Carl Schurz, German-American Statesman

This is the story of a nineteenth-century hero: Carl Schurz led German revolutionary refugee immigrants, "48ers," to make major contributions to American society. His career as a reformer, orator, foreign ambassador, Civil War general, United States senator, Secretary of the Interior and newspaper editorial writer was instrumental for the abolition of slavery, civil service reform, Southern reconstruction, indian affairs and general "muckraking" in the face of old-school backroom politics. He campaigned for Abraham Lincoln and examined the plight of the freedmen in the South, seeking a vote and property for them. As a senator from Missouri, he fought corruption; as the Secretary of the Interior, he organized the Indian Bureau, and pioneered the early ecology movements. He spent the last twenty-six years of his life in New York, as a newspaper editor and writer. Carl Schurz was the public voice of reason in the press of the "Gilded Age." His statement, "My country right or wrong, if right to be kept right; and if wrong to be set right," has been quoted regularly in twenty-first century media.