Between 1848 and 1861, many Germans, known as “Forty-Eighters”, immigrated to the United States. While the exact numbers are unknown, the best estimates are that between 4,000 and 10,000 Forty-Eighters immigrated along with many other Germans who arrived at that time.

Who were the Forty-Eighters and why did they come?

The Forty-Eighters were Germans living in the various German states (e.g., Bayern, Baden-Württemberg, Preußen, Sachsen) who had worked and fought for a revolution in the 1840s to unite the German states into one, democratic nation. They spoke out publicly about the political and social issues of the time, including the evils of classism and slavery, forced conscription into the army, and burdensome, ever-higher taxes paid to the German state rulers.

“…we Forty-Eighters rebelled against the tyranny of the awful rulers. We wanted freedom for ourselves and for our families. We wanted a united Germany, a free Germany, with rulers who represented all Germans…But it was not to be. We saw friends disappear overnight, forced into an army they despised. My own father’s taxes were unbearable and grew whenever Grand Duke Leopold wanted some new luxury.”

— Karl Jacob Kasper, The Patriarch, pages 21-22.

When the Revolution failed in 1848-49, many chose to leave their homeland in search of democratic countries where class, race, and gender were not large factors in occupation, land ownership, wealth, or prosperity. The majority of Forty-Eighters came to America instead of other democratic countries such as France, Australia, or the Netherlands.

“I knew I needed a fresh start somewhere else. I knew I could not survive in that place very long. Above all, I did not want to raise children there, under the same oppressive conditions my parents endured.”

— Karl Jacob Kasper, The Patriarch, page 22

Although the actual numbers of Forty-Eighters were relatively small, their impact was quite large in 19th Century America. When they arrived in America, the Forty-Eighters were usually well-educated, civic-minded, and brought considerable financial resources with them.

Why America?

According to the writings of the time, many Germans wanted to live in a society where equal rights were promoted, slavery was abolished, and women enjoyed more of an equal societal role with men. They were inspired by letters from earlier German immigrants who had settled in the American Midwest.

One of the more prominent examples of these writing was from Johann Wolfgang Schreyer. Schreyer came from Bavaria in 1843 and settled 8 miles northeast of Plymouth, Indiana. He had 8 of his 40 acres under cultivation within three years. He told his family back in Bavaria that American taxes were minimal, there was no military draft, and public land was free of taxation for the first five years someone lived on it. He wrote eloquently about how “…younger descendants will thank the (older immigrant) who has afforded them the blessings of this land.”

Where They Settled

Most Forty-Eighters coming to America settled in the northern states since slavery was still practiced in the south. Cities with the largest settlements of Forty-Eighters (and their descendants) were Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. Forty-Eighters could be found across the Midwestern landscape from the Dakotas to Ohio.

Advocates for Access to Prosperity and Education

Once settled in America, Forty-Eighters often pushed for greater access to societal income for the social classes and for better education for all citizens. One wonderful example of their emphasis on public education was when Margarethe Meyer Shurz opened the first American kindergarten in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856.

The Turners

Another important, and curious, contribution of the Forty-Eighters was the Turngemeinde (or Turner Society) in Indianapolis in 1851. In brief, the Turner Society emphasized physical education, especially of young people. They believed that healthy bodies were key to overall social and personal health. Turnverien (gymnastic society) groups were founded in many cities and larger towns across the country. American public schools used the Turner Society concepts of physical health for their gym classes for decades afterward.

Youth Turners in St. Louis preparing for 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

Turnverein Building, Indianapolis, built 1914 for mens athletics

Journalism

German-language journalism across the Midwest grew from 40 German newspapers in 1840 to 260 papers in 1860. Common themes among the editorials and articles were anti-slavery, pro-abolitionist, and in favor of Union preservation. Given the reasons why Forty-Eighters left Germany in the first place (including the divided nature of the German States), promotion of the American Union and abolition of slavery were understandable.

“We set out for Indiana because the land was abundant, taxes were low, no one was forced into the American army, and no one kept slaves.”

— Karl Jacob Kasper, The Patriarch, page 22

Forty-Eighters in Indiana

Several prominent Forty-Eighters in Indiana included John Holtkamp of Richmond, Martin Klauss of Evansville, and Theodore Hielscher of Indianapolis.

Many Indiana Forty-Eighters joined the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War, and they asked the Indiana Governor for permission to form their own German regiment. Governor Oliver P. Morton agreed. On August 24, 1861, the 32nd Regiment (First German) was organized. August Willich was given command. Willich had been an officer in the German Revolution in 1848.

“We shall really see what German patriots can do!”

— August Willich, 32nd Indiana Regiment, 1st German Regiment

Other German Forty-Eighters who had important roles in the 1st German Regiment were Ludwig Blenker and Franz Sigel, both of whom had commanded revolutionary troops in Germany in 1848.

Ludwig Blenker.png — Ludwig Blenker

Commander, German revolutionary troops, then 1st German Regiment, Indiana

The 32nd Regiment defeated over 3,000 Texas Rangers at Rowlett’s Station in Kentucky in 1861. This battle is also known as the Battle of Woodsonville or the Green River Battle.

August Willich at Camp in Kentucky, 1962

Civil War experts have debated the importance of this battle, and many argue that it limited the Confederates’ presence in central Kentucky early in the war.

Later on, the 32nd Regiment was attached to the first Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Cumberland until the end of the war.

The 1st German Regiment is honored at Bloedner Monument at the Veteran’s Cemetery in Louisville, KY.

Bloedner Monument for the 1st German Regiment, Louisville, KY

Notable American Forty-Eighters

Probably the best known Forty-Eighter was Carl Schurz (1829-1906) who originally settled in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1852 (with his educator wife Margarethe, noted above). He was one of the original members of the new Republican Party. During the Civil War, Schurz served as a Union General who led part of the fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg and other major battles.

Years later, Schurz served as Secretary of the Interior for President Rutherford B. Hayes.

Other notable German Forty-Eighters:

Artists:

· Friedrich Girsch (painter and etcher of portraits and miniatures),

· Wilhelm Heine (known for sketching graphic landscape scenes during Matthew Perry’s 1853-1854 expedition to Japan)

Wilhelm Heine’s sketch of Matthew Perry’s dinner aboard U. S. S. Powhatan with Japanese Commissioners.

Brewers and Breweries:

· Gottlieb & Frederika Pabst – acquired Best Brewing and established Pabst Blue Ribbon in Chicago and Milwaukee

· Joseph Schlitz – Schlitz Brewing Company, started by August Krug (another Forty-Eighter) and passed to Schlitz upon Krug’s death in 1858, in Milwaukee

· Theodore Hamm, Hamm’s Brewery, Minneapolis-St. Paul

Business and marketing:

· Joseph Spiegel (founder of the Spiegel catalog)

Cover of 1908 Spiegel, May, Stern Catalog

Insurance:

· Hugo Wesendonck (founded what is now The Guardian Life Insurance Co of America)

Investment bankers:

· Solomon Loeb, Abraham Kuhn (founders of Kuhn, Loeb & Co)

Journalists and Writers:

· Mathilde Franziska Anneke (abolitionist and feminist),

· Christian Essellen (Wrote Atlantis and Babylon),

· Wilhelm Rapp (anti-secessionist, friend of Lincoln, became editor of the Illinois Staats-Zeitung, one of the largest German language newspapers in America)

Musicians:

· Otto Dresel (chamber music composer),

· Carl Zerrahn (Boston ‘Philharmonic’ conductor; well known for conducting huge choral groups)

Physicians:

· Carl Bergmann (known for Bergmann’s rule relating climate to population),

· Abraham Jacobi (key figure in trying to improve infant and child health; one of the first to promote the medical area now known as ‘Pediatrics’),

Dr. Abraham Jacobi and his son-in-law George McAneny

· Herman Kiefer (Prominent Detroit physician and early contributor to the University of Michigan)

Scientists:

· Charles Pfizer (co-founder of Pfizer pharmaceuticals)

Chas. Pfizer early logo

Learn more about a Forty-Eighter, Karl Jacob Kapser and his family

Karl Jacob Kasper, John Casper’s father in The Patriarch, was one of the Forty-Eighters. He and friends from Baden-Württemberg had worked in support of the Revolution leading up to 1848. When the revolution failed, Karl Kasper and some of his siblings came first to the Richmond, Indiana area and eventually to a large farm north of the Tippecanoe River. For rich descriptions of this typical Forty-Eighter, please check out The Patriarch, available in Paperback and Kindle formats (see the link just below this article).

Karl Jacob Kasper about 1885, named changed by family later

To learn more about the Forty-Eighters:

Brancaforte, C. L. (1989), Ed., The German Forty-Eighters in the United States. New York: Lang.

Dippel, C., & Heblich, S. (2021). Leadership in social movements: Evidence from the Forty-Eighters in the Civil War. American Economic Review, 111(2), 1-35. Retrieved from https://christiandippel.com/48ers_paper.pdf .

Glazier, I. A. (2005). Germans to America Series II: the 1840s. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Glazier, I. A., & Filby, P. W. (1999). Germans to America Series I: Lists of Passengers Arriving at US Ports, 1850 – 1897. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Hofmann, A. R. (1995). The Turners’ loyalty for their new home country: Their engagement in the American Civil War.” International Journal of the History of Sport, 12(3), 153-168.

Levine, B. (1980). The Spirit of 1848: German Immigrants, Labor Conflict, and the Coming of the Civil War. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Wittke, C. (1948). The German Forty-Eighters in America: A Centennial Appraisal. The American Historical Review, 53(4),711-725.

Wittke, C. (1952). Refugees of Revolution: The German Forty-Eighters in America. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Zucker, A. E. (1950). The Forty-Eighters: Political Refugees of the German Revolution of 1848. New York: Columbia University Press.