Germans and the American Dream: Carl Schurz, the German revolutionary who became a leading politician in the USA
In der Reihe „Germans and the American Dream“ stellen wir jeden Monat einen deutschen Auswanderer vor, der sich auf der anderen Seite des Atlantiks einen Namen gemacht und den Amerikanischen Traum gelebt hat oder lebt. In der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On reisen wir zurück ins 19. Jahrhundert und begeben uns auf die Spuren von Carl Schurz, der zunächst an der Revolution von 1848 beteiligt war und schließlich zu einem der großen amerikanischen Staatsmänner aufstieg.
Carl Schurz: the German revolutionary who became a leading politician in the USA
As one of America’s first Republican statesmen, Schurz helped to shape the US as we know it.
By John Bilstein
1 Residents of Manhattan, NYC, love taking a stroll in Carl Schurz Park on the East River, but few Americans remember the man it is named after. It’s a different story in Germany, where several streets and even an army barracks carry his name. Here, he is fondly remembered as an early champion of democracy and as a great American statesman with German roots.
2 Born on March 2, 1829, near Liblar in the Rhineland, Carl grew up in a world ruled by absolute monarchs and their secret police. In such a place, the idea of freedom and democracy seemed like a distant dream. Still, Schurz lived by the Latin motto “ubi libertas ibi patria” (where there is freedom, there is my homeland). In fact, he risked his life to turn his country into a free nation.
3 The son of a penniless schoolteacher, Schurz worked hard to get a good education. While studying history and philology at Bonn University, he met Professor Gottfried Kinkel, who had set up a democratic club there.
4 Schurz joined up and became a leading figure in the pro-democracy movement, which culminated in the Revolution of 1848 that had spilled over from France into Germany.
5 It came to nothing. By 1849, the revolution was crushed, and most of its leaders were either dead or in jail. Schurz and Kinkel also ended up in prison, but eventually managed to escape to England.
6 However, Schurz wanted to be part of an exciting New World full of promise. Having just married, he and his young wife, Margarethe Meyer from Hamburg, left for America on August 6, 1852. They started a new life on a farm in Wisconsin, bought with Margarethe’s dowry. It marked the beginning of fame and fortune for the Schurzes.
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Den vollständigen Artikel lesen Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.
Vocabulary
0 revolutionary Revolutionär(in) — leading führende(r, s) — statesman Staatsmann — to shape s.th. etw. gestalten; prägen
1 resident Einwohner(in) — NYC = New York City — to take a stroll spazieren gehen — army barracks Kaserne — to be fondly remembered as … liebevoll in Erinnerung gehalten werden als … — champion Verfechter(in) — democracy Demokratie — roots Wurzeln
2 to rule s.th. etw. beherrschen — absolute monarch absolutistische(r) Herrscher(in) — freedom Freiheit — a distant dream ein ferner Traum
3 penniless mittellos — education Bildung — philology Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft — to set s.th. up etw. gründen — democratic club Verein für Demokratie
4 to join up s. anschließen — movement Bewegung — to culminate in … in … gipfeln — to spill over from … into … von … nach … übergreifen
5–6 to come to nothing scheitern — to crush s.th. etw. niederschlagen — leader Anführer(in) — eventually letztendlich — promise h.: Möglichkeiten — dowry Mitgift — to mark bedeuten — fame and fortune Ruhm und Reichtum
Foto: Pixabay/Prawny