GLIMPSES OF EARLY-DAY POLITICS
Some Extracts From the Letters of the Late
John F. Potter.
For a correct understanding of the undercurrents of politics one must search in
the letters written and received by persons prominent in the events of their time. The
correspondence of the late John F. Potter was especially rich in illustrative material
dealing with a stirring period of American history—the years immediately preceding
the great rebellion and following the outbreak of the war. There are strong
sidelights on state politics to be found in this bundle of old letters, and some of them
reveal motives hitherto veiled in obscurity. The extracts selected and here given deal
with many topics and affect many men well known in the early history of the state.
Out of a mass of many hundreds of letters selections have been made dealing in a
general way with several topics. The first series of letters dealing with the
unsuccessful attempts of the Southern fire-eaters to intimidate Judge Potter was printed
in last Sunday's Sentinel. The second ts printed to-day. Others will be printed
on succeeding Sundays, as follows:
A SOUTHERN CONSPIRACY TO CAPTURE CUBA;
TWO NOTABLE CONTESTS FOR THE UNITED STATES SENATORSHIP;
A MILWAUKEE POSTOFFICE FIGHT;
JUDGE POTTER'S LETTERS TO MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY;
POLITICAL MISCELLANIES.
II.
CARL SCHURZ AND HIS POLITICAL CAREER IN WISCONSIN.
BUT for the strength given the party by men of German birth and descent, the Republicans of Wisconsin would be in a helpless minority. The ascendancy of the party in this state may be said to date from the time when the Germans began to cut adrift from the Democratic party. In the early days of statehood, the German vote was solidly Democratic, and the German press was likewise strongly Democratic. Along the lake shore, and in the city of Milwaukee, heavy Democratic majorities were rolled up with the help of the German voters. Recognition of their strength naturally followed, and it was not long before it came to be deemed essential that tickets and political committees must have German representation. In 1851, and again in 1854, Fred Horn was elected speaker of the assembly, and German names crept into the roll of the state senate. In 1852 Edward Janssen became state treasurer.
There were numerous reasons why the leaders of the Whig and Free Soil parties failed to make much impression on the German voters of the state. Questions affecting the naturalization qualifications of voters had from the first alienated them, even if other considerations had not held them aloof. The first wedge in the partition of the German vote was doubtless due to the influence of the political exiles who have come to be known as the Forty-eighters. One of the most influential of these revolutionists of '48 was Carl Schurz. His influence in turning the drift of German sentiment toward the Republican party has never been full admitted. Events, of course, were favorable, for at the time he became active in the politics of Wisconsin and the Northwest, began that agitation which eventually found an outlet on the battlefield. The fact remains that the influence of Carl Schurz on the stump, not only in this state, but in many parts of the country, became potent in crystalizing German sentiment to that point that affiliation with the Republican party became the natural course of events.
Carl Schurz was but a young man when he came to Wisconsin and settled in the village of Watertown—26 years of age—but he had taken part in the stirring events of the old country and had been schooled to self-reliance, alertness and the prompt seizure of opportunity. He was an orator of unusual gifts, soon acquired ready command of the language of his adopted country, and rapidly gained an influence that attracted attention outside the state.
In 1857, Carl Schurz was nominated for lieutenant governor on the Republican ticket. Randall had been nominated for governor after a warm contest and some one was wanted who would strengthen the ticket. It was thought especially desirable to placate the Germans, who looked with suspicion on what they regarded as the nativistic tendencies of the new party. Sherman M. Booth, then a powerful factor in state politics, nominated Carl Schurz in an eloquent speech.
Most of the delegates had never heard the name before, and in fact Schurz had been a resident of the state but two years at this time. However, he was nominated on the first ballot, for he seemed to be the only available German to put on the ticket.
“None of us dreamed then,” the late A. M. Thomson wrote in his reminiscences of this convention, “that we were dealing with the destiny of one of the highest and most famous German-Americans who ever came to this country. ‘Who the devil is Carl Schurz?’ was the general inquiry among the delegates. Only a few knew him or knew about him. Nobody knew how to pronounce his name, some calling him ‘Shirts’ and others catching on to the correct pronunciation.
“But I shall never forgot his unique and picturesque appearance on that occasion, and now after the lapse of thirty-eight years I can see just how he looked when he came forward to make his little speech of acceptance in response to calls made for him after he was nominated. He was then miserably poor, and the suit of well-worn and faded clothes upon his back would have been rejected by an ordinary tramp. His long legs were encased in a pair of tightly-fitting trousers that were much too short at
