Carl Schurz Statue
“My country, right or wrong; if
right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be
set right,” were the famous words of Carl
Schurz. Carl Schurz was the first
German-born American to be elected to the
United States Senate in 1869. He was an
American statesman and reformer, a German
revolutionary, and a Union Army General who
fought in the American Civil War.
Schurz was also a well-known
journalist, orator and newspaper editor.
Margarethe Schurz and
Berthe von Ronge, Carl Schurz’s wife and
sister respectively, were key in the
establishment of the kindergarten system in
the country. Because of his avoidance of
political partisanship, his high principles
and his moral conscience, Schurz became one
of the most notable independents in American
politics. Because of his many contributions
to the nation, Schurz is memorialized in
several places in the United States.
One such place is the 14.9 acre Carl Schurz
Park in New York which was named after him
in 1910.
The park is beside Yorkville and
overlooks Hell Gate. It is where Gracie
Mansion, the residence of the Mayor of New
York, sits. Statues and memorials of Karl
Schurz can be found at Morningside Drive and
116th Street in New York and in Menominee
Park in Oshkosh, Wisonsin. |