Sabine Freitag. : Biographie eines Republikaners. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1998. 548 pp. EUR 50.00, cloth, ISBN 978-3-515-07296-0.

Reviewed by Hans L. Trefousse

Published on H-GAGCS (March, 2002)

The Ideas of Friedrich Hecker and the Universities of Heidelberg and Friedrich Hecker, the German-American rev‐ (where he received his doctorate in law), to his olutionary, has been virtually forgotten in the travel to Paris and his practice of law in . This is a pity, for like other German- . Stressing the infuence of his profes‐ Americans, he was an important publicist for an‐ sors, especially Friedrich Christoph Schlosser and tislavery and republican ideas. And his life in Carl von Rotteck, she concentrates on Hecker's de‐ America was an important part of the German- velopment into a frm believer in republican lib‐ American experience. Unfortunately, there is no erty, national unifcation, and particularly his per‐ standard biography of Hecker in English, and now sistent furthering of a middle class society based Sabine Freitag, a German scholar, has written a on a laissez faire economy. She emphasizes his new account in German. election to the second chamber of the Baden legis‐ lature, where he soon emerged as an extreme left‐ Originally a doctoral dissertation, Dr. Freitag's ist, and his attendance at Ofenburg, where, to‐ book is based on an extensive examination of gether with , Hecker published thir‐ sources, both in America and Germany. Her wide teen articles demanding revolutionary changes. use of German-American newspapers is praise‐ Elected to the preliminary parliament in Frank‐ worthy, and she never neglects the unpublished furt, he was unable to prevail with his radical papers of Hecker and his contemporaries. In addi‐ ideas, and when the Baden government took en‐ tion, she has a thorough knowledge of both Ger‐ ergetic measures to stamp out the revolt, Hecker man and American history, which lends credence went to Constance and proclaimed a . At‐ to her work. tempting to start a revolution with a small group Particularly interested in Hecker's ideology, of followers in southwestern Germany, he was she follows her subject from his 1811 birth in quickly defeated and fed to . Though Eichtersheim in the German state of Baden elected to the national assembly in , he through his studies at the lyceum at Mannheim H-Net Reviews was refused admission, and decided to immigrate eralism. And she shows how Hecker believed to America. America to be as endangered by "Popery" as Eu‐ As the author points out, he had always ad‐ rope. Surprisingly, the inveterate defender of hu‐ mired the Constitution of the United States as a re‐ man rights was opposed to women's sufrage, ar‐ alization of his dreams. Settling on a farm near guing that nature had diferentiated the genders Belleville, Illinois, he returned to Germany when and that women's place was in the home and the the revolution seemed to break out again in family. His anti-Communism, evident during the Baden in 1849, only to return upon its failure. railroad strikes of 1877, was the natural result of Thereafter he became a successful Latin Farmer, his belief in a free middle class society, and he as the educated German immigrants in the area never wavered in his opposition to the "red men‐ were called, and, true to his libertarian convic‐ ace." But his belief in human rights made him de‐ tions, soon joined the Republican party and agitat‐ nounce the growing anti-Semitism in Germany. ed against slavery. Though already 50 years old in His radicalism illustrates in many ways the 1861,he enlisted as a private, but soon was given a diferences between the German-American Forty- commission, and as colonel participated in the Eighters--the "Greens"--and their compatriots who battles of Chancellorsville, where he was wound‐ arrived earlier in the United States--the "Grays." ed, and Lookout Mountain. But because of his Alienated by the anti-clericalism of the newcom‐ strong emphasis on discipline and his frequent ers, the "Grays" very often abstained from sup‐ reprimands, he experienced serious difculties porting the Republican party; indeed, the German with some of his ofcers. After the war, he contin‐ Catholics and many fundamentalist Protestants ued his activities as farmer, literary polemicist, remained with the Democratic party, the party of and efective speaker for the German Forty- the immigrants. And no matter how much radi‐ Eighters. Remaining true to his republican ideas, cals like Hecker attempted to dispel the idea of Re‐ not even the creation of the new Reich with its im‐ publican nativism, they were unable to convince perial constitution was able to change his mind, the "Grays." and his trip to Germany in 1870 merely rein‐ Hecker's eventful career furnishes great op‐ forced his loyalty to the United States. He re‐ portunities for a biography. Unfortunately, howev‐ mained a Republican until 1872, when he joined er, Dr. Freitag is less interested in biographical de‐ the Liberal Republicans, but refused to support tails than in Hecker's ideas. The entire introduc‐ Horace Greeley, only to return to the party in tion is devoted to his beliefs, and throughout the campaigning for Rutherford B. Hayes. He died at book, frequent citations reinforce this emphasis. his farm in 1881. Whole chapters are devoted to his lectures, his The author's main emphasis is on Hecker's anti-feminism, his violent anti-Catholicism, and ideas. She stresses his unfailing belief in the ne‐ his anti-Communism. This interest neglects the cessity of avoiding the creation of a great gap be‐ details of Hecker's life; we hardly read about his tween rich and poor, the support of a middle class marriage, his children, or his experiences at Look‐ society with the ability of all to rise, and the oppo‐ out Mountain. In fact, the last chapter deals en‐ sition to monarchs whether absolute or constitu‐ tirely with his funeral, the following memorial tional. In addition, she considers his unfailing services, and the establishment of monument to anti-Catholicism. Though born a Catholic, he con‐ the deceased--a strange ending for a book that ne‐ sidered the papacy the main enemy of freedom, glects biographical detail. In short, this is an intel‐ especially as Pius IX (to whom she surprisingly lectual treatment of Hecker rather than a real bi‐ devotes little attention) was indeed opposed to lib‐ ography.

2 H-Net Reviews

Whether this book can be successfully trans‐ lated is questionable. Its stress on German ideo‐ logues totally unknown in America and its laud‐ able repetition of the facts of American history well known in the United States but important in Germany make it probable that the book will be hard to sell. It is to be hoped that a good English language biography will soon be written. Copyright 2002 by H-Net, all rights reserved. H-Net permits the redistribution and reprinting of this work for nonproft, educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author, web location, date of publication, originating list, and H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the Reviews editorial staf at [email protected].

If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at https://www.h-net.org/~gagcs/

Citation: Hans L. Trefousse. Review of Freitag, Sabine. Friedrich Hecker: Biographie eines Republikaners. H-GAGCS, H-Net Reviews. March, 2002.

URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=6075

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

3