Carl Schurz
Carl Schurz 13th United States Secretary of the Interior In office March 12, 1877 – March 7, 1881 President Rutherford B. Hayes Preceded by Zachariah Chandler Succeeded by Samuel J. Kirkwood United States Senator from Missouri In office March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1875 Preceded by John B. Henderson Succeeded by Francis M. Cockrell United States Ambassador to Spain In office July 13, 1861 – December 18, 1861 President Abraham Lincoln Preceded by William Preston Succeeded by Gustav Körner Personal details Born Carl Christian Schurz (1829-03-02)March 2, 1829 Liblar, Kingdom of Prussia Died May 14, 1906(1906-05-14) (aged 77) New York City, U.S. Political party Republican Spouse(s) Margarethe Meyer Alma mater University of Bonn Profession Politician Lawyer Journalist Religion Catholic Signature Military service Allegiance Forty-Eighters United States of America Service/branch Union Army Years of service 1848 1862 - 1865 Rank Major General Battles/wars Revolutions of 1848 American Civil War Carl Christian Schurz (German: [ˈkaʁl ˈʃʊʁts]; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, U.S. Minister to Spain, Union Army General in the American Civil War, U. S. Senator, and Secretary of the Interior. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate. During the Civil War, although Brig. Gen. Schurz served with distinction, known for his personal bravery and military discipline, his "German regiments" in 1862 were heavily criticized by the press for retreating during the Second Battle of Bull Run at Chancellorsville. After the war, Schurz was elected a Senator from Missouri in 1868. In 1869, he became the first U.S. Senator to offer a Civil Service Reform bill to Congress. During Reconstruction, Schurz was opposed to federal military enforcement and protection of African American civil rights, and held nineteenth century ideals of European superiority and fears of miscegenation. In 1870, Schurz formed the Liberal Republican Party, which opposed President Ulysses S. Grant's annexation of Santo Domingo, and his use of the military to destroy the Ku Klux Klan in the South under the Force Acts. Schurz lost the 1874 Senatorial election to Democratic Party challenger and former Confederate, Francis Cockrell. After leaving office, he worked as an editor for various newspapers. In 1877, Schurz was appointed Secretary of Interior by President Rutherford B. Hayes. Although Schurz honestly attempted to reduce the effects of racism toward Native Americans and was partially successful at cleaning up corruption, his solutions towards American Indians "in light of late twentieth-century developments", were repressive. Indians were forced to move into low quality reservation lands that were unsuitable for tribal economic and cultural advancement. Promises made to Indian chiefs at White House meetings with President Rutherford B. Hayes and Schurz were not always kept. During his later years, Schurz was perhaps the most prominent independent in American politics, noted for his high principles, his avoidance of political partisanship, and his moral conscience. His wife, Margarethe Schurz, was instrumental in establishing the kindergarten system in the United States. Schurz is famous for saying: "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."
