''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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

from 1848 until 1922. Along with the '' Westliche Post'' and '' Anzeiger des Westens'', both of

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, it was one of the three most successful German-language newspapers in the

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, and described as "the leading Republican paper of the Northwest", alongside the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. By 1876, the paper was printing 14,000 copies an hour and was second only to the ''Tribune'' in citywide circulation.

Publication history

Establishment

The ''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'' was founded in April 1848Carl Wittke, ''Refugees of Revolution: The German Forty-Eighters in America''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1952; pg. 273. as a weekly, and became a daily in 1851. Politically, the newspaper was Republican.

Hermann Kriege Hermann Kriege (1820–1850) was a German American revolutionary and journalist of the first half of the 19th century. His journalistic activities supporting socialist ideas caused him to be arrested and jailed in 1844. After serving his sen ...

was the first editor-in-chief. In the 1850s, the paper was taken over by Forty-Eighters and became a major daily newspaper of the Chicago German-born community. In 1851, Georg Schneider joined the staff of the paper and became editor. Among his associates were George Hillgärtner and Daniel Hertel. Schneider played a major role in building the Republican Party in Illinois, a work in which the ''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'' played an important function. The ''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'' opposed slavery, and Schneider successfully used the newspaper as a platform to campaign against the

Kansas–Nebraska Act The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law b ...

. On February 22, 1856 Schneider attended, on behalf of the ''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'', a meeting in Decatur of anti-Nebraska newspapers in Illinois. In total, 26 newspapers were represented at the meeting, assembled by the ''Morgan Journal'' editor Paul Selby.

Civil War period

During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

years, Lorenz Brentano was proprietor and editor-in-chief, succeeding Schneider. In these years, the paper fully dominated German-language press in the city, as Democratic German-language newspapers were short-lived at the time. At this point, ''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'' was the second-largest daily newspaper in the Chicago. During the war, Wilhelm Rapp was on the staff. He came from the '' Baltimore Wecker'' after a

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

destroyed its office. After the war, he returned to the ''Wecker''. In the years after the war, the ''Staats-Zeitung'' was published by Prussian immigrant Anton C. Hesing, a former sheriff of

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

, who moved from partial ownership to complete ownership in 1867."His 70th Year: Birthday of Anton C. Hesing Celebrated at his Home,"
''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' vol. 52, no. 7 (Jan. 7, 1893), pg. 4. A public figure and political boss of sorts, Hesing would use the pages of his paper for maximum political impact, helping to launch the pro-alcohol People's Party in 1873 and orchestrating the election of Harvey Doolittle Colvin as the 27th

mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the Chief executive officer, chief executive of city Government of Chicago, government in Chicago, Illinois, the List of United States cities by population, third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsib ...

. Hesing's independent political venture would fall into disrepute within a few years and the ''Staats-Zeitung'' returned to the Republican ranks. Concurrent with Hesing's assumption of the paper's ownership in 1867, Hermann Raster accepted the position of editor — a position he would retain until his death in 1891. Raster was the longest holder of this position, and the paper was at the peak of its financial success during his tenure. Wilhelm Rapp returned to the ''Staats-Zeitung'' in 1872, and became editor when Raster died in 1891.

Great Chicago Fire

The ''Staats-Zeitung'' was particularly hard hit during the October 1871

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

. Not only was the building housing the publication, including its machinery and type, lost to the flames, but so, too, were back files of the paper and the publication's records of accounts.''Fairmount Park, Philadelphia: Centennial Newspaper Exhibition, 1876.'' New York: George P. Rowell & Co., 1876; pg. 244. Moreover, virtually the entire staff of the paper from editors to press operators found themselves burned out of their homes. Necessary lead type for producing a German-language paper proved impossible to obtain on short notice, and as a temporary measure, production was moved briefly to the German enclave of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. After a mere 20 days, production returned to a new press in a new facility in Chicago, the city in which the paper would remain for the rest of its existence, with an expansion of physical size following one month later. A new permanent home for the paper was finally located about one mile away from the Chicago city center, in a new multistory structure built at the corner of Washington Street and Fifth Avenue. The building measured 100 feet from the basement floor to the peak of the roof, making it one of the largest buildings in its area of town, and was designed with the monumental sensibilities of old Europe. Historically Republican, the newspaper endorsed Democratic candidate Samuel J. Tilden in the

1876 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 1876. Republican Party (United States), Republican Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio very narrowly defeated Democratic Party (United Sta ...

. However, it remained officially independent from that point forward, criticizing equally both major American parties. After Hesing, Brentano, and Raster died at the end of the 19th century, the paper began to decline. In 1899, the majority stockholders of the paper created a new board of directors and ousted long-time treasurer Charles Francis Pietsch. Henrietta Hesing and Margarethe Raster, the widows of Washington Hesing and Hermann Raster, controlled the property of the'' Staats-Zeitung'', and Lorenz Brentano's son Theodore became new treasurer.

World War I and termination

Until the United States became involved in World War I, the ''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'' supported the German war effort. Editor Arthur Lorenz was reportedly "unrestrained" in his support for the Germans, and the paper lost a great deal of advertising and funding as a result. By the late 1910s, it was in dire financial straits and garnered significant controversy when it ran an article describing members of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

as vagabonds and bums and that the legion had been "bought with British gold to betray American labor." In 1921, the paper was sold for $25,000 and Colonel John Clinnin, assistant United States district attorney, recommended deportation proceedings for Lorenz. The paper was resurrected as ''Deutsch-Amerikanische Bürger-Zeitung''. A short time before, the ''Chicagoer Freie Presse'' had merged with the paper.

''Illinois Staats-Herold''

Following the sale of the'' Staats-Zeitung'', the paper was resurrected and merged with the ''Chicagoer Herold'' in the late 1920s to form the ''Illinois Staats-Herold''. The'' Staats-Herold's'' circulation was around 40,000 by 1934, but the paper again ceased publication around 1936. It was the first German newspaper in Chicago to host a German broadcasting hour on the radio. The president of the ''Staats-Herold'' was Ernest L. Klein and the editor-in-chief was Julius Klein. Like its predecessor, the'' Staats-Herold ''was Republican-affiliated.

Staff

File:Anton Hesing portrait.png, Anton C. Hesing
Owner File:George Schneider.jpg, George Schneider
Chief editor from 1851 to 1861 File:Lorenz Brentano 1878.jpg,

Lorenzo Brentano Lorenzo Brentano (November 4, 1813 – September 18, 1891) was a German people, German revolutionary and journalist who served as President of the 1849 Baden Revolution, Free State of Baden during the 1849 Baden Revolution. Following the failur ...

Chief editor from 1861 to 1867 File:Hermann Raster by von Hofsten.jpg, Hermann Raster
Chief editor from 1867 to 1891 File:Wilhelm Rapp Engraving.jpg, Wilhelm Rapp
Chief editor from 1891 to 1907 File:Washington Hesing Portrait.png, Washington Hesing
Managing editor from 1880 to 1893 File:Joseph Brucker 1900.jpg, Joseph Brucker
Managing editor from 1894 to 1901 File:Charles Francis Pietsch, circa 1910.jpg, Charles Francis Pietsch
Treasurer until 1899 File:TheodoreBrentano.PNG, Theodore Brentano
Treasurer after 1899 In November 1871, publisher Anton Hesing's son, Washington Hesing (1849–1897), an 1870 graduate of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, finished a stint as a political appointee on the

Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools. The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837. The board is currently made up of 11 members appoin ...

and became actively connected with the ''Staats-Zeitung.''A.T. Andreas, ''History of Chicago From the Earliest Period to the Present Time: Volume III: From the Fire of 1871 Until 1885.'' In Three Volumes. Chicago: A.T. Andreas Company, 1886; pg. 704. The younger Hesing became managing editor of the ''Staats-Zeitung'' in April 1880, by which time he was a part owner of the publication. Upon his appointment as postmaster of Chicago in 1893, Washington Hesing was replaced by notable Illinois Republican Joseph Brucker as managing editor of the paper."Joseph Brucker." ''History of Illinois Republicanism, Embracing a History of the Republican Party in the State to the Present Time ... with Biographies of Its Founders and Supporters ... Also a Chronological Statement of Important Political Events since 1774'', by Green B. Raum, Rollins Pub. Co., 1900, pp. 710–714. Other notable members of the staff of and contributors to the ''Staats-Zeitung'' were Adolf Wiesner (who served in an editorial position from 1866 to 1867), Caspar Butz, Emil Dietzsch, August Boecklin, Henry E.O. Heinemann, Paul Grzybowski and Henry Merker. Between 1891 and 1899, the paper had a separate evening edition, ''Abendblatt'' (''Evening Paper'').Encyclopedia of Chicago — Selected Chicago Daily Newspapers, Foreign Language
/ref>

References

External links

* (English translations of selected articles, 1855–1938). {{Authority control Illinois Staats-Zeitung Defunct newspapers published in Chicago German-American history German-American culture in Chicago Newspapers established in 1848 German-language newspapers published in Illinois Defunct German-language newspapers published in the United States Illinois Republican Party