Karl Follen; A Biographical Study

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917. Excerpt: ... INTRODUCTION. This Monograph is not only an attempt to rescue from oblivion the memory of the pioneer of Germanic studies in America and of the influence of his work in this direction, but it aims also to present for the first time an authoritative account of his life. The best existing biography of Follen is that published by his widow in 1842.1 Valuable as this biography is, it is, however, in no sense a scientific work but rather an attempt of a devoted wife to pay a loving tribute to the character of a noble husband in recording the chief events of his life. Many important sources which throw light upon Follen's European career were at the time still unavailable. The reasons for Follen's antislavery activity were only partly explained and his motives for joining the Unitarian movement were wrongly attributed to the influence of W. E. Channing. While Gustav Korner and Friedrich Kapp recognize2 Follen as one of the most distinguished and influential German-Americans in the first half of the 19th century, they devote only a few pages to his life and his various activities. Friedrich Munch,3 a friend and follower of Follen in the Burschenschaft movement, has contributed some useful information on Follen's connection with this movement, but in several important instances has unfortunately erred; moreover his account of Follen's life in America is based entirely upon Mrs. Follen's work and contains nothing new. Ratter 1 Vol. I of Follen's Works. 2 Korner, Das deutsche Element; Kapp, Deutsche Rundschau, Bd. 25, 1880. 3 Gesammelte Schriften, p. 39ff. mann's1 short biography is likewise based wholly upon the same source and presents, therefore, no new information. The chief German authorities on Follen are Treitschke, Biedermann, Haupt, and Pregizer, all ...