretary of the Interior, Senator, German revolutionary·Birthday: March 2
Biography
Carl Schurz lived a life of radical principle across two continents. As a young university student in Bonn, he joined the 1848 revolutions, famously orchestrating a daring prison break for his professor before fleeing a death sentence. He carried that revolutionary zeal to America, where he became a powerful voice in the new Republican Party and a close ally of Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War, though militarily unpolished, he commanded Union troops with conviction. His true impact came in politics and journalism, where he served as a U.S. Senator from Missouri and Secretary of the Interior. In that cabinet role, he initiated a more humane policy toward Native Americans and became a relentless crusader for civil service reform, battling the spoils system with the fervor of a man who had fought literal tyrants.
#1 When Carl Was Born
The biggest hits of 1829
Carl's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1829Born
1834Started school
1842Became a teenager
1845Could drive
1847Could vote
1850Turned 21
1859Turned 30
1869Turned 40
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1879Turned 50
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1889Turned 60
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1899Turned 70
President: William McKinley
1906Died at 77
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
Key Achievements
- Served as a Union major general in the American Civil War, commanding divisions at Gettysburg and Chancellorsville.
- As U.S. Secretary of the Interior, he reformed the Bureau of Indian Affairs and advocated for a peace policy with Native American tribes.
- Was a founding leader of the Liberal Republican movement in 1872, which championed civil service reform and opposed corruption.
- Became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate, representing Missouri from 1869 to 1875.
Did You Know?
He is credited with the phrase 'My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.'
He helped secure the 1860 Republican presidential nomination for Abraham Lincoln by rallying German-American support.
After the war, he was a newspaper editor for the New-York Tribune and the New York Evening Post.
He spoke English, German, French, Latin, and ancient Greek.
“Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny.”
