Works of Carl Schurz

Harper's Weekly Editorials by Carl Schurz

In Chapter VI of A Sketch of Carl Schurz's Political Career, which appeared as a supplement to Volume III of Carl Schurz's Reminiscences, Frederic Bancroft and William A. Dunning state in the first and last paragraphs:

“Less than a week after leaving the Hamburg-American office [he left on July 1, 1892] Mr. Schurz was requested by Harper and Brothers to supply for their Weekly the leading editorial in place of George William Curtis, then fatally ill. Save for the accompanying sorrow on account of the affliction of this very dear friend, no task could have been more to the taste of Mr. Schurz, and it was continued from week to week. On the last day of August, 1892, Mr. Curtis died, and the Weekly of September 10 contained a warm, eloquent and fraternal tribute to his memory, doubtless written by Mr. Schurz. The arrangement under which the leading editorial was furnished every week was understood to be temporary and strictly secret. Both parties were so well satisfied, however, that the contributions continued for nearly six years, but, of course, Schurz's style and ideas were soon recognized. After January, 1897, his articles were signed, [Carl Schurz's first signed editorial appeared in Issue No. 2093, January 30, 1897] and thus exchanged the vague and mystic authority of the paper for the clear and definite authority of his own name and reputation.” — Reminiscences of Carl Schurz, Volume Three, New York: The McClure Company, 1908, p. 418.

“In April of 1898 one unremitting drain upon his energy was removed by the termination of his connection with Harper's Weekly. [Carl Schurz's last editorial, which is included in this collection, appeared in issue No. 2157, April 23, 1898.] The political convictions as well as the financial interests of the proprietors dictated a change in the policy of the paper to bring it more nearly in harmony with the popular sentiment that was clamoring for war and territorial expansion. No concession to such a sentiment could ever be expected of Mr. Schurz, and hence his weekly editorials ceased. The rupture of this relation was the first of many that were produced by the Spanish War.” — Reminiscences of Carl Schurz, Volume Three, New York: The McClure Company, 1908, p. 434.

All the editorials from Harper's Weekly that Frederic Bancroft included in Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schurz (six volumes, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1913) appear here (titles in boldface below). In addition, I have included a selection of the other editorials he wrote for that paper. Except for his “Woman Suffrage” editorial, which appeared as a pamphlet under his name, for the editorials I have selected, I have restricted myself to signed editorials since I do not know that all opinion pieces appearing in Harper's Weekly from July 1892 to April 1898 are indeed his, though probably many, and perhaps all, are. Except for “The Pension Scandal”, Frederic Bancroft seems to have done likewise for the editorials he selected for Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schurz. For copies of the unlinked editorials below, see Freewebtown.

Works of Carl Schurz