Life span: 03/02/1829 to 05/14/1906TabsLife SummaryFull name: Carl SchurzPlace of Birth: Liblar, GermanyBurial Place: Tarrytown, NYBirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: NorthNo. of Spouses: 1Family: Margarethe Meyer (wife)Education: OtherOther Education: University of BonnOccupation: PoliticianMilitaryDiplomatAttorney or JudgeBusinessmanJournalistWriter or ArtistRelation to Slavery: White non-slaveholderPolitical Parties: RepublicanLiberal RepublicanOther Affiliations: Abolitionists (Anti-Slavery Society)Government: Lincoln Administration (1861-65)Hayes Administration (1877-81)DiplomatUS SenateOther state governmentMilitary: Union ArmyForeign military Note Cards Carl Schurz (American National Biography) Scholarship[Carl Schurz's] principal occupation, however, was politics, and since he was an opponent of slavery, he joined the Republican party. He had become fluent in English, was an excellent speaker, and was much sought after by the party to win over other German Americans. So effectively did he campaign for the antislavery cause in two languages that in 1857, before he had even completed his naturalization, he was nominated for lieutenant governor. Because of nativist influence, he, unlike other Republicans, lost. But he remained loyal to the party, even in 1859 when he failed in his efforts to obtain the gubernatorial nomination. Lecturing throughout the North and taking up the law to recoup financial losses incurred during the panic of 1857, he made a name for himself and in 1860 became the chairman of the Wisconsin delegation to the Republican National Convention in Chicago. In Chicago, Schurz first favored William H. Seward but then switched to Abraham Lincoln, whom he had come to appreciate in the 1858 campaign. Elected to the Republican National Committee, he organized a campaign centered on ethnic groups. He himself wooed the Germans, and Lincoln was convinced that this effort made a decisive contribution to the Republican victory. Schurz's reward was an appointment as minister to Spain. Hans L. Trefousse, "Schurz, Carl," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00886.html. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 07/29/1860 07/29/1860 From Missouri, Carl Schurz writes to his wife of his success in winning German-born voters to the Republican side 04/27/1863 04/30/1863 The Army of the Potomac concentrates on Chancellorsville in preparation for an attack on Lee 05/01/1863 05/01/1863 Union and Confederate armies collide near Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania County, Virginia 05/02/1863 05/02/1863 "Stonewall" Jackson's flanking movement seizes the initiative in the Battle of Chancellorsville 05/03/1863 05/03/1863 Lee's Army of Northern Virginia forces back entrenched Union forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville 05/05/1863 05/06/1863 The beaten Union Army retreats across the Rappahannock, ending the Battle of Chancellorsville Major TopicsRepublican Party Documents Author Docs Date Title 08/27/1858 Recollection by Carl Schurz , Freeport Debate, August 27, 1858 10/13/1858 Recollection by Carl Schurz, Quincy Debate, October 13, 1858 Subject Docs Date Title 04/20/1859 New York Times, “The Massachusetts Two Years’ Amendment,” April 20, 1859 06/12/1860 New York Herald, “Commencement of Republican Cabinet Making,” June 12, 1860 03/24/1861 New York Herald, “Honor to Abolitionism Pure and Simple,” March 24, 1861 12/18/1865 Andrew Johnson, "Message to Congress respecting the condition of affairs in the Southern States," December 18, 1865 Addressee Docs Date Title 11/10/1862 Abraham Lincoln to Carl Schurz, November 10, 1862 Images Carl Schurz Carl Schurz, detail Bibliography Chicago Style Entry Link Schurz, Carl. Abraham Lincoln: An Essay. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1897. View Record Schurz, Carl. Life of Henry Clay. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1887. View Record
Carl Schurz (American National Biography) Scholarship[Carl Schurz's] principal occupation, however, was politics, and since he was an opponent of slavery, he joined the Republican party. He had become fluent in English, was an excellent speaker, and was much sought after by the party to win over other German Americans. So effectively did he campaign for the antislavery cause in two languages that in 1857, before he had even completed his naturalization, he was nominated for lieutenant governor. Because of nativist influence, he, unlike other Republicans, lost. But he remained loyal to the party, even in 1859 when he failed in his efforts to obtain the gubernatorial nomination. Lecturing throughout the North and taking up the law to recoup financial losses incurred during the panic of 1857, he made a name for himself and in 1860 became the chairman of the Wisconsin delegation to the Republican National Convention in Chicago. In Chicago, Schurz first favored William H. Seward but then switched to Abraham Lincoln, whom he had come to appreciate in the 1858 campaign. Elected to the Republican National Committee, he organized a campaign centered on ethnic groups. He himself wooed the Germans, and Lincoln was convinced that this effort made a decisive contribution to the Republican victory. Schurz's reward was an appointment as minister to Spain. Hans L. Trefousse, "Schurz, Carl," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00886.html.
