Wilhelm Georg Rapp (1827–1907) was a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
German American
German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...
journalist, abolitionist, and newspaper editor. He was born in
Lindau
Lindau (german: Lindau (Bodensee), ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Ge ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, but grew up in
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
.
["Wilhelm Rapp (Husband of Mdme. Schumann Heink)." Abendpost, 1 Mar. 1907.] As a student at
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...
Rapp participated in the
German revolution of 1848
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, and was imprisoned for a year for his activities. Upon his release Rapp lived in Switzerland, where he taught school before emigrating to the United States in 1852.
Rapp edited ''
Die Turnzeitung'' in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, then moved to
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
in 1857 to become editor of the ''
Baltimore Wecker
''Der Baltimore Wecker'' was a daily paper published in the German language in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the object of violence in the civil unrest at Baltimore in April 1861 that produced the first bloodshed of the American Civil War.
Relat ...
''. Rapp's
anti-secessionist and
anti-slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The Britis ...
views made him the target of mob violence, and in 1861 he narrowly escaped lynching by fleeing to
Washington D.C.
)
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disguised as a minister.
While in Washington, Rapp met with
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, who offered him the position of
postmaster general
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...
. Rapp declined, instead moving to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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to work for the ''
Illinois Staats-Zeitung
''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'' (''Illinois State Newspaper'') was one of the most well-known German-language newspapers of the United States; it was published in Chicago from 1848 until 1922. Along with the ''Westliche Post'' and ''Anzeiger des West ...
''. In 1891, upon the death of his friend, chief editor
Hermann Raster
Hermann Raster (May 6, 1827 – July 24, 1891) was an American editor, abolitionist, writer, and anti-temperance political boss who served as chief editor and part-owner of the ''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'', a widely circulated newspaper in the G ...
, Rapp accepted the position and stayed as editor until his death at age 80 as a result of a streetcar accident on February 28, 1907. He and his wife Gesine had three daughters: Emilie, Frida, and Mathilda, and a son, William Jr.
References
Sources
* Barbara Gant
''Rapp, Wilhelm Georg'' In: ''
Neue Deutsche Biographie
''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...
'', vol. 21, Berlin 2003, pp. 153–154 (German)
External links
The Inventory of the Wilhelm Rapp Papers at the Newberry Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapp, Wilhelm
American abolitionists
Illinois Republicans
Maryland Republicans
German emigrants to the United States
19th-century German Jews
Jewish German writers
1827 births
1907 deaths
19th-century American newspaper editors
People from Baden
People from Baltimore
Illinois Staats-Zeitung people