About Schurz, Carl Schurz High School

Carl Christian Schurz was born in Liblar, near Cologne, Germany on March 2, 1829. He was active in a political movement to promote democracy in Germany and fought with distinction as a lieutenant in the revolutionary army until its defeat by the Prussians. Carl Schurz escaped to Switzerland and later moved to the United States. Carl Schurz and his wife settled in Watertown, Wisconsin where they established a school for children of German immigrants, which had the first kindergarten class in the United States. He joined the abolitionists, and helped organize the Republican party in Wisconsin. For his support during the presidential campaign, Abraham Lincoln appointed Carl Schurz United States Ambassador to Spain, but he did not accept the post. When the Civil War broke out, he was made a general in the Union army and fought in the battles of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville. After the war he moved his family to St. Louis and in 1868, he was elected as a senator for Missouri, and President Hayes appointed him his Minister of the Interior in 1877; as such he advocated for the establishment of national parks. Carl Schurz is considered to be the most influential foreign-born American in 19th century public life. Carl Schurz moved to New York City where he helped found The New York Post newspaper. He died in New York City on May 14, 1906. Carl Schurz and his wife Margarethe had five childre: Agathe, Marianne, Emma, who died as an infant, Carl Lincoln and Herbert, who died after graduating from Cornell University.

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