Joseph Arnold Weydemeyer (February 2, 1818 – August 26, 1866) was a military

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

and the

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as well as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

. At first a supporter of " true socialism", Weydemeyer became in 1845–1846 a follower of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.League of Communists, heading its

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

chapter from 1849 to 1851. He visited Marx in

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, staying there for a time to attend Marx's lectures. He participated in the

1848 Revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

. He was one of the "responsible editors" of the ''

Neue Rheinische Zeitung The ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung: Organ der Demokratie'' ("New Rhenish Newspaper: Organ of Democracy") was a German daily newspaper, published by Karl Marx in Cologne between 1 June 1848 and 19 May 1849. It is recognised by historians as one of the ...

'' from 1849 to 1850. He acted on Marx's behalf in the failed publication of the manuscript of ''

The German Ideology ''The German Ideology'' (German: ''Die deutsche Ideologie''), also known as ''A Critique of the German Ideology'', is a set of manuscripts written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels around April or early May 1846. Marx and Engels did not find a p ...

''. Weydemeyer worked on two socialist periodicals which were the ''Westphälisches Dampfboot'' ("Westphalian Steamboat") and the ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung''. In 1851, he emigrated from Germany to the United States and worked there as a journalist. '' The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon'', written by Marx, was published in 1852 in ''Die Revolution'', a German-language monthly magazine in New York established by Weydemeyer. Weydemeyer took part in the

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as a lieutenant colonel in the Union Army.

Biography

Early years

Born in 1818, the same year as

, Weydemeyer was the son of a

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n civil servant residing in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

. Sent to a gymnasium and the

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military Academy, he received his commission as a

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

in the Prussian artillery (1. Westfälisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 7) :de:1. Westfälisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 7 in 1838. At the beginning of his short career, he was stationed in the Westphalian town of

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

. He began to read the bourgeois radical and socialist newspaper '' Rheinische Zeitung'', the

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

paper Marx became editor and which was suppressed by Prussian censorship in 1843. But it inspired many soldiers in the

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and Westphalia. In the Minden garrison, the paper inspired revolutionaries like Fritz Anneke, August Willich, Hermann Korff, and Friedrich von Beust, all of whom, like Weydemeyer, will become prominent Forty-Eighters and after that officers of the Union army in the Civil War. The leftist officers in Minden formed a circle in which Weydemeyer took part. He also went frequently to Cologne and took part to discussions of social problems with the journalists of the ''Rheinische Zeitung''. In 1844, Weydemeyer resigned from the Prussian army. He then became assistant editor of the ''Trier'sche Zeitung'', a paper which advocated the Phalansteries of

Charles Fourier François Marie Charles Fourier (; ; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker, and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of his views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have be ...

and the True Socialism of

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. In 1845, he joined the ''Westphaelische Dampfboot'' after paying a visit to Marx, exiled in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Marx, as well as Engels, were publishing in the ''Dampfboot''. The paper was edited by Heinrich Otto Lüning in

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

and

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

. Lüning's sister Luise became Weydemeyer's wife in 1845.

1848

After a second visit to Marx in

in 1846, Weydemeyer went back to

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to organize the Communist League in Cologne. This was the organization for which Marx and Engels wrote the ''

Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'' (), originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (), is a political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London in 1848. The t ...

'' in 1847. He continued to work on the ''Dampfboot''. At the same time, he made a career as a construction engineer for the Cologne–Minden Railroad, but he quit the job soon after the beginning in 1848 because the company ordered its employees to stay out of political demonstration. During the rest of the year, he was a full-time revolutionary journalist. In June 1848, he was invited to

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

by the socialist publisher C. W. Leske to be co-editor with Heinrich Otto Lüning of the ''Neue Deutsche Zeitung''. Near to

, where the German National Assembly was meeting at the time, the newspaper intended to be a link between the left-wing of the Assembly and the extra-parliamentary movement. But in 1849, the counter-revolution succeeded and the Prussian absolutism crushed the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt National Assembly () was the first freely elected parliament for all German Confederation, German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848). The ...

, the armed democracy in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

and the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

and all the democratic papers. Marx's ''

'' disappeared under the censorship and the ''Neue Deutsche Zeitung'' survived by moving from Darmstadt to Frankfurt in the spring of 1849. The paper would be finally banished in December 1850 by the senate of the city. Weydemeyer remained in the country for half a year, underground. In July 1851, with his wife and two children, he went to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he did not find a job. On July 27, he wrote to Marx that he had no alternative than migrating to the

. In his answer to Weydemeyer, Marx recommend

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for his settlement, a place where Weydemeyer could have the chance to create a German-speaking revolutionary paper. At the same time, it was, for Marx, the city where the migrants were less likely to be touched by the Far West adventures. Marx also remarked that the United States would be a difficult country for the development of socialism, the surplus of population, being drained off by the farms and the fast-growing prosperity of the country, the Germans being easily Americanized and forgetting of their homeland. Weydemeyer and his family sailed from

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on September 29, 1851, and arrived in New York on November 7.

New York

A Marxist journalist

In December 1851, Weydemeyer issues a paper, named ''Die Revolution'', a German-language revolutionary paper, which purpose was to make picture of the

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

in the Old World. The paper first appeared on January 6 but was suspended on January 13. In a letter to Marx at the end of January, he attributed his failure because of the corrupting effect on the people of the American soil. He also pointed out the dominance of the liberal bourgeois-nationalist ideology on the people, among them Gottfried Kinkel and

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...

. German immigrants were simply not sensitive to Marx ideas and analyses of the defeat of the 1848 revolutions and of the triumph of European reaction. In spring 1852, Weydemeyer brought out Marx's '' Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte'' as a final number of ''Die Revolution'', after arranging for serial publication of Engels ''

The Peasant War in Germany ''The Peasant War in Germany'' () by Friedrich Engels is a short account of the early-16th-century uprisings known as the German Peasants' War (1524–1525). It was written by Engels in London during the summer of 1850, following the revolution ...

'' in the New York '' Turn-Zeitung'' between January 1852 and February 1853. He began to write for the '' Turn-Zeitung'' about different political issues, as the American aversion of the proletarian dictatorship, the calling of liberal American groups for

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and their silence about the conditions of the workers, the political immaturity of forty-eighters who raised money in the United States to foment revolution in Europe. To sum up, he wrote many articles which counterposed

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

for the German immigrants. In the July number of ''Turn-Zeitung'', he began a discussion of American labor issues and the free trade versus protection debate, where he took a traditional Marxist stand for the industrial development. In the ''Turn-Zeitung'' of September 1, Weydemeyer analyzed the relationship between

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n cotton and American slavery. The development of American monopoly on the world market, in his point of view, promotes the rise of national economical development rather than regional and the rise of national parties in American politics rather than regional. He saw the shift from an agricultural dominance over the industrial to an industrial dominance over the former. In the ''Turn-Zeitung'' of November 15, Weydemeyer wrote a review of the election campaign of 1852, pointing the absence of labor issues in the platforms of the Whig and Democratic parties. In December, in a two-part ''Political-Economic Survey'', he attempted to project a platform for American labor. He stands for organizations of the workers on a large scale political as well as economical, and urged the workers to adopt internationalism.

The foundation of the American Workers League

With four of his friends, Weydemeyer formed a tiny organization, the first Marxist organization in the United States, formed in the summer of 1852. The group, called ''Proletarierbund'', won the attention of German immigrants with the organization of a meeting on March 20, 1853, in New York, where eight hundred German Americans assembled in Mechanics Hall and founded the American Workers League. This was an organization of mixed union and party functions, and presented a program of immediate issues for the working class and the socialist goal at the same time. The program was for immediate naturalization of all immigrants who wished to gain American citizenship, it favored federal, rather than state, labor legislation, stood for guaranteed payment of wages to workers whose employers went bankrupt, assumption by government of all costs of litigation with free choice of counsel, reducing the working day to ten hours, banning labor for children under sixteen, compulsory education with government maintenance for children whose families were too poor, against all Sunday and temperance laws, for the formation of tuition-colleges and for state acquisition of existing private colleges, for keeping the national lands on the frontier inalienable, etc. Beside the immediate demands, the League's platform stated some revolutionary principles. The preamble charged the capitalists of the everyday worse situation of the workers, the need of an independent political party for the workers, "without respect to occupation, language, color or sex", and the task of overthrowing the capital leadership with it as a way to solve social and political problems. It also leaned on the American Constitution of the

Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

. The American Workers League functioned for several years under a central committee made up of delegates from wards clubs and

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. Member of its committee, Weydemeyer tried to wide the influence of the League to non-German Americans but the League served primarily as a German recreation and mutual aid society, in isolation from the English-speaking workers. When in the context of the Know-Nothing agitation, in 1855, the members began forming a secret military organization to defend themselves against nativist attacks, Weydemeyer withdrew from the League. He devoted himself to study the American Economy and to writing and lecturing of Marxists ideas.

American Civil War

As the country was moving toward a

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 ...

, German Americans played an important part in the emergence of the Republican Party, so did Weydemeyer, who was one of the men who drew the German community toward the Republicans and the antislavery cause. Weydemeyer's stand for the Republicans was consistent with the influence of the most prominent labor radicals at the time, as Wilhelm Weitling. William Sylvis, leading native-born trade unionist, didn't engage in Republican politics, but showed approval for their platform in several commentaries published by ''Die Welt''. The Republican Party gained also influence through the free-soil movement. According to his Marxist opinion against the parceling out of government lands to small farmers, Weydemeyer denounced the

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of Federal lands, government land or the American frontier, public domain, typically called a Homestead (buildings), homestead. In all, mo ...

agitation in 1854 as contrary to the interest of the workers and was in favor of large-scale agriculture. But in the 1860s, together with other German Republicans, he urged the party to campaign for "immediate passage by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

of a Homestead law by which the public lands of the Union may be secured for homesteads of the people, and secured from the greed of speculators." Weydemeyer's backing of the free-soil movement and shift of position about that issue wasn't a stand for the free-soil movement as social progress (as was Hermann Kriege's endorsement of this movement in 1845), but a question of tactic. Weydemeyer's support of the free-soil movement at that moment signified his support for the antislavery cause, the main issue at the time in his point of view. Shortly after dropping the American Workers League, Weydemeyer left New York and settled down in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, where he lived for four years, first in

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and then 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 ...

, where he worked as a journalist and also as a surveyor. He tried to establish in Chicago, another independent German labor paper, and contributed to the '' Illinois Staats-Zeitung'', a famous German Republican daily of the Midwest. He took part in the ''Deutsches Haus'' conference of German-American societies in Chicago in May 1860 to influence the Republican convention's platform and candidates. Back in New York at the end of 1860, he found a job as a surveyor of

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

and became active in the election campaign for

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. Eight months later, he was in the army. Thanks to his background as a Prussian military officer and surveyor, he became a technical aide on the staff of General

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

, the commander of the department of the West. He superintended the erection of ten forts around

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. After Frémont was removed from his command in November 1861, Weydemeyer was made a lieutenant colonel and given command of a

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

volunteer artillery regiment which took the field against Confederate guerillas in southern Missouri in 1862. At the end of the year, he was hospitalized for a nervous disorder and transferred to garrison duty in St. Louis, which he left in September 1863. Politically active in Missouri, Weydemeyer was facing two main issues: the extension of emancipation to Missouri and the prevention of a split between the Lincoln and Frémont faction of the Republican Party. Despite his own sympathy for the Frémont straight position, he tried to conciliate the factions and keep safe the victory in the 1864 election and in the war. In September 1864, Weydemeyer joined the army as colonel of the 41st Missouri Volunteer Infantry charged with the defense of St. Louis. While doing his military duty, he distributed copies of the Inaugural Address of the

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA; 1864–1876), often called the First International, was a political international which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, social democratic, communist, and anarchist g ...

, exchanged letters with Engels on military and political issues, contributed to local papers, as the ''Daily St Louis Press'' where he wrote an editorial greeting the founding of the

First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA; 1864–1876), often called the First International, was a political international which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, social democratic, communist, and anarchist ...

. In July 1865, he demobilized his regiment and left the Army.

Later life

At the end of the war, he began to write regularly for the '' Westliche Post'' and the ''Neue Zeit'', two St. Louis papers. He won the election as county auditor, holding his office from January 1, 1866 until his death. He worked for strong tax laws and collecting unpaid taxes of men who used the war to become rich. The same day William S. Sylvis inaugurated the National Labor Union in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Weydemeyer died of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

, at the age of 48.

References

Works cited

External links

''Joseph Weydemeyer: Pioneer of American Socialism'' by Karl Obermann, 1947.''Socialism in German American Literature'', Issue 24
William Frederic Kamman 1917 * Archive o
Joseph Weydemeyer Papers
at the

International Institute of Social History International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weydemeyer, Joseph 1818 births 1866 deaths Military personnel from Münster American communists American Marxists German-American Forty-Eighters German communists German Marxists German revolutionaries American Marxist journalists Members of the International Workingmen's Association Union army colonels American people of German descent 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century German male writers