About this record
Carl Schurz (1829-1906) was a German immigrant who settled in Watertown, Wisconsin, and became a leading anti-slavery advocate and Republican politician. In 1860, he led the Wisconsin delegation to the Republican Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln, and in the summer and fall of that year campaigned enthusiastically for his candidate. On July 24, 1860, he gave a campaign speech in Springfield, Illinois, which Lincoln attended and the two spent much of the evening together. The next morning Schurz wrote the letter translated here, describing to his wife his meeting with Lincoln and Lincoln's gift of an inscribed copy of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates (the inscription is also linked below).Citation
Shurz, Carl. Autograph letter to Margarethe Schurz, July 25, 1860; Wis Mss GN.