UC-NRLF 
 
 1917 
 
 KARL POLLEN 
 
 Biographical Study 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON SPINDLER 
 
 A. B. Indiana University, 1900 
 A. M. Indiana University, 1908 
 
 THESIS 
 
 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the 
 
 Degree of 
 
 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 IN GERMAN 
 
 IN 
 
 THE GRADUATE SCHOOL 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLLINOIS 
 1916 
 
 
EXCHANGE 
 

 THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 KARL POLLEN 
 
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 
 CHICAGO, ILL. 
 
 Agents : 
 
 THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE CUNNINGHAM, CURTISS & WELCH COMPANY 
 
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 TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, EUKUOKA, SENDAI 
 
 THE MISSION BOOK COMPANY 
 SHANGHAI 
 
 KARL W. HIERSEMANN 
 LEIPZIG 
 
KARL POLLEN 
 
 A 
 Biographical Study 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON SPINDLER 
 
 M 
 
 A. B. Indiana University, 1900 
 A. M. Indiana University, 1908 
 
 THESIS 
 
 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the 
 Degree of 
 
 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 IN GERMAN 
 
 IN 
 
 THE GRADUATE SCHOOL 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 1916 
 
44? 
 
 [ 
 
 Copyright 1917 By 
 
 THE GERMAN-AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 Published April, 1917 
 
FOREWORD. 
 
 The following work is based upon Follen s writings, 
 contemporary references to him hitherto uncollected, and pre= 
 vious biographical material. With all the available sources 
 gathered from various libraries in the United States I have 
 sought to present Follen s life as a whole and at the same time 
 to throw new light upon both his European and American 
 career. Through the kindness of Professor Julius Goebel I 
 had access to a number of Follen s recently discovered letters 
 which made it possible for me to explain Follen s much criti 
 cised and misinterpreted turn to the ministry. On account of 
 the European war some of Follen s early essays are at present 
 inaccessible ; some of his later ones are extant only in various 
 old American periodicals. These along with several of the 
 more valuable, though almost forgotten, essays in his published 
 works I hope to give to the public at some future time. 
 
 Follen s literary remains, including some of his diaries, 
 his fragmentary work on psychology, and other valuable writ 
 ings, probably lie buried in some unmarked grave. The late 
 John Cabot of Brookline, Massachusetts, who had charge of 
 the Follen family possessions, sought in vain to locate these 
 papers for me. He informed me, however, that to the best of 
 his recollection this material had been turned over either to 
 Professor Kuno Francke or to the librarian of Harvard Uni 
 versity, but I have been assured by both of these gentlemen 
 that they have no knowledge of its whereabouts. 
 
 To my friend and teacher, Professor Julius Goebel, at 
 whose suggestion it was undertaken, is due the credit for 
 whatever merit this work possesses, and I take this occasion 
 to express my deepest gratitude for his kindly direction and 
 scholarly criticism. To Dr. Alexander Green, my friend and 
 former colleague, I am under obligation also for helpful sug 
 gestions. 
 
 G. W. S. 
 Purdue University, January 1917. 
 
 360576 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGB 
 Introduction 7 
 
 PART ONE 
 
 POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 I His Propaganda for German Unity 10 
 
 The Burschenschaft 15 
 
 His Republicanism 23 
 
 His Revolutionary Aims 38 
 
 The Kotzebue Affair 60 
 
 In Political Exile 76 
 
 PART Two 
 
 POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 I His Promotion of German Studies 84 
 
 Language 94 
 
 Literature 94 
 
 Philosophy 122 
 
 Gymnastics 126 
 
 Influence at Harvard 139 
 
 II His Relation to Unitarianism 146 
 
 Plan of Religious Reform 158 
 
 Intercourse with W. E. Channing 161 
 
 Religious Views 172 
 
 Influence as a Preacher 177 
 
 III His Antislavery Activity 186 
 
 Espousal of the Cause 190 
 
 Addresses to the American People 194 
 
 Defense of Free Speech 206 
 
 Conclusion 224 
 
 List of Pollen s Writings 229 
 
 Bibliography . ... 229 
 
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 Pollen s Eu 
 ropean career were at the time still unavailable. The reasons 
 for Pollen 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 Priedrich Kapp recognize 2 
 Follen as one of the most distinguished and influential Ger 
 man-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 in 
 formation on Pollen s connection with this movement, but in 
 several important instances has unfortunately erred; more 
 over his account of Pollen s life in America is based entirely 
 upon Mrs. Pollen s work and contains nothing new. Ratter- 
 
 1 Vol. I of Pollen s Works. 
 
 2 Korner, Das deutsche Element; Kapp, Deutsche Rundschau, Bd. 
 25, 1880. 
 
 3 Gesammelte Schriften, p. 39ff. 
 
 7 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 mann s * 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 of whom have discussed 
 only his connection with the German liberal movement with 
 out any attempt to give an account of his career in the United 
 States. Haupt s work on "Follen und die Giessener Schwar- 
 zen" is the most thorough and comprehensive study of Follen 
 as the founder and leader of the Giessen Burschenschaft. In 
 his discussion of Follen s political ideas Pregizer confines him 
 self wholly to Follen s early life without taking into account 
 his later and more mature views. Owing to their limited 
 knowledge of Follen s later life both Treitschke and Pregizer 
 have arrived at certain conclusions which seem to be unten 
 able. In general German historians have hitherto dealt almost 
 exclusively with Follen s early life, regarding him for the 
 most part only as a political radical and revolutionist. 
 
 Since the German wars of liberation are beginning at 
 present to be viewed not simply as a struggle against foreign 
 domination but also, and above all, as the first powerful rise 
 of German national feeling, which aimed at national unity, 2 
 it seems now to become possible to give a more correct inter 
 pretation to Follen s youthful activity. For only against the 
 background of the movement for national independence and 
 from the spiritual forces which at that time exalted the Ger 
 man mind to undreamed of heights can Follen s historical 
 significance be understood. It was the time when the best 
 men of the nation first became conscious that only in their 
 own nationality could that higher humanity of which the great 
 poets and thinkers had dreamed be realized; the time when 
 in the life-and-death grapple with Napoleon the people first 
 became aware of their strength and their rights, and when 
 the German nation, in spite of its political discord, once more 
 experienced, for the first time in centuries, the joy of unity 
 and demanded for the rejuvenated spirit the body of a new 
 
 1 Gesammelte Werke, X. 
 
 2 Lamprecht, Deutscher Aufstieg, 1750-1914, p. 28. 
 Meinecke, Die deutsche Hrhebung von 1814, p. lOfiF. 
 
 8 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 national state. The impulse toward national regeneration and 
 a sound physical life found expression in the gymnastic en 
 deavors of Jahn, and the national exaltation as a whole seemed 
 to receive its consecration by the awakening of a new religious 
 spirit, an awakening such as Germany had not experienced 
 since the days of the Reformation. 
 
 It will be seen that Pollen as a product of the classical 
 period of German literature and philosophy assimilated even 
 in his youth the spiritual forces of his time, and that these 
 not only determined his activity in Europe but also that of 
 his American career. As a representative of these ideals he 
 thus became the forerunner of thousands, who in the 30s and 
 especially in the later 40s followed him to America. It may 
 justly be said that no other nation in the world was so deeply 
 affected by the German patriotic movements of the 19th cen 
 tury as w r as this country. The period subsequent to Pollen s 
 coming is one of the most important also in our national his 
 tory. It was during this period that the higher intellectual 
 life of the young nation began to emancipate l itself from 
 English traditions and to form independent ideals in educa 
 tion, philosophy, and literature. At the same time there was 
 developing within the Union a political conflict, the final out 
 come of which had to demonstrate whether the high ideals 
 upon which the Republic was founded were to prevail or not. 
 In all these great national movements and struggles Pollen 
 and those who followed after him were destined to play an 
 important r61e. 
 
 1 Channing, Remarks on National Literature Complete Works, 
 
 p. 137. 
 
 Barrett, Wendell, Literary History of America, p. 295 f. 
 Higginson, T. W., Cheerful Yesterdays Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 
 
 79, p. 490. 
 
 9 
 
PART ONE. 
 POLLEN IN EUROPE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 HIS PROPAGANDA FOR GERMAN UNITY. 
 
 To trace the rise and growth of German national con 
 sciousness, of which Pollen became one of the foremost rep 
 resentatives, even in outline, would in itself be an extensive 
 study. For the present purpose let it suffice to say that the 
 undercurrent of patriotism making itself felt first in the patri 
 otic poetry of Klopstock and in the effects of the deeds of 
 Frederick the Great, then growing broader and deeper at the 
 opening of the 19th century, burst forth into a great surge 
 of patriotic feeling as the Germans watched their national in 
 heritance crumble away beneath the heel of the foreign con 
 queror. Through the writings of such men as Fichte, Arndt 
 and Jahn, the Germans came to realize that Teutonic civiliza 
 tion could be preserved only by means of national independence 
 and a national state. Fichte s famous "Addresses to the Ger 
 man Nation" marked the transition from cosmopolitanism to 
 patriotism, and in the great national awakening that followed 
 German national unity had its inception. 
 
 In the wars of liberation the German people united espe 
 cially to regain their national independence, but in accordance 
 with the promises of their rulers they expected also a closer 
 union of all the German states and a greater degree of civic 
 freedom as a reward for their patriotic devotion in the hour 
 of national peril. When the victorious German armies re 
 turned home they demanded national unity in order to avoid 
 future national calamity and looked forward, consequently, in 
 confident expectation to a new political life. In their attempt 
 to formulate a plan of union only two possibilities presented 
 themselves : either to form a German confederation or to dis 
 solve the existing governments and in their stead found one 
 
 10 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 German state. The patriots naturally demanded the latter 
 plan; most of them favored a limited monarchy while the 
 more liberal-minded were eager for a republic. "But the ma 
 jority of those who were enthusiastic for one German state 
 would have been indignant at the suggestion that this demand 
 expressly implied the dethroning of their ruling princes." i 
 
 The problem of German unity was one of supreme diffi 
 culty, for the international Congress of Vienna was more con 
 cerned with the general settlement of European affairs than 
 with the future welfare of Germany, and the diplomats from 
 other countries naturally did not desire a strong, united Ger 
 many. But the greatest obstacle to the establishment of a 
 central government was the unwillingness of the German prin 
 ces to surrender any of their sovereignty. Believing, how 
 ever, that they ought at least to unite for mutual protection 
 they finally passed an act organizing Germany into a loose 
 confederation of independent states. As an opponent both 
 of national unity and popular sovereignty Metternich, the rul 
 ing spirit of the assembly, succeeded also in thwarting the 
 demand for constitutional government. As a result none of 
 the rulers except the Grand Duke of Weimar took any im 
 mediate steps to grant their subjects a voice in governmental 
 affairs. The German people had been temperate in their de 
 mands, asking merely for a government that would be more 
 in conformity with the existing views of human rights. Bit 
 ter and profound was their disappointment when their dream 
 of national unity and civic freedom turned out to be a mere 
 illusion. While the older men with few exceptions seemed 
 to accept the hopeless political situation with a spirit of pes 
 simistic resignation, it is highly significant that the widespread 
 dissatisfaction with the reactionary attitude of the German 
 rulers found its most fervent expression among the younger 
 generation of German patriots. Now that the foreign enemy 
 had been overcome the academic youth, in whom the spirit 
 of Fichte and Schleiermacher still survived, united to promote 
 the welfare of their common country, or as a contemporary 
 
 1 Jastrow, Geschichte des deutschen Bwheitstraumes, 109. 
 11 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 has it: "In the academic youth the German nation first be 
 came conscious of its unity." l By exalting the idea of a com 
 mon fatherland and by fostering a broad unsectarian spirit 
 in church and state these young patriots hoped to lay the 
 foundation of a new national life. The first attempt 2 to 
 organize the academic youth into an association on nation*! 
 lines was made at Giessen in 1814. Foremost in this move 
 ment was Karl Follen. 
 
 Karl Theodor Christian Follen was the second son of 
 Christoph Follenius, 3 advocate and judge at Giessen in Hesse- 
 Darmstadt. He was born on the 4th of September, 1796, at 
 the home of his grandfather in the village of Romrod, whither 
 his mother had gone to escape the turmoil occasioned by the 
 French occupation of Giessen. After his mother s death, 
 when he was only three years old, his brothers and sisters 
 were sent to live with their grand-parents while he remained 
 at home in close companionship with his father, a circum 
 stance which tended on the one hand to increase his natural 
 precocity, on the other to develop in him an unnatural seri 
 ousness of character. After several years his father married 
 again, which, along with the return of the other children to 
 the parental roof, supplied the home life necessary to child 
 hood. Under the direction of his devoted stepmother the 
 sensitive, backward boy received his first elementary instruc 
 tion and was sent to the public schools where he made rapid 
 progress in the common branches. Since he had not been 
 accustomed to the companionship of children he took little 
 interest in the sports and games of his schoolmates; in fact 
 he had little relish for the ordinary pleasures of childhood. 
 As he grew older, however, a close companionship sprang up 
 between him and his elder brother, Adolf, which gradually 
 developed into an intimate and abiding friendship. 
 
 While still a mere child Follen began to manifest certain 
 
 1 Wolfgang Menzel, Denkwiirdigkeiten, 119. 
 
 2 Stern, Geschichte Huropas, 18151871, I, 446. 
 
 * The latinized form of the name was dropped by Follen when he 
 came to America. 
 
 12 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 characteristics for which he became distinguished in later 
 years. Whenever his brothers laughed at his little idiosyn- 
 cracies he would often fly into a fit of uncontrollable anger. 
 This fault he soon resolved to overcome. He was naturally 
 timid and as a result had a great dread of passing the grave 
 yard at night. In order to conquer this weakness he forced 
 himself to go there after dark and to remain until he had 
 overcome his fear. 1 Being easily affected with dizziness when 
 looking from a height, he subdued this weakness by walking 
 daily upon the parapet of a high bridge with his eyes fixed 
 upon the rushing stream beneath, until by perseverance he 
 was able to run backward and forward upon the narrow foot 
 ing. Thus by great and constant effort he at last acquired 
 that perfect self-control which was a distinguishing trait of 
 his character. In these early years he began also to manifest 
 that spirit of independent thought and free investigation for 
 which he was noted in after life. He often lay awake at 
 night reflecting over the mysteries of nature and the religious 
 instruction he had received at school, and when he could find 
 no satisfactory answer to some puzzling question would arise 
 and beg his father to satisfy his curiosity. If things were 
 not explained to his satisfaction he formed decided opinions 
 for himself in all matters that seemed ambiguous to his child 
 ish mind, accepting what seemed good and rejecting what 
 seemed unreasonable. When he was scarcely twelve years of 
 age he conceived the idea that if everyone should of his own 
 free will make himself an image of Christ it would lay the 
 foundation for a new state of society. Thus early did he in 
 a general way formulate a conception of life which, broadened 
 and modified by subsequent study, became the basis of his 
 mature religious and political views. 
 
 After passing through the common school he entered the 
 gymnasium where he distinguished himself in all his studies, 
 especially in the ancient and modern languages. Among his 
 teachers none exercised so great an influence on his early 
 
 1 Works of Charles Pollen, I, 8. In the following pages these 
 works will be referred to simply as Works. 
 
 13 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 development as Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker, 1 a man imbued 
 with an ardent love of freedom and fatherland. Although the 
 boy s patriotism had, no doubt, already been awakened by 
 conversations with his father on the Napoleonic rule in Ger 
 many, it was his teacher who first aroused his interest in politi 
 cal questions and contemporary historical events. Welcker 
 was a true German patriot and sought to inspire his pupils 
 also with a love of fatherland and a hatred of French domi 
 nation. 2 To this end he interested them first of all in Schiller s 
 patriotic poetry. Thus Schiller became the light and com 
 panion of Follen s early days. The thing that impressed 
 Follen most of all, as he states in his lectures 3 many years 
 later, was the fact that Schiller was a poet of freedom, that 
 he resisted all kinds of unnatural and unreasonable restraints, 
 and that he preached the gospel of freedom in the Kantian 
 sense as synonymous with the moral nature of man. Welcker 
 further inspired his pupils by giving them patriotic themes 
 upon which to write compositions. Two such essays from 
 young Follen s pen in 1811 give evidence of his growing pa 
 triotism and his longing for freedom, even at the price of a 
 martyr s death. He expressed himself in this manner: 4 
 
 "The Germans lack patriotism ; in learning they take the 
 lead, but they lack energy. It is the duty of everybody to 
 live and to die for the common weal. Then only can they 
 serve God and the fatherland. It breaks my heart when I 
 see how the worm of tyranny is daily gnawing at the vitals 
 of our ancestral freedom. The stars of hope have set and 
 never will the sweet morning dawn. But living or dead the 
 goal will yet be attained." 
 
 In the spring of 1813, when scarcely more than sixteen 
 years of age, young Follen graduated from the Gymnasium 
 
 1 Welcker was afterwards noted as an acheologist and classical 
 philologian, and became professor of ancient literature at Gottingen 
 where he made the acquaintance of the American students, George 
 Ticknor and Edward Everett, to whom he gave Follen letters of rec 
 ommendation when the latter left Europe. 
 
 2 Haupt, Karl Follen und die Giessener Schwarzen, 6. 
 s Works, IV, 388. 
 
 4 Haupt, 22. 
 
 14 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 and at once began the study of law at the university of Gies- 
 sen. It was at this time that the growing patriotic movement, 
 such as Germany had never witnessed before, swelled into that 
 great popular uprising against the foreign oppressor. In re 
 sponse to the appeal of the king of Prussia to the nation the 
 German youth rushed to arms and with noble enthusiasm went 
 out to battle for their dearest rights. Inspired by Jahn s "Teut- 
 sches Volkstum," Fichte s "Reden an die deutsche Nation," 
 Welcker s teachings and example, and especially by Korner s 
 heroic death, Pollen with his two brothers joined a student 
 corps of riflemen and entered the struggle for national inde 
 pendence, ready to sacrifice his dearest hopes upon the altar 
 of freedom. At the close of the campaign in 1814 the brothers 
 returned home safely and with new-born ardor Follen again 
 took up his study of jurisprudence and theology at Giessen. 
 Imbued with higher ideals of patriotism and possessed of a 
 more serious view of life as a result of his experiences in the 
 war, his early religious and political ideas now shaped them 
 selves into a system somewhat as follows i 1 All tyranny whatso 
 ever is sinful, for man is and of right ought to be free. Nobody 
 is free who is a slave to his own passions, who fears death, 
 or who does not believe in immortality. Since the end and 
 aim of life is Christlike perfection, that is, perfect freedom, 
 men are in duty bound first to subdue the tyrant in their own 
 breasts and then to oppose all unjust dominion without; in 
 other words, to lead a life of purity, to submit to the law of 
 justice, and to promote universal brotherhood as taught by 
 Christ. Believing that the adoption of these principles would 
 effect a regeneration of all mankind he now entered upon a 
 course of activity which gradually developed into a systematic 
 propaganda for the political, social, and religious reform of 
 Germany. 
 
 HIS PROMOTION OF THE BURSCHENSCHAFT. 
 
 Although the German patriots prior to the wars of libera 
 tion gave passionate expression to their longings for national 
 unity, the fact must not be overlooked that the object was not 
 
 1 Works, I, 21f. 
 
 IS 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 so much the welding of the German states into a strong political 
 whole for the internal welfare of the country as their mutual 
 cooperation for the establishment of national independence. 
 Even after the latter had been attained the political writers 
 of the day had only the haziest notions concerning the prob 
 lem of national organization. 1 Wishes, hopes, and theories 
 there were in abundance, but community of interests and defi 
 nite programs were wanting. But the academic youth took a 
 step in advance of their elders by formulating a definite plan 
 of action. In the first place they conceived the idea of re 
 organizing university life along new lines and of making it 
 thus the model for a larger national life. To this end they 
 began a general movement for the purpose of forming a closer 
 union of all the students, a true Burschenschaft, to supersede 
 the old, established Landsmannschaften, which had hitherto 
 dominated student affairs in the most arbitrary and tyrannical 
 manner. These provincial clubs not only fostered false no 
 tions of honor and a system of caste, but preserved also a 
 feeling of localism, a spirit of particularism, which was one 
 of the greatest weaknesses of German life. Ignoring provin 
 cial lines and inculcating a larger ideal of association, the new 
 organization on the other hand was to be national in its aims. 
 Taking Fichte, Jahn, Arndt, and Schleiermacher as their ex 
 amples and leaders, and pledging themselves to lead a life of 
 industry, sobriety, and chastity, these young idealists hoped 
 by means of physical and mental training, by patriotic inspira 
 tion and moral elevation to lead the state of the future to 
 the goal of civic freedom and national unity. 
 
 This patriotic outburst during the wars of liberation was 
 accompanied by an intense religious fervor. The supremacy 
 of the moral law, strict obedience to the inner voice of duty, 
 as taught by Kant and Fichte, had prepared the way for a 
 new religious life in Germany. The Romanticists had awak 
 ened a new interest in Christianity and a deep feeling of 
 mystic piety, while Schleiermacher through his Addresses on 
 Religion aroused a keener realization of man s dependence on 
 God. Through the national disaster the Germans had become 
 * Jastrow, 129f. 
 
 _ 16 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 more serious and introspective, and consequently more recep 
 tive to the new spiritual life that was dawning. Devotion to 
 humanity rather than personal happiness and culture came to 
 be looked upon as the end and aim of existence. To this 
 young generation to be German meant to be religious ; hence 
 the patriotism of the Burschenschaft movement went hand in 
 hand with a fervent religious exaltation. 
 
 The Burschenschaft movement originated and reached 
 its climax in Giessen and Jena, receiving its most character 
 istic stamp from the contrast between the general atmosphere 
 of these two universities. 1 The latter had long enjoyed a 
 reputation for its liberal traditions and its romantic, idyllic 
 academic life, while the former was characterized by a spirit 
 of narrow conservatism and noted for the traditionally rough 
 and disorderly conduct of its students. In both universities 
 duels took the place of arguments, and the Komment, the 
 self-constituted laws of the L/andsmannschaften, was arbitrary 
 in the extreme. But in Giessen especially sectional feeling 
 ran high, and the tyranny of the few over the many became 
 almost unbearable ; the rowdyism of the students had brought 
 them into numerous conflicts with the laws of the land and 
 this tended also to increase the reactionary attitude both of the 
 ducal and of the university authorities. Such was the status 
 of affairs with which the reformers had to cope in Giessen. 
 In marked contrast therefore to the burschikos character of 
 the Jena movement, that of Giessen took the form of a politi 
 cal propaganda. The heart and soul of this movement was 
 Karl Follen who, bent upon his project for the social and 
 political reform of Germany, inspired his followers to the 
 highest pitch of enthusiasm for his revolutionary program. 
 
 Under the influence of Fichte s "Addresses to the German 
 Nation," which advocated a new system of education for the 
 creation of a new national spirit, and hence as a means to 
 national unity, Follen began his propaganda by organizing 
 literary clubs for the promotion of patriotism and science. 
 Largely due to the efforts of himself and his elder brother, 
 Adolf, there was organized in Giessen as early as the autumn 
 1 Cf . Braun, Westermann s Monatshefte, XXXV, 225. 
 17 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 of 1814 a "Deutsche Lesegesellschaft," in the reading room 
 of which were to be found political newspapers and pamphlets, 
 and in whose meetings the writings of such men as Moser, 
 Schiller, Korner, Arndt, and Fichte were read and discussed. 1 
 The members of this society adopted the old German garb, 
 long hair, black velvet coat, and dagger, and under the influ 
 ence of "Turnvater" Jahn, who had already done so much 
 through his gymnastics to cultivate manliness and patriotic 
 sentiment in the German youth, devoted themselves diligently 
 to physical culture also. But on account of rivalries and jeal 
 ousies, and especially on account of an attempt by a few of 
 the leaders of the association to abolish the practice of duel 
 ing, which had become one of the most baneful customs of 
 student life, the organization was soon broken up. In the fol 
 lowing summer, 1815, a small group of the more radical, in 
 cluding the Pollen brothers, banded together into a league 
 called the "Germania," with patriotic, moral and scholarly 
 aims. From the color of their academic coats they were 
 dubbed the "Blacks" 2 by the other students, and on account 
 of their stern morality and opposition to rowdyism soon came 
 into conflict with the Landsmannschaften. Follen and his 
 friends soon became so repugnant to the majority of the 
 Giessen students, as Wesselhoft observes, 3 that the latter re 
 fused to fraternize with them. Denounced as political con 
 spirators the Blacks were compelled to dissolve this league, 
 but immediately formed a new one under the name of "Deut- 
 scher Bildungs- und Freundschaftsverein." 4 As a condition 
 to entrance into this association the candidate had to be a true 
 Christian, a real German, and a bona fide student. Before 
 the end of the year this society also was obliged to disband, 
 but the persecution by the Landsmannschaften continued and 
 the Blacks had to maintain themselves by frequent duels in 
 
 1 Haupt, 6. 
 
 2 Ibid., 12. In his Aus Deutschlands trubster Zcit Munch errone 
 ously dates the origin of the Blacks at the end of 1816. 
 
 8 Teutsche Jugend in wetland Burschenschaften und Turngemein- 
 den, 80. 
 
 4 Haupt, 12. 
 
 18 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 which Follen took a leading part. Concerning this struggle 
 Pollen s widow gives the following account i 1 
 
 "He was often challenged and called upon to use his 
 sword against these bullies, but he has told me that he never 
 used it in a purely personal quarrel. He was skillful in the 
 use of the weapon and was so calm and collected that he 
 almost always gained the victory, but never abused it. These 
 duels with the broadsword seldom endangered life, and at 
 that time he thought himself justified in occasionally using 
 this means for the defense of truth and justice. It was one 
 of his great purposes and of the party of which he was a 
 leader to put a check to this evil and dangerous custom; but 
 he thought had he not the courage and power to defend him 
 self by force of arms, he should not have the same influence 
 with his fellow students in urging other and moral means for 
 the settlement of differences ; he could not even have remained 
 in the university." 
 
 Concerning the aims of these literary clubs Follen him 
 self records the following : 2 "They were organized partly 
 among students, partly among other young men for reciprocal 
 exchange of views on philosophy, religion, and political sub 
 jects, and held together for the most part by the common 
 bond of like ideas, an ideal friendship whose simple sincerity 
 and fervor is so characteristically German. The members had 
 public opinion on their side through their zeal for science and 
 their strict morality. In their meetings, which often occurred 
 without any previous appointment, the most important truths 
 of religion, ethics, jurisprudence, politics, and especially of 
 scientific subjects were discussed. The sad condition of the 
 fatherland without unity and freedom was discussed also, and 
 some were of the opinion that the ideal national life needed 
 above all a unity of faith for one Christian German Church. 
 Others held that the church is a private society in the state 
 and believed that the latter should have a different form, 
 which according to some should be a limited monarchy, ac- 
 
 1 Works, I, 26. 
 
 2 "Ueber die deutschc Inquisition" Published in Johannes Wits 
 Fragment e aus mcinem Leben, III, Sec. 1, 187. 
 
 19 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 cording to others a republic. Upon these subjects speeches 
 were made and disquisitions written." 
 
 Unyielding in his determination to proceed with his origi 
 nal program, Follen continued his efforts to bring the student 
 body into a closer union with a view to establishing a student 
 republic as a model for a larger national organization. In his 
 History 1 of the Christian German Burschenschaft Follen 
 wrote as follows concerning the movement in Giessen : 
 "When local divisions and an oppressive system of rank were 
 wasting, by angry collisions, the free powers of individuals 
 and of the whole student body, there arose among the students 
 of Giessen the idea of a Christian-German Republic in which 
 the omcers should be on a complete level with all the others, 
 where the will of the whole, obtained by a free, general dis 
 cussion in assemblies open to all, should rule in the concerns 
 of the students ; and where in a close union of all their youth 
 ful powers, in their manners and conduct, and in their public 
 sentiment an earnest, patriotic effort, a striving after learning, 
 physical culture, and freedom as citizens should be unfolded. 
 Many students who were spiritually united by the same striv 
 ing after Christian and national progress went steadily onward 
 to the attainment of this object in friendly union, held together 
 only by a true inward indissoluble bond of conviction." 
 
 Under the leadership of Follen the Blacks continued 
 their discussions and consultations in private throughout the 
 year 1816. In a public assembly of the student body in the 
 autumn of that year they offered a set of resolutions to the 
 effect : 2 That all students should be free and equal among 
 themselves from the day of entrance to the university so long 
 as they conduct themselves honorably; that all associations 
 arrogating to themselves any peculiar power, and opposing 
 thereby the establishing of equality and unity in the university, 
 should be dissolved ; that a code of rules for the government 
 of the students and a court for the settlement of all questions 
 
 1 Quoted in part in Works, I, 3050. Haupt and Pregizer give 
 the original title of this history as Beitrdge sur Geschichte der teut- 
 schen Samtschuloi seit dem Freiheitskriege, 1813. 
 
 2 "History of the Giessener Burschenschaft," Works, I, 40. 
 
 20 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 of honor should be established ; that an assembly of all Chris 
 tian German students, united in a free student community, 
 should, as the only justly authorized association, exercise all 
 legislative and judicial functions in all student affairs; and 
 that for the purpose of a free, progressive development of 
 student life, a free German Burschen-Commonwealth should 
 be established in each of the German universities. 
 
 These propositions were greeted with shouts of approval, 
 but owing to the opposition of the Landsmannschaften and 
 the hostile attitude of the university authorities, who regarded 
 this movement for liberty as dangerous to the established or 
 der, nothing was accomplished. Undaunted, however, in their 
 efforts for academic reform, the Blacks sought to establish 
 at least a court of honor for the adjustment of differences 
 among the students. After deliberating among themselves 
 they finally adopted a set of laws under the title of the 
 "Ehrenspiegel." Follen himself drafted most of the statutes 
 and prefaced them with the following lines, 1 which indicate 
 the Christian, republican spirit of the work: 
 
 Der Gottheit Blitzstrahl, der aus finstrer Wolke 
 Aus dieser Sturmzeit herrlich sich entziindet, 
 Die Liebe, die uns All in Gott verbiindet, 
 Als Gottes Stimm in Menschen, wie im Volke, 
 Lebendig neu der Menschheit Urbild griindet, 
 
 Die durch den Heiland, 
 
 Die jetzt und weiland 
 
 Uns durch so viel Blutzeugen ist verbiindet, 
 Sie gibt das Feuer uns zum kiihnen Handeln, 
 Das Licht, um frei der Wahrheit Bahn zu wandeln. 
 
 Among the several principles set up in the Ehrenspiegel 
 it was decreed: 2 
 
 "That the relation of individual students to each other 
 must be a relation of unconditional equality, without reference 
 to any particular faith, country, or rank arising from age or 
 family connections. 
 
 1 Ibid. Works, I, 50. 
 
 2 Ibid., Works, I, 35ff. 
 
 21 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 "Honor ennobles at the university, but honor will be ren 
 dered to everyone who is animated by a pure zeal for a learned 
 and worthy education, by a holy devotion to the faith and the 
 country to which he, with free conviction, adheres. 
 
 "There can be no relation of honor without a relation of 
 justice; consequently every duel is mischievous and sinful if 
 it is ascertained that there is right on one side and injustice 
 on the other, or a misunderstanding on both. But the ascer 
 taining of the right requires a court, and among students it 
 must be a court of arbitration. 
 
 "No single department of art or science suffices us, and 
 as little can a single mode of bodily exercise. Only a constant 
 progress towards knowledge and truth, enlarged by friendly 
 communion, united to a social, gymnastic development of all 
 bodily powers, can lead to a free harmony of one being, in 
 parts as in the whole. 
 
 "Let the model of a Christian-German Burschenschaft 
 be our perpetual ideal ! Let this elevated spirit of union 
 fraternize the whole Burschenschaft into one republic and 
 covenant of honor, which may form itself independently in 
 each university, but yet each one as an image or part of the 
 whole ; strong in united action, ruled by a noble morality, 
 springing from free conviction, and enlightened by public 
 sentiment, which constitutes the conscience of this as of every 
 other republic." 
 
 Early in 1817 the Ehrenspiegel was submitted to the gen 
 eral student body publicly assembled, but the Landsmann- 
 schaften refused to take part in the proceedings. Thereupon 
 about sixty of Pollen s adherents pledged themselves to its 
 principles, associating themselves thus into the Christian- 
 German Burschenschaft of Giessen, and invited all other stu 
 dents to join them in their public meetings. To this associa 
 tion Pollen dedicated his stirring song of freedom, entitled the 
 "Turnstaat," l which sounds the keynote to his program for 
 civic freedom, for the religious and political unity of Ger 
 many. 
 
 1 Freye Stimmen frischfr Jug end No. 1. 
 22 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 In consequence of the new organization a violent partisan 
 strife arose. The adherents of the Ehrenspiegel were forth 
 with excommunicated from the student body by the L,ands- 
 mannschaften, and all sorts of calumnies were heaped upon 
 them with the object of making them odious to the authorities. 
 They were branded as Jacobins, black bandits, and state trait 
 ors, and accused of revolutionary designs against the reigning 
 sovereigns. As a result of these serious charges the university 
 senate instituted an investigation, seeking in every way to dis 
 cover whether the Blacks were guilty of dangerous political 
 activity. The two important features of this examination - 
 were the charges x that Follen had sought to found an aca 
 demic free-state for the training of demagogues and preachers 
 of freedom, and that the Ehrenspiegel was a dangerous, revo 
 lutionary document because its declared object was the good 
 of the whole country rather than that of separate provinces. 
 Although the charge against the Blacks of revolutionary aims 
 had in all probability some foundation, the latter were after 
 a long examination declared innocent, but the senate decreed 
 that the Burschenschaft should henceforth be considered a 
 forbidden association. From this time on the Giessen Blacks 
 maintained no outward organization, but through the exertions 
 of Follen the inner bond of sympathy, conviction, and com 
 mon ideals was cemented between them more strongly than 
 ever. In private they continued their propaganda for union 
 and liberty in academic life. 
 
 THE; WARTBURG FESTIVAL. 
 
 From Giessen and Jena the Burschenschaft movement 
 spread rapidly until it had by this time found footing in six 
 teen different universities. Black-red-gold was adopted as the 
 emblem and Arndt s well-known song, "Sind wir vereint zur 
 guten Stunde," the hymn of the fraternity. For the twofold 
 purpose of uniting the several Burschenschaften into one gen 
 eral organization and also of commemorating two great na 
 tional events, the battle of Leipzig and the tercentenary of the 
 
 1 "History of the Giessen Burschenschaft" Works, I, 47 f. 
 23 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 Reformation, plans were made for a great student festival at 
 the Wartburg. This movement was set on foot in Jena, but 
 according to Massmann, the historian of the event, the idea of 
 the celebration originated among Pollen s circle of Blacks, 
 who had entered into close relations with the Jena Burschen. 1 
 The principles which the friends of freedom and unity advo 
 cated were embodied by the Jena students in a memorial 2 
 to be presented at the Wartburg meeting. This document 
 consisted of thirty-five articles, of which the following decla 
 rations were the most pertinent : 
 
 "Germany is and shall remain a unit. The more the 
 Germans are divided by different states, the more sacred is the 
 duty of every German to strive for the maintenance of unity 
 and fatherland. For this ideal the heroes of 1813 fell, and 
 for this ideal all have fought and will fight. With this in 
 view do we celebrate the 18th of October. Should the Ger 
 mans forget this ideal they ought again to pass under the 
 foreign yoke. The doctrine that there is a North and a South 
 Germany is false and pernicious and has emanated from an 
 evil spirit; the distinction is merely geographical. There is a 
 North and a South Germany just as there is a right and left 
 side of a man ; but the man is one and has one mind and one 
 heart, and Germany is one and shall have one mind and one 
 heart. The doctrine that there is a protestant and a catholic 
 Germany is false and unfortunate and has come from an evil 
 enemy. Whether protestant or catholic, Germans are Germans 
 and belong to one fatherland. Germans are brothers and shall 
 be friends; hence a war between German states would be a 
 crime. If one German state is attacked then all Germany is 
 attacked. In war against a foreign enemy all Germans must 
 unite for common defense; in peace all must unite to preserve 
 
 1 Haupt, 36. According to Leo, Meine Jugendzeit, 151, the idea 
 came from Jahn s circle in Berlin. 
 
 2 Given in full by Herbst, Ideale und Irrtiimer des akademischen 
 Lebens, 184-205. These principles were discussed at the Wartburg 
 meeting, but the document was not published for several years for fear 
 that it would increase the suspicion against the Burschenschaft, which 
 had been occasioned by the festival. 
 
 24 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 all that has made Germany great and to promote German 
 nationality. 
 
 "Freedom and equality is the highest for which we strive 
 and for which every honorable German can never cease to 
 strive. But there is no freedom and equality except in and 
 through the law. Without law there is no freedom, but do 
 minion, caprice, and despotism ; without law there is no equal 
 ity, but violence, subjection, and slavery. L,aws must proceed 
 from those, or be acceptable to those, who must live under 
 them. Through the formation of the German Confederation 
 the princes have recognized that every state is a part of Ger 
 many, and that as a part must be subservient to the whole. 
 But they have also recognized that the law and freedom shall 
 not vanish before their sovereignty. The 13th article of the 
 Acts of Confederation contains the solemn promise that cap 
 rice shall not rule in any German state. At present the Ger 
 mans have no greater duty than to speak the truth, and so 
 loud that it shall reach the ears of their rulers. This is in 
 cumbent until the 13th article shall go into effect. Free 
 speech shall not be denied. Therefore do we resolve : 
 
 "To be true to these principles and propagate them; to 
 be true to science, especially to those sciences which concern 
 the national life, such as ethics, politics, and history; to pre 
 vent the division of the nation into factions at the universities ; 
 to settle all differences without resorting to duels; to promote 
 gymnastics because this makes men strong for the defense of 
 the fatherland; to call no section but Germany alone our fa 
 therland; to shun all that is foreign." 
 
 Follen had, of course, no part in the drafting of this 
 memorial, but the principles involved were the same as those 
 which were being instilled into the hearts and minds of the 
 academic youth throughout Germany, due in large measure to 
 his influence as leader of the Giessen movement; hence this 
 brief allusion to the Wartburg meeting seems pertinent to the 
 general discussion. 
 
 On the appointed day over four hundred students from 
 twelve universities assembled on the market place in Eisenach 
 and then formed a line of march to the Wartburg where, in 
 
 25 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 the great Rittersaal, the exercises were held. After singing 
 "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" one of the Jena Burschen- 
 schafter, who had won the iron-cross at Waterloo, made the 
 main address, eulogizing the great deeds of Luther and 
 Bliicher, and exhorting his comrades through memory of the 
 past to dedicate themselves to the holy cause of freedom and 
 union. After the banquet, in which toasts were proposed in 
 honor of Luther, the Grand Duke of Weimar, and the heroes 
 of the war, the Burschen attended divine services in a body 
 and then betook themselves in torchlight procession to the top 
 of the Wartenberg where in a glare of bonfires the day closed 
 with patriotic speeches and songs. Unfortunately, however, 
 some of the more ardent spirits thought the occasion fitting 
 for a demonstration, half serious, half farcical, against the 
 reactionary tendency of the German governments. After the 
 final proceedings several unpopular reactionary writings 4 were 
 committed to the flames in imitation of Luther s burning of 
 the papal bull. This was merely a harmless, juvenile escapade 
 without premeditated malice, but the effect it produced upon 
 the country was out of all proportion to its insignificance as 
 we shall presently see. The second day was devoted to the 
 discussion of the Burschenschaft organization. In these de 
 liberations there arose again a sharp clash between the mem 
 bers of the Burschenschaften and Landsmannschaften, espe 
 cially between the delegates of the two Giessen organizations. 
 These differences were finally settled, all parties agreeing to 
 the establishment of a general Burschenschaft. 
 
 Pollen himself was unable to attend the festival, but with 
 a few friends commemorated the event by partaking of the 
 Lord s Supper, pledging themselves anew in this solemn way 
 to a life of self-sacrificing devotion to the welfare of the 
 country. 
 
 The Wartburg festival was the first great national demon 
 stration against the weakness of the German Confederation 
 and the first public expression of the necessity of a change in 
 
 1 According to Wesselhoft, 16, and Leo, 102, the works themselves 
 were not burned, but a number of old books provided by Massmann 
 and his friends. 
 
 26 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 political affairs. It has become a famous historical episode 
 not because of anything culpable in the enthusiastic boyish 
 proceedings, but because of the effect that the spirit of the 
 affair had upon the sovereigns of Europe. In some of the 
 speeches it had indeed been declared that the rulers had not 
 kept their promises to the people, but with the exception of 
 the unfortunate act which marred the close of the first festal 
 day the whole official program was carried out with dignity 
 and moderation. On receipt of greatly exaggerated reports 
 of what had occurred the Austrian and Prussian governments 
 condemned the liberalism of the Grand Duke of Weimar and 
 sent envoys to the "big Bursche," who after an investigation 
 failed to find that the students had committed any grave 
 offense. There was a current report that the Acts of Confed 
 eration of the German states were among the books supposed 
 to have been burned, and in this Metternich saw a wide-spread 
 conspiracy. The King of Prussia, too, became so alarmed that 
 he ordered all clubs and associations in the Prussian univer 
 sities to be dissolved and threatened to close these institutions 
 rather than allow them to become centers of revolutionary 
 intrigue. 
 
 In spite of this reactionary attitude the deliberations 
 begun at the Wartburg were continued the following year in 
 two conventions at Jena, resulting in the establishment of the 
 "Allgemeine deutsche Burschenschaft." The purpose of this 
 organization was, in a word, the unity, liberty, and equality, of 
 all German students as the first step to the unity of the German 
 people, and the Christian German cultivation of every physi 
 cal and spiritual power for the service of the fatherland. In 
 tranquility, order, and respect for law student life began to 
 show a marked improvement under the influence of this new 
 order of things. 1 The picture of an ordinary Burschen meet 
 ing in Jena, as sketched by the Scotch traveler, John Russell, 2 
 shows a spirit which was typical of the Burschenschaft in all 
 the other universities : "Every man, with his bonnet on his 
 
 1 Rechtlieb Zeitgeist, Demagogische Umtriebe, II, 539. 
 
 2 A Tour in Germany, I, 111. 
 
 27 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 head, a pot of beer in his hand, a pipe or segar in his month, 
 and a song on his lips, never doubting but that he and his 
 companions are training themselves to be regenerators of 
 Europe, that they are the true representatives of the manliness 
 and independence of the German character, and the only 
 models of a free, generous, and high-minded youth. They lay 
 their hands upon their jugs and vow the liberation of Ger 
 many; they stop a second pipe or light a second segar and 
 swear that the Holy Alliance is an unclean thing." 
 
 The Burschenschaft not only served to restore and propa 
 gate the patriotic spirit, but became a symbol of the dignity 
 and import of national life. This was an important step in 
 raising the barriers of particularism, which had kept the Ger 
 mans separated and had stood in the way of national develop 
 ment. Through the Burschenschaft the academic youth had 
 before their eyes, on a small scale, the image of a larger 
 national life ; through it they began to take an interest in poli 
 tical problems and to prepare themselves thereby for the fu 
 ture political tasks of patriotic German citizens. Through this 
 study they gained a larger conception of nationality and came 
 to realize more fully that only by united action and consecra 
 tion to common ideals could Teutonic civilization endure. Al 
 though the movement did not lead to any direct results the 
 training which it had given in science and politics was not 
 lost, for theoretically it had solved the problem. When these 
 young patriots saw that national unity could not be attained 
 at once they turned to the second part of their program, the 
 establishment of constitutional freedom in the individual 
 states as a means to the ultimate goal of their political ideal. 
 Foremost in this movement for constitutional government was 
 Karl Follen. The impressions which this struggle made upon 
 the minds of these young men and the experience which it 
 gave them remained with them for life; hence the Burschen 
 schaft may be considered as a nursery in which were reared 
 the leaders of the liberal movement of 1848, and in which was 
 fostered the spirit that was absolutely necessary to make pos 
 sible the establishment of the German Empire. 
 
 - 28 - 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 HIS REPUBLICANISM. 
 
 As a child Follen already displayed an intensely religious 
 nature, a great reverence for the character of Christ, and a 
 highly developed will to moral action. These characteristics 
 not only account for his youthful Utopian scheme for the 
 reformation of society, but form the psychological basis of his 
 mature political views. 
 
 As already indicated, he had become interested in poli 
 tical questions prior to 1815, but not until after the Congress 
 of Vienna did he enter the arena of political activity. This 
 step was due in part to the failure of the German rulers to 
 redeem their promise of constitutional government, and partly 
 to the teachings of Gottlieb Welcker, whom the reactionary 
 policy of the Metternich regime had driven into the ranks of 
 the Republicans. As an instructor Welcker was very popular 
 with the Giessen students, and at the request of the Blacks 
 delivered a series of lectures on the great questions of the day 
 during the winter of 1815- 16. His discussion of religion, 
 morality, education, and public opinion were similar in their 
 tendency to Fichte s Addresses and made a deep impression 
 upon the members of Follen s circle. 1 He demanded constitu 
 tional government and declared that the social structure of 
 Europe rested upon the estates, that the mystical idea of 
 princely power was baneful in its effects, and that a neglect 
 of duty on the part of the rulers would turn the nation toward 
 republicanism. 
 
 That Follen was from this time growing dissatisfied with 
 monarchic government and drifting rapidly toward republican 
 ism is evident first of all by his effort to reorganize student 
 life along democratic lines, upon the basis of freedom and 
 equality. In his patriotic and revolutionary poetry, especially 
 in the "Great Song/ he brands the rulers as tyrants, traitors, 
 and priests of Moloch, complains bitterly of the oppression of 
 the people, and appeals to the latter to rise in their might 
 against their oppressors and to organize a free-state. In his 
 
 i Haupt, 18. 
 
 29 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 political essays, 1 "Ueber die deutsche Inquisition" and "Ueber 
 die revolutionare Stimmung Deutschlands," he turns from his 
 invective against individuals to the monarchic form of govern 
 ment itself as the evil to be opposed. He declares that the 
 tyranny within is more odious than foreign domination, that 
 instead of German unity there is only national dismember 
 ment, instead of freedom only oppression and burdens, "sup 
 pression of intellectual freedom, embargoes on commerce, 
 tolls, oppressive taxation, standing armies, high-handed justice, 
 suppression of the freedom of the press, and capricious meas 
 ures of all sorts." ; He criticizes the Confederation because 
 "without the cooperation of the people it put the supreme 
 authority in the hands of an assembly of princely delegates, 
 who are bound by the instructions of their governments, 
 whereby the sovereigns of the several states as such are 
 strengthened." 3 He objects to a government in which "the 
 executive power assumes also the legislative and judicial func 
 tions," 4 and denounces monarchism, "which like an evil worm 
 is gnawing at every branch of political and civil life." 5 He 
 further declares that "Germany has reached a state of civiliza 
 tion in which the history of the people is no longer identical 
 with that of the governments; the decrees of the latter, even 
 when made in opposition to public opinion, have no signifi 
 cance unless they are determined by it since real political self- 
 activity exists only in the people." 6 And finally he states his 
 position clearly when he says: "The different rulers have 
 combined to uphold the monarchic principle and have thereby 
 challenged all those who have hitherto sought a constitutional 
 monarchy not to meet them half way, but to set principle over 
 
 1 Written in 1819 ; extant in Wit s Fragmente, III, Sec. 1, 174-200. 
 
 2 Wit s Fragmente, III, Sec. 1, 197. 
 
 3 Ibid., 198. 
 
 4 Ibid, 192. 
 
 5 Ibid., 182. 
 
 6 Ibid., 194. 
 
 30 - 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 against principle, that is, to substitute republicanism for mon- 
 archism." 1 
 
 Pollen s theories concerning the nature of the state were 
 based upon the axiom of the French Revolution, that all men 
 are free and equal. To the writings of Rousseau and espe 
 cially of Fichte was due to a great extent his conversion to 
 the principles of republican government. The main doctrines 
 of these two writers concerning the nature of the civil state 
 may, therefore, be briefly summed up as follows : 
 
 Rousseau, 2 it will be remembered believed that men en 
 joyed complete liberty and equality in the state of nature, 
 which he considered as the golden age of mankind, and that 
 the transition from the natural to the civil state was made by 
 a social contract, entered into by individuals, who ceded their 
 natural rights to a sovereign in return for certain civil rights. 
 In the state of nature each individual was a sovereign in his 
 own right, while the sovereignty resulting from the social con 
 tract is synonymous with the general will. Since sovereignty 
 is, therefore, composed of the people as a whole it is absolute, 
 inalienable, indivisible, and the source of all law. Rulers are 
 merely agents without independent authority, chosen only to 
 execute the general will. 
 
 In his early political writings 3 Fichte expressed the 
 warmest enthusiasm for the French Revolution, admitting 
 thereby his inclination toward republican principles. Rous 
 seau accepts the original contracts as the basis of civil rights 
 as a historical fact, while Fichte considers it merely as a theo 
 retical foundation for civic association. According to Fichte s 
 doctrine man has in the political state two kinds of rights, 
 alienable and inalienable. The former have reference to modes 
 of action which are permitted, but not enjoined, by the moral 
 law. The most comprehensive of the latter is that of ethical 
 
 1 Ibid., 199f . 
 
 2 Cf . Social Contract, Bk. I, Chap. 6. 
 
 3 These were two anonymous tracts : Zitruckfordenmg der Denk- 
 freiheit von den Fursten Buropas and Beitrdge zur Berichtigung der 
 Urtheile des Publikums uber die fransosische Revolution published in 
 1799. Samtliche Werke, VI. 
 
 31 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 freedom, including the right to free expression of opinion and 
 to free communication of thought, for without such freedom 
 no spiritual development is possible. The right to develop 
 toward perfection, toward moral freedom, is then according 
 to Fichte the fundamental principle upon which the state is 
 founded. In substance this is a statement of the Social Con 
 tract in terms of Kant s ethical system. As Fichte viewed it, 
 the state is an instrument for protecting and regulating man s 
 right to property and to the free development of his moral 
 nature. 
 
 With the exception of Rousseau, who looked into the 
 past for the golden age of mankind, the dominant belief of 
 thinking men in the last half of the 18th century was an abid 
 ing faith in the possibility of unlimited human progress. 
 Follen seems to have accepted both views : With Rousseau he 
 saw a state of human perfection in the past, but regarded the 
 age in which he lived as utterly bad, and with Fichte his high 
 est aim was to realize an ideal state of man in the future. In 
 the past he saw human perfection embodied in Christ and set 
 up this ideal as a model for the future, maintaining with Fichte 
 that civic organization is for no other purpose than to aid 
 humanity to develop toward a perfect life. "On the battle 
 field of Leipzig," he writes, 1 "there awoke a spirit which 
 strives and will strive until all is accomplished, till in the people 
 the ideal of humanity is glorified." With Rousseau he main 
 tains that men are born free and equal, with certain inalienable 
 rights; with Fichte that the destiny of man is free develop 
 ment toward divine perfection. It is these general principles 
 that lie at the foundation of his political ideas. 
 
 The theories which Follen formulated at this time con 
 cerning the civil state were in later years embodied in his 
 lectures on moral philosophy, 2 and from this source his whole 
 
 1 The Giessen Burschenschaft Works, I, 30. 
 
 2 Works, III, Chap. 14. In his Politische Ideen des Karl Follen 
 Pregizer seems not to have used this source, but instead relies on the 
 political essay in Wit s Fragmcnte, III, Sec. 1, 331-344, which he atrib- 
 utes to Follen. In Fragmente, III, Sec. 1, p. 207, Wit claims to be the 
 author of this essay, which purports to be an exposition of the political 
 creed of Pollen s Blacks. The fact that some of the statements in the 
 
 32 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 course of reasoning can be traced more in detail. According 
 to his views every human being possesses by nature personal 
 rights, which constitute him the absolute master of his own 
 faculties of body and mind; the right to property; and social 
 rights, which entitle him to enter into all kinds of relations 
 with his fellow men. Only through the free exercise of these 
 rights, he maintains, and by a thorough system of education 
 can mankind develop toward infinite perfection. In order to 
 develop freely it is necessary for every individual to conduct 
 himself in a manner conducive to his own welfare and to that 
 of others. But who is to formulate correct rules of civic 
 conduct? It is evident, Follen replies, that since there is no 
 exterior standard of truth and right ; since there is no certainty 
 that one person s opinion is better than that of his neighbor, 
 men must come to this conclusion whenever their opinions 
 disagree as to what is right and what are the most effective 
 means of carrying it out, that many eyes generally see better 
 and many arms hold faster than two. Who then shall be the 
 rulers? The wealthiest, the wisest and best, or those who 
 decend from certain families? It is self-evident that wisdom 
 and goodness cannot be bought, nor is it certain that they are 
 inherited ; and as to the wisest and best, the question remains 
 undecided who they are. Consequently the only measure of 
 right which remains is the majority of opinions, a fallible 
 standard, it is true, but the highest to be obtained. The major 
 ity have, therefore, according to Follen, a natural right to 
 establish and enforce their views as a law over all, chiefly for 
 two reasons : In the first place, whenever there is no standard 
 of truth that of probability must decide, and according to this 
 principle that opinion of right which satisfies most minds must 
 be presumed to be the most correct view obtainable at the time. 
 In the second place, in order to make a minority rule over a 
 majority the equality of rights must be violated by giving to 
 certain individuals, singled out in some way or other, greater 
 freedom than the rest, whereas every individual may at any 
 
 essay are identical with those in the lectures on moral philosophy shows 
 plainly that it contains many of Pollen s ideas even if it was not writ 
 ten by him. 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 time be in the majority without any special distinction. The 
 main object of the state is then, according to Pollen s view, 
 the establishment of justice; and the principle means of real 
 izing this purpose consists in a common legislation, by which 
 the community declares what it considers the right rule of 
 conduct, and a common administration, by which the decrees 
 of the legislature are carried into effect. In the execution of 
 these decrees force may be used only to compel the individual 
 to do that which is necessary to the general welfare and to 
 restrain him from doing that which is injurious to his fellow 
 men. 
 
 It must not be supposed, Pollen argues, that any one gives 
 up his natural rights in becoming a member of the civil asso 
 ciation, for if this were possible there is no one to whom he 
 could resign them. He denies also the assertion of those 
 who claim that the state itself, or the government, is a person 
 ality distinct from the individuals who are its subjects. Such 
 personalities exist only in the imagination of certain priests 
 of the law, who have peopled the civil world with a host of 
 fabulous characters. What then is the state? It is an asso 
 ciation of men, he replies, for no other purpose than to ex 
 ercise their natural rights more fully and securely in common 
 than each of them could do by himself; to unite their intel 
 lectual powers in order to ascertain that which is right, and 
 their physical strength to carry this into effect. "A common 
 wealth, a republic," he explains, "is the only state worthy of 
 man not because it makes him better or happier, but because 
 it is the most responsible condition of man in society and 
 consequently most truly a moral state, in which every action, 
 good or bad, must be ascribed to the whole people." 1 
 
 Like Fichte Pollen, too, believed that the second function 
 of the state is the establishment of a thorough system of educa 
 tion to unfold and strengthen and refine the faculties of men ; 
 
 1 Works, III, 282. Pollen seems to have in mind the ideal state 
 described by Schiller in his Aesthetic Letters. According to Schiller 
 the ideal state is the reflex of the united characters of its citizens ; 
 citizens whose characters are formed in accordance with the new ethi 
 cal standards set up by Kant. 
 
 34 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 to aid them in the onward march toward perfection. 1 "Domes 
 tic and public education," he says, "are the two great elements 
 which must operate in the development of man. Without 
 domestic education man becomes a creature of the state, as in 
 Sparta ; whereas the state was made for man, and not man for 
 the state. Without public education man hardly ever rises 
 afiove the finite circle of knowledge and virtue, or the settled 
 prejudices and selfish designs of his own family. He indeed 
 loses his highest domestic privileges, which is to think and 
 feel and act as one of the great family of men." 2 The state 
 has other important functions also, he adds, such as the pro 
 motion of religion, science, art, and commerce, but it should 
 not engage in any of these pursuits. 
 
 From the foregoing it is evident that Follen was thor 
 oughly imbued with the principles of democracy. The reac 
 tionary attitude of the German rulers caused him to repudiate 
 monarchism completely and to demand a republican form of 
 government based upon the principles of the freedom and 
 equality of all. The main function of the state, as he con 
 ceives it, is to protect the liberty of all against the caprices of 
 the individual, whereas in a monarchic form of society the 
 will of the people is subservient to the caprice of the rulers. 8 
 This contradiction, he believed, not only justified but also de 
 manded a revolution. 
 
 As indicated at the outset, Pollen s republicanism was in 
 a large measure due to his Christian faith, to his belief in 
 human equality and in the dignity and immortality of the 
 
 1 In his Addresses Fichte developed two general lines of thought : 
 first, he discusses that element of German character which was to form 
 the basis of the new national state ; second, the means through which 
 this was to be attained. In the original character, plasticity, and pictorial 
 power of its language ; in its philosophical and poetic bent of mind ; 
 in its religious depths and warmth ; as well as in its pure unmixed blood 
 the Teutonic race bears, according to his view, the stamp of genius ; 
 and in this free, original German spirit lies the possibility of a noble 
 ethical life if it is left free to develop and is promoted by the new 
 Pestalozzian system of education and by a union of all individuals in 
 the service of one common end. 
 
 2 Works, III, 291. 
 
 3 Wit s Fragmente, III, Sec. 1, 207. 
 
 - 35 - 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 human soul. "If men believed in the immortality of their 
 souls," he declares, 1 "there would be no slavery in this world, 
 for all unjust pretensions and cruel distinctions among men, 
 every proud elevation and servile humiliation, must fall before 
 the acknowledged equality of immortal spirits." The life and 
 teachings of Christ were his standard and guide in politics and 
 government. These principles were with him a living reality ; 
 he never wavered from them nor neglected any opportunity to 
 advocate and to promote them. 
 
 From his Addresses to the German Nation it is evident 
 that Fichte desired national unity in a republican form of 
 government ; 2 but after all it was spiritual rather than political 
 unity that seemed to him of the most value. Spiritual unity 
 for moral development, he believed, would lead to perfect 
 democracy, and the government best adapted to attain this 
 end, whether republic or monarchy, should be adopted. 3 Like 
 Fichte Follen, too, considered the state as an organization for 
 realizing the moral end of humanity, a state of society ruled 
 by brotherly love and held together in Christian unity. Like 
 Fichte Follen believed that the ideal was to be realized by the 
 German people through the German state, and in this he was 
 thoroughly patriotic; but his patriotism like that 4 of Fichte 
 was strongly cosmopolitan, for like him he was an idealist and 
 his thinking tended toward the universal. But unlike Fichte 
 Follen demanded for the attainment of this end a political 
 national unity under republican government and set himself 
 to the task of realizing this demand. Fichte speaks of the dis 
 advantages 5 of a politically divided Germany and admits also 
 that the totality of German life is enriched by the provincial 
 
 1 Pollen s Sermons, Works, II, 6f. 
 
 2 Cf . Ninth Address. In the Sixth Address Fichte states expressly 
 that Germany is the only modern European nation that has proved it 
 self worthy of realizing republican government. 
 
 3 Meinecke, IVeltbiirgertum und Nationalstaat, lllf. 
 
 4 Ibid., 92f. 
 
 5 Cf. Ninth and Eleventh Addresses. 
 
 - 36 - 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 culture peculiar to each state, 1 but he demands only a national 
 spirit rather than a national state. Pollen on the other hand 
 was convinced that the greatest hindrance to the progressive 
 development of the Teutonic race was provincial patriotism 
 and the spirit of particularism, and believed this obstacle could 
 be removed only by the subversion of the various monarchic 
 states and by uniting the people under one allegiance in a Ger 
 man republic. 
 
 As a preliminary step to this end the Pollen brothers and 
 their circle of political friends outlined during the winter of 
 181 7- 18 a plan for a national constitution based upon repub 
 lican principles ; it consisted of 34 articles 2 and was in a gen 
 eral way modeled after that of the French republic. That the 
 attainment of German unity is the object in view is evident 
 from the first three articles, which read as follows: 
 
 "Germans are one people, that is, men of like mental and 
 physical make-up ; in addition to that, of similar language, his 
 torical traditions, and religious faith; to the Germans belong: 
 the Swiss, Alsatians, Priesians, etc. 
 
 "In addition to this complete similarity of the Germans 
 are subordinate social differences : specific physical and mental 
 traits and developments, such as dialects, tribal history, etc. 
 For the preservation and progressive development of these 
 national characteristics the various branches of the race are 
 closely united forever into one whole : the German Empire. 
 For the preservation and development of these differences, 
 which are nurtured merely as an aid to unity, the country 
 shall be divided into imperial provinces. 3 
 
 "The empire is to be a union of all Germans so that in it 
 and through it the progressive development of humanity shall 
 
 1 Cf . Ninth Address. 
 
 2 Given in full by Jarcke, Carl Ludurig Sand und sein an Kotsebue 
 verubter Mord, 88ff. 
 
 3 Believing that a greater leveling should take place Pollen intro 
 duced here a radical amendment: "After further deliberations the em 
 pire shall be divided into districts without any regard to racial lines; 
 these shall be done away with and the divisions made according to 
 population and natural boundaries in order to simplify the administra 
 tion of the government." 
 
 37 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 be realized, for Germans see in their nation their human ideal, 
 in their fatherland their whole world." 
 
 This new free-state which Follen hoped to establish was 
 to be, according to this constitution, Christian in character; 
 was to realize national unity and cultivate German individual 
 ity. All power was to be placed in the hands of the people, 
 with equal suffrage and majority rule. The state was to be 
 divided into districts containing approximately an equal num 
 ber of people and named after mountains, rivers, and great 
 national events. This was intended to promote a closer 
 national unity than divisions on lines according to Prussians, 
 Saxons, Hessians, etc. The capitol was to be located in the 
 center of the state and called "Aller Deutschen." The legis 
 lature was to consist of representatives chosen from the sev 
 eral districts, and these officials were to choose from their 
 number a chairman, who should receive no special rank, title, 
 or salary. All government officials were to receive equal com 
 pensation and to hold office simply as representatives of the 
 sovereign people. Especial emphasis was to be laid upon the 
 regulation of religion and education. There was to be only 
 one German church with no other confession of faith than the 
 teachings of Christ. The schools were to give special atten 
 tion to agriculture and vocational training. 
 
 HIS REVOLUTIONARY AIMS. 
 
 After the disbanding of the Giessen Burschenschaft in 
 the summer of 1817 Pollen s enthusiatic Teutonism developed 
 rapidly into extreme political radicalism ; and as the reaction 
 ary policy of the German rulers increased in severity after the 
 Wartburg affair his cherished plans of political reform by 
 peaceful, educational means seemed to be doomed, but with 
 great tenacity of purpose he continued his propaganda on the 
 athletic field and in private meetings, unfolding to his faithful 
 Blacks his plans of action. 
 
 Believing that monarchic government not only was dwarf 
 ing the life of the individual but would also prevent the Ger 
 man nation from realizing its high destiny he proposed, there- 
 
 - 38 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 fore, to remedy this intolerable condition of German life by 
 founding a Christian-German republic. With Rousseau he 
 held that when a ruler usurps power to oppress the sovereign 
 people the social contract is broken. This doctrine of popu 
 lar sovereignty and of government by assent contained at once 
 the condition and justification of a political revolution. Like 
 Fichte he held that the state is founded upon the inherent 
 right to moral development ; but since the conditions necessary 
 to this are constantly changing it follows that the original con 
 tract cannot be final, that constitutional forms must therefore 
 be changed; hence the right to state reform, to revolution. 
 His political writings abound in this doctrine, typical of which 
 is the following statement attributed to him by Wit: 1 "The 
 state commits treason when it acts contrary to its fundamental 
 purpose, when it no longer protects the general freedom of all 
 against the caprice of the monarch, but shirks its duties and 
 assumes greater prerogatives. When this treason is committed 
 against God and man then every individual takes a defensive 
 attitude and a state of revolution exists." 
 
 Pollen sought to justify the right to revolution not only 
 from the standpoint of political science, but also on ethical 
 grounds. "The purpose of human existence," says Fichte, 2 
 "is always to act freely according to reason," and in this 
 Pollen freely concurred both in theory and practice. He be 
 lieved that everything which reason recognizes as good and 
 beautiful and true may be realized by moral effort. Likewise 
 in government : the state must be ordered according to the 
 reason of its members; if it prevents its citizens from acting 
 according to reason or conscience it must be overthrown. 3 The 
 basis of Pollen s system was, that everybody is in duty bound 
 to convince himself through reason that he is right and then 
 to follow his conviction without reference to the consequences 
 to himself; he recognized no higher law than his own free 
 
 1 Fragmente, III, Sec. 1, 173. 
 
 2 "Grundziige des gegenwartigen Zeitalters," Samtliche Werke, 
 
 3 Wesselhoft, 70. 
 
 39 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 conviction. "If you are convinced," according to his argu 
 ment, 1 "that your opinion is true you must seek to realize this 
 truth ; the means must not be considered when it is a question 
 of a moral necessity. A moral necessity is not an aim, and the 
 means to its attainment are of no import." The realization of 
 freedom and equality through republican government was of 
 course the object of Pollen s propoganda; hence unconditional 
 striving toward this object was the creed of his political circle. 
 
 From the foregoing Pollen seems to have accepted the 
 Jesuitical doctrine, that for the realization of a just end any 
 means are justified even if they do run counter to accepted 
 standards of morality. In the proceedings instituted against 
 him later he stoutly denied that he held such doctrines, but 
 this charge against him seems to have been sustained notwith 
 standing. 2 Concerning this question Wit 3 spoke as follows 
 when he was still friendly to Follen : "We never directly 
 avowed the principle, as the Prussian Minister, Bernstorf, 
 accuses us in his circular letter, that the end sanctifies the 
 means, but we were firmly convinced that if a Christian does 
 anything in full conviction that he is acting for the welfare of 
 the fatherland he is always in the right." Friedrich Munch 
 observes 4 that as nearly as he can recollect Follen expressed 
 himself thus : There are few men who under certain cir 
 cumstances would not tell a fib, but on account of a certain 
 awe, which is after all nothing but cowardice, refrain from 
 bare-faced lying for a great principle. They would not hesi 
 tate to defend themselves against a highway robber by shoot 
 ing him down, but they are afraid to draw the dagger against 
 the great robbers and murderers of popular freedom. If men 
 were only consistent all of us would have been free long ago/ 
 
 That Follen advocated political assassination as a means 
 of subverting monarchic government cannot be denied. In 
 incendiary pamphlets and songs current among the Giessen 
 
 1 Ibid., 88. 
 
 2 Cf. Pregizer, 67. 
 
 3 Fragmentc, III, Sec. 1, 172. 
 
 1 "Aus Deutschlands triibster Zeit," Gesammclte Schriften, 59. 
 40 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 Blacks, and especially in the Great Song * written in part at 
 least by Pollen, this doctrine was expressed in such uncanny 
 verses as the following: 
 
 Freiheitsmesser gezuckt ! 
 
 Hurrah ! den Dolch durch die Kehle gedriickt ! 
 
 Mit Purpurgewandern, 
 
 Mit Kronen und Bandern 
 Zum Rachealtar steht das Opfer geschmiickt! 
 
 It is cowardly/ he declared, to quote again from Munch s dim 
 recollection, 2 to speak of obtaining liberty through legitimate 
 means, because nobody has the right to keep liberty from us; 
 we must gain it through every means offered to us. The 
 tyrants know how to protect themselves against legal acts, 
 therefore they must learn to tremble before our daggers. 
 Whoever resorts to these measures in the full conviction that 
 he is sacrificing all that is dear to him for the welfare of the 
 fatherland is morally all the nobler the harder he finds it to 
 overcome his natural aversion to such deeds. When he was 
 asked by Wesselhoft 3 whether he thought he could put his 
 system into practice without the shedding of blood and 
 whether his feelings did not revolt against the destruction of 
 men, who were probably good and just, merely because they 
 ventured to think differently from him, he replied calmly: 
 "No. If matters come to the worst all who are wavering in 
 their opinions must be sacrificed ; this is not a matter of feel 
 ing, but of necessity." 
 
 Pollen s extreme political radicalism was only the result 
 of his ardent patriotism developed to the point of fanaticism. 
 So deeply concerned was he for the welfare of the nation that 
 he advocated the employment of force for the attainment of 
 political conditions that would foster and develop the genius 
 
 1 Given in full in Wit s Pragmente, I, 430-448 ; extant also in 
 Pollen s Works, I, 585-593, but with some of the more radical passages 
 omitted. 
 
 2 Gesammelte Schriften, 49. 
 
 3 Teutsche Jug end, 88. 
 
 41 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 of the Teutonic race. According to Fichte 1 mankind must be 
 forcibly constrained to follow the upward path toward moral 
 perfection; but since force employed in its own interests is 
 tyranny it is the first duty of a ruling prince to educate the 
 people toward freedom. In answer to the question whether 
 the German rulers will do this, he replies that they are still 
 too narrow to give up their own personal interests, and too 
 selfish to sacrifice themselves to the larger ideals of Teutonic 
 civilization, hence there should be one powerful leader to 
 forcibly unite the German nation for the development of its 
 great latent possibilities. When one considers then that even 
 Fichte advocated a "Zwingherr zur Deutschheit" it is evident 
 that he and Pollen had in mind the same means to the same 
 end, but differed only in their method of procedure. 
 
 Fully convinced that the abolition of tyranny was a moral 
 necessity Follen used all of his eloquence and persuasion to 
 convert his friends to his belief. He was a powerful athlete, 
 a keen, logical thinker, and an impassioned speaker. Along 
 with his love of liberty and his deep religious mysticism he 
 possessed a highly developed self-confidence and an indomit 
 able will, which could brook no opposition. Through these 
 qualities of body and mind he completely dominated the hearts 
 and minds of his companions, exerting upon them an almost 
 irresistable influence. Those who listened to his arguments 
 felt as if they were standing on the brink of a bottomless abyss 
 and were ordered to plunge into its depth. Wesselhoft 2 ob 
 serves that he exercised over his followers a control that was 
 very galling to many of them, that the superiority of his mind 
 and acquirements deterred even the strongest from adopting 
 any independent choice of opinion or of following any original 
 course of action, and that he possessed so great an acuteness 
 and strength of intellect that few of his friends could detect 
 the fantastic foundations of his youthful philosophy. Al 
 though it seemed impossible to evade his logic some of the 
 Blacks, nevertheless, revolted against his maxim that tyranni- 
 
 1 Cf. "Entwurf zu einer politischen Schrift, im Friihling 1813" 
 Sdmtliche Werke, VII, 564f. 
 
 2 Teutsche Jugend, 80. 
 
 42 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 cide is permissible in the service of freedom. In opposition 
 to these "Moderates," as they were called, Follen arrayed his 
 most devoted adherents under the name of the "Uncondi- 
 tionals," who adopted as their slogan, to quote Munch 1 again, 
 the original ending of the so-called Great Song: 
 
 Nieder mit Kronen, Thronen, Frohnen, Drohnen und Baronen 1 
 Sturm ! 
 
 In order to organize his propaganda more thoroughly, 2 Follen 
 planned a solemn Lord s Supper, at which the Unconditionals 
 were to be united in an indissoluable covenant of "death 
 brethren," consecrated to the holy cause of freedom. Owing 
 to the alertness of the university authorities this project had 
 to be abandoned, but its purpose was attained by a wide cir 
 culation of the revolutionary Great Song. It must not be sup 
 posed, however, that these incendiary songs and speeches were 
 heard in public, but rather in the privacy of student lodgings 
 and even in the depth of the forest under cover of darkness. 
 
 In the spring of 1818 Follen graduated from the uni 
 versity of Giessen as Doctor of both Civil and Canonical L,aw. 
 He then began to lecture on jurisprudence in his alma mater 
 and to practice law in the court over which his father presided 
 as judge. In the midst of these labors he not only busied him 
 self with his political propaganda, but found time also for the 
 study of philosophy, especially the writings of Spinoza, the 
 English Deists, and the French Encyclopaedists, from which 
 he emerged with his religious and philosophical views clarified 
 and to some extent formulated into a definite system. 
 
 As a preliminary step to his ultimate aim he had planned 
 as early as 1817 a campaign for the introduction of constitu 
 tional government into the several German states and he now 
 set the movement on foot in his own land by drafting the first 
 of that flood of petitions which afterwards induced the Hes 
 sian government to grant, at least in appearance, a representa 
 tive constitution. 3 Through the notoriety thus gained and 
 
 1 Gesammelte Schriften, 51. 
 
 2 Ibid., 54. 
 
 3 Haupt, 115f. 
 
 43 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 through his reputation as a skillful lawyer he was called upon 
 to conduct the cause of the municipalities of Hesse against an 
 arbitrary attempt of the ducal government to deprive them of 
 their last remnant of political liberty. 1 For the sake of per 
 sonal gain some of the counselors of the Grand Duke had pre 
 vailed upon the latter to establish a commission to administer 
 the finances of the several communities. Seeing in this the 
 destruction of their credit and independence, the latter united 
 in sending to the government their earnest remonstrances, but 
 this union was at once declared seditious and any lawyer who 
 should dare to aid them was threatened with the loss of his 
 office. Undaunted by this threat Pollen responded to the 
 appeal for aid and drew up a memorial setting forth the in 
 justice of the decree both in regard to general principles and 
 to the law of the land. This was presented directly to the 
 Grand Duke before the commission could take preventive 
 measures, and public opinion was so strong against the flagrant 
 injustice of the decree that it was rescinded and the members 
 of the commission removed from office. His successful prose 
 cution of this just cause and his active participation in the 
 growing movement for constitutional government laid the 
 foundation of his ultimate ruin in his native land. Denounced 
 by his enemies as a dangerous political agitator, he was from 
 that time on the object of unrelenting persecution. 
 
 With little hope for a successful career at Giessen under 
 the existing political conditions, Follen severed his connection 
 with the university, and upon invitation of Professor Fries 
 went to Jena in October, 1818, where he began a course of 
 lectures on Roman law. From this more favorable location 
 where his republican doctrine had already 2 gained a footing 
 through the efforts of his friend, von Buri, he hoped to extend 
 his influence to Berlin as a means of winning recruits for his 
 propaganda. It seems that he and his brother had in mind 
 about this time the fantastic idea 3 of calling a great mass- 
 
 1 Works, I, 60ff . ; Wit, III, Sec. 1, 169. 
 
 2 Haupt, 126. 
 
 3 Munch, 17; Braun, Westermann s Monatshefte, XXXV, 260. 
 
 44 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 meeting on the battle-field of Leipzig to proclaim the republic. 
 The people were to be armed for the abolition of royalty, and 
 then a parliament was to be convened to adopt the constitution 
 which he and his Blacks had already drafted for the new 
 government, but no attempt was made to carry out this 
 scheme. From the outset he made a favorable impression 
 upon the Jena students and his success as a teacher soon won 
 him admission to the highest circles of society. Robert Wessel- 
 hoft, who was at that time considered as one of the leaders of 
 the Jena Burschenschaft, describes his first meeting with 
 Pollen as follows : x 
 
 "He received us like old friends, with the simple familiar 
 *du. He was candid, kind, and confiding, but there was in his 
 whole appearance and bearing, in the tone of his voice, in his 
 gestures and glances, something so noble, such calmness and 
 strength, such determination and almost proud earnestness, 
 a something peculiar to himself, which imperceptibly inspired 
 all who came in contact with him with a deep feeling of re 
 spect. He had a broad but delicately formed forehead ; a well- 
 shaped nose ; deep, soulful eyes ; a red, medium-sized mouth ; 
 a fair, rosy complexion; heavy, light-colored whiskers; and 
 smooth, blonde hair, which was parted in the middle of his 
 forehead and hung around his neck in wavy locks. Picture 
 this head on a sound, powerful, well-formed body of middle 
 stature, and clothe the figure in a blue German student s coat 
 trimmed with pearl buttons, and you will have before you the 
 image of Karl Pollen. I can assure you that we have nowhere 
 met his equal nor anybody who could be compared with him 
 for purity and chastity of manners and morals. He seemed to 
 concentrate all his energies upon one great aim, the revolu 
 tion. The death of the enemy and the freedom of the human 
 mind not only lay at his heart, and his heart on his tongue, but 
 his powerful fist might be seen convulsively clenched whenever 
 he heard the clank of fetters and chains." 
 
 Finding the Jena Burschenschaft too tame and philistine to 
 suit his high ideals, Pollen united a few of the more radically 
 
 1 Teutsche Jugend, 65. 
 
 -45- 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 inclined into a club 1 for discussing the practical working of his 
 philosophical and political ideas. Especially was the question 
 debated, as Follen himself notes, 2 whether an outer code of 
 morals is necessary, or whether man s most inner conviction 
 alone can justify and condemn him before God; further, 
 whether there are rights which one can claim under all cir 
 cumstances and never renounce. Follen sought to win his new 
 friends over to his doctrine of conviction, unconditionality, 
 and republicanism, as he had done in Giessen, but although 
 they seemed to yield to his bold conceptions they could not so 
 readily adopt them. Under the guidance of the most learned 
 and broad-minded men in all the different professions the Jena 
 students had acquired the habit of strict criticism and inde 
 pendent philosophical thought. Although they cherished the 
 deepest respect for Pollen s sincerity and self-conviction, as 
 Wesselhoft records, 3 they felt that he was wrong and sought 
 to convert him through the aid of Fries, their professor of 
 philosophy. To effect this the whole club gathered weekly 
 around the latter and discussed the subject warmly. 4 Fries 
 and Follen each had his own system and neither could convert 
 the other, but their adherents gained much valuable knowledge 
 and arrived at decided opinions of their own. The question 
 of conviction and the manner of making it of practical value 
 in life was often discussed. Fries made a distinction between 
 conviction arrived at from the conscience and that arrived at 
 from scientific study, that is, the conviction of the masses can 
 not be taken as a guide unless supported by the conclusions of 
 scholars ; further, that conviction must not lead to action by 
 unlawful, violent deeds. This was of course directly opposed 
 to Follen s democratic conception of popular conviction and to 
 his doctrine of unconditionality. Since Fries was prevented 
 after a short time from attending the meetings the club was 
 
 1 Leo, 176. 
 
 2 "Ueber die deutsche Inquisition" Wit s Fragmente, III, Sec. 1, 
 187. 
 
 3 Teutsche Jugend, 87ff. 
 
 4 Works, I, 186 ; Leo, 187 ; Pregizer, 64. 
 
 46- 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 left alone under Follen s influence, but when the latter tried 
 to force his views upon all, maintaining that cowardice and 
 weakness alone prevented their adoption and application as 
 the rule of life, a decisive rupture took place. The club sud 
 denly broke up in March, 1819, leaving Follen with a few 
 followers. He saw that much labor was yet necessary on his 
 part to raise even the most cultivated and susceptible youth to 
 his high ideals, and realized, doubtless, that his object could be 
 more easily attained by gradually habituating others to his 
 views than by violently opposing himself to the spirit then 
 prevalent in Jena. An event occurred, however, which not 
 only completed the ruin of his prospects, but served to stifle 
 the liberal aspirations of the German youth as well. 
 
 On March 23rd, 1819, the reactionary writer, Kotzebue, 
 whom the liberals suspected of being a spy in the service of the 
 Russian government, was assassinated by Karl Sand, one of 
 Follen s intimate friends at Jena; and on the 1st of July a 
 murderous assault was made upon the Hessian minister of 
 state, von Ibell, by Karl Lohning, an associate of some of the 
 Giessen Blacks. To the Holy Alliance these atrocious deeds 
 seemed to be a manifestation of the same spirit that had in 
 augurated the Wartburg meeting, and the Burschenschaft a 
 revival of the ancient "Vehmgericht," with the ultimate object 
 of overthrowing all monarchic institutions. The freedom of 
 the press was now abolished ; the formation of societies among 
 students prohibited ; the universities placed under immediate 
 government control; a strict police system established; and 
 scores of young men suspected of even the mildest liberal 
 views were arrested and thrown into prison. Follen himself 
 was twice arrested as an accomplice to Sand, but was fully 
 acquitted of the charge. 
 
 HIS REVOLUTIONARY POETRY. 
 
 The members of Follen s circle gave expression to their 
 republican ideals not only in political tracts, but also in songs 
 and poems, the most radical of which was the anonymous 
 Great Song, a joint product of the Follen brothers. A num- 
 
 47 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 her of these revolutionary songs together with poems by such 
 writers as Korner, Arndt, Uhland, and Schenkendorf were 
 collected under the title of "Freye Stimmen frischer Jugend," 1 
 one of the most pleasing and important documents of the 
 Burschenschaft movement. The selection may be grouped 
 under five heads : Turnlieder, Freiheitslieder, Reichskleinode, 
 Kriegsgesange, and Heldenlieder, all of which are variations 
 of the same general theme, love of liberty and fatherland. 
 As a patriotic appeal to revolution for the attainment of civic 
 freedom and national unity, the Burschenschaft songs supple 
 ment in a measure the patriotic lyrics of Korner and Arndt, 
 who summon the nation to unite against foreign oppression. 
 The collection is introduced by Pollen s soul-stirring dedi 
 catory poem, "Turnstaat," which is not only one of the gems 
 of German political poetry, but strikes the keynote of the 
 whole revolutionary program, freedom, unity, equality, 
 through the overthrow of monarchism and the establishment 
 of a Christian-German Republic : 
 
 Schalle, du Freiheitssang ! Walle wie Wogendrang 
 
 Aus Felsenbrust ! 
 
 Feig bebt der Knechte Schwarm ; uns schlagt das Herz so warm, 
 
 Uns ztickt der Jiinglingsarm voll Tatenlust. 
 
 Gott Vater! Dir zti Ruhm flammt deutsches Rittertum 
 In uns aufs neu; 
 
 Neu wird das altc Band, wachsend wie Feuerbrand : 
 Gott, Freiheit. Vaterland, altteutsche Treu. 
 
 Einfach und gliiubig sei, kraftig und keusch and frei, 
 Hermanns Geschlecht! 
 
 Zwingherrnmacht, Knechtewitz malmt Gottes Racheblitz : 
 Euch sei der Konigsitz ; Freiheit und Recht ! 
 
 Freiheit! in uns erwacht ist deine Geistesmacht, 
 Dein Reich genaht : 
 
 Gliihend nach Wissenschaft, bliihend in Ritterkraft 
 Sei, teutsche Turnerschaft, ein Bruderstaat. 
 
 1 Copies of this little volume are so rare that passages from some 
 of the representative songs will be quoted here. 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 Sause, du Freiheitssang, brause wie Donnerklang 
 Aus Wolkenbrust! 
 
 Ein Herz, ein Leben ganz stehen wir, ein Sternenkranz 
 Um einer Sonne Glanz, voll Himmelslust. 
 
 Allusion has already been made to the great role which 
 the gymnastic movement played in the Burschenschaft and to 
 the high esteem in which its founder was held by Follen and 
 his circle. Just as gymnastics had under Jahn s direction 
 become a powerful means of preparing the nation for the great 
 struggle against Napoleon, it now became in the hands of the 
 liberals an integral part of their national and revolutionary 
 propaganda. Believing that greater tasks were yet to be ac 
 complished the gymnasts formulated their program in verses 
 such as the following, in which they sing with joyous enthusi 
 asm of the revival of ancient knighthood and of the new 
 crusade against injustice and tyranny : 
 
 Wir ziehen zum f rohlichen Werke, hinaus auf die griine Heid ; 
 Erturnen Kraft und Starke zu manchem kiihnen Streit, 
 Mit Schwertern und mit Lanzen erproben wir den Arm : 
 Und unser rasches Tanzen macht Mut und Blut so warm. 
 
 Wir wollen wieder schaffen die gute alte Art: 
 Den kiihnen Mut der Waffen mit frommem Sinn gepaart; 
 Wir wollen wie die Ritter, mit blankem Mannerschwerd 
 Im Sturm und Schlachtgewitter verfechten Hof und Herd. 1 
 
 Das Vaterland vor Ketten zu schirmen fiir und fur, 
 Und, ist s umgarnt, zu retten; nur darum sterben wir. 
 Seht! Diistere Nebel triiben noch Teutschlands Morgenrot 
 Das Vaterland, ihr Lieben, bedarf noch manchen Tod. 
 
 Wir wollen uns vorbereiten zu Opfern fromm und treu, 
 Dass riesengrossen Zeiten das Herz gewachsen sei. 
 Drum sind wir hier beisamrnen, drum ist uns hier so warm 
 Wir schiiren Geistesflammen, wir stahlen unsern Arm. 2 
 
 1 Freye Stimmen, No. 2 (by Ch. Sartorius). 
 
 2 Ibid., No. 3 (anonymous). 
 
 49 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 Wir miihen uns nicht um goldnen Tand, Herrschtum und Sklaven- 
 
 ehre: 
 
 Wir ringen, dass ins Vaterland die stolze Freiheit kehre. 
 So hegen wir ein f reies Reich : an Rang und Stand sind alle gleich ; 
 Freies Reich 1 Alle gleich! Heisa jucheil 1 
 
 Pollen himself begins with a short panegyric on old 
 "Turnvater" Jahn and then summons the gymnastic youth to 
 draw the sword against all enemies whatsoever of the sover 
 eign people : 
 
 Als der Turnmeister, der alte Jahn 
 
 Fur des Volkes urheilige Rechte 
 
 Vortrat zu der Freiheit Rennlauf bahn : 
 
 Da folgt ihm ein wehrlich Geschlechte. 
 
 Hei ! wie schwungen sich die Jungen, f risch, f roll, f romm, f rei ! 
 
 Hei! wie sungen da die Jungen: juchei. 
 
 Ueberall nah, tiberall da, 
 
 Sind deine Feinde, Volksgemeinde 1 
 Teutsche Gemeinde, dein Hermann ist dal 
 
 Da, hurrah ! 
 Schwerter geschwungen! die Freiheit gerungen! 
 
 Juchei, ihr Alten und Jungen. 2 
 
 Auf, Jubeldonner und Liedersturm ! 
 Der Begeisterung Blitz hat geziindet; 
 Der Mannheit Eiche, der Teutschheit Turm 
 Ist in Teutschland wieder geziindet: 
 Der Freiheit Wiege, dein Sarg, Drangerei ! 
 Wird gezimmert aus dem Baum der Turnerei. 
 
 Auf, du Turner ! Du Teutscher wohlan ! 
 Auf, ehrliche, wehrliche Jugend ! 
 Noch ficht mit der Wahrheit gekronter Wahn, 
 Noch kampft mit dem Teufel die Tugend. 
 Schwertstahl aus dem Rost! aus dem Schlauch, junger Most I 
 Durch die Dunstluf t, Nordost ! gruner Mai, aus dem Frost 1 * 
 
 Ubid, No. 13 (by Karl Hoffmann). 
 2 Ibid., No. 15 (by Follen brothers). 
 *Ibid, No. 14 (by Karl Follen). 
 
 SO- 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 Among the Freiheitslieder is Pollen s famous "Bundeslied 
 auf dem Rutli," 1 which is a direct challenge to the tyrants, a 
 call to revolution, and the prophecy of a brighter day in the 
 political life of the nation. The following strophes will serve 
 to indicate the general tone and spirit of the whole : 
 
 Ja, bei Gott und Vaterland! verderben 
 
 Woll n wir der Gewaltherrn letzte Spur: 
 
 Gern fur Recht und Freiheit sterben, bleibt fur Volk die Freiheit nur! 
 
 Gott, hor unsern Bundesschwur ! H6V an! hor anl hor an! 
 
 Steig* aus uns res Blutes Morgenglanze 
 
 Gliih nde Volkssonn in alter Pracht ! 
 
 In des Reiches Sternenkranze steig aus uns res Todes Nacht, 
 
 Freistaat Volkes, Gottesmacht! Empor ! empor ! empor! 
 
 Freiheitsbund, vortrage deinem Volke, 
 
 Deiner Zeit das Freiheitsbanner kiihn ! 
 
 Aus dir, freie Donnerwolke, soil das Siegkreuz Gottes gliih n, 
 
 Soil ein neues Reich erbliih n! Hinan! hinan! hinan! 
 
 The celebrated Great Song embodies the whole creed of 
 the radicals: the subversion of monarchic government, the 
 establishment of the Christian Republic, and a martyr s death 
 if necessary for the attainment of this end. Its ardent love 
 of liberty, its glowing patriotism, its praise of popular sov 
 ereignty, and especially its fierce invective against the despotic 
 rulers, which ring out from beginning to end, are the final and 
 most powerful summons to political revolution. The poem is 
 both lyric and epic in character and is composed of a number 
 of single songs joined together into a unified whole by their 
 passionate revolutionary sentiment. It seems quite probable 
 that the lyric poetry which is contained in Klopstock s patriotic 
 dramas, "Hermann und die Fiirsten" and "Hermanns Tod," 
 and which shows great similarity in composition to the Great 
 Song, furnished the model for this poem. In sublime images 
 taken from the Voluspa of the older Edda the song opens with 
 
 i Ibid., No. 21. 
 
 51 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 a grand overture, which portrays the conflagration of the world 
 and the birth of freedom: 
 
 Horcht auf, ihr Fiirsten! Du, Volk, horch auf I 
 Freiheit und Rache in vollem Lauf, 
 Gottes Wetter ziehen blutig herauf ! 
 Auf, dass in Weltbrands Stunden 
 Ihr nicht miissig werdet gef unden ! 
 Reiss aus dem Schlummer dich, trages Gewiirme, 
 Am Himmel schau auf, in Gewitterpracht 
 Hell aufgegagngen dein Todesgestirne ! 
 
 Es erwacht, 
 
 Es erwacht, 
 
 Tief aus der sonnenschwangeren Nacht, 
 In blutflammender Morgenwonne, 
 
 Der Sonnen Sonne, 
 
 Die Volkesmacht! 
 
 Spruch des Herrn, du bist gesprochen, 
 Volksblut, Freiheitsblut, du wirst gerochen, 
 Gotzendamm rung, du bist angebrochen. 
 
 After this prelude the revolutionary procession passes in 
 review singing in solos and choruses the various parts of the 
 Great Song. As the representative of the older generation 
 of patriots, who had resigned themselves in hopeless despair 
 to the gloomy political outlook of the country, appears an 
 aged man chanting a solemn dirge over the death of freedom, 
 but his mournful strains are soon lost amid the din of a stir 
 ring war song as the sturdy German youth come marching 
 along : 
 
 Doch es sungen 
 Die Jungen 
 
 Frisch, frohlich und frei, 
 Die mutigen Sohne der Turnerei ; 
 Sternaugen funkeln, Schwerter sind bloss, 
 Laut schallet der Freiheit Trompetenstoss ! 
 Schmettr heraus 
 Aus der Brust 
 Jugendbraus, 
 Schwertgesaus, 
 Freiheitslust ! 
 
 52 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 At the close of the song the leader of this youthful band 
 addresses himself directly to the spectators, appealing to them 
 to arise in their might and join in the movement for liberty: 
 
 Der Volker Volk liegt nieder in Angst und Schweiss, 
 Seinen Hunger nahrend in stummem Fleiss. 
 
 Du armes Volk, Dir ist so heiss, 
 
 Du bist so elend, so herzenskrank, 
 
 Beut keiner Dir einen Labetrank? 
 
 Menschenmenge, grosse Menschenwuste, 1 
 
 Die umsonst der Geistesfriihling griisste, 
 
 Reisse, krache endlich, altes Eis ! 
 
 Stiirz in starken stolzen Meeresstrudeln 
 
 Hin auf Knecht und Zwingherrn, die Dich hudeln, 
 
 Sei ein Volk, ein Freistaat, werde heiss ! 
 
 After the passionate harangue of this revolutionary 
 leader the people are wrought up to such a pitch of excitement 
 that they answer in one loud acclaim: 
 
 Briider, so kann s nicht gehn, 2 
 Lasst uns zusammen stehn, 
 Duldet s nicht mehr ! 
 Freiheit, dein Baum fault ab, 
 Jeder am Bettelstab, 
 Beisst bald ins Hungergrab ; 
 Volk ins Gewehr! 
 
 1 According to Wit (Fragmente, I, 59f.) that part of the song be 
 ginning with this strophe had come into the possession of some of the 
 Jena students in the summer of 1818; somebody secretly printed 6,000 
 copies and scattered them broadcast over the country under the title 
 "Dreissig oder drei und dreissig, gleich viel," meaning that they could 
 put their 33 rulers out of the way as easily as the Greeks got rid of 
 their 30 tyrants. 
 
 2 This portion of the song was widely disseminated in the Oden- 
 wald and had a great influence on the peasant uprising of that region 
 in 1819. It afterward became known as the Odenwalder Bauernlied ; 
 cf. Haupt, 133f. 
 
 53 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 Briider in Gold und Seid , 
 Briider in Bauernkleid, 
 Reicht Euch die Hand! 
 Allen ruft Deutschlands Not, 
 Allen des Herrn Gebot, 
 Schlagt Eure Plager tot, 
 Rettet das Land! 
 
 Dann wird s, dann bleibt s nur gut, 
 Wenn Du an Gut und Blut 
 Wagst Blut und Gut; 
 Wenn Du Gewehr und Axt, 
 Schlachtbeil und Sense packst, 
 Zwingherrn den Kopf abhackst, 
 Brenn , alte Wut! 
 
 And now the spirit of revolt is abroad in the land. In 
 order to begin the work of organization the youthful revolu 
 tionists first join in one indissoluble bond of death-brethren 
 and betake themselves to the depth of the forest where, at the 
 pensive hour of midnight, they kneel in prayer and then par 
 take of the Lord s Supper, consecrating themselves in this 
 solemn manner to the holy cause of freedom : 
 
 Es zieht eine Schaar von Mannern sich 
 Herab zum dunkeln Haine, 
 Beim dammernden Fackelscheine. 
 
 Und dort, wo die Tannen und Eichen im Rund 
 
 Zum erhabenen Dome sich tiirmen, 
 
 Gottes Orgel brauset im Stiirmen, 
 
 Wie ein Altar aufsteiget der Felsengrund, 
 
 Dort trat man zusammen zu Mitternachtstund . 
 
 Und die Todbriider treten zum Altar bin, 
 
 Zu empfahn in heiliger Entflammung, 
 
 Was uns Heil bringt oder Verdammung. 
 
 Mit dem Konig der Mart rer ein Blut und ein Sinn, 
 
 So nehmen die Martyrerweihe sie hin, 
 
 Und weih n sich der ew gen Erbarmung 
 
 Mit Opfergesang und Umarmung. 
 
 54 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 At the close of this solemn ceremony the death-brethren 
 unite in singing a communion hymn, which is characterized 
 by a deep religious mysticism combined with a spirit of the 
 sternest political fanaticism. The revolutionists were first and 
 above all zealous Christians. They considered Christ, how 
 ever, not so much a divine mediator, but rather the highest 
 type of manhood, the ideal Republican, and it was his loving 
 self-sacrifice for the cause of humanity, his loyalty to a con 
 viction for which he boldly and joyously faced death, that 
 appealed to them so powerfully: 
 
 O Jesu, Liebster mein! 
 In Fleisch und Blut und Leben, 
 Im hochsten Geistesstreben 
 Bin ich nur ewig dein. 
 
 Dir bist du, Mensch, entflohen, 
 Ein Christus sollst du werden, 
 Wie du ein Kind der Erden, 
 War auch des Menschen Sohn. 
 
 From the spirit of Christian love proceeds their love of 
 fatherland. All aglow with Christian patriotic zeal the death- 
 brethren, again seized by the revolutionary spirit, vow to be 
 come martyrs for the sake of freedom and implore divine aid 
 for their solemn task. Then in the "Chorus of free Chris 
 tians" rings out loud and clear the final call to arms that is 
 to set the revolutionary forces in motion. 
 
 Ihr, die mit mir zugleich 
 Den Glaubenstrank genossen, 
 Der Tugend Bund geschlossen 
 Fur Kreuz und Schwert und Eich , 
 Ein Herz, Ein Arm, Ein Blut sind wir geworden 
 Der ew gen Freiheit heil ger Mart rerorden. 
 
 Der Du am Brandaltar 
 Elias Ruf erhortest, 
 Baals Thron und Frohn zerstortest, 
 Zu Dir fleht uns re Schaar. 
 
 55 - 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 Ihr Geister der Freien und_ Frommen, 
 
 Wir kommen, wir kommen, wir kommen, 
 
 Eine Menschheit zu retten aus Knechtschaft und Wahn, 
 
 Zur Blutbiihn zum Rabenstein fiihrt uns re Bahn. 
 
 Fort Zwingherrn-, Adel- und Pfaffenbrut, 
 Sold aten und Pobel zur Hollenglut ! 
 
 Ein Reich freier Burger, 
 Ein Gott, ein Volk, ein Wille soil sein, 
 Doch die Menschheit im Volke nur schafft den Verein. 
 
 Hurrah ! Deutschlands Sterne flammen, 
 Deutschland kront Ein Heil genglariz ! 
 Herzen, Hande schlagt zusammen, 
 Zwingherrschaft fahr in die Flammen, 
 Freiheit aus der Flammen Kranz. 
 
 Zu den Waff en ! stiirme, tiirme 
 Berg auf Berg von Knecht und Herrn ! 
 Riesin Deutschland, brich die Klammer, 
 Alter Freiheit Donnerhammer 
 Wettre, schmettre nah und fern ! 
 
 Deutscher Hiebe Kraft zerstiebe 
 Schlangengift und Tigerwut, 
 Schwerterblau wird Morgenrote, 
 Schwerterblitz fahr aus und todte 
 Dich im Meere, Zwingherrnbrut ! 
 
 How this incipient revolution was nipped in the bud by 
 the monarchic powers has already been alluded to. When 
 Follen became convinced that the times were not ripe for his 
 republican program he sought consolation for his overwhelm 
 ing disappointment by eulogizing in one last solemn hymn l 
 the great German patriots of the past. The first strophe, sung 
 in chorus by the revolutionary party, indicates the theme and 
 the general tone of the whole poem: 
 
 Lasst die toten Briider leben ! 
 Brecht den Schmerz der Gegenwart, 
 Lasst uns Preis den Teuren geben, 
 So im Volksdienst ausgeharrt ! 
 Einen soil uns jeder sagen, 
 Der ihm f iillt die treue Brust ; 
 Manch ein Herz hat euch geschlagen : 
 Volkesschmerz und Freiheitslust. 
 1 Freye Stivnmen, No. 56 (by Follen brothers). 
 56 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 Accordingly this introductory chorus is followed by a num 
 ber of solos, the first of which recalls the memorable deeds 
 of Hermann in the Teutoburger Forest. Then we are intro 
 duced to the heroes of the great mediaeval epics; to such 
 heroic characters as Karl the Hammer, the great emperors, 
 Heinrich, Otto, and Rudolph, to the famous knights of chiv 
 alry and the crusades, and to the patriots Tell and Winkelried, 
 men who made the world ring with the renown of their 
 mighty deeds. After these praises of the middle ages comes 
 a panegyric on Luther and the Reformation, followed by 
 eulogies on the poets and heroes of the wars of liberation. 
 After recalling to memory Germany s glorious past, the in 
 dividual singers all join again in chorus in a lament over the 
 desolate present and the hopeless outlook for the future of 
 the fatherland: 
 
 Ja, es stieg manch helle Sonne, Vaterland, aus deinem S-choos, 
 Traumtest hohe Mutterwonne, und nun wachst du freudenlos 
 Was dies letzte Glas bedeute, sag* es, treu Germanenherz ! 
 
 Klingt! es klingt wie Grabgelaute : 
 
 Unsrer Sehnsucht tiefer Schmerz. 
 
 It would be time lost to enter into a discussion of these 
 revolutionary songs for the purpose of pointing out their lit 
 erary defects or merits. Although some of them do strike 
 the true poetic note, it may as well be confessed at the outset 
 that a great deal of this lyric effusion, especially the Great 
 Song, is for the most part mere rhetorical pathos showing an 
 uncontrolled imagination spurred on by animal vitality, which 
 makes much of it bizarre and some of it even repulsive. Ad 
 mitting then the crudeness of these songs as literature, one 
 must seek elsewhere than in the field of aesthetics for their 
 importance, if they possess any at all. 
 
 At the beginning of the 19th century German literature 
 had very little connection with the actual, contemporary life 
 of the nation, but drew its inspiration from the German past 
 and concerned itself mostly with aesthetic questions. It be 
 came the task of the younger generation, therefore, to arouse 
 the nation from its one-sided literary culture to a sense of the 
 
 57 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 importance of public affairs; hence the poets of the wars of 
 liberation and their successors performed the important ser 
 vice of bringing poetry and reality, literature and life, art and 
 politics into contact and mutual relation. Writers began now 
 to descend into the turmoil and passions of the actual world, 
 entering into the feelings and desires, the hopes and longings 
 of the people. As the times gradually became predominantly 
 political, poetry as a result entered the service of politics and 
 the practical development of modern life ; as a mirror of 
 political conditions it became a critique cf the national life 
 and hence a part of the national existence. It mattered not 
 so much what the poet wrote as to what party he belonged, 
 how he asserted and developed his moral character in practical 
 affairs. Unlike the Classicists and Romanticists the poet s 
 personality now became more prized than his literary produc 
 tions ; hence the political poetry of the early decades of the 
 century had as its chief task to evaluate moral motives, be 
 coming thereby influential as a moral force for the guidance 
 of the nation to a higher standard of life. What the national 
 literature of Germany was lacking in its best productions was 
 to be gained not from abstract theory, but from reality; not 
 from books, but from deeds ; hence political literature served 
 to point the way from the past to the future. Herein lay 
 whatever value there was in the poetry of Pollen s circle. 
 
 The political poets of the wars of liberation embodied 
 in verse the patriotic sentiment, becoming thus a great moral 
 force in the national uprising against Napoleon. The poets 
 of the Burschenschaft movement went still farther, seeking 
 not only to inspire love of fatherland, but demanding civic 
 freedom and national unity; hurling defiance at the old regime 
 on the one hand and aiming at national reconstruction on the 
 other. They comprehended the task of the age, presenting 
 in their poetry the great principles of popular life, such as 
 freedom, nationality, and self-rule, thus not only voicing the 
 sentiment and convictions of the people, but becoming also 
 the prophets of the political revolts of later years. These 
 young enthusiasts, bound by no considerations, gave them 
 selves up unreservedly to the spirit of the times. Their cry 
 
 58 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 for freedom was the cry of the nation, of humanity. Their 
 enthusiasm for nationality and their wrath against despotism, 
 along with their joyous rush into revolution, revolution for 
 the emancipation of the people, gave to their songs a new ele 
 ment in German political poetry, making them thereby the 
 forerunners of the political writers of the 30s and 40s, such 
 as Freiligrath and Herwegh. 
 
 In the passion of their storm and stress the members of 
 Pollen s circle were political in their hearts rather than in their 
 heads. Most of the political wisdom of their poetry was con 
 tained in a few catch-words which served to arouse patriotic 
 sentiment, but which was not sufficient to solve practical politi 
 cal problems. Although it was juvenile and immature it served 
 to keep alive the patriotic sentiment, not so much among the 
 masses, however, as among the academic youth, who, trained 
 in this early school of patriotic, revolutionary sentiment, were 
 to become the future political leaders. The Burschenschaft 
 poetry was then, in a word, prophetic. Its aims lay in the 
 future ; its important function was tentatively to point out 
 with great emphasis the distant goal to be gained. Passionate 
 and bombastic it had to be to make any impression. The way 
 had to be prepared, and if some of the utterances of these 
 juvenile revolutionists were too radical they were nevertheless 
 of value in preparing the soil for the great harvest that was 
 to follow the unification of Germany on a democratic basis. 
 
 In regard to the Great Song still one word more seems 
 necessary: When carefully considered, without prejudice, 
 Pollen s virulent attack upon the tyrants seems too verbose 
 to be criminal or even dangerous. It is always easier to con 
 demn than to seek to understand. The language of this song 
 cannot be correctly interpreted by those who have not some 
 time in their life been moved by a passionate longing for free 
 dom, or whose hearts have not been powerfully touched by the 
 sight of gross injustice and tyranny. Pollen was only a youth 
 of twenty-two years, an ardent patriot who was not only filled 
 with righteous indignation against the tyranny of his own 
 times, but who sympathized with the martyrs of liberty in all 
 ages. Earnest, courageous, yet inexperienced, he longed to 
 
 - 59 - 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 seize the avenging sword and with one blow destroy the firmly 
 established and ancient institution of absolute monarchism, 
 but in his impetuosity and impatience with the slow means of 
 redress he neither weighed his words nor counted the cost of 
 acts to which he felt prompted only by the most generous im 
 pulses. Judging him from this viewpoint with the knowledge, 
 too, that he possessed the most noble and tender heart, one 
 ought, it seems, to interpret the defying tones and the vehe 
 ment indignation of the Great Song as nothing more than the 
 natural utterances of intense all-sacrificing devotion to the 
 rights, dignity, and happiness of mankind. 
 
 THK ASSASSINATION OF KOTZEBUE. 
 
 The crushing effect which the assassination of Kotzebue 
 by Karl Sand had upon the patriotic hopes and aspirations of 
 Pollen and his circle has already been indicated in the dis 
 cussion of his revolutionary propaganda. Was Follen impli 
 cated, either directly or indirectly, in the assassination of 
 Kotzebue? This question has been frequently discussed, and 
 answered in various ways. In all probability no new evidence 
 will ever be forthcoming to throw new light upon this mys 
 tery; hence the present discussion must of necessity be of a 
 purely analytical nature. It presents a resume of the various 
 arguments thus far advanced irr the case, and aims at a solu 
 tion both from a historical and a psychological point of view. 
 
 When Sand was still a mere child he displayed extraordi 
 nary courage, will power, and above all a sort of morbid de 
 sire to perform some great deed. As he grew older he became 
 intensely partiotic and expressed his willingness to sacrifice 
 his life for the fatherland. Various entries in his diary * 
 throw light upon his character and are thus important in the 
 psychological explanation of his deed. At one time when he 
 heard that Napoleon was to pass through his home town he 
 felt, according to an entry in the diary, that he could not re 
 frain from making a "deadly assault upon the oppressor of 
 
 1 A number of these entries are given by Jarcke Karl Ludwlg 
 Sand und sein an Kotzebue verubter Mord, ISOff. ; cf. also Biedermann, 
 25 Jahre deutscher Geschichte, I, 186ff. 
 
 -60 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 his fatherland should he meet him face to face." x After the 
 war he took a leading part in founding a branch of the Bur- 
 schenschaft at Erlangen and noted in his diary that "the spirit 
 of the organization consists in a burning hatred of the internal 
 as well as the external enemies of the fatherland." 2 His 
 patriotism was accompanied by an ardent religious exaltation, 
 and gradually he became visionary, manifesting an inclination 
 toward the exceptional and the fantastic. In April 1816 while 
 taking the sacrament with his parents he noted in his diary: 
 "O, if only I could die this very moment for some noble pur 
 pose." 3 At times he became taciturn, then peevish, and again 
 overbearing. All these traits indicate already an abnormal 
 psychology. For the Wartburg meeting he wrote a paper with 
 such passages as the following : 4 "We will be free in the 
 fatherland or die with it if God commands it ;" "In open con 
 flict the individual must oppose evil of his own free will and 
 on his own responsibility so that others will not be implicated 
 in his action;" and again, "the rejuvenation of the fatherland 
 by a few enlightened youths of noble nature." Sand seems 
 to have known little about Kotzebue until the Wartburg meet 
 ing. After this celebration he entered the University of Jena 
 and on the 19th of November, 1817, made the following entry 5 
 in his diary: "Kotzebue s new insults have been proclaimed 
 in the market-place. Oh, how he hates us patriotic students." 
 From this time on he cherished a growing dislike for Kotzebue 
 and this aversion was inflamed by I^uden s disclosure in the 
 "Nemesis" that Kotzebue was a spy in the service of the Rus 
 sian government. His hatred of Kotzebue now became so in 
 tense that he wrote G in May, 1818 : "When I consider the 
 matter I think somebody ought to have courage enough to 
 
 1 Biedermann, I, 187. 
 
 2 Ibid, 188. 
 
 3 Ibid., 190. 
 
 4 Ibid., 189. 
 BJarcke, 150. 
 6 Ibid. 
 
 61 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 thrust his sword through the body of Kotzebue or of any other 
 such traitor." On November 2, 1818, he wrote as follows : l 
 "From self-conviction, with unqualified will, except which 
 nothing in this world is of value to me in the eyes of God; 
 to defend the people s God-given rights against all man-made 
 laws at the risk of one s life; to work to introduce a pure 
 humanity among the German people by preaching and dying; 
 that seems to me quite different than to renounce life and the 
 people. What boundless strength, what a benediction do I 
 feel in my will! I tremble no longer! This is the condition 
 of true likeness to God." On December 4th : "O the moment 
 ous hour when I decided to live unconditionally for my coun 
 try, when I broke the thousand bonds which restrained me 
 from dying for my fatherland. Through my will I decide un 
 conditionally, oh eternal holy God, for thy kingdom, for free 
 dom ! Not to decide to live from conviction, not to die for it, 
 is sinful ; it is the sin of millions." 2 
 
 From the foregoing it seems quite certain that the assas 
 sination of Kotzebue had become a fixed idea in the mind of 
 Sand nearly a year before he ever met Follen, with whom he 
 could not have become intimately acquainted until the end of 
 October, 1818, since Follen did not leave Giessen until the 
 early part of that month. 3 Sand was a pensive dreamer, long 
 ing to commit some notorious deed and brooding in secret 
 over the question whether he himself should take vengeance 
 on Kotzebue or not. In this state of mind he came under the 
 influence of Follen s teachings, and it seems very plausible 
 that his purpose might have been strengthened by them as the 
 diary entries of November 2d and December 4th indicate. 
 That Sand had fully decided the question before the end of 
 the year is evident from a note written in the diary on Decem 
 ber 31st, as follows: 4 "I am spending the last day of this 
 year, 1818, in a solemn mood, and I am resolved that the 
 
 1 Biedermann, I, 190. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 3 Works, I, 67. 
 Jarcke, 150. 
 
 62 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 Christmas which I have just celebrated will have been my 
 last. If anything is to come of our efforts; if the cause of 
 humanity is to prevail in our fatherland ; if in this momentous 
 time enthusiasm is to revive again in our country and every 
 thing not be forgotten again, then the traitor and seducer of 
 youth, A. v. K., must fall this I fully recognize." Even if 
 Pollen s doctrine of political assassination did serve to con 
 firm Sand in his resolution it can hardly be assumed that the 
 acquaintance between them at this time had become intimate 
 enough to permit him to suggest to Sand the commission of 
 any special act even if he himself did have such a project in 
 mind, which is highly improbable. 
 
 For a time Sand seemed to waver in his resolution, "pray 
 ing that God would save him from this act," as he testified at 
 his trial, 1 "and hoping that somebody else would commit the 
 deed;" but after meditating again upon the sad condition of 
 the country he finally wrote in his diary : "Ye princes, why 
 do you force me to this act," and then renewed his resolve, 
 considering it "a call from God, which I dare not dis 
 regard." Before leaving Jena to carry out his project against 
 Kotzebue, who was then living in Mannheim, Sand wrote a 
 long letter to his Jena friends, informing them of his inten 
 tions and exonerating them from all suspicion. This letter 
 along with another document, "Todesstoss Kotzebues," en 
 closed in one package and addressed to the Burschenschaft, 
 was found in Sand s unlocked desk after the crime had been 
 committed. Whether he left this package in his desk or 
 whether he gave it to someone else to place there after the 
 commission of the crime could not be determined. In addi 
 tion to this he left behind a second package containing a letter 
 to his parents and also three letters addressed to three differ 
 ent newspapers; these three letters contained copies of the 
 "Todesstoss" and a justification of his contemplated crime. 
 Sand spent two weeks on the journey to Mannheim, and the 
 fact that the letter to his parents was posted at Jena and 
 reached its destination after the commission of the crime 
 
 1 Biedermann, I, 200. 
 
 63 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 proves that it had been entrusted to some friend to mail. A 
 number of Sand s friends were arrested as accomplices, among 
 them Pollen, who was tried first in Weimar in May and in the 
 following October at Mannheim, but in the long trying ex 
 amination, in which he was confronted by Sand, no legal evi 
 dence was found against him. Sand stoutly maintained that 
 he had no accomplice or confidant, that he had planned and 
 carried out the deed without the aid or knowledge of any in 
 dividual or any secret organization. When called upon to ex 
 plain how the letter to his parents had been sent from Jena 
 after he had departed from there he replied that he had left 
 it in the care of his friend, Friedrich Asmis. With tears in 
 his eyes the latter protested his innocence, whereupon Sand 
 finally admitted that he had turned the package over to Pollen 
 to deliver to Asmis. This in turn was stubbornly denied by 
 Pollen. If it be granted for the sake of argument that Sand 
 did actually entrust Pollen with the posting of this letter at a 
 given date it does not necessarily follow, as Hausenstein x 
 points out, that the latter had any knowledge of Sand s inten 
 tions. If Sand did leave the first package in his open desk 
 it could easily have been discovered and delivered to the Bur- 
 schenschaft in time to prevent him from carrying out his pro 
 ject. Therefore it seems more reasonable to suppose that, if 
 he was discreet, he entrusted it to some friend with instruc 
 tions to place it in his desk after a given time. Even if it be 
 assumed that this friend was Pollen it does not prove that 
 he was Sand s confidant. The trial established the fact also 
 that Pollen had loaned Sand the money for his journey, but 
 this likewise does not by any means indicate that he had the 
 least knowledge of Sand s project or even of his eventual 
 destination. 
 
 After the facts brought out by the foregoing discussion 
 the testimony of some of Pollen s and Sand s associates must 
 next be examined. Not long after Sand had paid the penalty 
 for his crime Johannes Wit, whom Pollen had befriended in 
 many ways in Jena, published a pamphlet in which he pro- 
 
 i Suddeutsche Monatshefte, 1906, II, 200. 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 fessed to disclose the schemes of the liberal party, branding 
 Pollen especially as a dangerous revolutionist and as the in 
 stigator of the Kotzebue murder. Wit had professed the 
 greatest devotion to Follen, but when he saw that he had at 
 tached himself to a failing cause he went over to the side of 
 its enemies in order to save himself from danger. Wit was 
 a political renegade of the first rank, and even such historians 
 as Treitschke 3 admit that little credence can be given to his 
 statements. Although the Jena students found Wit an agree 
 able companion they considered him so unreliable, as Leo re 
 ports, 2 that they did not take him into their confidence con 
 cerning their private matters, although he considered himself 
 the chief actor in all that took place. According to Rechtlieb 
 Zeitgeist 3 many of them regarded him as a spy in the service 
 of his uncle, Baron Eckstein, who was at that time Inspector 
 General of the French police. However this may be it may 
 safely be assumed that Follen was too discreet to disclose to 
 such a notably unstable character as Wit plans of various 
 assassinations, as the latter asserts, 4 had he entertained such 
 thoughts. 
 
 To Wit s attack upon Follen Wesselhoft replied in his Teut- 
 sche Jugend, admitting that Follen advocated political assassi 
 nation in theory, but denying that he was actively engaged in 
 an attempt to put the doctrine into actual practice. Treitschke 5 
 calls Wesselhoft s defense of Follen nothing but a cleverly 
 written misleading lawyer s plea. Wesselhoft was indeed a 
 friend and admirer of Follen and belonged to his circle of 
 Jena friends, but by no means countenanced his Jesuitical 
 principles and his doctrine of unconditionally. 6 If he had 
 
 1 Cf. Deutsche Geschichte im 19. Jahrhundert, II, 522. 
 
 2 Meine Jugendseit, 179. 
 
 3 Demagogische Umtriebe, II, 691. 
 
 4 Fragment e, I, 29ff. 
 
 5 Deutsche Geschichte, II, 522. 
 
 6 Teutsche Jugend, 88f . : "We took a hearty interest in Follen and 
 remained his friends even after we felt called upon to say to him : 
 From henceforth we are against you. His whole being and thinking 
 
 65 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 actually subscribed to them Treitschke s unfavorable comment 
 on his defense of Follen would carry more weight than it 
 otherwise does. 
 
 Probably the most thorough and non-partisan discussion 
 of Sand s deed is Jarcke s psychologic-criminalistic analysis l 
 published in 1824. Jarcke holds that Sand s life fully proves 
 that the crime had its origin in the intellectual life then preva 
 lent at the universities, and not merely in a narrow circle. Not 
 all who embraced the movement were as radical as Sand or 
 would have countenanced assassination to realize their politi 
 cal aims. Many started from the same premises as Sand, but 
 the latter was carried along irresistably by the intellecual cur 
 rent. It is, however, a wrong conception, Jarcke maintains, 
 to believe that those false political maxims had their origin 
 in certain individuals, or that the evil could be overcome by 
 getting rid of these false teachers. To be sure individuals 
 could appear as the representatives of the intellectual tendency 
 and could contribute to it, but the source of the erroneous 
 thoughts lies deeper. What seems like the evil will of indi 
 viduals in an erroneous, suddenly appearing intellectual move 
 ment is merely, as Jarcke explains it, the product of a long 
 chain of circumstances which are independent of individual, 
 human plans and aims. Thus the revolutionary movement 
 must be distinguished carefully from a mere dissatisfaction 
 with rulers and political conditions. Jarcke believes that it 
 was the necessary product of that intellectual movement that 
 placed the human Ego in the foreground and made human 
 reason the law of the free man, for this conception of life 
 places authority not in God, but in the reason the reason of 
 
 was penetrated by a moral conviction which was in perfect unity with 
 itself, which had become truth and certainty to him. without which he 
 could not be what he is, could not become and remain good and noble. 
 He would willingly have attained in a peaceful manner what he 
 deemed indispensably necessary for his country and people if there had 
 been the slightest chance of his succeeding, but he held himself pre 
 pared for war as soon as peace was broken. Never, however, did he 
 act in defiance of lawful organizations. He denied only the justice of 
 police authority, which he looked upon as a misuse of power, an in 
 vasion of the existing legal constitution and of civil liberty." 
 
 1 Karl Ludwig Sand und sein an Kotzebue verubter Mord. 262fi. 
 66 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 the individual, or the collective reason of the people. This 
 atheistic system, as he calls it, leads to a republic, and is, in 
 his opinion, the national enemy of the Christian-German con 
 ception of law and state. From this standpoint, then, it is an 
 error to consider the movement of Sand and his companions 
 a momentary aberration of a few eccentric young people; it 
 is on the contrary a phenomenon which of historical necessity 
 had to come forth from deep spiritual motives. But it would 
 be just as erroneous to treat these religious and political errors, 
 according to Jar eke, as a personal malignity of those who 
 cherished them, or to misunderstand the sad truth that during 
 that period many of the best heads and noblest hearts in the 
 German universities were drawn into the magic circle of the 
 revolutionary movement. The fact can and must not be 
 passed over in silence that many of the best youths who at 
 that time cherished the false theories became afterwards the 
 noblest and best men. When one considers how widely that 
 movement was disseminated it is certain, in Jarcke s judgment, 
 that Sand received from all his companions of like persuasion 
 countless outer suggestions and impulses to his crime. By 
 the nature of the case it must, however, remain inscrutable 
 as to who perhaps involuntarily stimulated him, who perhaps 
 instigated him unintentionally against the victim of his fanati 
 cism, what unintentional assertion hastened him on the path he 
 had chosen. "And so in my opinion," Jarcke concludes, 1 "the 
 main cause of the crime was Sand s desire to do some striking 
 deed that would astonish the nation and at the same time 
 would serve as a shining example to his friends and compan 
 ions ; the second and more remote cause was his religious 
 political system, and it lay rather in accidental circumstances 
 that his longed-for great deed was the assassination of Kotze- 
 bue." 
 
 The report of the Central Investigation Commission at 
 Mainz, which was appointed to inquire into the whole revolu 
 tionary movement, and also the investigation instituted by the 
 Prussian government, showed conclusively that Sand s deed 
 
 i Ibid., 150. 
 
 67 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 was not the result of any secret propaganda. This verdict 
 was accepted as final until Friedrich Miinch s 1 disclosures 
 again opened up the controversy. In 1873, more than half a 
 centuiy after the event, Munch, who had taken at least some 
 part in the Giessen Burschenschaft movement, felt constrained 
 to reveal what he alleges to be a true version of the affair. 
 According to his account 2 the murder of Kotzebue was not 
 merely the deed of a fanatic who felt himself divinely ap 
 pointed to rid the land of tyrants, but that it was the result 
 of a plan coolly concocted by Follen and his friends. He 
 asserts further 3 that Pollen s younger brother, Paul, had a 
 
 1 Friedrich Munch (1799-1881) was associated with Paul Follen in 
 organizing the Giessen Emigration Society and came to Warren County, 
 Mo., in 1834, where he spent the remainder of his life. 
 
 2 "Erinnerungen" : Gesammelte Schriften, 56f . : "Eine Revolution 
 direkt zu machen, ging nicht an. Aber einen allgemein als Verrater 
 an der deutschen Ehre und Freiheit gebrandmarkten Menschen in der 
 moglichst auffallenden Weise zu strafen und aus dem Wege zu schaf- 
 fen, dadurch die ganze Nation zum Gefiihl ihrer Schmach machtig auf- 
 zuregen, Tausende anzufeuern, dass sie, dem gegebenen Beispiel fol- 
 gend, auch ihre Dolche blitzen liessen, wonach dann das Folk zu den 
 Waff en greifen und alls seine Plager totschlagen wilrde (italics are 
 mine) das schien erreichbar und tunlich. Das Falsche in der Berech- 
 nung riihrt daher, dass Follen bei aller sonstigen Einsicht doch die 
 Masse des Volkes, seine Stimmung und Anschauung nicht kannte. Und 
 warum verrichtete Follen die Tat nicht selbst ? Aus reiner Oekonomie ; 
 denn der Gedanke der Selbstaufopferung war ihm in der Tat einer der 
 Hebsten. Ihm war aber eine hohere Aufgabe gestellt, seiner konnte 
 die kiinftige Revolution als ihres Fiihrers nicht entbehren, cr musste 
 fiir das Schwerere, das noch kommen sollte, sich erhalten. Hatte er 
 dies sich nicht selbst gesagt, so sagte Sand es ihm jedenfalls, und er 
 musste die Tat dem Freunde iiberlassen, der eben dafiir und nicht fur 
 noch Bedeutenderes sich befahigt hielt." 
 
 3 Ibid., 96ff. : "Wie Karl Follen der Tat Sands nicht feme ge- 
 standen hatte, so stand Paul dem Attentat von Lohning wohl auch 
 naher. War Sands Tat von Jena ausgegangen, so musste die zweite 
 der Ordnung gemass von Giessen aus erf olgen. So sassen dcnn in 
 dem Hinterstiibchen einer Dorfschenke an der Grenze von Hessen und 
 Nassau in nachtlicher Beratung drei Manner zusammen, einer aus 
 Giessen derjenige, welcher dort Karl Follen s Geist am meisten ver- 
 trat dann Pfarrer F. aus der Wetterau und der Apothekergehiilfe 
 Lohning, welcher erst seit Kurzem aus innerem Drange die Bekannt- 
 schaft der Vaterlandsfreunde gesucht und sich ihnen angeschlossen 
 hatte. Man einigte sich dariiber, dass Ibell fallen miisse und wollte das 
 Loos dariiber entscheiden lassen, welcher von den Dreien das Urteil 
 vollstrecken sollte. Es fiel auf den ersten der drei Genannten, aber 
 Lohning fiihrte iiberzeugend aus, dass mit Recht ihm, dem naheren 
 Landsmann Ibells. die Rolle des Rachers zukomme, und forderte die 
 Tat fiir sich." 
 
 68 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 hand in planning the assassination of von Ibell. Following 
 Miinch s statements, upon which he relies unreservedly, 
 Treitschke paints a very sinister portrait 1 of Follen, condemn 
 ing him first of all on purely circumstantial evidence ; although 
 he admits that guilt in the strict judicial sense cannot be 
 proved, he accepts Miinch s verdict 2 to the contrary. It is 
 well known that Treitschke was one of the strongest cham 
 pions of the monarchic principle, that he denied the right of 
 the people to self-government, and that he was the sworn en 
 emy of republicanism; therefore it is not surprising to find 
 his account of Follen colored by political prejudice. Without 
 doubt his condemnation of Follen is too severe, as Haupt 3 
 observes, and this is the more to be regretted since the state 
 ments of such a recognized authority carries great weight. 
 
 It now remains to examine the testimony of Munch, first 
 in regard to specific statements and then concerning its gen 
 eral credibility. 
 
 1 Deutsche Geschichte im 19. Jahrhundert, II, 522 : "Sicherlich hat 
 der unselige Mensch (Sand) geglaubt, dass er seinen Entschluss in 
 voller Freiheit gefasst habe, denn nur die aus eigener Ueberzeugung 
 entspringende Tat Hess er entgelten ; es ist aber psychologisch unmog- 
 lich, dass der menschenkundige Karl Follen, der mit seinem Basilisken- 
 blick den wehrlosen Schwachkopf vollkommen beherrschte und in die- 
 ser diirftigen Seele wie in einem offenen Buche las, den Mordplan 
 nicht bemerkt und befordert haben sollte. So gewiss die Aehre dem 
 Saatkorn entspriesst, eben so gewiss erscheint der Prediger des politi- 
 schen Mordes vor dem sittlichen Urteil der Geschichte als der Urheber 
 der Ermordung Kotzebues. Ein Mitwisser des gefassten Entschlusses 
 war er unzweif elhaf t ; er verschaffte das Reisegeld f iir die Wanderf ahrt 
 nach Mannheim; unterrichtete seine Getreuen in alien Schlichen und 
 Kniffen des Kriminalprozesses und belehrte sie sorgsam iiber ihr Ver- 
 halten vor dem Untersuchungsrichter." 
 
 2 Ibid., II, 522 : "Diese Tatsachen mussten unglaubhaft erscheinen, 
 so lange sie nur durch die Denkwiirdigkeiten des elenden Denunzian- 
 ten Wit von Doring, bezeugt waren; heute lassen sie sich nicht mehr 
 bezweifeln, seit ein vertrauter Freund der Gebruder Follen, Friedrich 
 Munch, sie wiederholt auf das Bestimmteste zugegeben hat. Munch 
 beruf t sich auf vertrauliche Mitteilungen seines Freundes, Paul Follen ; 
 er ist ein Mann von anerkannter Rechtschaffenheit und ich sehe nicht 
 ein, warum die nachdrikklichen Versicherungen der ehrlichen Radi- 
 kalen, die ohnehin nichts Unwahrscheinliches enthalten, unglaubhaft 
 sein sollen. Das zur Verteidigung Karl Follen s geschriebene anonyme 
 Biichlein Teutschlands Jug end in weiland Burschenschaften und Turn- 
 gemeinden (by R. Wesselhoft) ist nichts weiter als eine gewandte un- 
 aufrichtige Advokatenschrift." 
 
 3 Follen und die Giessener Schwarsen, 24. 
 
 69 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 Munch states explicitly that Follen instigated the Kotze- 
 bue murder not only to get rid of a hated traitor, but also to 
 arouse "das Volk zu den Waffen greifen und alle seine Plager 
 totschlagen." The striking resemblance of this phraseology to 
 that of the stanza of the Great Song where the poet ex 
 claims : "Volk, ins Gewehr !" Schlagt eure Plager tot !" 
 causes one to wonder whether Miinch is not constructing a 
 hypothetical case out of Pollen s revolutionary utterances 
 rather than stating an actual fact. His statement, too, that 
 Paul Follen and others cast lots to determine who should 
 murder von Ibell, and that in accordance with a definite plan 
 this deed was to proceed from Giessen and Sand s from Jena, 
 should be accepted with caution. "As Karl Follen was closely 
 connected with Sand s deed, Paul was probably (wohl) more 
 closely connected with that of Lohning." It seems strange 
 that Miinch should begin his account of the assault on von 
 Ibell with such a hypothetical statement and close it with the 
 most positive assertions. Stern observes l that after Kotzebue 
 was murdered wild rumors sprang up over the whole country 
 to the effect that the students were casting lots to determine 
 which university should choose an assassin for Kotzebue, 
 Stourdza, Schmalz, etc. ; and in view of the fact that Munch s 
 story is identical with these rumors, which were proved 
 groundless, one is tempted to conclude that his recollections 
 are somewhat clouded or that his story is, as Biedermann 2 
 suggests, a myth altogether. 
 
 Although Wit was Pollen s chief accuser he confesses s 
 that the latter was by no means cruel or blood-thirsty by na 
 ture, that he was in no way connected with the attempt against 
 von Ibell s life, that he cared nothing about so unimportant a 
 man as Kotzebue, that he was at that time strongly opposed 
 
 1 Geschichte Europas, I, 557. 
 
 2 25 Jahre deutscher Geschichte, I, 206. 
 
 3 Fragment e, I, 37ff. : "One would do him a great injustice to re 
 gard the projected murder of von Ibell as his work. This was due 
 without question to the hatred of the Unconditional against the dis 
 tinguished statesman, who was considered responsible for the dismissal 
 of criminal judge, Wm. Snell." Snell was also a revolutionist and 
 closely connected with the Giessen Blacks. 
 
 _ 70 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 to assassination because he knew well that the people would 
 thereby turn against the cause in whose interest it was com 
 mitted, and that if he did in spite of that send Sand to murder 
 Kotzebue it was done to see how the people would regard it. 
 Wit supplements this statement by another to the effect that 
 one of Sand s friends sought in 1820 to borrow money from 
 Follen in order to go to Baden to assassinate the Grand Duke 
 out of revenge for Sand s execution, but that Follen with 
 great difficulty dissuaded him from his purpose. 
 
 As further evidence against Munch s statements Wolf 
 gang Menzel, who was well acquainted with Follen in Jena, 
 but did not share his views, testified as follows * a few years 
 after Munch s disclosures were published : "People have slan 
 dered the Unconditionals by saying that they cast lots to see 
 who should murder Kotzebue, but those young men were not 
 so depraved as that. Sand made the resolve of his own accord 
 after he had strengthened his stoical courage in Follen s club, 
 but in no way had he received any instruction regarding any 
 definite act. Sand was capable of such a decision of his own 
 accord; it was the result of his religious enthusiasm. Had 
 anybody sought to persuade him to do what he did not feel 
 impelled to do spontaneously he would have refused." z 
 
 A few years after Menzel s account appeared Heinrich 
 Leo published his memoirs, which also place Munch s state 
 ments in a doubtful light. It should be borne in mind that 
 Wesselhoft, Menzel, and Leo actually associated with Follen 
 and Sand in Jena and speak from first-hand knowledge, while 
 Munch was at that time in Giessen 125 miles away; and the 
 fact that these men did not agree with Follen in his radical 
 doctrines would tend to remove any suspicion that their testi 
 mony was biased in his favor. Leo lived in the same house 
 with Sand and was most intimately acquainted with him. 
 Contrary to Wit, who says that himself, Follen and Sand were 
 the only bona fide Unconditionals in Jena, Leo asserts * that 
 
 1 Denkwurdigkeiten, 129. 
 
 2 Cf . Sand s own statement in his diary entry for Nov. 2, 1818. 
 
 3 Meine Jugendzeit, 186. 
 
 71 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 there were still others, that while Sand was an Unconditional, 
 as his deed proves, he was never a member of Pollen s narrower 
 circle, but dawdled around in a certain dilletantism of Teuton- 
 ism and free thought without having any fixed theory ; hence 
 he was not relied upon by his friends for any practical end. 
 Leo states emphatically that the questions of unconditionality 
 and of political assassination were discussed not only in Pol 
 len s club, but in other circles all over Jena, and expresses his 
 belief that Sand was induced by these discussions to determine 
 by experiment whether the people would approve of such vio 
 lent revolutionary measures or not. Upon hearing the remark 
 of a certain Jena professor, that some enthusiast or other 
 would take vengeance on Kotzebue for his traitorous conduct 
 Sand replied to Leo, 1 that it would certainly be a good oppor 
 tunity to test the question as to what sort of impression a 
 political murder would make. According to Leo 2 Wit s story 3 
 concerning Pollen s alleged plan to assassinate the Czar of 
 Russia was due to a farcical discussion of that subject to test 
 the courage of a few who seemed to be wavering in their 
 conviction. Wit was one of the innocent victims of this mock 
 debate. Leo relates further * that on the day Sand s deed was 
 reported in Jena the town was so excited that it would have 
 been easy to find dozens of men to commit a like act. The 
 fact that all these dozens of men did not belong to Pollen s 
 circle, that political assassination was discussed outside of 
 Pollen s circle, would indicate plainly that there were other 
 sources besides Pollen from which Sand could have been in 
 fluenced. Leo s final verdict 5 is that Sand had no confidant, 
 and was aided only in an indirect way. 
 
 Now as to the general reliability of Munch s testimony: 
 The value of any historical source depends not only upon the 
 capability and the good will of the writer to tell the truth, but 
 
 1 Ibid., 220. 
 
 2 Ibid, 180f . 
 
 3 Fragmente, I, 29fi. 
 
 4 Meine Jugendzeit, 188. 
 
 5 Ibid., 188. 
 
 72 - 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 also upon the relative demonstrability of the truth of what he 
 recounts. If the truth cannot be positively demonstrated then 
 probability or even possibility must be taken as the criterion. 
 But one condition is necessary before a source can be recog 
 nized as original, that is, it must bear the stamp of independ 
 ence. There seems to be no reason for doubting Miinch s hon 
 esty, but the same cannot be said concerning his ability. And 
 why? In the first place, he was not on the scene of action; 
 the story he tells is hear-say evidence related to him years 
 after the events themselves ; while his publication of it to the 
 world was made still many more years later, after his memory 
 had become clouded as he several times admits in the course 
 of his narrative. As to the truth of his report it cannot be 
 demonstrated; it is possible, but in view of the evidence 
 already introduced it seems improbable. Munch claims * that 
 his account of Pollen s European career is original and inde 
 pendent: "Of no part of my life," to use his own words, "do 
 I have such a keen recollection as of that which I spent with 
 my youthful companions. Therein I possess for this sketch 
 such a rich and trustworthy source as few biographers have 
 at their disposal. Besides, I have lived long enough and ex 
 perienced enough to enable me to form an independent judg 
 ment of circumstances and persons." Whether this statement 
 actually squares with Hunch s narrative is a question which 
 J. Hermann has thoroughly discussed in his "Kritik der Nach- 
 richten iiber die Attentate von 1819." 2 
 
 For that part of his account which deals with Pollen s 
 American career Munch had of necessity to depend wholly 
 upon the biography of Mrs. Pollen. Concerning Pollen s per 
 sonal appearance, his moral character, and his philosophical 
 principles he quotes Wesselhoft verbatim, admitting 3 in a foot 
 note that he is "compelled to quote from an English transla 
 tion." The fact that there was no other translation of Wessel- 
 hoft s work than the extracts given in Mrs. Pollen s biography 
 
 1 Gesammelte Schriften, 40. 
 
 2 Cf . Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte, XXIII, 573-592. 
 
 3 Gesammelte Schriften, 60. 
 
 - 73 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 shows that Munch made use of this biography also as a source 
 for his account of Pollen s European career. Taking this as 
 his first clew Hermann carefully analyses M {inch s account, 
 comparing many passages side by side with extracts from 
 Wesselhoft s and Mrs. Follen s narratives. This comparison 
 shows that Munch has contributed nothing except the alleged 
 new information concerning the assassination of Kotzebue and 
 von Ibell and a few minor matters connected with the Giessen 
 movement, some of which either from lack of first-hand knowl 
 edge or from faulty memory are inaccurately portrayed. The 
 rest of his account consists for the most part in translation 
 direct from Mrs. Follen and Wesselhoft, or in paraphrases 
 with certain expressions retained which betray their origin. 
 This proves, according to Hermann, 1 that Munch s account of 
 Follen s life in Germany is in the main taken from Mrs. Follen, 
 and cannot therefore, contrary to Munch s own claims, be 
 regarded as an original and independent source ; hence his 
 version of Sand s deed must be considered at least as improb 
 able. Hausenstein 2 is of the opinion that Hermann is hyper 
 critical and hence unjust, but admits that he himself is sur 
 prised at Munch s omission of all details of the Kotzebue 
 assassination and at his surprising generalizations. Jastrow, 3 
 on the other hand, believes that Hermann s "searching crit 
 ique" has rendered Munch s testimony wholly inadmissible. 
 
 In conclusion, one more argument may be brought for 
 ward for consideration : Most of those who have argued for 
 or against the probability of Follen s implication in the 
 Kotzebue affair have been guided wholly by their knowledge 
 of his European career only. Those who believe that he cher 
 ished bloody designs against the German rulers base their 
 arguments for the most part on his radical revolutionary doc 
 trine. He did indeed advocate the overthrow of despotism 
 through assassination if necessary, but it is quite probable, as 
 already suggested, that many of his rabid utterances were for 
 
 1 Forschungen, XXIII, 579. 
 
 2 Siiddeutsche Monatshefte, 1906, II, 199. 
 
 3 Gcschichte des deutschen Einheitstraumes, 330. 
 
 74 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 the most part "harmless braggadocia," to quote the words of 
 Jarcke. 1 An analysis of his whole life and character speaks 
 eloquently against the assumption that he ever seriously coun 
 tenanced the practical application of his stern theory. Treit- 
 schke states that it was "psychologically impossible for him 
 not to have promoted Sand s murderous scheme." Indirectly? 
 Possibly. Using Treitschke s own argument it is only fair to 
 insist that it was psychologically impossible for Pollen to have 
 intentionally and knowingly brought about Kotzebue s death. 
 In the first place he was too shrew r d to run the risk of com 
 mitting an act which would be sure to crush the revolutionary 
 movement, as Sand s deed really did; in the second place, his 
 whole nature would have cried out against such a useless shed 
 ding of blood. Not only Pollen s youthful companions, but 
 especially his American friends unanimously agree that he 
 was one of the kindliest, purest, and noblest characters they 
 had ever known. Both from the standpoint of his ethical sys 
 tem and from the bottom of his heart he reverenced human 
 life above all things; he would even step out of his path to 
 avoid crushing the ugliest worm, believing that it too was a 
 spark of the divine life. Had his hands been stained with 
 human blood, especially with that of so harmless a man as 
 Kotzebue, he could hardly have passed through life as a teacher 
 of Christlike perfection without betraying at some time in 
 some way his duplicity, 2 for "his heart was always on his 
 tongue," as Wesselhoft expresses it, and all are agreed that 
 hypocrisy was foreign to his nature. 
 
 In view therefore of all the foregoing considerations it 
 seems safe to assume that Pollen was innocent until better 
 proof than that which Munch and Treitschke have given can 
 be adduced to the contrary. 3 But however that may be, one 
 
 1 Karl Ludwig Sand, Chap. 3. 
 
 2 After completing this chapter I found this conclusion corrobo 
 rated by Max Lenz in his Geschichte der Universitat Berlin, II, 49ff., 
 Berlin, 1910. 
 
 3 This statement, too, I later found corroborated by Charles Seig- 
 nobos in his Political History of Europe since 1814, p. 385, N. Y., 1900. 
 He says : "Treitschke, deceived by the false account given by Munch, 
 believed there was a revolutionary conspiracy." 
 
 75 
 
FOI.LEN IX EUROPE 
 
 thing is certain : Even if his head was not level on the subject 
 of political theory, even if his tongue was at times unruly, his 
 heart was always in the right place ; and the irrepressible 
 enthusiasm of this tempestuous struggle of his youth was fol 
 lowed by a career of the serenest virtue. 
 
 IN POLITICAL EXIUv. 
 
 Owing to the notoriety occasioned by his supposed con 
 nection with the assassination of Kotzebue Follen was removed 
 from his position in the University of Jena in the autumn of 
 1819. As an object of suspicion to many he now returned to 
 Giessen, but was from this time on under constant police sur 
 veillance. In view of the hopeless political outlook, and con 
 vinced too that he was no longer safe in Germany, he now 
 conceived the idea of emigrating to the United States to con 
 tinue there his efforts on behalf of political reform in his native 
 land. To this end he entered into communication with a few 
 of his faithful political friends who had associated with him 
 in the Giessen Burschenschaft movement, discussing with them 
 plans, which he had already sketched, for the founding of a 
 German republic in America. 
 
 The main argument a of this memorial ~ was, that since 
 all efforts to meliorate the intolerable political conditions under 
 which Germany was languishing had failed the only alternative 
 left to the friends of liberty was to found a German state in 
 America to serve as an asylum for political refugees and as a 
 base from which to continue the propaganda for unity and 
 democracy in the mother country. Follen believed that the 
 highest task of the American commonwealth was to realize the 
 ideal of freedom in its purest form, but expressed the belief 
 that "the deeper spiritual import of freedom, which alone can 
 lay the foundation of America s world-supremacy, must pro 
 ceed from Germany, the center of all modern culture." As 
 a part of his comprehensive program a German educational 
 
 1 Cf. Haupt, 146. 
 
 2 The document itself, entitled, Denkschrift iiber die deutsche Bil- 
 dungsanstalt in Nordamerika, is preserved only in the government 
 archives at Berlin. 
 
 76 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 institution embracing all branches of knowledge was to be 
 erected in this proposed free-state for the purpose of strength 
 ening the German-Americans love for their native language, 
 manners and customs, and of maintaining and developing Ger 
 man national culture in general. The faculty of this seminary 
 was to be selected from Pollen s circle of political friends, 
 especially from those university professors who had been dis 
 missed on account of their liberal political views, men such 
 as Fries, Oken, DeWette, Fr. Forster and the Snell brothers. 
 "In this manner," says Follen in his memorial, "the Germans 
 of North America can be successfully organized into a state 
 to be represented in Congress, which shall become a model for 
 the mother country and in many respects render it an im 
 portant service in freeing it from the shackles of tyranny." 
 
 Through the activity of the government in arresting as 
 political agitators a number of Follen s most active confed 
 erates his American project had to be abandoned for the time 
 being, but it resulted ultimately in the formation of the Giessen 
 Emigration Society, which sent a large colony to Warren 
 County, Missouri, under the direction of Follen s younger 
 brother in 1833. This was one of the earliest and most am 
 bitious of those many unsuccessful attempts 1 to found German 
 colonies in this country during the 30 s and 40 s of the past 
 century. 
 
 While Follen was engaged in maturing his new plans his 
 elder brother and his friend, Ludwig Snell. were suddenly 
 arrested on suspicion of promoting revolutionary propaganda. 
 Learning that a copy of his memorial had been found in Snell s 
 possession and that he himself was to be arrested on the charge 
 of being its author, he took hasty leave of his family and fled 
 across the French frontier in the early part of January, 1820. 
 The following verses, 2 written by one of his small group of 
 Blacks, or possibly by himself, may well express his emotions 
 
 1 Cf. T. S. Baker s account of these projects, Americana Ger- 
 manica, I, 62ff. Baker makes no mention of Karl Follen as the origin 
 ator of this colonization movement. 
 
 2 Cited by Haupt, 148. 
 
 77 
 
POLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 as he departed from his home, henceforth to wander, a martyr 
 to the cause of liberty and an exile from his native land : 
 
 Ich selbst ich will die Freiheit mir bewahren, 
 
 An ihrem heiligen Flammenlicht mich weiden, 
 
 Mit diesen Armen, diesen Sehnen streiten, 
 
 Nicht brache liegen in der Jugend Jahren. 
 
 O, wahrlich, mir thuts well von Euch zu scheiden, 
 
 Die lieben Berg und Thaler fern zu missen, 
 
 Der alten Vater heilig Grab zu meiden. 
 
 Mit Schmerz und Thranen bin ich losgerissen. 
 
 Ein neues Vaterland geh ich zu finden, 
 Wo Vater Franklins frische Seele baute, 
 Die mundige Welt der eigenen Kraft vertraute, 
 Der Freiheit junges Licht sich will entziinden! 
 Da drtiben wachst sie auf zur jungen Eiche. 
 Wir bringen Zunder zu den regen Flamrnen, 
 Zum neuen Kreuzzug zum gelobten Reiche ! 
 Rom ist, wo freie Romer steh n zusammen. 
 
 After spending a few days in Strassburg Pollen proceeded 
 to Paris where he soon made the acquaintance of such men as 
 Lafayette, D Argenson, Cousin, Constant, and Gregoire. His 
 association with these noted liberals served first of all to dis 
 pel his hatred of the French, which had been inspired in the 
 German youth by Arndt, broadened his conceptions of the 
 brotherhood of mankind, and confirmed him in his republican 
 principles. According to Wit, 1 who met him in Paris at this 
 time, his intimate association with members of the French 
 Comite Directeur led him to begin preparations for a similar 
 organization in Germany to cooperate with the French liberals ; 
 but his sojourn in France was of short duration, for the assas 
 sination of the Duke of Berry on the 13th of February, led to 
 the expulsion of all foreigners who had no fixed occupation. 
 Believing that he might still be able to promote the liberal 
 movement, he went to Switzerland where he found refuge 
 with the Countess of Benzal-Sternau, who had followed with 
 deep interest his public career in Germany. 
 
 1 Fragmente, I, 55. 
 
 78 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 In the autumn of this same year Follen secured a position 
 as teacher of L,atin and history in the Cantonal school of Chur, 
 where his talent and genial nature won him the highest regard 
 of his pupils and colleagues. In his lectures on history it was 
 but natural that he should give occasional expression to his 
 radical views on politics and religion, namely, the principles of 
 freedom as he interpreted them from the life of Christ. This 
 led to two momentous results. In the first place his ideas of 
 political freedom were again reported to the rulers of Ger 
 many ; consequently a demand was made by the Holy Alliance, 
 assembled in council at Troppau, that he and all others en 
 gaged in revolutionary agitation be handed over to a tribunal 
 of inquisition, a demand to which the Swiss government 
 refused to accede. In the second place his religious views 
 brought him into conflict with the Calvinistic clergy. Without 
 entering into controversial theology he had endeavored in his 
 lectures simply to trace the growth of Christianity and the 
 great spiritual revolution effected by Christ s teachings of the 
 fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. This inter 
 pretation seemed a bit heretical to the orthodox party, who 
 accordingly accused him of denying the divinity of Christ, the 
 doctrine of original sin, and the total depravity of man. When 
 he learned that the Council of Education was instituting a 
 secret inquiry among his pupils he requested of the assembled 
 evangelical synod a public hearing to defend the principles he 
 had advanced. This request was cleverly evaded by a hasty 
 adjournment of the synod, whereupon he forthwith resigned 
 his position in the school. 
 
 Pollen s reputation as a scholar and the highly complimen 
 tary recommendation * of the school board of Chur secured 
 for him an appointment as lecturer on jurisprudence and meta 
 physics in the newly reorganized university of Basel whither 
 he went in the autumn of 1821. Among the professors there 
 he found several of his compatriots, who like himself had for 
 political reasons been obliged to flee from Germany. In close 
 communion with these kindred spirits he spent three busy 
 
 i Cf . Works, I, 110. 
 
 - 79 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 happy years, and his engagement to Anna de Lassaux 1 added 
 a new charm to life. In addition to his academic duties he 
 took part in the publication of DeWette s journal, 2 and in 
 private proclaimed his gospel of freedom, seeking to instill 
 into the hearts and minds of his students the doctrine of the 
 natural rights of man. But this period of buoyant hope and 
 joyous promise was soon to end, for Karl Follen was a pro 
 scribed man. 
 
 Switzerland was at that time the only free state on the 
 continent, and from that stronghold of liberty he again took 
 up his propaganda for the establishment of freedom and union 
 in his native land. In conjunction with a few of his friends, 
 as it seems, 3 he founded a new political society and sent von 
 Sprewitz, one of the Jena Burschenschafter, who was traveling 
 in Switzerland, to organize branches in Germany. Although 
 this so-called "Junglingsbund" made little headway its exist 
 ence was dicovered by the police in 1823. Arrested in the 
 spring of 1824 as one of its promoters, Wit 4 turned state s 
 evidence, declaring that Follen was the instigator of the new 
 movement. Whether this was true or not the Prussian govern 
 ment, in order to stifle the growing spirit of freedom, not only 
 forbade its subjects to attend the university of Basel, but in 
 August, 1824, the Holy Alliance demanded again that Follen 
 and others be handed over to the tribunal of Kopenick to 
 answer to the charge of conspiring to subvert the monarchic 
 status of Prussia. For a time the Swiss government refused 
 to comply with this demand, but when the intimidating order 
 was repeated it was thought more expedient to sacrifice in 
 dividuals than to endanger the welfare of the whole state. 
 Accordingly Follen was requested to leave the canton, which 
 
 1 Cf. Follen-Briefe Jahrbuch der Deutsch-Amcrikanischen Histo- 
 rischen Gescllschaft von Illinois, XIV, 5. 
 
 2 Zeitschrift dcr wissenschaftlichcn Religion; to this Follen con 
 tributed two treatises, Ueber die Bestimmung des Menschen, and Ueber 
 Spinoza s Lehre. 
 
 3 Haupt, 149. 
 
 ^ 4 Fragments, II, 12ff. Rechtlieb Zeitgeist, II, 556ff., denies that 
 Foilen set this movement on foot. 
 
 80 - 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 he refused to do without a legal trial. If he had committed 
 any offense he had the right, he contended, to be tried by a 
 tribunal of the state to which he belonged. Inasmuch as he 
 had become a citizen of the Republic and had never owed 
 allegiance to the Holy Alliance, he maintained that the Swiss 
 government was neither obliged nor entitled to deliver him up 
 to the inquisition of Kopenick. He knew very well that the 
 Holy Alliance wished to make an example of him in order to 
 deter others from following his teachings, and that imprison 
 ment or even death awaited him should he be arrested. On 
 a previous visit to Paris his friend, Lafayette, had urged him 
 to go to America, but he refused on the ground that a volun 
 tary withdrawal from Basel would be construed as a tacit 
 admission of guilt. When he learned, however, that his arrest 
 had actually been ordered and that his safety lay only in flight 
 he decided to seek refuge in the new world. Before leaving 
 he requested of the university a public statement concerning 
 his conduct in Switzerland ; this was granted, and the certified 
 copy 1 which was later sent to him shows that he was held in 
 the highest esteem, not only as an ideal teacher by his pupils 
 and colleagues, but by the magistrates of the Republic as a 
 model citizen. 
 
 Through the aid of friends Follen secretly left Basel and 
 made his escape in safety to Paris where he met a small party 
 of German political fugitives among whom was his friend, 
 Karl Beck. Convinced that men of liberal opinions were no 
 longer safe even in Switzerland they decided to cast their lot 
 with Follen in seeking freedom and happiness across the seas. 
 In Paris Follen met his betrothed, 2 arranging with her to 
 join him in America after adequate means of support could be 
 found, and as a farewell expression both of his devotion to her 
 and of his deep love of freedom addressed to her the following 
 lines : 
 
 1 Given in Works, I, 119f. 
 
 2 Yielding to her father s wishes she soon after broke off the en 
 gagement; cf. Follen-Briefe, No. 13. 
 
 81 
 
FOLLEN IN EUROPE 
 
 Hast du mich lieb, o so gib mir die Hand; 
 
 Lass uns wandern, lass uns ziehen 
 
 Mit der Sonne nach Westen bin; 
 
 Dort an des Meeres andrem Strand, 
 
 Dort ist der Freiheit, dort der Menschheit Vaterland. 
 
 Pollen and Beck reached Havre on the 1st of November 
 and immediately went aboard the Cadmus, the same ship in 
 which Lafayette had taken passage to America a few months 
 earlier. It was with a mingled feeling of joy and sadness that 
 Pollen departed from all that was dear to him to begin life 
 anew in a foreign land. As the shores of Europe gradually 
 receded in the distance his long-cherished hopes for the free 
 dom of his country vanished like a dream, but with undaunted 
 courage he faced the unknown future that lay before him. 
 Under the soothing, exalting influence of the boundless sea 
 his dejection soon gave way to new hopes and aspirations, and 
 his youthful dreams again seemed possible of realization. The 
 wild music of wind and waves seemed to awaken in his soul 
 a new sense of life, and in the joyous contemplation of his 
 ideals his love of freedom again came to expression in the 
 following lines, 1 the last poem he ever wrote in his native 
 tongue : 
 
 Auch auf dem holzernen Fische, 
 Hier mitten im Wassergezische, 
 
 Schwingt das Herz, 
 
 Frei von Schmerz, 
 Frei wie die Lerche sich himmel warts. 
 
 Stiirmt nur, ihr wilden Gewasser, 
 Wir werden nicht roter, nicht blasser, 
 
 Meergebraus, 
 
 Sturmgesaus, 
 Ist fur die Tapfern ein Ohrenschmaus. 
 
 Wenngleich mit wildem Geliisten 
 Am Mast die Wasser sicb kiissten, 
 
 Freiheitsmut, 
 
 Liebesglut, 
 Brennt auch in Sturm und in Wasserflut. 
 
 i Works, I, 127. 
 
 82 
 
GERMAN UNITY 
 
 During the voyage Follen and Beck studied a German 
 work on the Constitution of the United States and sought 
 also to acquire some knowledge of the English language. On 
 Sunday, the 19th of December, 1824, the Cadmus arrived at 
 New York. As the ship approached the harbor Follen stood 
 on deck, peering through the dense fog to catch his first 
 glimpse of the promised land. From the distance came the 
 sound of the Sabbath bells ; then through a rift in the clouds 
 the sun burst forth, lighting up the glittering spires of the 
 city. So great was his joy and anxiety that he almost feared 
 the splendid vision might vanish before he could set foot on 
 shore; but when he finally found himself standing upon 
 American soil he wished, as he afterwards stated, 1 to kneel 
 upon the ground, and kiss it, and cling to it with his hands, 
 lest it should even then escape his grasp. 
 
 CEDE3CE! 
 
 Ibid., I, 139, 
 
 ^ 83 
 
PART TWO. 
 POLLEN IN AMERICA. 
 
 After remaining about three weeks in New York Follen 
 and Beck went to Philadelphia. Through the recommendation 
 of Lafayette they soon received a visit a from George Ticknor. 
 Through Ticknor s influence Beck secured an immediate ap 
 pointment as teacher of Latin and gymnastics in the Round 
 Hill School at Northampton, Massachusetts. 
 
 Follen remained in Philadelphia nearly a year, devoting 
 himself to the study of the language, manners and customs 
 of the United States. The diary 2 which he kept at that time 
 shows that he was a keen observer in matters pertaining to 
 politics, religion, society, industry, art and literature. He was 
 so pleased with the outlook of American democracy that he 
 made immediate application for citizenship. It is most inter 
 esting to learn from the first letter 3 written to his parents 
 shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia the impressions which 
 the new country and its democratic institutions made upon 
 this former revolutionist: 
 
 "The government interferes scarcely at all," he writes, 
 "but acts merely as a defense against breaches of the law ; 
 and there is certainly no country where one lives more securely 
 without passports, police officers, and soldiers than here. 
 In education they make rapid progress. For the rest they let 
 men alone ; and thus everything is much better done than 
 when it is accomplished by direction of the authorities. There 
 are scarcely any taxes, for the government of the whole 
 United States does not cost so much as that of one of our prin 
 cipalities. Any man can call together, by a public announce 
 ment, in the open squares an assembly of several thousand, 
 in which petitions to the government may be discussed and 
 its measures criticized ; but as yet there has been no disorder 
 or disturbance of the public peace in consequence. The gov- 
 
 1 Cf. Life, Letters and Journals of Ticknor, I. 352. 
 
 2 Works, I, 133ff, 153ff. 
 
 3 Cf. Pollen-Brief e, No. 9Jahrbuch der Deutsch-Amerikanischen 
 Historischen Gesellschaft von Illinois, XIV, 16 : given in abridged form 
 in Works, I, 144. 
 
 84 - 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 eminent does not concern itself with the exercise of religion, 
 speech, or the press except in so far as m the rights of any 
 might thereby be impaired. God be praised that we have here 
 so much to do and that we find so rich an enjoyment in this 
 glorious liberty." 
 
 In view of this encouraging prospect Pollen wisely gave 
 no further thought to his earlier fantastic scheme of Ger 
 manizing America by founding a German state here, but un 
 like some of his compatriots dedicated himself without reserve 
 to the interests and welfare of his adopted country. At first 
 he was unable to decide upon any definite course of action. 
 Through the recommendation of L,afayette he soon became 
 acquainted with the distinguished jurist, Du Ponceau, 1 who 
 introduced him to the leading men of Philadelphia and also 
 suggested him to Jefferson as a suitable teacher of Roman law 
 for the University of Virginia; on account of his imperfect 
 knowledge of English and his unwillingness to live in a slave 
 state he made no effort to secure this position. For a time 
 he thought seriously of joining his former Giessen friend, 
 Christian Sartorius, in Mexico; but thanks to the influence of 
 his Philadelphia friends his great talents were fortunately re 
 tained in the service of American culture. In July he paid 
 Beck a visit in Northampton and somewhat later spent a short 
 time in New York where he made the acquaintance of Miss 
 Sedgwick, 2 whose novel, "Redwood," had been his first text 
 book in the English language. After six months residence 
 in this country he had made such rapid progress in his studies 
 that he began to write in English a course of lectures on civil 
 law, which he hoped to deliver in Philadelphia; and this 
 although he could, according to the statement of his wife, not 
 utter a correct English sentence when he landed in New York. 
 These lectures were ready to be delivered in October, and 
 from a letter 3 written to Beck at this time it may be inferred 
 that Follen was seriously contemplating law as a permanent 
 
 1 Peter Stephen Du Ponceau (1760-1844), a Frenchman by birth. 
 
 2 Catherine Maria Sedgwick (1789-1867), writer of novels and 
 stories depicting New England life. "Redwood" appeared in 1824. 
 
 3 Works, I, 156. 
 
 85 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 profession. If this decision had been made he would doubt 
 less have won both fortune and reputation as a distinguished 
 jurist, or even as a remarkable statesman; but about this time 
 Ticknor offered him through Du Ponceau an instructorship 
 in German at Harvard, assuring him also that his lectures on 
 law would be highly appreciated in Boston. His acceptance 
 of this position enabled him to enter upon a career in which 
 he probably exerted a much greater influence in contributing 
 to American intellectual life than would have been possible 
 had he chosen the profession of law. 
 
 In December, 1825, Pollen arrived at Cambridge, entering 
 at once upon the duties of his new position. Besides his reg 
 ular teaching he began to prepare text-books for his classes 
 and endeavored above all to acquire a more perfect command 
 of the English language. Meanwhile he attracted attention 
 and interest in various quarters, introducing gymnastics in 
 Boston and lecturing there also on civil law to an audience 
 composed mostly of lawyers. Through Miss Sedgwick he 
 became acquainted in the following year with Miss Eliza 
 Cabot, the daughter of one of the best New England families 
 and also a talented member of a brilliant literary circle. This 
 acquaintance soon ripened into a warm friendship, culminat 
 ing some two years later in marriage. Through Miss Cabot s 
 influence Follen was admitted to her circle of literary friends, 
 and through her he also made the acquaintance of Dr. Chan- 
 ning, which was the beginning of a life-long intimate friend 
 ship between these two men. 
 
 After a year s residence in Cambridge he again wrote to 
 his parents the following significant lines, 1 which show the 
 inner change that the new surroundings had produced in him 
 and at the same time speak eloquently of his devotion to his 
 adopted country : "I am well and my position here becomes 
 every day more firm and agreeable in proportion as my new 
 countrymen are assured that I am not one of the many ad 
 venturers and imposters, through whom the name of a for- 
 
 i Follen-Briefe, No. 14 Jahrbuch D. A. H. G., XIV, 36ff. ; letter 
 given in abridged form in Works, I, 164. 
 
 86 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 eigner has become suspected by the natives. They are con 
 vinced that my new country has always been the country of 
 my principles ; that I know how to respect the peculiarities of 
 others, and that I attach myself cordially to good men, and 
 particularly to affectionate family circles. It is now seven 
 years since I left home, and I have not during this time, my 
 seven years private war against the great powers, been per 
 mitted to enter my father s house. But you know, dear 
 father, that the principles on account of which I, together 
 with others, have been persecuted, and which with many of 
 my fellow-sufferers may have been opinions taken on trust, 
 or mere freaks of an ill-regulated imagination, that these 
 principles have been with me matters of conscience and the 
 result of laborious thought and study. Hence there is in this 
 country, where law alone governs, no more quiet citizen than 
 I. I should have lost my self-respect and deserved the con 
 tempt of my enemies had I acted according to their principles. 
 
 "I would remark that since I became a citizen here I have 
 publicly renounced, under oath, all further connection with 
 foreign governments. Therefore I am as to Europe politically 
 dead and continue to live only for my family. The hatred 
 against the governments on the other side, which I brought 
 on board ship, has changed into entire indifference ; and I only 
 wish that my persecutors would allow me the blessing of their 
 forgetfulness." 
 
 In the summer of 1828 Follen entered the Unitarian min 
 istry and for several years thereafter preached as a substitute 
 in various churches in and around Boston. About this same 
 time he made known to Dr. Bowditch, President of the Cor 
 poration, his intentions to seek a regular pastorate since his 
 salary of five hundred dollars from the College was insufficient 
 to maintain a home. Both Bowditch and Higginson strongly 
 opposed this, assuring him that the College could not dispense 
 with his services and that adequate provision would be made 
 for him ; accordingly he was given in addition to his regular 
 work in German an instructorship in ethics and history in the 
 Divinity School. He was induced to accept this offer, accord- 
 
 87 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 ing to his wife s statement, 1 from the assurance that a full 
 professorship would soon be given him. This appointment 
 imposed upon him the heavy task of instructing in two more 
 subjects; but still he was able to work on his text-books, to 
 continue his preaching, and to devote some time also to purely 
 literary endeavor, contributing to various literary magazines 
 such as the Christian Examiner and the American Quarterly 
 Review. 
 
 From the year 1829 we possess a long letter - written to 
 his father, giving an intimate view of his life at Harvard and 
 breathing the contentment of one whose dreams of freedom 
 seemed to have been realized, in which he makes the follow 
 ing observation : You see by this, dear father, that I have 
 not departed from your ways in regard to laboring in my pro 
 fession. You must know that 
 
 Im Klotzespalten werd ich stets dir weichen ; 
 Im Sagen aber such ich meinesgleichen. 
 
 I owe to this, my constant occupation, my firm health, and, 
 as you see, a certain facility and skill in doggerel and double 
 rhymes. For the rest I produce more realities here than 
 poems, probably because my boldest European poems are 
 here realities." In this same letter he again speaks about his 
 growing love for America, as follows : "I am so happy in the 
 midst of my dear family. The time will come, I hope, when 
 the governments on the other side will believe that I do not 
 wish to meddle in their affairs, which concern me not at all ; 
 and then I shall hope, when they can promise me a safe pro 
 tection, to find time to visit you. I pray you yet again, dear 
 father, if it is too narrow for you there to come with my 
 mother to me and to your American daughter. My income, 
 though small, is sufficient for us. And then I root myself 
 daily more deeply in this native soil of freedom and truth, 
 and I am now as good as certain that I shall wish you joy, 
 
 1 Works, I, 253; cf. Dr. Peabody s Harvard Reminiscences, 122. 
 
 2 Follen-Briefe, No. 16, Jahrbuch D. A. H. G., XIV, 42ff. ; given 
 in abridged form in Works, I, 263. 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 next April, over your first-born American grandson. The 
 18th of January is a festival for me. I become then a citizen 
 of the United States." 
 
 In March, 1830, Follen was admitted to all the rights and 
 privileges of an American citizen. How deeply this event, 
 to which he had looked forward for five years, impressed him 
 may be seen from the following account a of his wife : "He 
 brought me the certificate, that he was an American citizen, 
 with a glow of joy in his face and declared the naturalized 
 foreigner alone had a right to boast of his citizenship, for 
 with him it was choice. When not long afterwards, on the 
 llth of April, his son w r as born, he said: Now I am an 
 American. For a long time he had been unwilling to be 
 called a foreigner. There was none of the feeling of the 
 foreigner in his heart." 
 
 In the summer of the same year he learned that the pro 
 fessorship in ethics, which had been promised him, was to be 
 given to Dr. John Palfrey in consequence of a reorganization 
 of the Divinity School, whereupon he informed the Corpora 
 tion that he would accept any advantageous position offered 
 him elsewhere unless more suitable provisions were made for 
 him in the College, since his four-fold occupation of preach 
 ing, and teaching in three different branches intellectually 
 quartered him. Unwilling to lose so valuable an instructor 
 from their teaching staff the Corporation thereupon offered 
 him a professorship in the Department of Latin, but he de 
 clined the offer from the conviction that this was not his 
 proper calling. Upon invitation from the Unitarian Society 
 of Newburyport he supplied their pulpit during the summer 
 vacation, receiving at the end of his engagement a proposal 
 to become their permanent pastor, but at the same time he was 
 notified by the Corporation that a professorship of German 
 literature had been established at Harvard for a period of five 
 years, and that he would be appointed to fill the position in 
 case he cared to return. Although he preferred to devote 
 himself to the field of ethics, or exclusively to the ministry, 
 
 i Works, I, 267. 
 
 89 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 he accepted the call from Harvard, believing that this new 
 sphere of activity would give him an enlarged opportunity to 
 contribute to the intellectual life of New England by opening 
 up to it more effectively than had hitherto been done the 
 treasures of German culture. 
 
 With this in view Follen now entered with great zeal into 
 the teaching of German literature in the autumn of 1830. In 
 addition to his regular academic instruction he gave public 
 lectures also on German literature and philosophy in Boston, 
 and accepted frequent invitations to preach in various 
 churches. In the autumn of 1832 he was called upon to de 
 liver the funeral oration x on Dr. Spurzheim, the celebrated 
 German phrenologist, who had died in Boston while engaged 
 on a lecturing tour in this country ; and two years later he 
 made before the workingmen of Boston an address 2 intro 
 ductory to the fourth course of Franklin lectures. It was at 
 this time also that he espoused the cause of antislavery, be 
 coming one of the most active leaders in the Garrisonian Abo 
 lition movement. Concerning these years between 1830 and 
 1835 his wife notes 3 in her biography that it was his custom 
 to work until after midnight, with the cradle of his infant 
 son by his side. Many of his best lectures were written in 
 this way; through all his various trials he had always been 
 hopeful, but now his soul seemed overflowing with joy. 4 He 
 felt certain that his professorship would be renewed at the 
 end of the five years or that some other satisfactory position 
 would be offered him. All his old love of academic life re 
 vived, and it was his one purpose and desire to be a truly 
 useful servant to the institution in which he was employed. 
 Not only his attachment to the university, but also his loyalty 
 to his new country grew stronger as indicated by the follow- 
 
 1 Given in full in Works, V, 153ff. 
 
 2 Ibid., V, 288ff. 
 
 3 Works, I, 301. 
 
 4 In his Harvard Retmniscences, 122, Dr. Peabody remarks that 
 the Follen home was at this time one of the first social centers in Har 
 vard University life, and that the Harvard students regarded their 
 frequent visits there as among the greatest of their social privileges. 
 
 90- 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 ing passage of a letter * written to his father in May, 1832 : 
 "My attachment to this glorious country increases daily, al 
 though my love for my old fatherland does not grow cold. 
 Many glorious productions flourish and increase in Europe, 
 but man, who is there only a hot-house plant, finds here a 
 native soil." 
 
 But Pollen s hope of a permanent position of service and 
 usefulness in Harvard was not to be realized. At the end of 
 the period for which it had been endowed his professorship 
 was discontinued, whereupon he severed his connection with 
 the College and sought employment elsewhere. From this 
 time on he was variously employed. At first he became pri 
 vate tutor to the two young sons of James Perkins, a position 
 which for several reasons he resigned at the end of a year s 
 successful service. In the summer of 1836 he and his family 
 made a western journey with a number of friends including 
 Miss Harriet Martineau, the distinguished English writer. 
 The party intended to descend the Ohio river in order to visit 
 Paul Pollen s German colony in Missouri, but on account of 
 the proslavery animosity against Miss Martineau this visit was 
 abandoned; consequently the party took a more northerly 
 route, traveling by way of Niagara falls and the great lakes 
 as far as Chicago. In this city Pollen was asked to address 
 a small body of Unitarians, who were desirous of founding 
 a church. His powerful preaching impressed them so well 
 that they raised a subscription of twenty thousand dollars to 
 build a meeting-house and extended to him an urgent invita 
 tion to become their pastor, which, however, he did not accept. 
 After returning to Boston Pollen took up his residence in 
 Stockbridge where for want of other occupation he gave 
 lessons in German, wrote for several literary magazines, and 
 began also a treatise on psychology, a Science of the Soul as 
 he called it, a book which he had long wished to write and 
 for which he had collected abundant material even before 
 coming to America. From this time on he devoted all his 
 leisure to this project, but death overtook him before the work 
 
 i Works, I, 300. 
 
 91 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 was completed ; only the introductory chapters a were put into 
 final form. 
 
 In the autumn of 1836 Pollen was called to occupy the 
 pulpit of the First Unitarian Church in New York City. This 
 was the beginning of one of the most happy and active periods 
 of his life. Besides his regular pastoral duties he still wrote 
 for various journals, gave public lectures on literary, religious 
 and sociological subjects, and continued his active service in 
 the antislavery propaganda. For a time he was seriously con 
 sidering the founding a new periodical to be called "All Sides," 
 which was to be a non-partisan paper, a medium of independ 
 ent thought, devoted to the spreading of the gospel of liberty. 
 The plan 2 drawn up by him grouped the subjects to be treated 
 under three heads: religion, morals and education, law and 
 politics; but for want of financial support he was unable to 
 carry out his project. The success with which he met in his 
 pastorate caused him to believe that he had at last found his 
 proper and most useful sphere of activity, but when after a 
 year and a half of devoted service to the cause of religion and 
 philanthropy in New York his congregation became displeased 
 with his bold and fearless attitude toward the slavery question 
 he resigned his position and returned with his family to Boston 
 in the spring of 1838. 
 
 For the next two years, the remainder of his life, Follen 
 managed through the strictest economy to eke out a living by 
 dint of teaching private classes, giving public lectures, and fill 
 ing various pulpits. His influential friend, Dr. Channing, seems 
 to have been unable to help him to a suitable pastorate. 3 Under 
 these discouraging circumstances his heart turned again with 
 such longing toward the old home and the old friends across 
 the sea that he made preparations in the summer of 1839 for 
 a visit to Switzerland, but before final arrangements for the 
 
 1 Given in Works, III, 323ff. 
 
 2 Ibid, I, 634ff. 
 
 3 Dr. Peabody says in his Harvard Reminiscences, 123, that Fol- 
 len s zeal in the antislavery cause probably prevented his permanent 
 settlement in one of the Boston churches in which he was a favorite 
 preacher. 
 
 92 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 journey were made he received an invitation from the Uni 
 tarian Society of East Lexington to become their pastor. 
 Although the salary was only six hundred dollars Pollen ac 
 cepted the offer and moved his family at once to his new parish 
 where he designed and personally supervised the construction 
 of a new house of worship. Again it seemed that his longing 
 for a permanent field of useful service to his fellow-men was 
 to be realized, but fate would not have it so. In response to 
 a call to deliver a course of lectures on German literature be 
 fore the Merchants Library Association in New York, an 
 invitation extended only to distinguished lecturers, Pollen ac 
 companied by his family went to that city the latter part of 
 December. He had promised to return to Lexington in time 
 for the dedication of the new church, which was set for the 
 15th of January, but a sudden indisposition of his wife while 
 in New York rendered it inadvisable to make the return trip 
 until a later date. Under these circumstances he requested 
 that the dedication be postponed a few days until his wife 
 would be able to make the journey. Since his parish would 
 not make this concession he decided to leave his family in New 
 York and to make the trip alone rather than to fail in the ful 
 fillment of his promise. On the 13th of January, 1840, he 
 boarded the steamboat, Lexington, for Boston; but on that 
 dark winter night the steamer caught fire on Long Island 
 Sound, and Karl Pollen along with nearly all on board found 
 a watery grave. 
 
 93 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 HIS PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES IN NEW ENGLAND. 
 LANGUAGE; AND LITERATURE;. 
 
 That the higher intellectual life of the English settlers of 
 this country was dependent chiefly upon the cultural traditions 
 of the mother country seems natural despite the fact that Eng 
 land did practically nothing to promote it. The colonial col 
 leges, especially those of New England, were not only modeled 
 after the English plan, but the character of their methods of 
 instruction was essentially that which prevailed at Oxford and 
 Cambridge. Soon after the War of Independence we notice, 
 however, a growing dissatisfaction with English cultural ideas. 
 The most interesting proof of this is furnished by the plan 1 of 
 a national university, devised by Dr. Benjamin Rush in 1788. 
 This eminent scientist, who had traveled in Europe, advocates 
 in his plan the founding of a federal institution to train the 
 American youth, not along the traditional English lines, but 
 in the branches of learning best calculated to prepare young 
 men for all the private and public duties of American citizens. 
 Among the subjects of instruction he names are : government, 
 history, agriculture and commerce, natural philosophy, ath 
 letics, philosophy and foreign languages. These branches, he 
 says, should be taught by way of lectures, which was of course 
 the method employed in the German universities. Concerning 
 philology and modern languages he expresses himself as fol 
 lows: "Instruction in this branch of literature will become 
 the more necessary in America, as our intercourse must soon 
 cease with the bar, the stage, and the pulpits of Great Britain 
 from whence we received our knowledge of the pronunciation 
 of the English language. Even modern English books should 
 cease to be the models of style in the United States. The 
 German and French languages should be taught in this uni 
 versity. The many excellent books which are written in both 
 these languages, upon all subjects, more especially upon those 
 which relate to the advancement of national improvement of 
 all kinds, will render a knowledge of them an essential part 
 of the education of a legislator of the United States." 
 
 * American Museum, IV, 442ff. (1788). 
 
 94 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 It is not improbable that the ideas of Dr. Rush influenced 
 Washington s later plan of a national university. 
 
 While neither of these plans was realized the idea of 
 academic reform was taken up in the second and third decades 
 of the 19th century, which marks a new era both in the ma 
 terial and spiritual history of the United States. This "era 
 of good feeling" following the War of 1812 was characterized 
 by an enlarged national consciousness and by a rapid increase 
 in commerce and industry, culminating not only in great ma 
 terial prosperity, but also in a spontaneous outburst of a larger, 
 freer, intellectual life. This showed itself in various ways, 
 especially in the rising demand for a national literature. In 
 his excellent "Remarks on National Literature/ written in 
 1823, W. E. Channing not only denied the general assump 
 tion that English literature was sufficient, but insisted on the 
 need of a national American literature and also of the best 
 thought of Continental Europe in order to nurture it. "Our 
 reading" he thinks, 1 "is confined too much to English books. 
 .... In this we err. We ought to know the different modes of 
 viewing and discussing great subjects in different nations. . . 
 We fear, however, that at the present moment English books 
 want much which we need. The intellect of that nation is 
 turned now to what is called practical and useful subjects. . . 
 We find little profound or fervid thinking expressed in the 
 higher forms of its literature." 
 
 The center of culture which had hitherto been in Phila 
 delphia and afterwards in New York now shifted to Boston. 
 Through its constantly broadening mental horizon New Eng 
 land awoke to the consciousness that other nations besides 
 England and France possessed standards and achievements 
 worthy of emulation; hence it threw open its doors to the 
 potent influence of German philosophy and literature. "The 
 influences brought to bear on New England," says Barrett 
 Wendell, 2 were almost innumerable. The most important was, 
 probably, German thought at a time when German philosophy 
 was most metaphysical and German literature most romantic," 
 
 1 Channing s Works, 137. 
 
 2 Literary History of America, 295 f . 
 
 -95 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 It is well known that the attention of New England was 
 first called to Germany by Mme. de StaeTs famous work, "De 
 rAllemagne," an English translation of which was published 
 in New York in 1814. Through the author s statements 1 that 
 all the North of Germany was filled with the most learned uni 
 versities of Europe, that the literary glory of Germany 
 depended upon these institutions, and that in no other country, 
 not even in England, did the people have so many means of 
 bringing their faculties to perfection, a wholly new world was 
 opened up to New England. The many pertinent observations 
 on German education made a deep impression upon young 
 Americans, who in consequence decided to study at German 
 universities. There can be no doubt that Mme. de StaeTs book 
 was a great factor in turning the tide of American students 
 from England to the German seats of learning. 
 
 The first New England students who visited Germany 
 were George Ticknor, Edward Everett, and George Bancroft. 
 It is a most interesting fact that these pioneers of the new 
 movement not only brought back with them an increased 
 amount of knowledge and a new conception of culture and 
 scholarship, but also the greatest enthusiasm for German edu 
 cational ideas, which they now were eager to transplant upon 
 American soil. This is shown by Ticknor s introduction of 
 radical reforms at Harvard, of which Thomas W. Higginson 
 could truly say : 2 "They laid the foundation of non- English 
 training, not only in Boston, but in America, by taking the 
 whole American educational system away from English tradi 
 tions and substituting the German method." The influence of 
 the German university idea as developed by W. von Humboldt, 
 Fichte, and Schleiermacher is evident also in Edward Everett s 
 address on the "Objects of a University Education." 3 How 
 deeply George Bancroft was impressed with the German edu 
 cational system may finally be seen by his founding of the 
 
 1 Cf . Chapter VIII. 
 
 2 Atlantic Monthly, LXXIX, 490. 
 
 8 Everett s Orations and Speeches, II, 493ff. 
 _ 96 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 Round Hill School * after the model of the German Gym 
 nasium. 
 
 Finally there was, perhaps most potent of all, the direct 
 influence of native Germans who, on account of political perse 
 cution, had been compelled to seek refuge in the new world. 
 Many of these exiles sought positions as teachers in American 
 schools and colleges, becoming in this way the early pioneers 
 in spreading a knowledge of their literary, philosophical and 
 educational ideals. Among those German scholars who first 
 paved the way for an appreciation of German culture in this 
 country were Karl Beck, Franz Lieber, and above all, Karl 
 Follen. 
 
 When George Ticknor became professor of modern lan 
 guages at Harvard in 1819 only French and Spanish were 
 taught in his department, but thoroughly imbued with the Ger 
 man spirit he desired to add German also to the course of 
 study. While on a visit to Washington in the spring of 1825 
 he chanced to make the acquaintance of Lafayette, who as has 
 already been stated called his attention to Beck and Follen. 
 Desirous of securing a teacher of German and believing, too, 
 that a foreign language should be taught by a native, he 
 secured the services of Follen, who thus became the first offi 
 cial instructor of German at Harvard College. When Follen 
 began his instruction he found himself greatly hampered by 
 the lack of suitable text-books. "There are two things," he 
 writes 2 to his friend Beck, "on which I should like to have 
 your opinion. I want a German Reader. Professor Ticknor 
 is of the same opinion as I, that we two should make a German 
 Chrestomathy, which might at the same time serve as a sketch 
 of the history of German literature. Professor Ticknor pos 
 sesses a very rich library. If we add to this what we might 
 obtain in other places we might furnish something useful. 
 Ask Mr. Bancroft for his opinion. The book must be such 
 that it may be introduced into other institutions, and thus at 
 least pay its expenses. The second point is a German Gfam- 
 
 1 Founded by Bancroft and Cogswell at Northampton, Mass., in 
 1823. 
 
 2 Works, I, 160. 
 
 97 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 mar in English. The Grammar of Rowbotham seems to me 
 more useful than that of Noehden, but even that is capable of 
 great improvement, I know we have before this spoken of 
 this subject, and you thought to prepare a Grammar. I know 
 not whether you have done anything about it. At any rate 
 note everything that occurs to you. I will do the same and 
 communicate my observations to you." 
 
 To supply this first want Follen began at once to prepare 
 a reader * for use in his classes. According to the preface the 
 two-fold purpose of this book was to furnish the teacher with 
 reading matter from recognized German masterpieces for the 
 illustration of the rules and peculiarities of the language and 
 to give the pupils a foretaste and some conception of classical 
 German literature. As an introduction to the period from 
 which the reading selections are taken the author gives in a 
 nutshell an excellent sketch of the history of German literature, 
 showing his intimate acquaintance with the subject and indi 
 cating at the same time the historical method which he pur 
 sued in his teaching. He divides German literature into three 
 periods : the Mediaeval, the Reformation, and the Modern. 
 He characterizes the first period as the romantic age from the 
 fact that it produced a great mass of epics and lyrics whose 
 chief content was faith, honor, and love, which gave them, in 
 his opinion, their peculiar romantic stamp. The chief causes 
 conducive of this golden age of the minnesong and epics of 
 chivalry, he explains, were the influence of Provencal and 
 ancient Scandinavian poetry, the institution of knighthood, and 
 the encouragement of the art-loving Hohenstaufens. Through 
 the breaking up of the feudal system the romantic spirit grad 
 ually degenerated during the 14th and 15th centuries into mere 
 affectation and insipidity. In the 16th century, however, the 
 revival of classical learning and the Reformation gave German 
 culture a new r direction. While the romantic age was character 
 ized by products of creative genius, the protestant period was 
 distinguished by the promotion of the exact sciences through 
 thorough and unbiased investigation in theology, philosophy, 
 
 1 Dentsches Lescbuch fur Anfanger, Cambridge, 1826, pp. 252. 
 98 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 jurisprudence, and medicine; but although Luther s translation 
 of the Bible was of the highest importance for the development 
 of the German language, no poetry was produced that could 
 vie with that of the middle ages. Gradually German literature 
 degenerated into a weak imitation of the French through the 
 influence of the Silesian Schools. In spite of the opposition 
 of the Swiss School of critics the trend was further promoted 
 by Gottsched until in the middle of the 18th century Lessing s 
 keen and many-sided criticism finally shattered the idols of 
 French taste, awakening that spirit of freedom and that aspira 
 tion for perfection which breathes through the masterpieces 
 of modern German literature. Follen explains that Lessing 
 accomplished for German literature what Luther did for the 
 German Church. Just as Kant blazed a new way in philosophy, 
 and the protestant spirit replaced protestant dogmatism, like 
 wise appeared in the field of literature writers of independent 
 spirit, who turned to antiquity for inspiration. The treasures 
 of ancient Greek and German literature and art were now 
 brought to light, becoming models for the best modern works, 
 from which are taken the selections for this reader. 
 
 This attractive preface was well adapted to arouse the 
 keenest interest of the student in this hitherto unexplored 
 fairyland of German literature. The selections of the reader 
 consist of about 150 pages of prose and 20 of poetry taken 
 from about 20 of the most famous writers from Lessing to 
 Korner. In his choice of material the author had naturally to 
 choose comparatively simple pieces adapted to the needs of 
 beginners rather than to present typical examples of the most 
 finished literary productions, but at the same time he aimed 
 especially to introduce his students into the spirit of German 
 literature. This is shown clearly by the nature of the selec 
 tions from both the classic and romantic writers of Germany. 
 He begins with some of Lessing s early "Fabeln," which are 
 followed by several of Krammacher s "Parabeln" and some of 
 Herder s beautiful "Paramythien." Then Schiller is intro 
 duced with characteristic extracts from the "Geisterseher" and 
 the "Abfall der Niederlande," Novalis with a significant pass 
 age from "Heinrich von Ofterdingen," and Wachenroder with 
 
 99 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 a chapter from the "Herzensergiessungen eines Kunstliebenden 
 Klosterbruders." Goethe is represented by interesting frag 
 ments from his "Italienische Reise" and "Wilhelm Meister," 
 Wieland by a chapter from his "Abderiten," Jean Paul by ex 
 tracts from various novels, and A. W. Schlegel by a lecture on 
 Shakespeare s "Macbeth." The specimens of German poetry 
 in the second part of the book show an equally refined taste 
 and comprehensive knowledge of German literature. 
 
 This reader was the first American school edition of Ger 
 man classics, hence a landmark in the early college curriculum. 
 From this simple book, which was still used at Harvard during 
 the sixties of the past century, many of the great leaders of 
 American thought drew their inspiration for German literature 
 and philosophy. It is doubtful whether a single one of the 
 many German readers which have appeared since, and which 
 have been constructed according to the latest "methods," can 
 boast of similar results. Critical notices * from various liter- 
 
 1 U. S. Lit. Gazette, Sept., 1826, 458 : "Such an introduction to the 
 study of the German language as is furnished by the work before us, 
 was much needed. An acquaintance with this language is becoming 
 daily more important to every man who wishes to keep pace with the 
 progress of knowledge. In all its departments, German students are 
 the most assiduous labourers, and, as a body, furnish the largest con 
 tributions to its stock. The literary treasures of this nation are vast, 
 varied, and rapidly multiplying, and demand the attentive study of 
 every one who desires to excel in any branch of intellectual labour. 
 The metaphysician will find it the very home of profound speculation, 
 the native land of intellectual, as truly as of physical gymnastics. For 
 the lover of natural science, the patient research of the German char 
 acter has accumulated a rich storehouse of facts. The classical scholar 
 has been long familiar with its massy erudition, and, more lately, with 
 its deep investigation into the spirit of antiquity. The professional 
 man, the student of law, physic, or theology, may satisfy the keenest 
 appetite with the fruits of German toil. The lover of belles lettres will 
 here meet with a fresh and beautiful literature, formed by, and breath 
 ing the spirit of the age, exulting in the consciousness of vigour and 
 progress, not made up of beautiful relics, but of the finished produc 
 tions of modern art, equally splendid, and better suited to the wants 
 and the taste of the times. Now, rich, and rapidly increasing, it opens 
 a wide and important field to the scholar of every nation, more espe 
 cially to nations of German origin. The English and their American 
 descendants find in it much that is akin to their old modes of expres 
 sion, of thought, and of feeling. Their domestic manners, language, 
 and religion all tend to assimilate them with the German character, 
 rather than with that of the South of Europe. The attentive study 
 which the Germans have bestowed upon English literature, and the 
 
 100 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 ary magazines of the time indicate that it was considered a 
 most valuable and acceptable book. 
 
 In the preface to the reader the author promises to sup 
 plement the collection, in case the book should find favor, by 
 another containing pieces better adapted to advanced study. 
 In 1833 there appeared in Cambridge a small volume x con 
 taining "Maria Stuart," "Tasso" and "Egmont" without any 
 critical matter; it was printed by Charles Folsom, the uni 
 versity printer, and the "advertisement" merely states that the 
 text is well adapted to follow Pollen s "Lesebuch," and is 
 designed for students of Harvard. This was the first of 
 Schiller s and Goethe s dramas prepared for advanced classes 
 in American schools. In view of the fact that Pollen had 
 promised something of this sort, and was also in this same 
 year engaged in editing Carlyle s "Life of Schiller," it seems 
 very probable that he was the compiler of this work also. 
 
 After completing his Reader Pollen began at once the 
 preparation of a German Grammar. 2 The preface of this work 
 
 copious infusion of its spirit into their own, increase its interest to men 
 whose taste has been formed upon the classics of England. 
 
 "Esteeming the literature of Germany, as we do, we are glad to 
 see the study of it becoming more and more common among our 
 countrymen. The book before us is valuable to beginners, supplying 
 a deficiency which has been hitherto much felt, the want of a proper 
 collection of reading-lessons. The few German books within the reach 
 of the greater part of young students here, afford them little oppor 
 tunity of selecting those most suited to their wants, or of learning the 
 various powers of the language. They needed a work of this kind, 
 consisting of extracts from distinguished authors, arranged according 
 to their relative difficulty, and exhibiting speciments of their different 
 merits." 
 
 North Am. Review, Jan., 1827, XXIV, 251: "This is one of the 
 pleasantest and best selections we are acquainted with for the purpose 
 of introducing the beginner to the knowledge of a foreign literature. 
 This object is well attained; and although a task of no very formidable 
 nature, yet it is one not unworthy of the attention of the learned 
 scholar, who has prepared the book, and to whom we are indebted for 
 contributing his efforts to increase the means of cultivating one of the 
 most useful and important languages of the present day." 
 
 1 Cf. Americana Germanica, New Series, III, No. 4, 125. 
 
 2 A Practical Grammar of the German Language by Dr. Charles 
 Follen, Instructor in the German language at Harvard College, Boston, 
 1828. 
 
 101 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 opens with a short discussion of the history and actual present 
 state of the German language, followed by some general obser 
 vations on the main German grammarians from Gottsched to 
 Grimm. Gottsched s merits, he says, cannot be denied, but 
 they are far surpassed by those of Adelung. Grimm s his 
 torical grammar is characterized as a profound inquiry into 
 the general foundation of the language; the work of Harnisch 
 as a metaphysical investigation abounding in deep ingenious 
 remarks which sometimes run into a sort of philological mys 
 ticism; and that of Heinsius is valuable chiefly on account of 
 its practical nature. The main body of the work is based upon 
 the grammars a of Noehden and Rowbotham and is divided 
 into three main parts : Elements, Syntax, and Prosody. The 
 Elements are divided into orthography and parts of speech. 
 In his classification of consonants Follen deviated from general 
 usage by ranking d, t, I and n with the palatals and r with the 
 linguals. In dealing with the parts of speech he begins with 
 the article and treats successively nouns, adjectives, numerals, 
 pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. 
 Similar to Heinsius scheme of declension, he groups the nouns 
 into three classes : all feminines ; all masculines having the 
 genitive singular in n or en; and all masculines and neuters 
 whose genitive singular ends in s (s, es, us, eus). In dealing 
 with the verb the primary tenses, then the secondary, are 
 treated ; but instead of adopting the new term "weak" and 
 "strong," as introduced by Grimm, those of "regular" and 
 "irregular" are retained. The treatise on prosody, based for 
 the most part on the opinions of Voss and Schlegel, was intro 
 duced "in order to contribute to the pleasure of those lovers 
 of poetry," who were becoming interested more and more in 
 the polite literature of Germany. 
 
 Although Follen was no philologian in the strict sense of 
 the word he was familiar with the history of grammar in Ger 
 many and especially with the works of the Grimm brothers as 
 
 1 These were the grammars commonly used in England and were 
 derived from German grammars, especially that of Adelung. Follen 
 characterizes them as weak in many respects, but endeavors to embody 
 the most valuable parts of them in his own work. 
 
 102 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 indicated by his remarks 1 on the relationship between the Ger 
 man and English languages. His historical grasp of the sub 
 ject eminently qualified him for a work of this kind. The 
 grammar is, therefore, not only a thorough scientific treatise; 
 but the fact that it passed through many revised editions 2 
 indicates also that it was extensively used. It was the first 
 grammar of the German language 3 that came into general use 
 in American schools, and in its day was considered one of the 
 best in this country. 
 
 In the preface to the third edition of the grammar Follen 
 speaks as follows about another text-book for the study of 
 German : "I am now preparing for the press the Gospel of St. 
 John in German, with a literal interlinear translation for begin 
 ners, on a plan somewhat different from the Hamiltonian 
 method. 4 I hope that this book, together with the Grammar 
 and Reader, will form a sufficient preparatory course to enable 
 the faithful student to enter upon a thorough and extensive 
 study of German literature." This book appeared in Boston 
 in 1835 as indicated by a short notice in the American Quar 
 terly Register, 5 which speaks of it as "a welcome present to all 
 beginners in the German language." 
 
 Concerning this first attempt to introduce German instruc 
 tion into Harvard Dr. A. P. Peabody gives the following inter 
 esting account : 6 "German had never been taught in Harvard 
 College before; and it was with no little difficulty that a volun 
 teer class of eight was found desirous, or at least willing, to 
 
 1 Cf . Inaugural Address, Works, V. 
 
 2 A comparison of the first three editions shows that the revisions 
 consist of expansions and additions, contractions and omissions, and 
 different arrangement of material, but these changes affected rather 
 the manner of presentation than the material itself. Each had approxi 
 mately 280 pages. The 21st revised edition appeared in Boston in 1859. 
 
 3 The first German grammar in English in America was a reprint 
 of the London edition of Bachmair s grammar, Phila., 1772. A German 
 Grammar appeared also in Phila., 1788. Cf. Circular of Infor., No. 3, 
 106, U. S. Bureau of Ed., 1913. 
 
 4 For an account of this new method, cf . Westminster Review, 
 1829, X, 284ff. 
 
 s Vol. IX, 77. 
 
 8 Harvard Reminiscences, 117ff. 
 
 f V 
 103 . ,. OF ! 
 
 BNIVER3IT 
 O 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 avail themselves of his (Pollen s) services. I was one of that 
 class. We were looked upon with very much the amazement 
 with which a class in some obscure tribal dialect of the re 
 motest Orient would be now regarded. We knew of but two 
 or three persons in New England who could read German ; 
 though there were probably many more of whom we did not 
 know. There were no German books in the book-stores. A 
 friend gave me a copy of Schiller s "Wallenstein," which I 
 read as soon as I was able to do so, and then passed it from 
 hand to hand among those who could obtain nothing else to 
 read. There was no attainable class-book that could be used 
 as a Reader. A few copies of Noehden s Grammar were im 
 ported, and a few copies I forget of whose Pocket Dictionary, 
 fortunately too copious for an Anglo-Saxon pocket, and sug 
 gesting the generous amplitude of the I^ow Dutch costume, as 
 described in Irving s mythical History of New York/ The 
 German Reader for Beginners, compiled by our teacher, was 
 furnished to the class in single sheets as it was needed, and 
 was printed in Roman type, there being no German type within 
 easy reach. 1 There could not have been a happier intro 
 duction to German literature than this little volume. It con 
 tained choice extracts in prose, all from writers that still 
 hold an unchallenged place in the hierarchy of genius, and 
 poems from Schiller, Goethe, Herder, and several poets of 
 kindred, if inferior, fame. But in the entire volume Dr. Pollen 
 rejoiced especially in several battle-pieces from Korner, the 
 soldier and martyr of liberty, whom we then supposed to be 
 our teacher s fellow-soldier, though, in fact, he fell in battle 
 when Dr. Pollen was just entering the University. I never 
 have heard recitations which have inspired me so strongly as 
 the reading of these pieces by Dr. Pollen, who would put into 
 them all of the heart and soul that had made him too much a 
 lover of his country to be suffered to dwell in it. He appended 
 to the other poems in the first edition of the Reader, anony 
 mously, a death song 2 in memory of Korner, which we all 
 
 1 A second edition in German type was printed in 1831. 
 
 2 This elegy was first published in the Freye Stimmcn, No. 36. 
 Follen considered this poem as one of his best productions. 
 
 104 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 knew to be his own, and which we read so often and so feel 
 ingly that it sank indelibly into permanent memory ; and I find 
 that after an interval of sixty years it is as fresh in my recol 
 lection as the hymns that I learned in my childhood. 
 
 "Dr. Pollen was the best of teachers. Under him we 
 learned the grammar of the language, in great part, in situ, 
 forms and constructions, except the most elementary, being 
 explained to us as we met them in our reading lessons, and 
 explained with a clearness and emphasis that made it hard to 
 forget them. At the same time he pointed out all that was 
 specially noteworthy in our lessons, and gave us, in English 
 much better than ours, his own translations of passages of 
 peculiar interest or beauty. He bestowed great pains in bring 
 ing our untried organs into use in the more difficult details of 
 pronunciation, particularly in the o, the u, the r, and the ch, 
 on which he took us each separately in hand." 
 
 In regard to the library facilities for work in German at 
 that time there are many conflicting statements. In 1817 
 Harvard possessed scarcely 20,000 volumes all told. In that 
 year Edward Everett brought from Germany a number of 
 books which laid the foundation of a German library. To 
 these were added about the same time a large number of scien 
 tific works on American geography and history, purchased by 
 Mr. I. Thorndike from Prof. Ebeling s library * in Hamburg, 
 and this collection was increased in 1819 by a thirty-volume 
 set of Goethe s works. 2 It is quite probable, however, that no 
 literary works besides Goethe s were accessible to the public, 
 hence we may conclude that Peabody s statement represents 
 pretty nearly the true status of affairs. Ticknor s private 
 
 1 Cf. American Monthly Review, March, 1832. 
 
 2 These books were presented to the library by Goethe himself. 
 The gift was accompanied by a letter now extant only in translation, 
 as follows : "The above poetical and scientific works are presented to 
 the library of the university of Cambridge in New England as a mark 
 of deep interest in its high literary character and in the successful zeal 
 it has displayed through so long a course of years for the promotion 
 of solid and elegant learning." Cf. Viereck, Report of Com. of Ed., 
 1907, 552. 
 
 105 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 library contained a good collection of German books according 
 to one of Pollen s letters to Beck. 1 The coming of Follen to 
 Harvard did much to increase enthusiasm for things German 2 
 and from this time on the number of German books increased 
 rapidly in Boston. According to its Catalogue the Boston 
 Athenaeum already possessed in 1827 a few translations from 
 such writers as Goethe, Schiller, Herder, and the Schlegels. 
 To these were added at this time the works in the original of 
 Goethe, Schiller, Herder, I^essing, Jacobi, Wieland, Novalis, 
 Tieck, Uhland, Richter, A. W. and Fr. Schlegel. By 1831 the 
 Harvard library contained in addition to the works above 
 named those of Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Schleiermacher. 
 That Follen at once made a good impression at Harvard 
 is attested by Professor Ticknor, who wrote to a friend in 1826 
 as follows : 3 "Our German teacher, Dr. Follen, a young man 
 who left his country for political reasons, is a fine fellow, an 
 excellent scholar, and teaches German admirably. He is a 
 modest, thorough, faithful German scholar, who will do good 
 among us and be worth your knowing." Follen possessed the 
 rare gift of winning the love and esteem of all who came into 
 his presence. The powerful influence which he exerted upon 
 his friends w^as due as much to the magic of his personality as 
 to his broad scholarship ; ; and he accomplished as much for 
 his pupils through the enthusiasm and inspiration which he 
 aroused in them as through the knowledge which he imparted. 
 These qualities made him one of the most popular and success 
 ful teachers at Harvard. From the very outset he was ad 
 mitted into the circle of Boston s most distinguished men and 
 women, and was always a welcome guest at their social gather 
 ings, reading circles, and educational meetings. Numerous 
 entries in the diary 4 which he kept for a few months during 
 the winter of 1827- 28, show that the conversation of these 
 gatherings often turned to topics of German art, literature, and 
 
 1 Works, I, 161. 
 
 2 Cf . Miss Peabody s Reminiscences of Channing, 339. 
 
 3 Life, Letters and Journal, I, 351. 
 
 4 Works, I, 182ff. 
 
 106 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 philosophy, subjects in which he became a guide and inter 
 preter to Boston s intellectual circles at a time when the study 
 and appreciation of German culture was beginning to be 
 awakened in New England. For example, at one of these 
 meetings he spent the evening discussing with his friends the 
 history and character of German art and literature in general. 
 Several evenings he entertained the company by reading and 
 explaining portions of Gower s translation of "Faust," thus 
 arousing their interest in the study of Goethe. So effective 
 was his reading and interpretation that his delighted audience 
 had to admit that none but Shakespeare had written with the 
 power displayed by the great German. On other occasions he 
 gave descriptions of German student life and discussed the 
 works of such writers as Herder, Kant, and Jean Paul. By 
 means of correspondence with some of the most scholarly men 
 of the country Follen was able to enlarge the sphere of his 
 influence in extending a knowledge of German culture to still 
 wider circles. With J. Q. Adams, who was a connoisseur and 
 admirer of German literature, he carried on an intimate corres 
 pondence, in which he acted in the capacity of guide and critic, 
 answering many questions and giving much information in 
 general pertaining to German writers. To Mr. Tracy, the 
 translator of Fouque s "Undine" he gave encouragement and 
 much practical assistance not only through his critical annota 
 tions of the text, but also by his explanation of many obscure 
 allusions and difficult passages. 
 
 Follen not only acted as interpreter of German literature, 
 but had many valuable ideas also concerning German educa 
 tional methods. Miss Elizabeth Peabody, who was at that 
 time a teacher in Boston and later became the pioneer of the 
 Kindergarten movement in this country, profited greatly no 
 doubt by her conversations with him on educational matters. 
 She relates x that in the autumn of 1827 began a series of in 
 formal meetings, sometimes at Dr. Channing s and sometimes 
 at the home of Jonathan Phillips, for discussing the general 
 subject of the education of children. Among those who at- 
 
 1 Reminiscences of Channing, 250. 
 107 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 tended the meetings were Dr. and Mrs. Channing, Mr. Phillips, 
 Dr. Pollen, the two Peabody sisters, and occasionally Mr. G. 
 F. Thayer and Mr. Wm. Russell, editor of the Journal of 
 Education. The conversation ranged over every department 
 of education, inquiring into the comparative study of lan 
 guages, ancient and modern, and into science, history, fiction, 
 and poetry as means of education. Miss Peabody adds that 
 three minds so harmoniously yet so utterly different in their 
 discipline, so entirely self-determined and so independent as 
 Channing s, Pollen s, and Phillips made these discussions very 
 rich. Miss Peabody relates further a that in all educational 
 discussions Pollen earnestly maintained that the child should 
 be handled not with reference to his future, but to his present 
 perfection ; that the father of the man is the perfect child in 
 the balance of childish beauty, and not the child prematurely 
 developed into a man; that education which does the latter 
 both destroys the child and dwarfs the man. Froebel s prin 
 ciples were thus suggested, says Miss Peabody, and one of the 
 questions discussed among them was how to employ in their 
 childish pleasures the faculties, mechanical, imaginative, and 
 scientific without taking the children out of the child-life of 
 love and joy. 
 
 According to Miss Peabody, 2 Pollen as well as Channing 
 and Phillips advocated the development of the child s faculties 
 for personal investigation, whether in nature or in language, 
 before burdening the memory with other men s words. All 
 three aimed at moral and intellectual freedom. Channing 
 argued 3 for the study of the ancient languages on the ground 
 that language is the first creation of the human mind and, if 
 taught by what he called the reasonable method, that is, by 
 comparing the new idiom with the vernacular as is done in 
 translating, with which he thought language study should 
 begin, puts the mind into possession of itself. Pollen on the 
 other hand, who had his fill of Greek and Latin in his German 
 
 1 Ibid., 256. 
 
 2 Ibid., 264. 
 
 3 Ibid., 251. 
 
 - 108 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 education, did not deny the value of the classic languages, but 
 advocated x the study of them in a later stage of education. 
 He maintained that the study of the mother tongue together 
 with the colloquial use of modern languages, especially of the 
 German, which is so homogeneous and vegetative in its forma 
 tions, could be so alternated with the study of nature as to 
 secure the liberalizing end sought ; accordingly he advocated 
 strongly the study of the natural sciences in early education, 
 and described the process of mind in its investigation of natural 
 objects, which he thought involved a still greater play of the 
 imagination than language-study, leading to direct knowledge 
 of the Infinite Mind, that states itself purely as laws of nature, 
 while language phenomena are so largely exponents of the 
 disorderly play of the human faculties. He believed that the 
 universal attraction of the young mind to the analysis of nat 
 ural objects, and the health of the body incidental to studying 
 them, not in scientific treatises but in living nature, suggests 
 that the early part of a child s education should be of this cast 
 rather than the other. 
 
 The foregoing will serve to show how thus early Pollen 
 was advocating the new German methods of education as 
 originated by Pestalozzi and developed by Froebel. When 
 writing her Reminiscences in 1877, Miss Peabody observes 2 
 that everything she heard about what was called the New Edu 
 cation only recalled Pollen s discussions of these same methods 
 a half century earlier. 
 
 As instructor at Harvard Pollen was required to teach 
 six hours per day three days in the week. That his efforts 
 and influence were beginning to bear fruit is shown by a letter s 
 written to his father in 1829 : "The study of the German lan 
 guage and literature is steadily increasing. Many young 
 Americans, particularly theological students, who have finished 
 their studies here, are travelling in Germany, in order to begin 
 there anew and then to make the dead riches of German learn- 
 
 1 Ibid., 257ff. 
 
 2 Reminiscences of Channlng, 257. 
 
 3 Works, I, 265. 
 
 109 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 ing live here anew in this free air." During the five years of 
 his instructorship he had been laying the foundation for the 
 larger program which he hoped to carry out as soon as the 
 soil should be sufficiently prepared. So diligently had he 
 labored to arouse an interest in German that by 1830 an aver 
 age of about sixty students, a quarter of the total number 
 enrolled in the college, were attending his classes each year, 
 German books in native type were issuing from the university 
 press, German works were being added constantly to the public 
 and private libraries, German books and teachers of German 
 were to be found in nearly every important town in New Eng 
 land. 1 In Boston a number of people were already able to 
 speak the language and many more could read it. As a result 
 the treasures of German literature were rapidly gaining intel 
 ligent interest and universal acceptance. 
 
 During this period there existed also at Harvard a Ger 
 man Society organized by a number of the scholarly men of 
 Cambridge and Boston, presumably for the purpose of ac 
 quiring and imparting a broader knowledge of things German 
 than had hitherto been possible. It seems that the only avail 
 able information concerning this organization is to be found 
 on the paper covers of an old German book 2 printed in 1829. 
 On the one cover of this book is pasted a printed list of by 
 laws governing the association, and on the other another 
 printed sheet with the heading, "German Society, 1828," fol 
 lowing by this list of names : C. Follen, $. A. Eliot, G. Tick- 
 nor, S. H. Perkins, Wm. T. Andrews, F. C. Gray, J. Picker 
 ing, N. S. Bowditch, E. Wiggelsworth, F. Ueber, Mr. Miese- 
 galo, T. Searle, J. M. Robinson. From the fact that the list 
 of original members is headed by Follen it may be safely 
 assumed that he was the guiding spirit of the Society. 
 
 In 1830 a full professorship of the German language and 
 literature was established at Harvard, and through the gen 
 erosity of Pollen s friends, Mr. Cabot, Colonel Perkins and 
 Mr. J. Phillips, it was endowed for a period of five years, 
 
 1 Works, V, 132. 
 
 2 Discovered a few years ago among a lot of old books in a Boston 
 book store by L,. L. Mackall ; cf . Harvard Graduate Magazine, XI, 492. 
 
 110 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 with the understanding 1 that it should be continued by the 
 Corporation at the end of that time in case public sentiment 
 favored it. This afforded Follen his long coveted opportunity 
 to put into operation his larger plans for the promoting of 
 German studies in America. In the autumn of 1831 he was 
 formally inaugurated into his new position, and the message 
 which he proclaimed in his address on German literature, 
 delivered on this occasion, was of such vital importance and 
 far-reaching influence that it not only aroused the keenest 
 interest of the learned men of the country, but called forth 
 most favorable comment from some of the best literary jour 
 nals of the day, and highly complimentary letters from such 
 men as J. Q. Adams and Edward Livingston, James Marsh 
 and others. 
 
 This address is not only a lucid and correct interpretation 
 of the German spirit, but it contains also the program of Ger 
 man study in America, which remains essentially the same 
 today after the lapse of almost a century. Pollen s chief aim 
 is to emphasize the importance of the study of the German 
 language and literature and to acquaint the American student 
 with those German authors who seem best fitted to excite their 
 attention and to reward it by their enlightening and inspiring 
 influence. At the outset he points out the essential difference 
 between the French and German genius as manifested in the 
 literary productions in the last half of the 18th century: in 
 the French an immoderate respect for finish, neatness and 
 ease, with an excessive abhorrence for all inelegance, unrefined 
 simplicity, obscurity, and mystery, in short, a certain wor 
 ship of the outside of things ; in the German a comparative 
 indifference to finite and external things, but an all-absorbing 
 interest in the boundlessness of every intellectual pursuit and 
 a tendency to embody the grave, profound, and sublime in 
 unfinished, obscure, or indefinite forms. The degeneracy of 
 German literature in the 17th and first half of the 18th cen 
 tury, which had been brought about by a slavish imitation of 
 French taste and manners, was the main cause of the French 
 
 1 Works, I, 344. 
 
 Ill 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 contempt for German works prior to the 19th century, but 
 through the influence of Mme. de StaeTs book on Germany 
 France was aroused from a vain idolatry of its own greatness 
 to an enlarged conception and appreciation of foreign merit; 
 and from an object of common disregard German literature 
 and philosophy began to gain general interest and esteem in 
 that country. Through the translation of poor works, such 
 as the plays of Kotzebue, and poor translations of good works, 
 the eye of English criticism also had been blinded to the true 
 character of the poetic literature of Germany. Just as a pro 
 fusion of heavy or overwrought ornament in the parts, with 
 a lack of simplicity in the conception of the whole, was 
 wrongly supposed to be the characteristics of Gothic architec 
 ture, likewise were works characterized by an extravagant 
 sentiment and diction, by a visionary philosophy or an accu 
 mulation of useless details, pointed out as specimens of Ger 
 man literary style and taste; but through better translations 
 these first unfavorable impressions were gradually corrected 
 until German literature and philosophy gained faithful and 
 impartial study in England. 
 
 After this general introduction Follen discusses some of 
 the special branches of learning cultivated by the German 
 scholars, beginning with a short characterization of German 
 philosophy and theology. Among the other sciences that have 
 received special attention he mentions mathematics, astron 
 omy, medicine, law, and history. In jurisprudence, as he 
 points out, untiring historical research has been made by such 
 jurists as Hugo and Savigny; the knowledge of civil law 
 vastly promoted by Niebur s discovery of the ancient Roman 
 commentaries of Caius ; and great progress made in the study 
 of penal legislation and of the nature and punishment of 
 crime. The works of Grotius on international law and his 
 doctrine of the natural rights of man, a science advanced suc 
 cessively by Pufendorf, Thomasius, Kant, and Fichte, were 
 a most valuable contribution to this department of learning. 
 In the domain of history, too, literary Germany deserves the 
 highest praise. Niebur s monumental work on ancient Rome 
 is the greatest of its kind; while the works of J. von Miiller 
 
 _ 112 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 and of Hearing are in universal use as college text-books. 
 German editions of the classic literature of Greece and Rome, 
 together with dictionaries, grammars and commentaries are 
 found wherever the ancient classics are studied. Ancient 
 literature has found its most faithful interpreters in Ger 
 many; and everything from the smallest details to the sub- 
 limest ideas embodied in its greatest works has been searched 
 out by the matchless perseverance and critical acumen of 
 German philologists. 
 
 But the most national of all her intellectual products, 
 the one which every native must fondly cherish, is the poetic 
 literature of Germany. This is divided into two golden ages, 
 designated as the mediaeval and the modern. Among the first 
 fruits, of the early German muse were the great epics and 
 lyrics of the middle ages : The Song of the Nibelungen is an 
 epic inferior to the Iliad in poetic finish, but superior to it 
 in the great design of the whole; the heroic character of the 
 chivalrous Burgundians in unequal contest with Attila s hosts, 
 and the tragic conflict between courage, truth, honor, fidelity, 
 and the powers of darkness are portrayed with a dramatic 
 energy equaled only by Shakespeare. The love lyrics of the 
 knightly minnesingers are a beautiful tribute to the divine and 
 prophetic element which Tacitus said the ancient Germans 
 recognized in the soul of woman. The theme of this poetry 
 is that reverence for womanly excellence, which is designated 
 as one of the finest traits of the German national character. 
 It seeks to represent the beau ideal of womanhood in all its 
 simple grace and nature, surrounded by all the romantic 
 glamor with which the spirit of chivalry loved to adorn the 
 object of its affection. This early period of especial achieve 
 ment was followed by centuries of decadence ; but the libera 
 tion of man s higher interests from the tyranny of presump- 
 tious self-constituted authority in the 16th century and the 
 revival of classical learning in the 17th combined to awaken 
 a new intellectual life from which arose in the 18th century 
 the modern period of German literature. Through the inde 
 pendent genius of Lessing this young national literature was 
 freed from its self-imposed bondage to foreign taste and man- 
 
 - 113 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 ners, not in order to exchange it for a vain self-complacency 
 in exalting the peculiarities of German life and character, but 
 to get wisdom from every teacher, foreign or native, ancient 
 or modern; from reason and passion, prudence and enthusi 
 asm ; to learn from all, but to imitate none ; and through the 
 pursuit of such ideals by such illustrious men as Lessing, 
 Klopstock, Wieland, Herder, Goethe and Schiller was ush 
 ered in the second golden age of German poetry. 
 
 After setting forth these main excellences which entitle 
 German literature to the perusal and general attention of 
 Americans, Follen concludes his discourse with some special 
 reasons why the study of the German language and literature 
 is of the greatest importance to the English-speaking race : 
 In the first place the ancient German language is the mother 
 of the English. Innumerable words and modes of expression 
 in which a nation signifies its first, simplest, and deepest con 
 ceptions and wants, those home-words, which constitute 
 alike the elements of every-day conversation and the language 
 of poetry, remain to this day essentially the same in both 
 languages and show that the ancestors of both nations must 
 have been united, not merely under the same military leader, 
 but in daily life, under the same roof, at the same fireside. 
 Then, too, the treasures of folk-lore, such as the wonders of 
 Red Riding Hood and Cinderella, handed down for centuries 
 from mother to child, lead the American child as well as the 
 English back to the old Saxon nursery in the German father 
 land ; and many proverbs and golden sayings, the good old 
 family furniture and family jewels of the nation, are still used 
 widely enough to remind all whose mother-tongue is either 
 English or German of the common ancestors from whom they 
 are inherited. There is a relationship not only between the 
 languages and literatures of these nations but also in the very 
 mode of perceiving and feeling them ; hence those of English 
 education are better prepared than any other foreigners to 
 understand and enjoy the strength and beauty of the German 
 classics ; and the further they advance the more they can per 
 ceive that the study of German is valuable as an aid to a more 
 comprehensive understanding of their own language and lit- 
 
 114 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 erature. Through their profound understanding of Shake 
 speare and through the flexibility and copious vocabulary of 
 their language, which has words for the most various shades 
 of thought and feeling, the Germans have been able to make 
 such a perfect translation of his dramas that he has become 
 to them, as it were, a native poet, a fact sufficient in itself 
 to show that those works which come from English genius 
 find also in Germany a kindred mind and an understanding 
 heart. 
 
 Such was the message of the German spirit which Follen 
 brought to the students of Harvard; such was the wealth of 
 German culture which he hoped to make accessible to the 
 American public through his professorial position. By means 
 of his address, which was published and sent in various direc 
 tions, he not only opened the public eye to the treasures of 
 one of the greatest literatures of modern Europe, but at the 
 same time sought to dispel some of the delusions concerning 
 it which were current in academic circles. In a clear and 
 convincing manner he exonerated German philosophy from 
 the charge of obscure reasoning and irreverent tendencies, and 
 German theology from the charge of skepticism. In like man 
 ner he not only corrected the erroneous idea that the German 
 language is especially difficult and that German poetry is given 
 to mysticism, wild rhapsody and empty bombast, but gave 
 positive reasons why these are in their very nature of per 
 manent interest to those whose mother-tongue is English and 
 why their study is of the highest cultural value. 
 
 From this time on Follen gave in addition to his instruc 
 tion in the language a regular course of lectures on German 
 literature, which was well attended and highly appreciated by 
 the students of Harvard. In order to bring his message to 
 a still wider public he wrote a series of lectures on the life 
 and works of Schiller, which he delivered in Boston during 
 the winter of 1831- 32 and again a few years later upon two 
 occasions to a large, appreciative audience in New York. 
 Prior to 1817 Schiller was known in America mainly through 
 mutilated translations of his early dramas, especially "The 
 Robbers"; and the mere fact that he wrote for the stage was 
 
 - 115 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 in itself sufficient to condemn him in the opinion of puritanical 
 New England where the theater was regarded almost as an 
 institution of the devil. Even as late as 1834 the American 
 Quarterly Observer * lamented the fact that a man of Schil 
 ler s great talent had "devoted all his powers to an amusement 
 which is at war with good taste and good morals," and as 
 serted that a man to whose desires and feelings the scriptural 
 expression "beauty of holiness" 2 could be applied would not 
 have dedicated the greater part of his life to adorn and dignify 
 the stage. In the same year so eminent a scholar as F. H. 
 Hedge regretted 3 "that a writer of Schiller s standing in this 
 age of the world should have devoted the principal part of his 
 life to a department of art so questionable in its tendency and 
 so surely destined to decay as the drama." But after the re 
 turn of the Gottingen men * the North American Review and 
 several other prominent magazines threw the weight of their 
 influence on the side of German literature and from that time 
 on Schiller began to grow in favor and to receive intelligent 
 appreciation by our most scholarly men. 
 
 In 1833 the first American reprint of Carlyle s "Life of 
 Schiller" appeared in Boston, with a general preface by Park 
 Benjamin and an introduction by Professor Follen. This 
 book along with the excellent reviews which it called forth 
 gave Schiller an assured standing in America. Although the 
 editors and reviewers note the unusual ability of the English 
 biographer they do not mention Carlyle by name, a fact 
 which seems to indicate, strangely enough, that they were un 
 certain at least concerning the authorship of the distinguished 
 work. 5 In view of the fact that Carlyle s book met with little 
 success in Germany at the time and that its value has been 
 
 1 II, 173f. 
 
 2 An experession applied to Schiller s morality by Follen. 
 
 8 Christian Examiner, XVI, 391. 
 
 4 The first American students who entered the University of Got 
 tingen. 
 
 5 Cf. North American Review, Vol. 39 (New Series, Vol. 30), p. 
 Iff, July, 1834. 
 
 116 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 appreciated by German scholars only of late, it is all the more 
 significant that Fallen should have been one of the first to 
 recognize its importance. 1 With keen critical insight Follen 
 praises the work as a biography in the true sense of the word ; 
 not merely a recital of events or a description of the peculiar 
 ities and gradual unfolding of Schiller s character, but chiefly 
 a critical analysis of his works, in which the main part of 
 such a life consists. He points out further that the English 
 biographer not only possesses that philosophic universality of 
 perception and interest, which is necessary for a just estima 
 tion of foreign merit, but that he has also a peculiar aptness 
 for appreciating the characteristic excellence of Schiller. By 
 a comparison with the original Follen points out several mis 
 interpretations and incorrect translations in the English edi 
 tion and corrects them in the American reprint. He charac 
 terizes the work, on the whole as one of the best specimens 
 of English criticism. These pertinent remarks by Follen, who 
 was considered by his contemporaries as the best authority on 
 German literature in this country, elicited favorable editorial 
 comment from the literary magazines and aroused general in 
 terest in this anonymous work on Schiller. 
 
 The most valuable part of this introduction is Fo lien s 
 deeply appreciative characterization of Schiller s poetry, 
 which is important enough to be quoted here in full: "Schil 
 ler s poetry is distinguished by its moral character. But its 
 morality is not that of the philosopher who insists on an entire 
 separation of the moral principle from all natural desires; 
 nor that of the theologian who maintains that holiness consists 
 in denying and crucifying the natural affections. It is a mo 
 rality that flows from the heart freely and bountifully, receiv 
 ing and merging in its wide and deep channel all natural de 
 sires and affections. It is the morality of nature, the beauty 
 of holiness, the quickening spirit of love and happiness; 
 which breathes in all his works and sheds a saint-like glory 
 upon his life and sufferings. His whole life was spent in 
 communing with the Spirit of Truth that had revealed itself 
 to him in the bright raiment of poetry, and in delivering to his 
 
 1 Cf . Albert Ludwig, Schiller und die deutsche Nachwelt, 185ff. 
 117 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 countrymen his poetic mission. At a time when patriotic en 
 thusiasm and poet-worship had extolled his merit above what 
 is attained by mere human effort, he alone seemed ignorant 
 of the eminence upon which he stood because he measured 
 his attainments not by what lay behind him and below but 
 by what he saw before him and above. Of him whose image 
 found an altar in every heart, of him it may well be said that 
 while all rejoiced in the light of his countenace he himself 
 wist not that his face shone. " 
 
 The only portion of Pollen s lectures on German litera 
 ture preserved complete is that relating to Schiller. Although 
 a few copies of Carlyle s work had probably been imported 
 before 1832, it was Follen who gave the first comprehensive 
 account of Schiller s life and works to any considerable num 
 ber of Americans. These lectures open with an interesting 
 biographical sketch followed by a detailed account of each of 
 the nine complete dramas, interspersed with translations of 
 representative passages along with a running commentary on 
 the same. Through his broad knowledge of men and his deep 
 insight into human nature Follen was able to present in the 
 main an accurate and appreciative analysis of Schiller s chief 
 dramatic characters ; and for the most part his critical obser 
 vations differ from those of Carlyle only in a few minor 
 details. 
 
 Since it is mainly through the "Robbers" that Schiller 
 was known to the American public, and chiefly by the crudi 
 ties of this play that his character as a poet was judged, Follen 
 entered into a thorough discussion of this drama. He saw in 
 this first dramatic production of Schiller all the moral and 
 spiritual elements of the author s character, especially his rev 
 erence for religion, truth and freedom, which are exhibited 
 here as coming in conflict not only with the decrees of fate, 
 as in the ancient drama, but rather with the unnatural insti 
 tutions of society, the authority of priests and princes, cus 
 toms and fashions, in short, with the united despotism of the 
 sword, the pen, and the money-bag. Follen had a deeply sym 
 pathetic appreciation of this tragic conflict, for he, too, like 
 the main character, Karl Moor, had suffered from his over- 
 
 - 118 - 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 zealous attempt to promote the welfare of society. He thought 
 that not only the enemies but also the friends which Schiller 
 gained by his bold attack upon tyranny frequently overlooked 
 what he calls the "sublime moral" of the play, the tragic 
 results that accrue to him who of his own free will cannot 
 yield obedience to the moral law. This was the very struggle 
 through which Follen himself had passed, and it was his vic 
 tory over self that had saved him from the fate that overtook 
 Karl Moor. 
 
 As a student of psychology and ethics Follen was deeply 
 interested also in the character of Franz Moor. Schlegel calls 
 Franz a mere copy of Richard III. without any of those en 
 nobling qualities which arouse both abhorrence and admiration 
 for the latter ; and Carlyle also characterizes him as an ampli 
 fied but distorted image of lago and Richard without the least 
 air of reality. Follen on the other hand sees in Franz "a 
 villain of an original and highly interesting cast." By a care 
 ful comparison of Franz and Richard he shows that the points 
 of difference between them are of more importance than the 
 resemblances and that "although there exists between them a 
 certain family likeness, yet they differ essentially in those nice 
 features of dramatic portraiture which constitute the individ 
 uality of the picture." Follen denies that Richard possesses 
 any ennobling traits except great ingenuity and astonishing 
 bravery. Franz, he asserts, possesses also these qualities, "but 
 his bravery is displayed in another field ; his heroism and tac 
 tics are exhibited in fighting the enemy within, sometimes by 
 boldly giving battle, sometimes by wisely avoiding it." As for 
 the air of reality Follen does not claim that "such a beau- 
 ideal of an atheist- tyrant is to be found in reality, chiefly per 
 haps because the restraints of society prevent men of this dis 
 position from acting out their whole nature ; but all the ele 
 ments of such a character certainly exist among men and the 
 disjecta membra of this monster may be easily pointed out, 
 from which the poet has formed one self-consistent individ 
 ual." To Carlyle s criticism that "so reflective a miscreant as 
 Franz could not exist because his calculations would lead him 
 to honesty, if merely because it was the best policy," Follen 
 
 119 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 replies that "the philosophy of Franz is not employed, like 
 that of Paley, in finding what sort of enjoyment will in the 
 long run afford the greatest pleasure and in choosing, accord 
 ingly, the means to the end sought; it has nothing to do with 
 the ends of existence, but simply with the infinite variety of 
 means. The great end and aim of all his action is set, not by 
 his reasoning powers, but by the uncontrolled impulse of his 
 sensual nature, which craves absolute dominion. The end be 
 ing given his mind delights in overlooking the whole range of 
 means and in choosing them, good or bad, according to his 
 desires," an excellent characterization of the villain Franz 
 Moor. 
 
 By this careful analysis and criticism of the play Follen 
 aims to show that in spite of the youthful excesses of an ex 
 uberant and unbridled fancy this drama contains all the nobler 
 elements of human nature, and that "the author s design is 
 to indicate that even the most ardent love of justice and free 
 dom and heroic resistance to every kind of oppression must 
 lead to error and crime if it does not induce us first to de 
 throne the selfish passions and establish the perfect law of 
 liberty in our own souls." He points out further that this 
 play is merely the first fruit of a youthful dramatic genius ; 
 that its originality and power is only a crude indication of 
 what is to follow in Schiller s mature works of art. 
 
 In like manner Follen treats the remainder of Schiller s 
 dramas, making many original and highly pertinent observa 
 tions and occasionally taking issue with the criticisms of 
 Schlegel and Carlyle. 
 
 The last lecture is devoted to a brief sketch of Schiller s 
 dramatic fragments, followed by a short account of Goethe s 
 literary activity and closing with a general characterization of 
 Schiller s poetic nature. In this delineation Follen begins with 
 Goethe s well-known expression that "Schiller preached the 
 gospel of freedom," explaining that the word freedom is to be 
 taken in the sense of Kant s philosophy, as synonymous with 
 the moral nature of man. He explains that Schiller s enthusi 
 asm for freedom is the living spring and the life-blood of all 
 his poetry ; that in the dramas of his Storm and Stress period, 
 
 120 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 which may be called the heroic age of his literary activity, 
 this spirit appears in the form of a Hercules going about to 
 free the earth from tyrants and monsters; that it is the in 
 stinct of liberty warring against the tyranny of circumstances 
 and arbitrary institutions. This love of liberty, Pollen adds, 
 is with Schiller not a negative or destructive principle, but a 
 striving after freedom from oppression, from all kinds of 
 unnatural and unreasonable restraints so that the spiritual 
 principle of human nature may unfold itself fully in the in 
 dividual and in society; it is only a manifestation of his pure 
 delight in perfection, his love of nature, of man, and of God. 
 Schiller loved nature for herself in all her various shapes and 
 moods, but he loved best those things in nature which call 
 forth most effectively the energies, the strong and tender emo 
 tions and high aspirations of the soul; all that reminds man 
 of his high destiny and that aids him to attain it. His dramas 
 are, therefore, as Follen conceives them, a revelation of moral 
 beauty ; a revelation of his faith that man alone is able to form 
 his own character, and capable of infinite advancement. Since 
 the moral freedom of man is the native soil of Schiller s po 
 etry, as Follen concludes, every good principle loves to grow 
 in it, and for this very reason it does not appear as a forced 
 product of rigid self-control, but as springing up from the 
 abundance of the heart with ideal beauty. 
 
 These lectures on Schiller, published in 1841, supple 
 mented the good work which the North American Review had 
 begun. Carlyle s book was adapted rather to the needs of the 
 student, and the pro-German magazines educated the academic 
 public to the point where it would understand and appreciate 
 this work; but Pollen s lectures appealed also to the layman 
 and were designed to make Schiller s name popular among 
 the people ; hence it is safe to say that with the exception of 
 Carry le Follen did more than any other critic to introduce and 
 interpret Schiller to the American public. 1 To those stupid 
 
 1 In his excellent monograph Schiller und die deutsche Nachwelt, 
 Albert Ludwig says: "We must not forget that Karl Follen, the man 
 who as no other won the hearts of his fellow students through the 
 magic power of his personality, became in his new home beyond the 
 sea an enthusiastic prophet of our national poet by means of his lec 
 tures and addresses." 
 
 121 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 criticisms against Schiller s devotion to the dramatic art Follen 
 replied in Schiller s own words, 1 that the stage is an infallible 
 key to the secret recesses of the human heart, hence the only 
 place where one can hear what one rarely or never hears 
 truth, and see what one rarely or never sees man. "The 
 theater is," he maintains, "a school of practical wisdom, a 
 moral institution, hence one of the most powerful instruments 
 to elevate and refine the character of a nation." 
 
 PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 As professor of German literature Follen desired to 
 promote the study of German philosophy also, which he, as 
 a representative of contemporary German Idealism, considered 
 "the system of fundamental and regulative principles of all 
 the various branches of learning and knowledge, a department 
 in which German literature is especially rich." 2 Soon after his 
 arrival at Harvard he began to discuss 3 with Channing and 
 other intellectual leaders of Boston German philosophical 
 thought, about which little was then known in New England. 
 
 In the autumn of 1828, he was elected to an instructor- 
 ship in ethics and ecclesiastical history in the Harvard Divin 
 ity School, and began at once a systematic course of instruc 
 tion in those subjects. 4 Ethics was a branch of learning in 
 which he was especially interested and all his early training 
 had fitted him for such a position. His biographer says 5 that 
 his method of instruction was to give his class a subject, upon 
 which each member was to write his views and then hand 
 them in for him to criticise. After carefully reading these 
 themes and pointing out to the writer all that he found ob- 
 
 1 Cf. Die Schaubiihne als eine moralische Anstalt betrachtet, Saku- 
 lar-Ausgabe, XI, 89ff. 
 
 2 Works, V, 134. 
 
 8 Cf. Diary, Works, I, 182ff. 
 
 4 In his Harvard Reminiscences, 123, Peabody says that "Pollen s 
 lectures were of unsurpassed excellence both on the score of scientific 
 knowledge of the ground which they covered, and for the elevated tone 
 of feeling which pervaded them." 
 
 5 Works, I, 260. 
 
 122 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 j actionable in style, reasoning, or judgment, as well as freely 
 praising all that he found excellent, he took up the subject 
 himself and treated it in the most comprehensive and masterly 
 manner that he was capable of. In giving his own views he 
 was always careful to avoid dogmatism and to show that on 
 those great questions he considered himself still a learner with 
 his pupils. According to a letter 1 to his parents in August, 
 1829, he lectured on history in the College and on ethics in 
 the Theological School three days in the week. Friday even^ 
 ings he had an exercise with the theological students in ex 
 tempore preaching, and on Saturdays and Sunday evenings 
 attended with the other members of the theological faculty 
 the regular exercise in preaching. Each of the theological 
 students of the two upper classes preached in turn and after 
 the service each member of the faculty made his remarks 
 upon the exercises, which he, as the youngest of the faculty, 
 had to begin. 
 
 Follen desired to devote his whole time to the field of 
 ethics, but when Dr. Palfrey was made professor of that 
 branch in the autumn of 1830 Follen resigned his instructor- 
 ship in the Divinity School and gave his whole attention to 
 the duties of his professorship of German literature. Desir 
 ous, however, of contributing further to a general knowledge 
 of German philosophy he prepared a series of popular lectures 
 on "Moral Philosophy," which he delivered to a large and 
 appreciative audience in Boston in the winter of 1S30- 31. 
 These lectures form the third volume of his published works 
 and contain the subject matter which he discussed with his 
 classes in the Divinity School. In these as in his other lectures 
 Follen uses the historical method, beginning with fundamental 
 principles, carefully laying his foundation and then building 
 upon it with the utmost fidelity. After giving a short exposi 
 tion of the meaning and scope of ethics he proceeds with a 
 brief sketch of the various systems of antiquity, including the 
 New Testament, followed by a discussion of Spinoza and 
 Kant. These discussions along with his running commentary 
 and criticisms show that he was very much at home in the 
 
 i Works, I, 262. 
 
 123 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 field of philosophical thought. After laying his historical 
 background he takes up the subject of ethics itself discussing: 
 
 ( 1 ) the foundation of morals and religion in human nature ; 
 
 (2) the development of these principles by education; (3) 
 their establishment in society, chiefly by the institutions of 
 church and state. 
 
 Ethics, or morality, as he conceives it, refers to human 
 conduct as right or wrong, that is, as conforming or opposed 
 to the dictates of conscience; it is the duties of man enjoined 
 by reason whether prescribed or not by the laws of society, 
 or by what is conceived as the will of God. Thus he distin 
 guishes not only between religion and morality but employs 
 the word morality in the scientific sense of ethics. His ethi 
 cal system may be summed up in short as follows : Every 
 individual must ascertain by the use of his reason in what his 
 duty consists ; by the exercise of his reason he can deduce the 
 moral law. His action to be ethical must proceed from choice 
 or free will, and from a desire for happiness. Since happiness 
 increases as one advances toward perfection, then the ultimate 
 object of ethical conduct is human perfection. In his pursuit 
 of perfection man has certain duties to self, to society, and to 
 God. His social duties consist in promoting the welfare of 
 his fellow man, and out of these duties arises the necessity of 
 civil government, whose only purpose is to secure equal rights 
 and justice to all. From man s religious nature and his obliga 
 tions growing out of his relations to God arises the necessity 
 of religious institutions. 
 
 From Kant and Fichte Follen accepts the view that the 
 moral law is the utterance of reason; with Schiller he rejects 
 Kant s doctrine that an act loses its moral character if it is 
 performed for the sake of happiness or pleasure ; with Fries 
 he agrees that moral action should spring from conviction 
 through reason, but disagrees with his demand that the con 
 viction of the individual should coincide with that of cultured 
 men. On some points he disagrees with Kant, but character 
 izes his system as the product of unprecedented intellectual 
 endeavor, as a system which must always exert a profound 
 
 124 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 influence on those who study it, causing them to stand on 
 higher ground than before. 
 
 It is not necessary here to enter into any further discus 
 sion of Pollen s ethical system. Let is suffice to say that in 
 these lectures he gave in all probability the first public discus 
 sion in this country of German philosophical thought, espe 
 cially that of Kant. 1 
 
 President James Marsh of the University of Vermont was 
 one of the earliest pioneers in planting the seeds of German 
 theological learning in this country. As early as 1821 he was 
 studying German with the aid of Professor Moses Stuart at 
 Andover, and soon after gave some attention to German phil 
 osophy. His biographer, J. Torrey, records 2 that "with the 
 aid of Coleridge and Mme. de Stael he began to consult Kant s 
 Critique of Pure Reason, then a perfect terra incognita to 
 American scholars." In 1829 Marsh republished in this coun 
 try Coleridge s "Aids to Reflection" with an introduction, in 
 which he sums up the principal points of Coleridge s system of 
 philosophical and religious thought. In a letter to Coleridge 
 the same year he wrote : 3 "The German philosophers, Kant 
 and his followers, are very little known in this country; and 
 our young men who have visited Germany have paid little 
 attention to that department of study while there. I cannot 
 boast of being wiser than others in this respect; for though 
 I have read a part of the works of Kant, it was under many 
 disadvantages, so that I am indebted to your writings for the 
 ability to understand what I have read of his works, and am 
 waiting with some impatience for that part of your works, 
 
 1 Prior to this time Kant was scarcely more than a name in Amer 
 ica. In his iCentury Discourse (1801) President Dwight of Yale alluded 
 to Kant as a subverter of morals, and two years later Samuel Miller 
 in his Retrospect of the Eighteenth Century gave a distorted account 
 of Kant s philosophy based upon a London review of an English trans 
 lation of the original. In his American Philosophy, 512, Riley states 
 that Kant s system found its first sympathetic interpreters in the United 
 States in certain Pennsylvania Germans such as F. A. Ranch in his 
 Psychology of 1840 and S. S. Schmucker in his Mental Philosophy of 
 1842. Follen s lectures, however, antedate these works by ten years. 
 
 2 Memoirs and Remains of Rev. Dr. Marsh, 43. 
 
 3 Ibid., 137. 
 
 - 125- 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 which will aid more directly in the study of those subjects of 
 which he treats. * * * " 
 
 Shortly after publishing his Inaugural Address Pollen 
 received from Marsh a letter of inquiry concerning German 
 philosophy and books pertaining thereto. Follen replied in a 
 long letter, 1 in which he recommended the Anthropology of 
 Kant, the psychologies of Carus and Fries, Tennemann s His 
 tory of Philosophy, Schulze s and Tasche s works on logic, the 
 latter of which was compiled from notes taken on Kant s lec 
 tures. His letter closes thus: "If these books should be of 
 any service to you, I should be happy to lend them to you, 
 and will send them in any way you may point out. There are 
 many other topics on which I wish to communicate with you, 
 particularly the plan of our mutual friend, Mr. Henry, to pub 
 lish a philosophical journal, which seems to me a very desirable 
 object. I hope this summer will not pass away without bring 
 ing me the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with you. At 
 any rate I earnestly hope for a frequent exchange of thought 
 with you upon subjects of such deep interest to us both." 
 
 This letter contains the only information that the writer 
 of this treatise has been able to find concerning the relations 
 between Follen and Marsh ; but it is sufficient to prove, at least, 
 that Follen s influence as an authority on German philosophical 
 thought was making itself felt in various directions. 
 
 GYMNASTICS. 
 
 The year 1825 is not only a landmark in the history of 
 German instruction in the United States, but marks also the 
 beginning of gymnastic training in American schools as a part 
 of a liberal education and as a means to complete harmonious 
 development of the whole man. The impulse which led to the 
 espousal of physical education in the 19th century came from 
 Germany and was distinctly humanitarian in its nature. The 
 pioneers of this movement in America were Follen, Beck, and 
 L,ieber, disciples of that rugged old German patriot, "Turn- 
 vater" Jahn, whose ideal was to create a strong, bold race of 
 
 i Ibid, 153. 
 
 126 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 men, vigorous and independent in body as well as in mind. As 
 early as 1772 this ideal had found expression by J. B. Michaelis 
 in a poetic letter to Uz entitled "Unsere Bestimmung," in 
 which the author asserted that in order to attain the lost "Ge- 
 sundheit meines Volkes" physical culture was as necessary as 
 the education of the mind. The movement thus started cul 
 minated in the endeavors of Jahn, the father of German gym 
 nastics. 
 
 Brooding over the humiliation of Germany by Napoleon, 
 Jahn conceived the idea of restoring the spirit of his country 
 men by the development of their physical and moral powers 
 through the practice of gymnastics. His object was to produce 
 a manly character in the German youth by means of a thorough 
 physical education and thus to prepare them for a successful 
 struggle against the conqueror. He began by opening up a 
 Turnplatz at Berlin in 1811, where he taught the young gym 
 nasts to regard themselves as members of a guild for the 
 emancipation of the fatherland. Rousseau, Basedow, Guts 
 Muths, and Pestalozzi had done much for the education of the 
 youth, but Jahn could be satisfied with nothing less than the 
 education of the whole people. From this idea arose his 
 "Teutsches Volksthum" (1810), in which he drew with a 
 masterly hand all the features of the purest, noblest humanity 
 as it had manifested itself in the strong and tender character 
 of the German people at all times, and pointed out physical 
 training as the means for the maintenance and further develop 
 ment of this character. His idea was to awaken the Germans 
 from their slumber and to teach them that only through the 
 harmonious cultivation of all their powers could they prepare 
 themselves to rise in defense of their liberties. His ideas of 
 national education were given to the public through the me 
 dium of his "Teutsche Turnkunst," which soon gave to gym 
 nastics a national character. In the many gymnasiums which 
 now sprung up all over the country the German youth acquired 
 for the most part the strength and self-reliance upon which 
 depended the issue of that life and death struggle for freedom 
 and fatherland in 1813. How closely Jahn s work is connected 
 
 127 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 with the development of universal military service in Germany, 
 the so-called Volksheer, is evident. 
 
 Such were the ideas, such the system which Pollen and 
 other promoters of German culture sought to introduce into 
 American educational institutions. 
 
 Prior to 1825 physical training in its proper sense had no 
 recognition or standing in the curriculum of American schools 
 and colleges except in the West Point Military Academy, but 
 under the direct influence of the Germans physical education 
 became a subject of the greatest interest in New England, 
 especially in and around Boston, and Pollen was one of the 
 main leaders of the movement. It seems quite probable that 
 the Round Hill School was the first institution in the United 
 States to make physical training a part of the regular instruc 
 tion. A prospectus descriptive of the new school informed the 
 public that it was designed also "to encourage activity of body 
 as the means of promoting firmness of constitution and vigor 
 of mind, and to appropriate regularly a portion of each day to 
 healthful sports and gymnastic exercises." This part of the 
 program was intrusted to the care of Pollen s friend, Karl 
 Beck, under whose supervision the Round Hill Gymnasium 
 was established in 1825. Concerning the nature of this first 
 American gymnasium only meagre information has come down 
 to us. 1 A descriptive circular 2 issued in the spring of 1826 
 shows with what serious purpose physical training was intro 
 duced in the school. In 1828 Beck made Jahn s "Teutsche 
 Turnkunst" accessible to the public through an English trans 
 lation, in the preface of which he explains that physical train 
 ing is of the greatest importance not only for the individual 
 but also for the national safety and welfare. Several writers 3 
 note that Pollen also was connected with Round Hill in 1825, 
 but this is evidently an error; however he visited Beck twice 
 
 1 Cf. Ellis, Recollections of Round Hill, Educational Review, I, 
 33ff. ; also Hartwell, Circular of Infor., No. 5, p. 23, U. S. Bureau of 
 Ed., 1885. 
 
 2 Cf. Leonard s article in Mind and Body, XII, 221 f. 
 
 3 Ellis, Hartwell, and Faust in his German Element in the U. S., 
 II, 214, 388. 
 
 128 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 during the summer of that year, and since he was so closely 
 connected with him in personal friendship and educational 
 ideals this allusion to the beginning of gymnastics in the Round 
 Hill School is made here. 
 
 As a trained gymnast and an enthusiastic admirer of Jahn 
 Pollen was well qualified to become the father of gymnastic 
 training in American university life. As soon as he reached 
 Cambridge he began gymnastic exercises with the students at 
 Harvard and soon opened up the first college gymnasium in 
 America. About three months after his arrival he wrote * to 
 Beck as follows concerning his progress : "I have commenced 
 gymnastic exercises with the students. The College furnishes 
 the implements and will give us a place. At present I use one 
 of the dining halls. All show much zeal. In Boston a gym 
 nasium is soon to be established. The matter will lead further 
 probably than most at present anticipate." The following 
 remark in the "American Journal of Education" for April, 
 1826, indicates that the gymnasium was attracting favorable 
 attention: "We are happy to understand that a gymnasium 
 has been instituted at Cambridge, under the superintendence of 
 a gentleman from Germany. The result thus far is very satis 
 factory, both to the instructors and the students. A meeting 
 has been held and a committee appointed to take the proper 
 measures for establishing a gymnasium in Boston." 
 
 In the "Catalogue 2 of the Officers and Students of the 
 University in Cambridge" for the academic year, 1826- 27, ap 
 pears "Charles Follen, J. U. D., Instructor in German and 
 Lecturer on Civil Law;" but in that for the academic year, 
 1827- 28, he is called "Instructor in German and Superintend 
 ent of the Gymnasium;" and in both of these catalogues the 
 following passage occurs : "The regular Gymnastic exercises 
 when the Superintendent of the Gymnasium is present are on 
 Wednesday and Friday from 12 to 1 o clock; or when the 
 length of the day admits, after evening Commons. On Mon 
 day the Monitors and Vice-Monitors meet separately with the 
 
 1 Works, I, 161. 
 
 2 The f ollowing information concerning the Harvard Catalogues 
 is taken from Leonard s article in Mind and Body, XII, 251. 
 
 129 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 Superintendent to prepare for the general exercises." The 
 Catalogues for 1828- 29 and 1S29- 30 give Pollen the title, 
 "Instructor in the German Language, in Ethics and in Civil 
 and Ecclesiastical History," but make no mention of gymnastic 
 exercises. Continuing from 1826 through 1829 the following 
 paragraph is included : " Military exercises are allowed on 
 Tuesday and Thursday from 12 to 1 o clock or after evening 
 Commons, with music not oftener than every other time and 
 the liberty of a parade on the afternoon of Exhibition days." 
 
 Concerning this pioneer period of gymnastics at Harvard 
 very little information seems to be available outside of a few 
 reminiscences written years after that time. We know, how 
 ever, that Follen s efforts were supported by an appeal from 
 Dr. John C. Warren, who was at that time professor of an 
 atomy and surgery in the Medical College. "In my lectures 
 annually delivered at Cambridge/ says Warren, 1 "I have ex 
 plained the great importance of physical exercise in developing 
 the organic structure of the body, as well as its necessity for 
 maintaining it in that degree of vigor which by nature it was 
 destined to possess. The obvious failure of health in a great 
 number of individuals in the University gave weight to these 
 considerations and led the Government of the University to 
 make some arrangements for gymnastic exercises in the 
 grounds assigned for the sports of students. The young gentle 
 men entered into the plan with great ardor, and the apparatus 
 was kept in repair and activity for a number of years." 
 
 In his "Reminiscences of Harvard 1822- 26" the Rev. 
 Cazneau Palfrey speaks of this event in the following words : 2 
 "The first movement in the direction of gymnastics made in 
 college was made in my senior year. Dr. Follen, soon after his 
 arrival in Boston, excited an interest in gymnastic exercises 
 and opened a gymnasium in the city. The medical professors 
 of the College published an appeal to the students, strongly 
 recommending to them the practice of gymnastic exercises; 
 and a meeting of all the classes was held in the College chapel 
 
 1 Life of Warren, I, 232. 
 
 2 The Harvard Register, II, 193. 
 
 130 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 (such a meeting as I do not remember hearing of on any other 
 occasion), at which a response was made to this appeal, and 
 resolutions passed expressing our readiness to follow the sug 
 gestions made in it. One of the unoccupied commons halls 
 was fitted up with various gymnastic appliances, and other 
 fixtures were erected on the Delta, the enclosure now occupied 
 by Memorial Hall. But Dr. Pollen did not confine his opera 
 tions to these two localities. One day he was to be seen issuing 
 from the College yard at a dog-trot, with all the College at his 
 heels in single file, and arms akimbo, making a train a mile long 
 bound for the top of Prospect Hill. Great was the amazement 
 and amusement of all passers-by." 
 
 Dr. Peabody also has handed down a similar account l as 
 follows : "Dr. Follen first introduced gymnastics as a system 
 into Harvard College, certainly of his own motion, and, as I 
 believe, gratuitously. The Delta, where Memorial Hall now 
 stands, was furnished with masts, parallel bars, and the then 
 usual variety of apparatus for athletic training and exercise ; 
 and one of the larger dining-rooms under the chapel in Uni 
 versity Hall was similarly fitted up. We exercised under Dr. 
 Pollen s instruction and supervision. He taught us to run with 
 the minimum of fatigue, and with the body thrown slightly 
 forward, the arms akimbo, and breathing only through the 
 nose; and he repeatedly led the entire body of students, except 
 the few lame and the fewer lazy, on a run without pause, from 
 the Delta to the top of a hill now crowned by the most con 
 spicuous of the Somerville churches, and back again after a 
 ten minutes halt. One of my classmates, George F. Haskins 
 (afterward Rev. Father Haskins of the Angel Guardian), so 
 far profited by Dr. Pollen s teaching that after graduating he 
 established and conducted a gymnasium at Brown University, 
 and in later years of well and widely known philanthropic 
 service, made thorough gymnastic training a part of his educa 
 tional system for the boys under his charge." 
 
 Another allusion 2 to the Turnplatz on the Delta is made 
 
 1 Harvard Reminiscences, 120f. 
 
 2 The Harvard Book, II, 186. 
 
 - 131 - 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 by T. W. Higginson, who was born in 1823 : "One of my most 
 impressive early recollections is of a certain moment when I 
 looked out timidly from my father s gateway, on what is now 
 Kirkland Street, in Cambridge, and saw the forms of young 
 men climbing, swinging, and twirling aloft in the open play 
 ground opposite. It was the triangular field then called the 
 Delta, where the great Memorial Hall now stands. The ap 
 paratus on which these youths were exercising was, to my 
 childish eyes, as inexplicable as if it had been a pillory or a 
 gallows, which indeed it somewhat resembled. It consisted of 
 high uprights and cross-bars, with ladders and swinging ropes, 
 and complications of wood and cordage, whose details are 
 vanished from my memory. Beneath some parts of the ap 
 paratus there were pits sunk in the earth, and so well con 
 structed that they remained long after the wood work had been 
 removed. This early recollection must date back as far as 
 1830." 
 
 Having become interested in Follen s gymnasium work at 
 Harvard Dr. Warren took active steps in founding the Tre- 
 mont Gymnasium x in Boston, the first public gymnasium in 
 this country. The promotion of this enterprise was begun by 
 a private committee, who made successful application to the 
 city council for a piece of vacant ground which might be im 
 proved for the purpose of commencing the experiment. All 
 that remained to be done was to enclose and cover the gym 
 nasium ground and procure a teacher with requisite apparatus. 
 After defraying the initial expense the institution was to be 
 self-supporting by moderate tuition fees within the reach of 
 all classes of the community. Its primary object was to fur 
 nish opportunity and means to persons of every age for the 
 regular practice of bodily exercise. If the experiment should 
 be successful it was designed to make the gymnasium a depart 
 ment of public education under the patronage of the city. 
 These tentative arrangements were submitted to the citizens 
 of Boston at a meeting held in the Exchange Coffee House on 
 
 1 The following information concerning the establishment of this 
 gymnasium is taken from editorial notices in the American Journal of 
 Education, 1826, I, 436, 443, 635, 669, 701. 
 
 132 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 the 15th of June, 1826. A deputation from Harvard was 
 present to explain the course of exercises at the College Gym 
 nasium and its beneficial effects. It was stated to the meeting 
 that the health of the students had been greatly improved ; that 
 intellectual vigor was found to be the consequence of physical 
 improvement ; that the diseases and inquietudes of feeble diges 
 tion had disappeared from among the students; that the de 
 mands for sensation were now fully satisfied by the manly 
 exercise of the gymnasium; and finally that its social effects 
 were not the least of its consequences to be valued, inasmuch 
 as one common interest in a commendable pursuit had brought 
 into contact and friendly feeling those who might have passed 
 the whole period of college life without being more to each 
 other than mere strangers. 
 
 This deputation also read to the meeting the following 
 letter, drafted by a committee of Harvard students, which 
 shows, too, the salutary effects of Follen s innovation : "From 
 the short experience we have had in gymnastic exercises we 
 believe them highly beneficial and we feel a sincere desire that 
 others should participate in the advantages to be derived from 
 them. The improvement in health has been perceptible and 
 general among all those who have engaged in them. The 
 cheerfulness which they produce and the increased agility 
 which results from them are remarkable. The mind -sym 
 pathizes with the body, and is equally acted on. We are glad 
 to find physical education gaining ground ; and hope it may 
 soon become a regular part of the system of education. The 
 soldier, sailor, traveler and men of many mechanical employ 
 ments find the accomplishments of the gymnasium of the first 
 in their daily business ; and in cases of emergency, they are of 
 the highest importance in every walk of life." After all the 
 foregoing views had been presented the meeting resolved: 
 "That it is expedient to attempt the establishment of a Gym 
 nastic School in Boston; and that a committee of five (headed 
 by Dr. Warren) be selected to carry the first resolution into 
 effect ; and that it be authorized to receive voluntary contribu 
 tions and apply them for the establishment of a Gymnasium 
 at such time and in such manner as they may think expedient." 
 
 133 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 After negotiating in vain to secure Jahn himself as the 
 director of the Boston Gymnasium, Dr. Warren prevailed upon 
 Pollen to become the principal instructor until some other 
 qualified man could be found for the position. The gymnasium 
 was opened in the autumn of 1826, as indicated by Pollen s 
 letter * to Beck under date of September 26th : "Day after 
 tomorrow my rope-dancing begins in Boston. The gallows 
 stand in significant majesty on the spot. There is no lack of 
 gallows-birds, large and small, genteel and vulgar. " On the 
 15th of October Pollen wrote 2 his friend Professor Karl Jung 
 in Basel concerning his activity in gymnastics, as follows : "I 
 have established an excellent Turnplatz in Boston and have 
 agreed to superintend it for a year at a salary of eight hundred 
 dollars, which will require from four to five hours of my time 
 three days of the week. The other three week days I spend 
 six hours daily in the College as one of the four teachers of 
 modern literature. On these three days the instruction in gym 
 nastics at Boston is conducted by my assistant, a young Ameri 
 can by the name of Turner, whom I have trained on the Turn 
 platz here in Cambridge, another of my creations. The whole 
 institution in Boston has been erected at the expense of an 
 association of the most noted men, who take part in the various 
 exercises also, although several of them are over fifty years of 
 age. I have reasons to believe that gymnastics will spread 
 from here over the whole country and have an important in 
 fluence upon the intellectual as well as the physical condition of 
 the nation." 
 
 In the November number (1826) of the "Journal of Edu 
 cation" the editor notes that "the Gymnasium is under the 
 superintendence of Dr. Pollen, instructor in Harvard Univer 
 sity, who is assisted by Mr. Turner, a distinguished gymnast 
 of the establishment of Cambridge," and speaks in glowing 
 terms of the success of the enterprise. He closes his remarks 
 by pointing out the democratic influence of such an institution, 
 the very point that Beck sought to make clear in the preface 
 
 1 Works, I, 163. 
 
 2 Follen-Briefe, No. 13, Jahrbuch, D. A. H. G., XIV, 31f. 
 
 134 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 to his translation of the "Teutsche Turnkunst." "Perhaps one 
 of the most gratifying circumstances connected with the gym 
 nasium," says the editor, "is the great diversity of situation in 
 life to which the pupils belong. Physicians, lawyers, and 
 clergymen are intermixed with young men from the counter 
 and the counting-house, and with boys from the public schools. 
 This circumstance is found not at all unfavorable to the de 
 corum and success with which the exercises are conducted, 
 and is, we think, a very satisfactory indication of the extensive 
 interest which the great subject of physical education has 
 excited." In his "retrospect" for 1826 he mentions gymnastics 
 as one of the greatest educational innovations of this country. 
 "Physical culture," he observes, "has been inculcated as the 
 basis of all education; and we do not hesitate to express our 
 impression that the more this important subject is brought 
 within the range of observation and experience, the larger will 
 be the proportion of time and attention devoted to it; and that 
 the public mind will not be satisfied, till, in all the stages of 
 education, this branch is treated as a leading object in human 
 improvement." 
 
 Through the recommendation of Jahn a new superin 
 tendent was secured from Germany in the summer of 1827 in 
 the person of Franz L/ieber, whereupon Follen resigned his 
 position in order to give his undivided attention to his Harvard 
 duties. During his incumbency such enthusiasm was aroused 
 that the attendance reached nearly 400, and when he severed 
 his connection with the institution the gymnasium committee 
 expressed their deepest appreciation of the great value of his 
 services and their profound regrets at losing them. To this 
 Follen replied on July 3, 1827, in a letter 1 which shows also 
 what service he had rendered to the cause of physical educa 
 tion in the United States and what great progress it was 
 making : 
 
 "I shall always rejoice in remembering the truly patriotic 
 views to which the Boston Gymnasium owes its existence, and 
 the efficient zeal with which these exercises have been carried 
 
 i Works, I, 242. 
 
 135 
 
FOLLEX IX AMERICA 
 
 on, and which even the severest temperature of last winter 
 could never depress to zero. That healthy atmosphere of the 
 mind, a cheerful mood and fine feeling, which reigned in the 
 gymnasium, adding the charm of good society to the advan 
 tages which each individual derived from the exercises. More 
 over, the pleasure of seing similar and partly filial institutions 
 spring up in other cities seemed to justify the hope that gym 
 nastic exercises would be generally adopted as a regular branch 
 of education, and as a source of health, strength and peaceful- 
 ness, particularly to those persons whose condition of life is 
 such as to induce them to neglect the cultivation of their physi 
 cal powers. Besides these general grounds of satisfaction, I 
 have many particular reasons for cherishing the recollections 
 of the services I rendered to this institution. As an instructor 
 I succeeded in obtaining, perhaps too soon, that which I con 
 sider the most desirable result of all teaching, a number of 
 pupils far surpassing their master. I sincerely wish and hope 
 that the gymnasium may continue a benefit to this enlightened 
 city, and that its branches may spread over all this free and 
 happy land, which my principles lead me to consider as my 
 country, while the kindness of its inhabitants makes me em 
 brace it as my home." 
 
 From the gymnasiums of Harvard, Boston, and Round 
 Hill gymnastics spread rapidly to nearly all the principal 
 schools and colleges in the country, and the movement was 
 prosecuted with great ardor as long as the novelty of it lasted, 
 but owing to an insufficient appreciation of its importance this 
 enthusiasm gradually subsided after a few years. However, 
 the interest which gymnastics had aroused in physical educa 
 tion led to a discussion of this important subject by the medical 
 and educational journals of the country and not only served 
 thereby to make people realize in a vague way the full import 
 of the old Latin proverb, mens sana in corpore sano, but gave 
 rise also to a movement for the study of physiology and hy 
 giene. Thus the essential spirit of the gymnastic movement 
 which Pollen inaugurated was perpetuated by the physiology 
 movement, 1 which it had inspired. This in turn prepared the 
 
 i Cf. Reports of Com. of Ed., 1897-98, I, 555. 
 136 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 way for the revival of gymnastics in the 50s, culminating sub 
 sequently in that great outburst of the modern gymnastic spirit, 
 from which has developed our modern gymnasiums and sys 
 tems of athletics, which have become a permanent and charac 
 teristic feature of our national life. 
 
 OF A NEW EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION. 
 
 In a preceding chapter allusion has been made to Pollen s 
 early plan to found in this country a German state with a Ger : 
 man educational institution, which was to serve as a nucleus 
 from which to extend German civilization over America. 
 After arriving here he substituted for this impracticable 
 scheme the more feasible plan of adapting German methods to 
 American conditions, especially in educational matters. To 
 this end he retained the idea of founding an academy on the 
 German plan, but noi: until he had resided here nearly ten years 
 did he make any attempt to carry it out. 
 
 As noted elsewhere, the professorship of German liter 
 ature at Harvard had been established for a period of five 
 years, but without any definite promise on the part of the 
 Corporation that it would be continued beyond that time. 
 Before the term expired, however, Follen had reasons to sus 
 pect that his appointment would not be renewed, and feeling 
 the necessity of making some provisions for himself elsewhere, 
 he began toward the close of 1834 to consider his long-cher 
 ished project. Although he disagreed with the authorities in 
 many respects concerning questions of college government, as 
 his wife notes, he was deeply attached to Harvard and earn 
 estly desired to devote his talent to its development and wel 
 fare, believing that he could in this position render his best 
 service by promoting German educational ideas in this country ; 
 but when this hope was thwarted he began to draw up plans 
 for a new literary institution, which he wished to found at 
 Boston in imitation somewhat of the German system. With 
 the true zeal of a reformer it was always his fixed purpose to 
 establish the principles of freedom and justice and to over 
 throw whatever was arbitrary and tyrannical in political, re- 
 
 137 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 ligious, and educational institutions. He had absolute confid 
 ence in the higher qualities of human nature, and believed that 
 the academic youth should be under less outward restraint, 
 both in their choice of studies and in their general conduct in 
 order to develop a feeling of self-reliance and a spirit of self- 
 control; hence as a staunch advocate of German "akademische 
 Freiheit" he stood for a larger freedom in educational matters 
 than obtained in American academic life. From the very first 
 he had advocated the reorganization of the American univer 
 sities on the German plan, explaining that in the German uni 
 versities each department of learning such as philosophy, law, 
 medicine, theology, maintained professors representing the 
 various schools of thought so that the student might have the 
 opportunity to test the various doctrines for themselves. He 
 believed that the preparatory schools, such as he wished to 
 establish, should train their pupils in such a way that they 
 would begin their professional studies in the universities, not 
 with prejudices and fixed opinions, but with open minds and 
 opportunity to gain truth from whatever source. 
 
 According to the prospectus 1 of the proposed Boston 
 Seminary, as Follen s school was to be called, it was designed 
 to give young men the advantages of a liberal training in all 
 the important branches of a general, classical, and business 
 education without compelling those who were preparing for 
 the professions to study the ancient languages. The depart 
 mental and elective systems were to be introduced, the modern 
 languages and literatures as also the natural and physical 
 sciences were to receive a large place in the curriculum, and 
 in addition to the regular instruction private study and re 
 search was to be encouraged. There was to be no artificial 
 system of rank, or scale of merit, founded upon the relative 
 attainments of the students, and all sectarian or party influence 
 whatsoever was to be strictly excluded from the seminary. It 
 was designed also to discard the artificial system of discipline 
 which obtained in most American schools. Follen had little 
 sympathy with the prevalent notion of the times that colleges 
 
 1 Given in Works, I, 623. 
 
 138 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 should be isolated in small towns in order to guard the morals 
 of the students. According to his view college life should 
 differ in no respect from the ordinary world of men and 
 affairs ; hence he proposed to locate his school in Boston not 
 only to give the students the many literary and social ad 
 vantages of a large city, but also to accustom them to the kind 
 of surroundings in which they would in all probability spend 
 their future years. 
 
 But this is a sketch only of what might have been, for on 
 account of insufficient encouragement and support Pollen s 
 Boston Seminary came to naught but a plan on paper. How 
 ever, it serves to show how he desired to contribute to the 
 improvement of American scholarship through the educational 
 ideals of his native land. Had he been able to put his seminary 
 into operation his talent would have continued in the service 
 of American education, and the great good he would thus have 
 continued to do as an interpreter of German philosophy and 
 literature is beyond all estimation. 
 
 HIS INtflyUENCE IN HARVARD. 
 
 According to the statement of his wife Pollen s sympathy 
 for the antislavery cause had materially injured his prospects 
 for advancement in Harvard. 1 At any rate he was definitely 
 informed in 1834 that the Corporation did not deem it expedi 
 ent to renew his appointment as professor, but that it would 
 retain him as instructor in the German language if he desired 
 to remain at a salary of five hundred dollars. After nearly 
 ten years of unswerving devotion to the institution he saw 
 himself reduced to a position yielding scarcely enough for even 
 a hand-to-mouth living, or compelled to seek employment else 
 where. After careful deliberation he chose the latter alterna 
 tive and in January, 1835, resigned his instructorship to take 
 effect at the close of the academic year. In March the Corpo 
 ration "voted that his resignation be accepted and that a suit 
 able person be employed as Instructor in the German language 
 until next Commencement, in the place of Dr. Pollen, re- 
 
 i Cf . Works, I, 343ff. 
 
 139 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 signed." l This meant of course that his resignation was 
 accepted to go into effect at once. But no blame attached to 
 him for the loss of his position. 
 
 As a teacher and lecturer his success was unquestioned. 
 He was loved by the students, and his classroom was always 
 crowded. Josiah Quincy records 2 that he performed the 
 duties of his office in an acceptable manner and that his ser 
 vices were characterized by learning, labor, and fidelity. Miss 
 Peabody 3 also characterizes him as a man endowed both by 
 nature and culture with the highest qualifications for a teacher 
 and leader of youth. In a letter congratulating him on his 
 Inaugural Address Edward Livingston spoke of the relative 
 value of German and French for American education, conclud 
 ing thus : 4 "The introduction of the German literature and 
 language cannot but have a powerful effect on our own. It is 
 fortunate for the country that the task of separating the valu 
 able material from the dross has fallen into such able hands, 
 and honorable to the university to have discovered and availed 
 itself of the advantage such talents afford." An extract 5 from 
 the peroration of the Class Oration delivered by Mr. Osgood 
 in 1832 gives evidence also of the esteem in which he was held 
 by the students. The orator was of the opinion that the value 
 and pleasure derived from the study of German literature with 
 Professor Follen w r as the most important advantage that Har 
 vard had to offer. "For the able and kind manner in which 
 this has come to us," he concluded, "we should express our 
 gratitude to one, who has labored assiduously for our improve 
 ment ; and who must richly attain the wish, expressed in his 
 Inaugural Address, to do justice to his feelings of grateful at 
 tachment to his adopted country and to his native land." 
 
 1 Cf. documents quoted in Works, I, 358ff. 
 
 2 History of Harvard University, II, 385. 
 
 3 Cf. Sprague s Annals of the American Pulpit, VIII, 547. 
 
 4 Works, I, 308. 
 
 5 Ibid, I, 312. 
 
 140 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 It may not be out of place to add the following eulogy 1 
 on Pollen, written by James Freeman Clarke soon after the 
 former had severed his connection with Harvard College: 
 "We are glad to see in the July number of the London and 
 Westminster Review a high tribute to that distinguished 
 scholar, philosopher, philanthropist and Divine, Dr. Charles 
 Pollen. Our regard for that gentleman is so great that we 
 rejoice in every tribute paid to his worth. His life has been 
 one of continuous sacrifice to principle. We know him chiefly 
 as an instructor in the course of his professional duties. Our 
 whole class loved him, a feeling towards an instructor very 
 unusual among captious and restless collegians. \Ve all love 
 him and revere him now. We never hear his name pronounced 
 without giving him a blessing. We say this passing word be 
 cause we cannot help doing justice to our feelings. We sin 
 cerely hope that he may find some sphere of action in which 
 his large talents and his great learning in law, philosophy, 
 belles-letters and theology may be more widely felt in our 
 country. He has indeed already done much for German lit 
 erature among us and has acquired a high reputation as a lec 
 turer on civil law/ 
 
 Although it is rather difficult to ascertain definitely 
 whether Pollen had any direct influence on such students of 
 German thought as Emerson, Ripley, Alcott, Parker, Clarke, 
 and Margaret Fuller, we know of a certainty that he stood 
 in personal relation with most of them; and this in itself is 
 sufficient to warrant the conclusion that they received from 
 him, either directly or indirectly, at least some of their inspi 
 ration for German studies. 
 
 Emerson lived in Divinity Hall at that time, and although 
 he took no part in the regular exercises of the Divinity stu 
 dents, there can be no doubt that he became well acquainted 
 with Pollen and his religious views. To Carlyle he wrote in 
 1835 : 2 "We know enough about Goethe and Schiller here to 
 
 1 From an editorial in the Western Messenger, Louisville, October, 
 1836. 
 
 2 Emerson-Carlyle Correspondence, 55. 
 
 141 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 have some interest in German literature. A respectable Ger 
 man here, Dr. Pollen, has given lectures to a good class upon 
 Schiller. I am quite sure that Goethe s name would now 
 stimulate the curiosity of scores of people." But as early as 
 1827 Follen was already discussing Goethe in the Ladies read 
 ing circle, as his diary shows, and probably continued to do so 
 in his lectures on German literature in the College from 1830 
 to 1835. 
 
 George Ripley was another of Channing s circle and he 
 met Follen in all probability as early as 1827. Frothingham 
 remarks * that Hedge s article on Coleridge in the Christian 
 Examiner for March, 1833., in which he commended Kant, 
 Fichte, and Schelling, was praised by Ripley and was doubt 
 less of potent influence in determining the latter s bent of 
 mind. It seems more likely, however, that Ripley s impulse 
 to the study of German literature and philosophy came from 
 Follen, for the latter was lecturing on German philosophy in 
 the Divinity School in 1828- 30, and his Inaugural Address on 
 German literature called forth in the Christian Examiner a 
 complimentary review by Ripley in 1832. It is not within the 
 scope of this investigation to give an account of Ripley s 
 great enthusiasm for German theology and literature ; 2 let it 
 suffice to say that from this time on he contributed to the 
 Examiner many articles on these subjects and became an ar 
 dent defender of Spinoza, Schleiermacher, and De Wette in 
 that famous controversy with Professor Andrews Norton, 
 who had accused these philosophers of atheism and irreligion. 
 
 Theodore Parker began his education in Harvard in 1830, 
 just at the time when Follen was made professor of German 
 literature, and it was probably from this source that he re- 
 received his first inspiration for German thought. "The study 
 of German was added to French and Spanish, and he learned 
 
 1 Life of Ripley, 96f . 
 
 2 Dr. Jaeck s work on Madame de Stael and the Spread of German 
 Literature gives an excellent account of the Transcendentalists interest 
 for German learning. It seems probable, however, that their inspira 
 tion was due far more directly to Follen than to de StaeTs de L Alle- 
 magne. 
 
 142 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 to write as well as read these languages." 1 A few years later 
 there was organized in Boston a "Society of Friends of Pro 
 gress" under the leadership of Dr. Channing. Its meetings 
 were for a free and bold discussion of all current subjects of 
 theology and social life. Here Parker found the charm of 
 good companionship in the persons of such men as Hedge, 
 Ripley, Alcott and Follen. 2 It was the study of German that 
 exercised the dominant influence upon his life. Through its 
 medium he was brought into contact with German theology 
 and philosophy; and Kant, Goethe, Schleiermacher, and De 
 Wette opened his eyes to the new possibilities of Biblical in 
 terpretation. In consequence of this assimilation of German 
 thought he gave to Unitarianism a still greater breadth and 
 freedom of thought, and to American letters a richer and more 
 unrestrained literary self-expression. 
 
 When Bronson Alcott went to Boston to establish his in 
 fant school Follen was one of the first men he consulted con 
 cerning his project. 3 From this time on, November, 1828, he 
 was on intimate terms with Follen and associated with him 
 not only in the meetings of the Channing circle, but also in 
 those of the famous Transcendental Club, which Follen at 
 tended occasionally. 4 
 
 Margaret Fuller was one of the most remarkable leaders 
 and expounders of German thought in this country. She was 
 born in Cambridge in 1810 and lived there until 1833. Prior 
 to Follen s arrival she had read Mme. de StaeTs book, and 
 through her friend F. H. Hedge she had become interested in 
 Germany. According to J. F. Clarke, who was her constant 
 companion during his college life, she began the study of Ger 
 man early in 1832. He states 5 that both were attracted toward 
 German literature at the same time by the writings of Carlyle, 
 and that in about three months from the time that Margaret 
 
 1 Weiss, Life and Correspondence of Theodore Parker, I, 49. 
 
 2 Ibid, 105. 
 
 3 Memoirs of Bronson Alcott, I, 118. 
 
 4 Ibid, 289. 
 
 5 Memoirs of Margaret Fuller, I, 114. 
 
 - 143 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 began to study the German language she was reading with 
 ease its literary masterpieces. She began without a teacher, 
 but was aided and encouraged by Clarke, who was at that time 
 studying under Follen. Her family moved in the social and 
 intellectual circles of Cambridge, and it is very probable that 
 she often met Follen on social occasions and heard accounts 
 of his discussions of Goethe in the ladies reading circle. 
 Pollen s Inaugural Address, published in the autumn of 1831, 
 was the best general account of German literature that had 
 appeared up to that time and it attracted universal attention 
 and comment. Immediately after this Margaret Fuller began 
 to study German. In the winter of 1832- 33 Follen delivered 
 his first course of public lectures on Schiller; and these, too, 
 attracted the attention of Boston and Cambridge intellectual 
 circles. Immediately after this Margaret Fuller wrote in her 
 diary in January, 1833 i 1 "I have now a pursuit of immediate 
 importance : to the German language and literature will I give 
 my undivided attention. I have made rapid progress for one 
 quite unassisted ;" and in June she made the following entry : 2 
 I don t like Goethe as well as Schiller now. I mean, I am not 
 so happy in reading him. That perfect wisdom and merciless 
 nature seems cold after these seducing pictures of forms more 
 beautiful than truth." Carlyle s articles on German literature 
 began to appear at least five years prior to this, yet we find 
 in the diary no such entries concerning her enthusiasm for 
 German, as the above, until after Follen s lectures on Schiller. 
 Concerning the major influences that turned Margaret Fuller 
 toward the field of German thought it would probably not be 
 far out of the way to sum up the matter thus : Mme. de Stae l 
 prepared the soil, Follen sowed the seed, and Carlyle supplied 
 the sunshine and showers for the future harvest. 
 
 Although the Gottingen men paved the way for the intro 
 duction of German learning there is no doubt that Follen s 
 influence at Harvard was one of the greatest forces then at 
 work in the promotion of it in this country. The introduction 
 
 1 Higginson, Margaret Fuller Ossoli, 41. 
 
 2 Memoirs of Margaret Fuller. I. 117. 
 
 144 
 
PROMOTION OF GERMAN STUDIES 
 
 of the German language and literature was valuable not only 
 per se, but contributed largely to a broader and deeper study 
 of all the other great departments of knowledge ; history, biol 
 ogy, theology, archaeology, economics, and especially philoso 
 phy, subjects in which the German scholars were unrivaled. 
 At the beginning of the 19th century the German university 
 more than any other gave careful and systematic training in 
 the use of libraries and laboratories, inculcated the habit of 
 independent thought and research, quickened the creative in 
 stinct, and engendered a spirit of freedom both in teaching 
 and in learning. Its highest ideal was the pursuit of truth, 
 its highest aim the emancipation of the human spirit. IVissen- 
 schaft, Lernfreiheit, Lehrfreiheit was the motto of the Ger 
 man universities, and this was the ideal which Pollen and the 
 Gottingen men brought from Germany for the enrichment and 
 enlargement of higher education in America. Some of the 
 young men who became later the writers and critics of the day 
 came under the direct influence of Follen at that time and 
 were probably directly or indirectly inspired by him to the 
 study of German intellectual life. 
 
 The collective influence of these earliest pioneers of Ger 
 man learning both on Harvard College and on American 
 thought was very great. It helped to break up that intellectual 
 sterility which had resulted from the isolation of a merely 
 colonial life and prepared the way for the vast modern growth 
 of colleges, schools, and libraries in this country. In the opin 
 ion of Thomas Wentworth Higginson x "it culminated later in 
 the brilliant Boston circle of authors, most of whom were 
 Harvard men and all of whom had felt the Harvard in 
 fluence." 
 
 ^Harvard Graduate Magazine, VI, 17f. 
 - 145 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 HIS RELATION TO UNITARIANIS M. 
 
 According to his Inaugural Address Pollen s conception 
 of literature was so comprehensive that he included in it not 
 only the products of poetry and philosophy, but of theology 
 as well. A discussion of his activity as a promoter of German 
 studies in America must therefore of necessity proceed to the 
 consideration of his endeavors in the field of religion, and of 
 its historical relation to contemporary movements in the same 
 field. 
 
 By the middle of the 18th century the sensualistic philoso 
 phy of Hobbes and Locke had come to dominate the life and 
 thought of French and English civilization, while similarly 
 in Germany the predominant feature of the intellectual life 
 was the abstract rationalism which Wolff had deduced from 
 the philosophy of Leibniz. The general rationalistic attitude 
 of mind during the period of enlightenment was based essen 
 tially upon sense perception ; human knowledge was limited 
 partly by the bounds of so-called experience and partly by 
 abstract logical reasoning. In religion the dogmatic assump 
 tions of the church were rejected and all belief was made 
 dependent upon the dictates of reason. This rationalistic 
 method of thought extended also to the field of general litera 
 ture, which now became didactic, formal, unimaginative, a 
 product merely of the understanding. Artificiality, material 
 ism and skepticism finally came to reign supreme. The age 
 of reason was at its height. 1 
 
 Gradually, however, in the second half of the century a 
 reaction set in; a movement for spiritual emancipation, for 
 freedom from the intellectualistic bondage in which the human 
 mind was held by laws and traditions. This movement re 
 verted to man s instincts and feelings; to his original human 
 rights. It was therefore an effort to revolutionize life by 
 emancipating the individual from the fetters of dry reason, 
 from conventional ethics, orthodox intolerance, and time-worn 
 literary traditions ; an attempt to enlarge man s spiritual life 
 
 1 W. Windelband, Geschichte der Philosophic, 366ff. 
 146 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 by directing him back to the simplicity of nature ; a reassertion 
 of the rights of the heart along with those of the head. Arti 
 ficiality began now to yield to nature, cosmopolitanism to 
 patriotism, skepticism to optimism, and materialism to ideal 
 ism. Rousseau admonished his contemporaries to listen only 
 to the voice of the heart, to obey only the primitive instincts, 
 to pay homage only to the universal laws of life. Hamann 
 maintained that the visible and tangible, whatever can be dem 
 onstrated and taught, cannot be final ; that the universe is per 
 meated by forces which lie beyond mortal vision. Herder 
 applied Rousseau s doctrine of return to nature to the field of 
 literature, and in accordance with Hamann s oracular saying 
 that poetry is the mother- tongue of the race laid down the 
 new doctrine that the best poetry is popular, naive, spontane 
 ous, and not a product of conscious art. 
 
 In the domain of philosophy the old struggle between 
 the realists and idealists was apparently still being waged. 
 The great question was : Is all knowledge derived from with 
 out through the senses or does at least a part of it originate 
 within the mind itself? By combining the theories of the 
 idealists and realists Kant laid the foundation for modern in 
 tellectual life. By his searching analysis of the mind he dem 
 onstrated that from its very nature the intellect can deal only 
 with the phenomenal world, and that the infinite is accordingly 
 unknowable ; but he pointed out further that while such ideas 
 as God, immortality, and moral freedom cannot be demon 
 strated, they are nevertheless matters of intuitive knowledge. 
 The distinction between Kant s Pure Reason and Locke s 
 Human Understanding was the philosophic basis of the new 
 idealism. Kant distinguished between the phenomenal world 
 and its transcendental background, the thing-in-itself ; Fichte 
 maintained on the other hand that the thing-in-itself like its 
 phenomena is only a product of the mind ; while Schelling and 
 the Romanticists held that both mind and matter, the inner 
 and the outer world, are the product, in different stages of 
 evolution, of a mysterious, all-pervading creative power whose 
 existence they knew intuitively and whose nature they sought 
 to understand and to reveal. By distinguishing between ra- 
 
 ._ 147 - 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 tional and empirical knowledge Kant established in his cate 
 gorical imperative a new and exalted system of ethics ; and 
 upon the freedom of the will, which he postulated as the basis 
 of all moral action, Fichte, Schiller and Fries reared their 
 systems of ethical idealism. 
 
 The close of the century marked the beginning of a new 
 epoch in the evolution of religious thought also. With Herder 
 a reaction set in against both rationalism and dogmatism; an 
 attempt to establish a union between religion and culture, and 
 to reconstruct theology on new lines ; but it was Schleier- 
 macher who gave a definite and classical expression to the 
 movement. This he did in his famous "Reden iiber die Re 
 ligion" which appeared in 1799. In these addresses he dis 
 claims all pretension to an exposition of theological doctrine, 
 but seeks simply to convince his skeptical contemporaries that 
 religion is an essential element of human nature and therefore 
 indispensable to the complete development of the inner life of 
 man. In his attempt to present religion in its most sublime 
 aspects he shows that its truth rests neither on tradition nor 
 on miracles, neither on the church nor on the Bible, but on 
 the soul s sense of the Infinite. In his "Glaubenslehre," which 
 is a further development of the principles laid down in the 
 "Reden," he seeks to show the relation of religious feeling to 
 its different expressions in dogma, history, and creeds. The 
 central thought of his system is that religion neither seeks like 
 metaphysics to explain the universe, nor like morals to ad 
 vance and perfect the world by the free will of man ; it is not 
 a set of dogmas, but an inner experience; it is neither think 
 ing nor acting, but feeling. From a pious contemplation of 
 the majesty and external order of the universe arises in the 
 finite individual a consciousness of oneness with the infinite 
 All and a feeling of dependence upon the Author of life. This 
 feeling of identity with God and dependence upon Him is 
 religion ; it is a living reality and when it manifests itself in 
 social fellowship it becomes a vital factor in the development 
 of the human race. 
 
 Imbued with the scientific spirit Schleiermacher s writ 
 ings freed protestant religion from the fetters of ecclesiasti- 
 
 148 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 cism, thus laying the foundation for modern theology. For 
 its philosophical basis this new movement rests upon the well- 
 known distinction made by Kant between theoretical and prac 
 tical reason. Through the influence of the Kantian philosophy 
 Schleiermacher threw aside the possibility of knowing God 
 by means of cognition and expounded the doctrine that re 
 ligion is primarily an act of faith instead of a judgment of 
 reason. 
 
 The rationalistic tendency which characterized the intel 
 lectual life of Europe in the 18th century found its counter 
 part in America in Boston Unitarianism. This was in its 
 origin and narrower sense a reaction against Calvinistic the 
 ology, which prevailed in New England. In its broader aspect 
 it was a part of the general liberal movement for freedom of 
 thought, and release from traditional authority; an attempt to 
 bring religion into harmony with science and phisolosphy. As 
 early as the beginning of the century the rationalistic tenden 
 cies of English philosophy began to creep into the religious 
 life of Boston through the works of such men as Chillings- 
 worth, Tillotson, Milton, Eocke, Jeremy Taylor, and Samuel 
 Clarke, whose tolerant liberal writings were read in New Eng 
 land throughout the century; 1 and the introduction through 
 this source of the Arian and Arminian doctrines began gradu 
 ally to exert a reactionary influence upon dogmatic theology. 
 Between 1730 and 1750 many of the most eminent clergymen 
 in Massachusetts, according to Josiah Quincy, 2 openly avowed 
 doctrines which were denounced as Arian, Arminian, and De- 
 istic ; while books and pamphlets breathing a spirit of religious 
 democracy quite at variance with the Calvinistic doctrine be 
 gan to appear. This liberal trend of theology gradually de 
 veloped along two lines: that of a demand for free enquiry, 
 as represented by Jonathan Mayhew and his followers, and 
 that of a protest against the harsher features of Calvinism, 
 as represented by Charles Chauncy and the Universalists. 
 When Mayhew was made pastor of the West Church in Bos- 
 
 1 Cooke, Unitarianism in America, 10f., 56. 
 
 2 History of Harvard University, II, 23, 52. 
 
 149 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 ton in 1747 he was already familiar with nearly all the liberal 
 writers of England and soon became the first outspoken Uni 
 tarian in New England. 1 Along with the silent advance of 
 liberalism went hand in hand a gradual divergence of those 
 who believed in the deity of Christ and those who believed 
 in his subordinate nature. Through the adoption of a revised 
 liturgy in 1785, in which their pastor, Rev. James Freeman, 
 omitted all reference to the Trinity, the congregation of King s 
 Chapel in Boston was the first to become avowedly Unitarian. 
 From this time on the liberal movement grew rapidly. It was 
 greatly promoted by the monthly Anthology, the official organ 
 of a scholarly group of men known as the Anthology Club ; 
 and through the appointment of Henry Ware, an avowed Uni 
 tarian, to the Hollis professorship of Divinity at Harvard that 
 stronghold of orthodoxy passed into the control of the liber 
 als. Soon half of the old historic churches of Massachusetts 
 went over to the liberal party, and by 1820 arose a definite 
 division of the Congregational churches of New England into 
 Trinitarian and Unitarian. 2 
 
 The Unitarians formulated no creed, but left each clergy 
 man free to preach whatever seemed to harmonize with rea 
 son and conscience ; hence their main tendency was to em 
 phasize the authority of conscience and the freedom of en 
 quiry, while their chief aim was to harmonize revelation and 
 reason, and to interpret the meaning of human life in a way 
 compatible with nature and history. This common-sense 
 method shows that the early Unitarians were as a rule under 
 the influence of the sensuous philosophy of IvOcke; ;i hence it 
 was easy enough for them to shatter the foundations of ortho 
 doxy by means of common intelligence and rational under 
 standing. Their leaders, says Frothingham, 4 were attracted 
 to Tillotson and Paley more than to Cudworth and Butler, 
 and were disquieted by mysticism, enthusiasm, and rapture ; 
 
 1 Cooke, 35. 
 
 2 Cf. such authorities as Walker, Ellis, Cooke, and Allen. 
 
 3 Frothingham, Transcendentalism in New England, 109. 
 
 4 Ibid, 110. 
 
 - 150 - 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 they were good scholars and accomplished men of letters, dis 
 tinguished by practical wisdom, sober judgment, and balanced 
 thoughtfulness that weighed opinions in the scale of evidence 
 and argument. This sums up the strength and the weakness 
 of the early Unitarian movement: it was strong in reason, 
 but deficient in feeling. 
 
 In his remarks 1 on college life at the time he entered 
 Harvard in 1794 Dr. Channing observes that society was pass 
 ing through a most critical stage due to the rationalistic ten 
 dency of the times, that reverence for the authority of the 
 past was gone, and that the tendency of all classes was to 
 skepticism. James Freeman Clark, 2 however, has given us 
 the best characterization of the mental and spiritual condition 
 of New England in the early decades of the 19th century: 
 "L,ocke .was still the master of the realm of thought; Addison 
 and Blair in literary expression. In poetry, the school of Pope 
 was engaged in conflict with that of Byron and his contem 
 poraries. Wordsworth had led the way to a deeper view of 
 nature, but he could scarcely be called a popular writer. In 
 theology a certain liberalism prevailed, and the doctrines of 
 Christianity were inferred from counting and weighing texts 
 on either side. Not the higher reason, with its intuition of 
 eternal ideas, but the analytic understanding, with its logical 
 methods, was considered to be the ruler in the world of 
 thought. There was more of culture than of intellectual life, 
 more of good habits than of moral enthusiasm. Religion had 
 become very much of an external institution. Christianity 
 consisted of holding orthodox opinions, going regularly to 
 church, and listening every Sunday to a certain number of 
 prayers, hymns, and sermons. Channing, it is true, had looked 
 with a new spiritual insight into the truths of religion and 
 morality. But still the mechanical treatment prevailed in a 
 majority of the churches, and was considered to be the wisest 
 and safest method. There was an unwritten creed of morals, 
 literature, and social thought to which all were expected to 
 conform. There was little originality and much repetition.* * * 
 
 1 Life of Channing, (Memorial Ed.), 30. 
 
 2 Nineteenth Century Questions, 273f . 
 
 - 151 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 It was regarded as a kind of duty to think as everyone else 
 thought; a sort of delinquency, or weakness, to differ from 
 the majority." 
 
 The decade beginning with 1820, however, marks a new 
 epoch in the spiritual history of New England. Unitarianism 
 now entered upon a new stage of development, the so-called 
 Transcendental movement, which was, like German Idealism, 
 a reaction against the rationalistic spirit of the times. While 
 the New England movement was essentially religious it pos 
 sessed also the philosophical and literary phases of its German 
 prototype. Philosophically it was a substitution of intuition 
 for understanding; of the idealism of Kant and Fichte for 
 English empiricism. In literature it drew its inspiration from 
 Wordsworth, Coleridge, and the Germans. In religion it was 
 spiritual rather than theological, supplanting dogmas and 
 creeds by a search into nature and into the depths of the 
 human heart for the divine element of all life. The unfet 
 tered mind began now to revel in beauty, poetry, and philoso 
 phy; and men were brought into closer touch with nature, 
 literature, and life. The conservative Unitarians remained 
 under the influence of English philosophy and classic litera 
 ture; the radicals turned to the enthusiastic study of the ro 
 mantic literature and idealistic philosophy of Germany. 
 
 Those who have written on later Unitarianism, the so- 
 called Transcendental Movement, hold various views concern 
 ing the sources of it. Some regard it as an indigenous pro 
 duct, while others contend that it was largely imitative of 
 foreign thought. According to Riley 1 those who grew up with 
 the movement have held to the former view, maintaining that 
 Emerson s system was formulated before he became ac 
 quainted with German thought, while later critics, more skilled 
 in tracing historical sources, have inclined to the latter view, 
 asserting that Emerson would have been ineffective had he 
 not made use of foreign phraseology, such as was furnished 
 by Coleridge s Aids to Reflection. Frothingham, who grew 
 up with the movement and became its historian, speaks thus : 2 
 
 1 American Philosophy, 12. 
 
 2 Trancendentalism in New England, 115. 
 
 - 152 - 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 "By sheer force of genius Emerson anticipated the results of 
 the transcendental philosophy, defined its axioms, and ran out 
 their inferences to the end. Without help from abroad, or 
 with such help only as none but he could use, he might have 
 domesticated in Massachusetts an idealism as heroic as 
 Fichte s, as beautiful as Schelling s ; but it would have lacked 
 the dialectical basis of the great German system." 
 
 Since idealism is the product of no special age or clime 
 it had its devotees in New England, as might be expected, 
 prior to the 19th century, the best type of whom was Samuel 
 Johnson and Jonathan Edwards, 1 but with the advent of Ger 
 man thought it took on a new character. In regard to the 
 origin of this new phase of idealism Frothingham may be 
 quoted further as follows: 2 "To make intelligible the Trans 
 cendental philosophy of the last generation in New England 
 it is not necessary to go far back into the history of thought. 
 Ancient idealism, whether Eastern or Western, may be left 
 undisturbed. Platonism and neo-Platonism may be excused 
 from further torture on the witness-stand. The speculations 
 of the mystics, Romanist or Protestant, need not be re-exam 
 ined. The idealism of Gale, More, Pordage, of Cudworth and 
 the later Berkeley, in England, do not immediately concern 
 us. We need not even submit John Locke to fresh cross- 
 examination, or describe the effect of his writings on the 
 thinkers who came after him. The Transcendental philoso 
 phy, so-called, had a distinct origin in Immanuel Kant." 
 
 W. H. Channing has perhaps stated 3 better than anybody 
 else the nature of this new movement: "Transcendentalism 
 was an assertion of the inalienable integrity of man, of the 
 immanence of Divinity in instinct. In part it was a reaction 
 against Puritan Othodoxy; in part, an effect of renewed study 
 of the ancients, of Plato and the Alexandrians, of Plutarch s 
 Morals, Seneca, and Epictetus; in part the natural product 
 of the culture of the place and time. On the somewhat 
 
 1 Riley, 63ff. 
 
 2 Transcendentalism in New England, 1. 
 
 3 Memoirs of Margaret Fuller, II, 12f . 
 
 153 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 stunted stock of Unitarianism whose characteristic dogma 
 was trust in individual reason as correlative to Supreme Wis 
 dom had been grafted German Idealism, as taught by mas 
 ters of most various schools by Kant and Jacobi, Fichte and 
 Novalis, Schelling and Hegel, Schleiermacher and De Wette, by 
 Mme. de Stael, Cousin, Coleridge, and Carlyle, and the result 
 was a vague yet exalting conception of the godlike nature of 
 the human spirit. Transcendentalism, as viewed by its dis 
 ciples, was a pilgrimage from the idolatrous world of creeds 
 and rituals to the temple of the laving God in the Soul." 
 
 After discussing the various causes that contributed to 
 the rise of the movement Goddard concludes thus i 1 "But now 
 from this insistence on the complexity of the sources of trans 
 cendentalism and on the impossibility of assigning absolutely 
 their respective importance, it is nevertheless proper to recur 
 to an acknowledgment of the large element of truth in the 
 widely accepted theory that New England transcendentalism 
 was a German importation. The extent of the admissible 
 generalization seems to be this. The original stimulus to the 
 strictly metaphysical part of transcendental thought came 
 fairly largely, but by no means exclusively, from Germany." 
 
 Through the medium of Mme. de StaeTs celebrated work 
 on Germany, an English translation of which appeared in 
 1813, the first meager account of German literature and phil 
 osophy reached America. The return of the Gottingen men a 
 few years later awakened still more interest in this direction. 
 A few New England scholars came in contact with German 
 thought in so far as this was expounded in Coleridge s 
 "Biographia Literaria," which appeared in 1817. A still 
 greater impulse to the study of German, however, was given 
 by Follen, who began at once to awaken a keen interest in 
 German cultural ideals when he reached Cambridge in 1825, 
 and from this time on translations and reviews of German 
 works increased rapidly. Through the influence of the Gottin 
 gen men German literature and philosophy were just begin 
 ning to ruffle the surface of the intellectual life of Boston, 
 
 1 Studies in New England Transcendentalism, 110 (Dissertation in 
 the Faculty of Philosophy, Columbia University). 
 
 154 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 but it is safe to say that Pollen was the only man in New 
 England who had a comprehensive knowledge of these sub 
 jects. Both by education and nature Pollen was well qualified 
 to enter as an influential factor into the later Unitarian 
 movement. 
 
 FOUvEN S RELIGIOUS CHARACTER. 
 
 In addition to the foregoing historical background a short 
 account of the development of Pollen s religious nature will 
 serve as the starting point from which to discuss his religious 
 activity in this country. 
 
 The predominant characteristic of Pollen s nature was an 
 intense love of freedom combined with a deep mystic piety, 
 which manifested itself in moral action through the force of 
 will-power a trait of character which from his earliest youth 
 remained the guiding principle of his whole life. When he 
 was a mere child he displayed thus early an intuitive knowl 
 edge of ethical values as indicated by his expression, "Father 
 I forgive you," after receiving a severe punishment from his 
 high-tempered parent. 1 
 
 His early training, however, was in accordance with the 
 skeptical spirit of the age. Although he was baptized in the 
 Lutheran church and learned his catechism he was not at all 
 receptive to the dogmatic theology of the times. In speaking 
 of his early religious character his step-mother said 2 that the 
 principles of the Unitarians had even then begun to engage 
 his attention ; that he occasionally spoke with much depth and 
 feeling about them to his father, who agreed with him on this 
 subject. Although he had the greatest admiration for the life 
 and character of Christ, as pointed out at the beginning of this 
 treatise, he did not accept the orthodox view concerning 
 Christ s nature. This is probably what his step-mother meant 
 by the above observations, for in after years he stated 3 ex 
 plicitly that Christianity was according to his early views a 
 
 1 Works, I, 6. 
 
 2 Ibid., 1, 10. 
 
 3 Cf. Sprague s Annals of the American Pulpit, VIII, 545. 
 
 - 155 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 superstition of the ignorant classes, only less tasteful in its 
 imaginary objects than those presented by the symbolic myth 
 ology of Greece and Rome. Not until after he had entered the 
 university did he read the Bible ; concerning his first impulse 
 thereto he gave some years later an account 1 something as 
 follows : 
 
 As an examination for entrance to the university he was 
 required to write upon the theme : "How can a man die for a 
 cause?" Since he had never reflected upon the subject he 
 could consequently think of nothing to write. Under the 
 stress of necessity he asked himself how he was to derive 
 power to start a strain of thought on the theme. In this 
 quandary it occurred to him that since effort produces thoughts 
 more or less true, finite mind must have a certain relation to 
 a Fountain of mind, to which it can aspire and thereby realize 
 an inspiration of truth. This attainment of truth through 
 an effort of mind proved to him the existence of an infinite 
 Spirit in living relation with him. Thus he seemed to dis 
 cover a lyiving God, who was his father. This was a primal 
 act of faith and the beginning of a new era in his life. The 
 idea of a living communion with his Creator gave him a flood 
 of light, and with faith that power would be given him to 
 accomplish his task he concentrated his mind upon his subject 
 and easily wrote his examination. This successful effort he 
 considered as prayer and the answer thereto. He began by 
 pondering on those objects which had induced various his 
 torical characters to give up their lives, finding that all such 
 acts of self-sacrifice were acts of men at the summit of their 
 energies, and implied a duality of nature, which is the distinc 
 tive human characteristic. No animal voluntarily gives up 
 life. What then, he asked himself, is this that stands above 
 the animal life and in sovereign power gives away life itself? 
 The fact that there is something mortal which man can give 
 away proved to him that there must be something immortal in 
 the consciousness of the giver. The truth of this idea in 
 Pollen s mind was the turning point of his life; it was the 
 consciousness of a spiritual birth. 
 
 1 Cf. Miss Peabody s Reminiscences of Channing, 213ff. 
 156 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 Pollen was now desirous of investigating and comparing 
 the various religions of the world. The nucleus of the popular 
 religion was the death of Christ, and he now looked into the 
 New Testament for the first time, investigating the circum 
 stances and seeking the motives of this death. With a decided 
 inclination toward religious speculation his theological studies 
 at the university tended to increase his critical attitude toward 
 Christianity, making him unwilling to be guided by sentiment 
 alone or to accept religious doctrine unless it coincided with 
 his highest reason. As soon as he became conscious of his 
 skepticism he applied himself to the study of the English 
 Deists, the French Encyclopaedists, the German Idealists, and 
 the Pantheistic writers, in order to investigate all the argu 
 ments for and against the Christian religion, emerging with a 
 firm and joyous faith. "For myself," he said, 1 "I can 
 certainly say that next to the Gospel itself the books written 
 against it have been the most efficient promoters of my belief 
 in its divine truth." 
 
 Follen s enlarged faith, however, was something more 
 perfect, more spiritual, than what he found in the general 
 religious life of the times. That it was out of harmony with 
 the established doctrine of the orthodox church is evident from 
 his conflict with the Calvinistic clergy in Switzerland where 
 in his lectures on the history of Christianity he gave expression 
 to his radical views concerning God, Christ, and salvation. 
 His new faith was born of the new philosophy, the ethical 
 idealism, that had caused the great religious awakening of the 
 wars of liberation. His desire to renovate both Church and 
 State was due not only to his mystic piety and moral bent of 
 mind, but also to the influence of Kant, Fichte, Schiller, Fries 
 and Schleiermacher, whose doctrines he had thoroughly assimi 
 lated. Concerning the religious views of this period of his 
 life and the influence which the failure of his political hopes 
 had upon him, he speaks thus in the preface to his tract on 
 Religion and the Church : 2 "When I was pursuing my studies 
 in a German university I felt strongly impressed with the in- 
 
 1 Works, I, 56. 
 
 2 Works, V, 254ff. 
 
 157 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 efficacy of the established forms of faith and worship. Their 
 unfitness to satisfy the spiritual wants of my own nature, and 
 to quicken the religious affections and energies of the people, 
 called up to mind the image of a Universal Church, a church 
 of mankind, having no other foundation and support than the 
 natural interests of men in religion. The true interests of the 
 church, that is, the religious interests of man, seemed to me 
 most effectually secured by relying wholly and solely on the 
 principles of individual freedom, and intimate spiritual inter 
 course among men, and the tendency to infinite progress in 
 human nature." 
 
 PLAN OF A RELIGIOUS REFORM. 
 
 This early philosophic vision never faded from Pollen s 
 mind, but continued to grow clearer and more inspiring to 
 action. When crossing the Atlantic to commence life anew in 
 this country he was already forming plans to carry out his 
 long-cherished scheme of religious philanthropy "as the only 
 star of promise amidst the gloom of disappointed hopes/ as 
 he expressed it. 1 From several of his letters and portions of 
 his diary published in his Works it is evident that he began a 
 keen observation of the religious life and institutions around 
 him as soon as he landed in this country. In one of these 
 letters 2 descriptive of American life, written to his parents 
 less than a month after his arrival, he observes "that much 
 depends here on religious sentiment, but nothing on religious 
 opinion; one may declare himself an atheist, a heathen, or a 
 Christian." He was glad to note a general interest in religion 
 and also complete freedom in matters of religious belief; but 
 on the other hand the fact that the religious sentiment dis 
 played seemed to him to be rather a matter of dogma and sec 
 tarian belief than the expression of pure religious feeling con 
 vinced him at once that the religious life of America was as 
 much in need of a thorough renovation as that of Europe. 
 That this conviction not only strengthened his long-cherished 
 
 1 Ibid. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 148. 
 
 158 - 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 scheme of religious philanthropy, but also led him from the 
 very outset to decide definitely upon a movement for a radical 
 reform of ecclesiastical and religious life in this country is 
 shown conclusively by a letter * written from Philadelphia on 
 the 31st of August, 1825, to his old Giessen friend, Christian 
 Sartorius, in Mexico. After making some general observa 
 tions on American life, he discusses a scheme for constitu 
 tional reform in the United States and then proceeds as fol 
 lows to outline the plan of his proposed religious reform : 
 
 "I have still another plan, on which I desire to have your 
 opinion in your next letter. Here, where complete freedom 
 of conscience prevails, new sects are springing up daily, which 
 indicates a vague religious aspiration. The chief defect, how 
 ever, which all churches and sects have had since the earliest 
 times is this : that they are founded upon dogmas, upon a 
 definite confession of faith. Everyone is reared in some creed, 
 and so complies as a rule with that which his sponsors promised 
 in his stead at his christening. This rests upon a complete 
 misunderstanding of rational human nature, which impels 
 man to a continuous perfecting of his character as also of his 
 religious conviction. On the other hand all churches have 
 hitherto presupposed that religion consists in the acceptance 
 and adherence to a definite confession of faith. I say: Re 
 ligion is piety. This consists in letting one s self be guided by 
 God in all his actions, that is, in striving to be perfect as his 
 Father in Heaven is perfect , as Christ says. The Church is 
 the covenant of piety, through which men mutually join to 
 exalt themselves in feeling (in devotion) to God, to gain as 
 adequate a conception of God as possible, and to make pious 
 resolutions. As to the conception of God, through which the 
 feeling and will are guided, it is two-fold : imagination and 
 knowledge. It is art which directs the imagination toward 
 God : Architecture, painting, music, and poetry must create for 
 a deep veneration of God, for that most sublime inner feeling, 
 a corresponding outward expression. Intellectual power, by 
 virtue of which we are convinced of God s existence, is thereby 
 promoted, so that every one in the religious assembly can fully 
 
 i Follen-Briefe, No. 12, Jahrbuch D. A. H. G., XIV, 26ff. 
 159 
 
KOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 express his doubts as well as his faith, rendering it necessary 
 on the part of the speaker to be cautious only in the order and 
 dignity of his utterances, just as in a law-making body. In 
 addition to this the appointment of clergymen is highly ad 
 vantageous : namely of men who are able, by being relieved 
 from the necessity of working for a living, to devote their 
 whole talent to the study of all the different religious systems. 
 Thereby scientific knowledge and the independent thought of 
 each individual will be combined. It should be the duty of 
 the clergyman to address the congregation if nobody else 
 wishes to. Of course there must be executive officials also. 
 
 "In this way I believe the church should be founded, not 
 on a dead confession of faith, but upon a living, ever-growing 
 conviction. Unfortunately my study of English law leaves me 
 very little time for making a written statement of my ideas and 
 for spreading them abroad, concerning which nobody in 
 America has thus far any knowledge except Beck and Kahl. 
 I have reasons for keeping silent about it until the whole plan 
 is matured. In this manner it is possible to put an end forever 
 to all schisms, while in the one general church each sect shall 
 appear merely as the representative of one of a number of 
 confessions, all of which are important for the information of 
 the whole church." 
 
 The views which Pollen expresses in this letter agree in 
 the main with the principles laid down in Schleiermacher s 
 religious writings, viz., the repudiation of unreasoning de 
 votion to creeds; the differentiation of dogma and religion; the 
 union of all sects into one church; the conception of religion 
 as feeling, piety, and reverent contemplation of God; the 
 sublime work of nature and art as the expression of an im 
 manent Deity, as a symbol through which the mind and heart 
 are directed toward the one eternal God; and the Christian 
 Church as an association of pious men for mutual aid and 
 cultivation of a closer relation to God. These ideas of religious 
 reform were brought by Follen from Germany and were 
 wholly independent of any American influence. In all prob 
 ability he knew little or nothing of the New England move 
 ment when this letter was written. 
 
 160 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 INTERCOURSE: WITH CHANNING. 
 
 W. E. Channing is usually called the forerunner of the 
 new movement. At any rate his famous Baltimore sermon J 
 in 1819, not only marked the climax of rational Unitarianism, 
 but in its allusion to the dignity of human nature, the power 
 of moral intuition, and similar ideas, struck a new chord. 
 That he felt the need of the times is evident from the follow 
 ing excerpt from a letter written in praise of Wordsworth in 
 1820: 2 "I wish to see among Unitarians," he says, "a develop 
 ment of imagination and poetical enthusiasm, as well as of the 
 rational and critical powers * * * I have before told you how 
 much I think Unitarians have suffered from union with a 
 heart-withering philosophy. I will now add that it has suffered 
 also from a too exclusive application of its advocates to biblical 
 criticism and theological controversy, in other words, from a 
 too partial culture of mind. I fear that we must look to other 
 schools for the thoughts which thrill us, which touch the most 
 inward springs, and disclose to us the depths of our souls." 
 By birth and education Channing was a rationalist and clung 
 to the philosophical traditions of the conservatives the sensu 
 ous philosophy of Locke ; by nature he was an idealist and 
 sympathized with the views of the radicals. 3 That he wel 
 comed and assimilated much of the spirit of German idealism 
 is attested by his biographer in the following statement : 4 
 
 "Nothing characterized him more than the youthful eager 
 ness with which he greeted the advent of every newly dis 
 covered truth. He was not a watcher by the tomb, but a man 
 of the resurrection . He lived in the mountain air of hope. 
 And at this period of his life he was breathing in the freshness 
 with which the whole intellect of Christendom seemed inspired, 
 as it pressed onward across the wide prairie which the science, 
 philosophy, poetry, and revolutionary tendencies of the age had 
 
 1 From the text, Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good 
 (I Thes. V, 21) ; cf. Works of Channing, 367 fi. 
 
 2 Life of Channing, 276. 
 
 3 Cf. Frothingham, Transcendentalism, 110. 
 
 4 Life of Channing, 274f . 
 
 - 161 - 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 opened. It was with intense delight that he made acquaintance 
 with the master minds of Germany, through the medium, first, 
 of Madame de Stael, and afterwards of Coleridge. He recog 
 nized in them his leaders. In Kant s doctrine of the Reason 
 he found confirmation of the views which, in early years 
 received from Price, had quickened him to ever deeper rever 
 ence of the essential powers of man. To Schelling s sublime 
 intimations of the Divine life everywhere manifested through 
 nature and humanity, his heart, devoutly conscious of the uni 
 versal agency of God, gladly responded. But above all did the 
 heroic stoicism of Fichte charm him by its full assertion of the 
 grandeur of the human will. Without adopting the system of 
 either of these philosophers, and, fortunately perhaps for him, 
 without being fully acquainted with these systems, he yet 
 received from their examples the most animating incentives to 
 follow out the paths of speculation into which his own mind 
 had entered." 
 
 In addition to the foregoing statement that Channing was 
 introduced to German thought by Mme. de Stael, and that his 
 interest in it was greatly stimulated by Coleridge and Carlyle, 
 it is said * that he gained still more knowledge of it through 
 the medium of Margaret Fuller, who often translated for him 
 passages from the works of such writers as De Wette, Herder, 
 and Goethe. This is all true, but it is not the whole truth. It 
 is safe to say that he learned from Mme. de Stael very little 
 German philosophy itself. Although he had met Coleridge 
 personally in 1822 and had prior to that time been introduced 
 to the transcendental philosophers of Germany through the 
 medium of short extracts contained in the "Biographia Litera- 
 ria," 2 it is probable that he did not derive much knowledge on 
 the subject from Coleridge until James Marsh republished in 
 this country the Aids to Reflection in 1829. The first informa 
 tion he received from Carlyle was from the latter s essays on 
 Goethe and German literature, which began to appear in the 
 Edinburgh Review in 1827. From Margaret Fuller he received 
 
 1 Memoirs of Margaret Fuller, I, 175f . 
 
 2 Cf. Miss Peabody s Reminiscences of Channing, 76, 
 
 162 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 no aid until 1836. As early as the winter of 1826- 27, however, 
 Pollen had become a welcome guest at his home and at once 
 entered into close intellectual intercourse with him, discussing 
 with him questions pertaining to German literature, theology, 
 and philosophy a fact which seems to have been overlooked 
 by those who have written on the Transcendental movement in 
 New England. 
 
 In the autumn of 1826 Follen was invited to attend an 
 informal gathering of Sunday School teachers who met fort 
 nightly in Dr. Channing s study to discuss the subject of 
 religious education. This was his first personal acquaintance 
 with Channing and the beginning of a warm, abiding friend 
 ship with him. To Miss Peabody we are indebted for a vivid 
 description 1 of this meeting. According to her account the 
 subject of the evening was the significance of the death of 
 Christ. During a pause in the discussion Channing, in glanc 
 ing around the room filled with people, observed Follen quite 
 hidden behind the rest, and with a desire to draw him out, to 
 see perhaps if there was anything in him worth hearing, asked 
 him whether he had anything to say on the subject. Being 
 extremely modest he blushed deeply and hesitated for an 
 instant, but then arose and proceeded with great simplicity and 
 earnestness, in a speech worded with the greatest felicity of 
 expression, to state the views of Christ s death which had made 
 him a Christian. Miss Peabody observes that the audience sat 
 quite entranced at his exceedingly individual and impressive 
 narration of his deep inner experience : "Dr. Channing was 
 entirely absorbed, his countenance growing brighter at every 
 word. He saw he had struck a mine, for here was a man 
 whose religion was not an inheritance, nor an imitation, nor 
 a convention of society, but the covenant of a consciously 
 finite being with God. From that moment was cemented a 
 friendship that never had a shadow of misunderstanding fall 
 upon it, but was a perfect mutual respect and tender love." 
 
 Follen was a great acquisition to these meetings as his 
 biographer observes : "His free and independent thought, and 
 the frank, fearless expression of his opinions, encouraged 
 
 1 Ibid., 213ff. ; also Sprague s Annals, VIII, 544ff. 
 163 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 others to think and speak freely ; while his unaffected respect 
 for the views of others, and the place of a learner, which his 
 modesty always led him to take for himself, made him the 
 model of all. When he spoke of spiritual realities, of his faith 
 in a future life, everyone felt that he spoke of what he be 
 lieved, and that immortality had already commenced in him." * 
 He made such a favorable impression upon his new friends 
 that he was urged to enter the ministry, and after a short con 
 sideration of the matter made known to Dr. Channing his 
 decision to accept the call. One must not conclude, however, 
 that this step was especially due to the importunities of his 
 friends. During his first year in Cambridge he had become 
 acquainted with the Unitarian movement and found that it 
 showed phases and tendencies which coincided in the main 
 with those ideals which he had brought with him from Ger 
 many. Here then was the opportunity to proceed with his 
 plan for religious reform which he had sketched in his letter 
 to Sartorius the previous year. He now took up the matter 
 with Dr. Channing, receiving from him much sympathetic aid 
 and friendly counsel for his preparation. 
 
 In December of this same year (1826) he wrote to his 
 father as follows : 2 "Channing is the most distinguished 
 preacher in the United States and stands at the head of the 
 Unitarians, that is, of that religious sect, who regard Christ as 
 a divinely inspired, perfect man, and who reject the Trinity. 
 To this doctrine belong the best informed men of this State ; 
 and it was very delightful to Dr. Channing to learn through 
 me, that a great number of German Lutherans thought with 
 him. I have had much conversation with him, especially on 
 philosophical subjects, and we agree about them in all essential 
 particulars. He is, besides, my very warm friend, and the 
 firmest spiritual stay and staff which I have here." 
 
 Pollen and Channing kept in constant touch either in 
 person or by correspondence. The letters which they ex 
 changed during the summer of 1827 indicate their deep regard 
 
 1 Works, I, 172. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 167. 
 
 164 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 for each other as also the mutual benefit which they derived 
 from their intimate association. While absent in New York, 
 in May, Channing wrote to Pollen concerning the death of the 
 latter s friend and compatriot, Dr. Bardili, in that city, closing 
 his letter as follows : x "This event may be used by us to con 
 firm in us that spirit of self-sacrifice, of which we have so 
 often spoken. When we see what a vapor life is, how suddenly 
 dissolved, we should dismiss our anxiety about prolonging it, 
 and count that man the most privileged, who, instead of wast 
 ing it in efforts to escape its end, offers it up freely in the cause 
 of God and man, of freedom and religion. I owe to you some 
 interesting views on this subject, and hope to renew our conver 
 sation on my return/ 
 
 To this letter Follen replied in July. Two short passages 
 of his letter 2 concerning immortality and the Deity may be 
 quoted here : "It is gratifying to my feelings that my friend, 
 before his death, has seen you, and beheld in your eyes the 
 reflection of that look of love which was soon to welcome him 
 to heaven. There, in a wider sphere of exertion and enjoy 
 ment, I hope to meet him again, with many of those privileged 
 of men who, instead of wasting their life in efforts to escape 
 its end, have offered it up freely in the cause of God and man, 
 of freedom and religion/ I hope to meet him there, if my 
 exertions do not fall short of my ardent desire to keep, as 
 Milton says, in tune with heaven. And in this respect I owe 
 to you, my most excellent friend, much more than I am capable 
 of expressing. * * * There are several theological subjects 
 concerning which I desire your opinion and advice. But my 
 mind is now unfortunately so much distracted with different 
 occupations, that all my attempts at writing down a series of 
 thoughts prove unsuccessful. Yet, while the minor faculties 
 of the mind are engaged in transitory pursuits, the deepest and 
 fondest exertions of my soul are directed to that universal 
 Mind, which is revealed in the creation and in the highest 
 results of inspired wisdom. The more my mind presses on 
 
 1 Ibid, I, 174. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 175ff. 
 
 -165- 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 toward that all-seeing L,ight, so much the more its warmth 
 expands and attracts my heart, as if to assure me, that wisdom 
 and love, as well as light and warmth, flow from the same 
 eternal source." This somewhat pantheistic conception of God 
 along with his warmth of religious feeling shows again the 
 influence of Schleiermacher. 
 
 At the close of the letter Pollen expresses a desire to 
 spend the month of August with Charming at Newport, where 
 the latter was taking his summer vacation, in order to receive 
 some assistance from him on a series of lectures on religion 
 which he was preparing. To this Charming replied as follows : l 
 "I thank you for your kind letter. It was, of course, gratify 
 ing to me. To know that I have contributed at all to the peace 
 and progress of such a mind as yours is a great happiness. I 
 wish you to feel that you have paid your debt. My interviews 
 with you have been highly interesting; and I owe to them 
 views and impressions, which have quickened and enriched my 
 mind." 
 
 Channing procured lodgings for Follen near his own and 
 gladly welcomed his arrival. The vacation was spent in the 
 closest friendly association, in walks and drives and scholarly 
 discussions. "He has often spoken to me," says Pollen s 
 biographer, 2 "of the high enjoyment he derived from the free, 
 intimate communion he had this summer with his friend, Dr. 
 Channing. The highest and holiest subjects were the themes 
 of their conversation. They often took very different views. 
 But as truth, not victory, was ever their object their differences 
 of opinion served to shed more light upon the mind of each, 
 and to add another charm to their affectionate and happy 
 intercourse." 
 
 In the autumn of 1827 the teacher s meetings at Dr. 
 Channing s were resumed and Follen was always present as 
 one of the leaders in the discussion of the evening. Through 
 their close association during the summer vacation Channing 
 began to recognize more clearly than ever that Pollen was no 
 
 1 Ibid., I, 178. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 179. 
 
 166 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 ordinary man, and from this time on the latter was a regular 
 visitor at his home. About this time Pollen began to keep a 
 diary, which he continued for a period of nearly four months, 
 recording many of his conversations and discussions with some 
 of the main leaders of the Unitarian movement. His bi 
 ographer has given us some "extracts" * from this journal with 
 the statement that much has been withheld from publication 
 on account of its personal nature. If the complete record were 
 available it would perhaps throw much new light upon Pollen s 
 importance for the development of later Unitarianism, but the 
 "extracts" alone indicate to some extent what an important 
 role he was playing in the intellectual life of Cambridge, apart 
 from his activity as instructor in German in the College. This 
 incomplete record from November 5th to February 26th shows 
 that in addition to attending the regular fortnightly meetings 
 at Dr. Channing s, Pollen spent on the average at least one 
 evening per week with him in private discussion of religious, 
 philosophical, and sociological subjects. Among the questions 
 discussed such as the following may be mentioned : The per 
 sonality of God; the nature of Christ; immortality; free 
 agency; moral and religious education; Christianity as a par 
 ticular form of religion; religious instruction of children; the 
 value of imaginative literature and of fiction in general on the 
 education of children; Schiller s idea of the cooperation of 
 kindred minds for the discovery of truth. Besides discussing 
 such subjects in general Channing often requested Pollen to 
 read to him from such works as Foster s Rise and Progress of 
 Religion, Tennemann s History of Philosophy, and de Ger- 
 ando s discussion of Kant s idealism. Many of these discus 
 sions gave Pollen the opportunity, as the diary shows, to 
 present not only the views of the greatest German minds, but 
 to advance arguments of his own, some of which were new 
 and interesting to Channing. One of the last entries in the 
 diary shows that Channing decided under the inspiration of 
 these discussions to study German. 
 
 The benefits derived from this close intellectual communion 
 were of course mutual. It is quite probable that Channing 
 
 i Ibid., I, 182ff. 
 
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FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 learned as much from Follen as the latter did from the former. 
 It seems that a man like Channing would hardly have spent 
 his valuable time one evening a week with Follen if the latter 
 had not had something valuable to offer him. No one in 
 Boston, not even in America, had at that time so broad a grasp 
 on the modern system of German theology and philosophy as 
 Follen, and it was probably to this rich fund of knowledge and 
 its liberating spirit that Channing was attracted. 1 Although 
 we have no record on which to rely, there is no reason to 
 suppose that these private discussions were ever discontinued, 
 for both lived near each other and remained intimate friends 
 until Follen s death. Miss Peabody, who at that time usually 
 spent her evenings at Channing s, observes 2 that she heard the 
 two men talk together a great deal, and that while they often 
 took very different views on special subjects they agreed on 
 general principles. Although Channing, as we have seen, had 
 become interested in German thought he seems to have been 
 somewhat suspicious of it until after he came in contact with 
 Follen, for according to Ripley 3 he cautiously advised William 
 Emerson in 1823 to study at Cambridge rather than at Gottin- 
 gen since he believed that so far as moral influence and relig 
 ious feeling were concerned a New England minister could 
 obtain the best education at Cambridge. Between this date 
 and the time he met Follen Channing had access to no other 
 sources of information concerning German thought than he 
 already possessed, but after a year s intellectual intercourse 
 with Follen, perhaps far more extensive than the diary and 
 correspondence indicate, Channing had become so greatly 
 interested in German philosophy that he decided at the age of 
 48 to study the German language in order to gain a first-hand 
 knowledge of German thought. 
 
 The purpose of this whole discussion is to show simply 
 
 1 In her Reminiscences of Channing, 301, Miss Peabody states ex 
 plicitly that Channing unaffectedly regarded Follen as his superior in 
 learning and Christian character. 
 
 2 Cf . Sprague s Annals, VIII, 546. 
 
 3 Cf. Frothingham, Life of George Ripley, 20f. 
 
 168 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 that if Channing actually recognized the master minds of 
 Germany as his leaders, as his biographer asserts, Pollen was 
 in all probability one of the important sources of his informa 
 tion concerning their teachings. Although no attempt is made 
 here to show that Pollen in any way changed Channing s 
 mature thought, 1 it seems reasonable to assume, however, that 
 he did to some extent influence some of his later views. At 
 any rate John White Chadwick, one of Channing s biographers 
 and a man of critical insight and fine literary sense, speaks 
 thus : 2 "I have seemed to find in Channing s later thought 
 more of Pollen s than of any other personal influence. Those 
 tendencies in his preaching which were deplored as trans 
 cendental were quite surely, in some measure, developments 
 of germs which fell into his own from Pollen s fruitful mind." 
 
 The diary shows also that Pollen associated intimately 
 with other Unitarian leaders, such as Ware, Palfrey, Peabody, 
 Higginson, and others, discussing with them theology, philos 
 ophy, and literature, and stimulating their interest in his 
 broad, enlightened views on religion and ethics. 
 
 James Freeman Clarke, another of the great Unitarian 
 leaders, owed his enthusiasm for German thought in some 
 measure at least to Pollen. He entered Harvard in 1825, the 
 year before Pollen began to teach German there, and was 
 graduated with the class of 1829. He then entered the Divin 
 ity School and for another year was in direct touch with 
 Pollen. Clarke s high tribute to Pollen, which has been quoted 
 in the preceding chapter, may be taken as an expression of the 
 general esteem in which he was held by at least some of the 
 leaders of the Transcendental movement and an acknowledg 
 ment of his influence upon them. 
 
 As teacher of ethics in the Theological School Pollen s 
 sphere of influence was greatly increased, for this position not 
 only brought him into closer relation with many prominent 
 Unitarians outside of college circles, but also into close touch 
 
 1 Pollen wrote to Beck that Channing was always ready to accept 
 the views of others if he found them better than his own. Works, I, 
 284. 
 
 2 William, Ellery Channing, 383. 
 
 169 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 with many of the theological students, who were afterwards 
 to become prominent leaders of the new movement. 
 
 While the radical wing of the Unitarians hailed the great 
 influx of German writings, the conservatives began to look 
 askance at these philosophical and religious teachings, regard 
 ing them as contaminating and irreligious, and gradually array 
 ing themselves against them. As this antagonism grew Follen 
 sought in private and in public to dispel this erroneous notion. 
 In his Inaugural Address he defends German philosophy as 
 follows : While German speculation has in its attempts to 
 solve the riddle of the universe produced some definite and im 
 portant results its greatest value consists in the unwearied and 
 never-satisfied striving of the mind to fathom and compre 
 hend itself and that whole of which itself is only a portion. 
 Jacob, who wrestled with the angel, bearing off in his lame 
 ness a revelation of omnipotence, is the true emblem of German 
 philosophy. It is valuable chiefly as mental gymnastics to 
 methodically unfold, invigorate, and refine the powers of the 
 mind. Its genius is a spirit of laborious, thorough-going inves 
 tigation into the nature of things, an attempt to survey the 
 whole region of faith and doubt, to investigate the origin and 
 elements of all science, to analyze every conception and idea 
 which we formulate in the domain of truth. This spirit of 
 free inquiry has often been accused of a tendency to material 
 ism and skepticism and to a denial of those spiritual realities 
 which form the foundation of the Christian faith the soul of 
 man and the soul of the universe ; but the fact is, that while the 
 whole school of modern philosophy, both the French and the 
 English, are advocates of materialism, the records of German 
 philosophy from Leibnitz to Kant and his disciples do not 
 exhibit the name of a single materialist or absolute skeptic. 
 This phenomenon is not due to lack of freedom in expressing 
 opinions different from those laid down by established creeds 
 supported by government or by popular opinion, for in no 
 country is there so much liberty in the profession of philo 
 sophical and religious opinions since the Reformation as in 
 
 170 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 Germany. The cause of this freedom is to be found in the 
 very character itself of German philosophy, namely its loyalty 
 to spiritual truth and its tendency to universal comprehen 
 siveness. The philosophical tendency of the German mind has 
 had a decided influence on every department of learning. 
 Every branch of science from the highest to the lowest, from 
 the works on religion and morality to those of agriculture and 
 forestry are characterized by the same scientific method. It is 
 to this faithful workmanship and exact painstaking method in 
 literary criticism especially that the excellence of German 
 literature is largely due/ 
 
 After this brief defense of German philosophy Pollen 
 added a few pertinent remarks on the progress of religious 
 science in Germany : German scholars were especially pre 
 eminent/ he points out, in the fields of ecclesiastical history 
 and biblical criticism. Nowhere have the primary and vital 
 truths of divinity been so fully acknowledged and scientifically 
 established as in the works of German philosophers and theo 
 logians such as Herder and Jacobi. These men conceive of 
 religion not as a set of precepts inculcated by the church or 
 the school, but as a native and indistructible principle of the 
 heart; and theology not as the arbitrary fabric of a dogmatic 
 and philosophizing imagination, but as the knowledge of the 
 essence and source of all reality, the ultimate result of the 
 most thorough study of nature and of man. Upon almost 
 every doctrinal point there is a great variety of individual 
 opinion, hence every theological work published must be con 
 sidered as the author s own opinion and not the statements of 
 any select group of people. Out of respect for the rights of 
 individual judgment and for the spirit of free inquiry the 
 public is inclined to hold in esteem every one whose conduct 
 is marked by a sense of truth, justice, and benevolence, what 
 ever be his religious sentiments; hence in expressing his own 
 peculiar views, every one thinks chiefly of what seems true to 
 himself and not of what he may gain or lose in society by a 
 frank profession of his views. This freedom of thought has 
 caused many to place the stamp of skepticism upon German 
 theology, but unbelief in spiritual realities is really not indigen- 
 
 171 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 ous to the German mind. Even those who reject the historical 
 facts of Christianity still embrace its spiritual essence ; hence 
 they cannot be classed as skeptics like the followers of Hume. 
 Every German who has only a general acquaintance with the 
 history of philosophy and who listens to the voices of the liv 
 ing and dead, speaking to him through their works, feels him 
 self girt about by a host of witnesses to the reality and eternity 
 of things not seen. If faith is the groundwork and if love, or 
 a vital interest in perfection, in truth, goodness, and beauty, is 
 the soul of religion, then it may be said that everyone who has 
 enjoyed a German education has had his mind nurtured in 
 religion and in it has lived and moved and had his being/ 
 
 It is not improbable that this defense of German theo 
 logians in the Inaugural Address, of which Ripley wrote an 
 enthusiastic review in the Christian Examiner, 1 was the first 
 inspiration to Ripley for his defense of Schleiermacher and De 
 Wette against the charge of atheism made by Professor 
 Norton. 
 
 VIEWS ON REUGION. 
 
 Follen gave an exposition of his theory of the nature of 
 religion partly in his lectures on moral philosophy and partly 
 in a series of tracts 2 published in 1836. In his attempt to 
 trace religion to its foundation he made use of no external 
 authority, but appealed only to such facts as come under the 
 observation of everyone who, as he said, uses his senses and 
 reason. He addressed himself to no particular class of 
 persons, but to all observing, thinking men and women in 
 general, whether they regarded religion as the source of good 
 or of evil, as a reality or a delusion, as a remarkable phenom 
 enon of history or as a principle implanted in human nature. 
 He did not advocate or oppose any particular creed or form of 
 worship, for he was in full sympathy with everyone who 
 refused assent to any system of faith that did not satisfy the 
 enquiring mind. While his reason compelled him to reject the 
 
 1 Vol. XI (1832). 
 
 2 Given in Works, V, 254-313. 
 
 - 172 - 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 religious dogmas peculiar to each creed he had a deep religious 
 sympathy for all, for he recognized in every form of faith, 
 even in the fearless freedom of sincere skepticism the same 
 vital principle. He maintained that the advocates of different 
 systems should join in searching for this fundamental element 
 of religion instead of fixing upon and defending against each 
 other points upon which they disagree. 
 
 In answer to the question concerning the true essence of 
 religion Follen replies 1 that it is a peculiar universal element 
 of human nature; the highest manifestation of that principle 
 of progress which we observe in the different orders of beings 
 throughout creation. Not only in those systems which are sup 
 ported by experience and sound analogical reasoning, but also 
 in those which are not consistent with facts established by ob 
 servation and history Follen sees the essential tendency of man 
 to look beyond the finite in search of the infinite ; and it is this 
 impulse toward perfection, this tendency of human nature 
 toward the infinite, that he considers the true substance of re 
 ligion. The true religious principle, as he expresses it, 2 may be 
 likened to the science of astronomy or of chemistry, while the 
 different systems of faith in which it is garbed are as unstable 
 as the dreams of astrology or the vagaries of alchemy. To use 
 Pollen s figure, the savage worships the rolling stone ascribing 
 its motion to an indwelling power which his credulity has per 
 sonified, but the scientist explains the motion as the necessary 
 effect of gravitation. Since the savage and the philosopher 
 worship the same mysterious power that is manifest in the 
 rolling stone and in the system of rolling worlds, it is clear, 
 Follen concludes, that true religion does not consist in the 
 object of faith, but in the principle of faith. 
 
 The true element of religion like that of morality is, 
 according to Follen s conception, 3 the innate desire of man for 
 the greatest happiness, but this desire, as he points out, does 
 not identify religion with morality; it shows merely that both 
 
 1 Ibid., 286f . 
 
 2 Ibid., V, 270f . 
 
 3 Cf . Lectures, Works, III, 225f . 
 
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FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 rest upon the same foundation. Morality, he explains, is the 
 direction of the mind toward that happiness which results 
 from a striving after the greatest efficiency, after perfection, 
 while religion is the direction of the mind toward the happiness 
 which results from the desire and belief that the world is so 
 constituted and governed as to make possible the greatest 
 perfection. The attainment of perfection depends not only 
 upon man himself, upon his faculties and moral effort, but 
 also partly, as Follen understands it, upon Providence, upon 
 the power which has created the universe in such a way that 
 man is aided in his striving after it. Man s desire and belief 
 that the world be so organized and directed as to conform to 
 his wants and needs is then, according to Pollen s view, the 
 foundation of religion, and from this desire and belief pro 
 ceeds his restless striving after an ever-enlarging sphere of 
 existence and action. Whether a person believes that this 
 providential direction of the world is vested in the eternal laws 
 of nature, in a polytheistic control, or in one supreme Deity 
 who controls the course of events in such a way as to enable 
 man to form his own character and to become the author of 
 his own happiness or misery; or whether he believes this 
 providential agency is independent of man s effort and must 
 be secured by prayers or the magic power of priests, all these 
 various beliefs are only different forms of the same principle. 
 The moral man, as Follen explains it, is like the husbandman 
 who expects the harvest as a result of his own painstaking 
 efforts in preparing the soil and sowing the seed; but the 
 religious man recognizes that the seed sown will not yield the 
 desired harvest unless sunshine and rain are sent by the Al 
 mighty s hand. From this standpoint religion is a feeling of 
 dependence on God for physical and spiritual laws which will 
 enable man to exercise all his faculties for the attainment of 
 divine perfection, and which will give free scope to his natural 
 tendency toward the infinite. 
 
 On the whole it may be said that Follen considers religion 
 not as theological speculation, not as belief in dogmas, nor as 
 moral actions, but as a pious contemplation of the harmonious 
 workings of the universe ; as a natural impulse toward and a 
 
 174 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 reverent feeling of dependence on the Infinite Spirit in whom 
 we live and move and have our being a view I quite in har 
 mony with the doctrine of Schleiermacher. From Schleier- 
 macher he accepts the view that religion is an innate principle 
 of the soul, a feeling for the infinite, a sense of dependence on 
 God. The orthodox party considered religion as an abstract 
 doctrine for the promotion of morals ; Kant considered morals 
 as the basis of religion ; but Follen like Schleiermacher main 
 tains that although religion and morals are essentially con 
 nected and have a common foundation in human nature, they 
 are nevertheless independent of each other. One of the 
 greatest merits of Pollen s system is the doctrine of the social 
 nature of religion. He considers the church not as an instru 
 ment for moral education, but as an association of people seek 
 ing after religious truth through the mutual exchange of 
 religious views. Since religious ideas are reflections of relig 
 ious feelings, he believed that the greater the variety of them 
 the better, since each individual is in this way more apt to 
 find that which will satisfy his own peculiar needs. 
 
 While Pollen s lectures on ethics and religion show the 
 influence of Kant, Fichte, Schiller, Fries and Schleiermacher, 
 they contain features also which demonstrate his originality as 
 a thinker. On the whole they are a prophecy of freedom from 
 beginning to end. It is to be presumed, however, that Follen 
 did far more in his private conversations and in his two years 
 instruction in the Divinity School to promote a knowledge of 
 German philosophical thought than he was able to do in his 
 series of popular lectures. His broad and liberal interpreta 
 tion of the New Testament, his doctrine of the fatherhood of 
 God, the brotherhood of man, moral freedom, the dignity of 
 human nature, the incarnation of God in humanity, which is 
 always progressing toward perfection, toward the divine life 
 to come, must have made a deep impression upon those 
 students who were later to enter into the new religious move 
 ment, tending to liberate them from the bondage of Calvinistic 
 
 1 Follen was doubtlessly influenced in his religious views by Ben 
 jamin Constant s work on religion as indicated by quotations from this 
 work in Works, III, 229f., and V, 255. In the American Quarterly Re 
 view (March, 1832) he gave a lengthy exposition of Constant s work. 
 
 175 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 theology and to inspire them with a sense of inner freedom. 
 In his eulogy on Follen, W. H. Channing, one of the notable 
 Transcendentalists, speaks as follows 1 concerning his influence 
 upon Harvard students : "It may be safely said that no young 
 man ever passed through his classes without imbibing as by 
 moral contagion, self-respect, honorable ambition, and cour 
 tesy. To many he gave the key to the richest tongue of modern 
 times, and awakened a desire to explore and work the virgin 
 mines of thought and feeling which that language opened up 
 to them." Thus Follen was able to contribute in some measure 
 to the preparation of the soil from which was to spring the 
 religious movement of which he had vaguely dreamed. 
 
 In addition to his lectures on Ethics and Religion Follen 
 gave publicity to his religious thought through the medium of 
 the Christian Teacher s Manual 2 also, one of the first Sunday 
 School publications in New England. Although the articles in 
 the Manual are all anonymous, there is both external and in 
 ternal evidence that Follen was the author of many of them. 
 The preface of the first volume, written by Follen, 3 states that 
 the aim of the Manual is to assist both teachers and parents in 
 their duties as religious instructors by providing them with 
 such material and views as they might not otherwise be able 
 to procure. Exchange of views, mutual cooperation for the 
 discovery of knowledge, as Follen learned from Schiller, was 
 the main object. Follen points out here that former attempts 
 at religious instruction had not been accomodated to the minds 
 of children, and that much light was needed on a subject so 
 important to the young and to the interests of society. He 
 wished to see religious feeling awakened in the church with 
 all dogmatic views excluded. He advocated that the material 
 for religious instruction should be taken chiefly from the 
 works of God. His method was to lead the minds of the 
 children to a knowledge and love of the universal Father by a 
 study of the order and beauty of Nature. His aim was here 
 
 1 Christian Examiner, XXXIII, 52ff. 
 
 2 Edited by Mrs. Follen, Boston, April, 1828 April, 1830. 
 
 3 Cf . Pollen s diary, Works, I, 240. 
 
 176 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 as in his lectures to show that religion and morals are closely 
 connected; to make the teachers realize and through them to 
 make the children feel that every time they were faithful to 
 what is considered duty, every time they had a generous 
 thought, every time they denied themselves anything from an 
 idea of right, every time they obeyed conscience they pleased 
 and obeyed God. Harangues on duty and explanation of 
 scriptures, he emphasizes, have little effect on character or in 
 calling forth religious feeling, but it is the incipient whispers 
 of conscience that must be held as laws of conduct. 
 
 In various articles upon such questions as the subject- 
 matter of lessons, the method to be pursued, requisites of 
 religious teachers, lessons on the mind, the use and authority 
 of reason in religious instruction, etc., Pollen addressed him 
 self to the Sunday School teachers, advocating the Pestaloz- 
 zian principles of education, the Kantian and Fichtean systems 
 of ethics, and Schleiermacher s doctrines of religion. It is not 
 too much to presume that in this way he gave to a class of 
 people outside of academic circles some insight at least into 
 German thought. There are also in the Manual sketches of 
 Herder s, Luther s, and Claudius writings, which quite prob 
 ably came from Pollen s pen. 
 
 CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE AS A PREACHER. 
 
 Prom his youth Pollen, as we have seen, had taken the 
 deepest interest in questions pertaining to religion and morals, 
 and his whole education had fitted him to become a religious 
 teacher. With a heart full of love for humanity he was not 
 content to devote his entire energy to the teaching of language 
 and literature in Harvard, but desired a still broader sphere of 
 influence in which to instruct his fellow men in the more 
 momentous truths concerning the nature and destiny of man. 
 This was his reason for entering the ministry. 
 
 In his loving contemplation of the wondrous harmony of 
 the universe he recognized the essential relation of man to the 
 external world. Thus impressed with the dignity of human 
 nature he not only reverenced the divinity of his own soul, but 
 
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FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 was inspired with a deep love for all mankind because he con 
 sidered them the children of God. The nobility and immortal 
 ity of the human soul was the central thought of his whole 
 philosophic and religious interest; and the conception of man 
 as a free moral agent, created to attain perfection, was the 
 guiding principle of all his thinking as well as the abiding 
 doctrine of his whole life. The emphasis which he placed upon 
 the inherent nobility of human nature and the inalienable rights 
 of the soul to free development toward perfection was in direct 
 opposition to Calvinistic theology. In his extreme religious 
 individualism he placed more confidence in truth as expressed 
 by the conscience of the individual than in any external author 
 ity ; hence he believed that the free spirit of man should not be 
 bound by tradition, but that all dogmas and theories, whether 
 social, political, or religious, should be tested by human reason 
 and sentiment alone. He taught men to look at the world as 
 it is without reference to dogmas and creeds; to see beauty 
 everywhere ; to seek God in nature and in their own souls ; to 
 make a heaven on earth, and to think of immortality as begin 
 ning here and now. This was a new way of looking at life, a 
 new faith, a new religious belief quite different from the 
 formalism and moralizing that gave the religious life of the 
 time its chief stamp. 
 
 The purpose of the Christian ministry, as he conceived it, * 
 is not to develop the religious character of men, but merely to 
 aid them in its formation and to stimulate them in increasing 
 their own exertions and responsibilities. To this end he ap 
 plied himself diligently to the study of nature, theology, the 
 Bible, and the life of Christ for the acquisition of exalting 
 truth. He looked upon nature, especially human nature, as a 
 temple of religious truth and used the Bible as a key to de 
 cipher the teachings inscribed upon its walls. His was no time 
 serving ministry. In his public services he spoke the truth as 
 he felt it in his heart, and delivered his message as if he be 
 lieved in its infinite importance. The main characteristic of 
 his preaching was complete independence in thought and ex- 
 
 i Works, I, 494f. 
 
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UNITARIANISM 
 
 pression. He was guided not by the likes and dislikes of his 
 hearers, but by the consideration of what he deemed important 
 for the formation of their religious character. A fearless, 
 manly character, he gave clear and powerful expression to 
 whatever he apprehended as truth, whether his hearers could 
 accept it or not, confessing his doubts and beliefs regardless of 
 the prejudices and opinions of his audience, often at the risk 
 of his popularity and office. He was undaunted by the author 
 ity of any man; and although he had the greatest respect for 
 the views of others, no consideration could restrain him from 
 opposing firmly though courteously any traditional opinion 
 which he conscientiously believed contrary to truth and justice, 
 whether advocated by friend or foe. In order to make the 
 broadest appeal he adapted his arguments to the capacities and 
 wants of all, saint and sinner, believer or skeptic. Pollen was 
 a practical exponent of the views which he held concerning the 
 duties of a Christian minister. He was actuated by a desire 
 not merely to impart knowledge, but to unite his fellow men by 
 a bond of love and fellowship ; to make them feel that religion 
 was not a mere speculation, but a living reality. In his private 
 intercourse he was a man among men. As a spiritual guide 
 he quickened the religious life of his people as much by his 
 friendly social intercourse as by his intellectual powers, enter 
 ing sympathetically into all their joys and sorrows, visiting the 
 sick and afflicted and administering to the poor and needy. It 
 was this genuine respect and love for men that made him so 
 influential as a minister of the Gospel. 
 
 As a religious teacher Follen no doubt reached the climax 
 of his influence during his ministry in New York. Besides 
 his regular pastoral duties he gave his attention to all phil 
 anthropic enterprises and cooperated heartily with all bene 
 volent associations so far as they appealed to his conscience. 
 He gave also several courses of lectures on Unitarianism, 
 another on the Domestic and Social Relations, one on German 
 literature, and before the Brooklyn Lyceum a discourse upon 
 Republicanism and Slavery. 1 These lectures made a deep im- 
 
 i Cf. Works, I, 462, 481, 473. 
 
 179 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 pression upon the intellectual circles of New York, and they 
 received such favorable comment in the papers that he was 
 invited to deliver the course on Unitarianism in Washington. 
 This he did, preaching with such power and eloquence that he 
 was offered the pastorate of the Unitarian Society in that city. 
 But one of the greatest services that he rendered to the cause 
 of liberal Christianity was to deliver a series of lectures 1 on 
 the subject of Infidelity. As already noted, there was in New 
 England at the beginning of the nineteenth century a general 
 tendency to skepticism. This moral revolt against the spiritual 
 bondage which the harsher features of Calvinism had imposed 
 upon the minds of reasonable men was especially pronounced 
 in New York, while Thomas Paine s "Age of Reason" and 
 Fanny Wright s lectures had tended also to breed a spirit of 
 general unbelief in all religious values. In his youth Pollen 
 had passed triumphantly through this same experience and 
 knew how to sympathize with men who were struggling with 
 doubts and unbelief. Imbued with a love of free and inde 
 pendent thought and desirous of aiding his fellow men in their 
 progress toward perfection, he eagerly grasped this opportun 
 ity to present his views on religion and at the same time do 
 justice to the so-called infidels. He knew that skepticism 
 usually grows out of an earnest desire to be assured of the 
 rational foundations of faith; therefore he maintained that it 
 is as unjust to accuse a man of willful unbelief as to accuse a 
 man of dishonesty, who, in casting up an account, makes an 
 error disadvantageous to himself. He believed that honest 
 skepticism must of necessity precede a reasonable faith; that 
 both the individual and society can make intellectual and spirit 
 ual progress only by a free exchange of thought and a mutual 
 confession of doubt. 2 
 
 In the course of these lectures, as excerpts in his works 
 show, he gave a discussion of the English Deists, the French 
 Encyclopaedists, Thomas Paine, and Fanny Wright, pointing 
 out what he considered the false grounds and inconsistencies 
 
 1 Excerpts of these lectures are given in Works, I, 445ff. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 446. 
 
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UNITARIANISM 
 
 upon which unbelievers base their arguments, and from pass 
 ages in the "Age of Reason" proving to his own satisfaction 
 that even Thomas Paine believed in God and immortality. He 
 maintained that it is not only a duty but also advantageous to 
 the unbeliever to examine the objections to Christianity, for 
 any difficulty left unexamined would lead to doubt, whereas 
 careful investigation might lead to conviction. Since his own 
 belief in the divine truth of the Gospel had been promoted by 
 studying the books written against it, he believed that a free 
 and fair investigation of Christianity would open up an infinite 
 sphere to free inquiry and thereby lead to a true and abiding 
 faith. He characterized Christianity as a sublime philosophy 
 adapted to the understanding of the child yet transcending the 
 wisdom of the sage ; as a system whose scientific character 
 makes it one of the most efficient checks to imposition and 
 blind credulity, and which should therefore neither be adopted 
 nor rejected without earnest mental effort. The fact that the 
 Bible teaches immortality, he says, * is no reason why one 
 should not seek other evidence of this doctrine, for God has 
 endowed man with an infinite desire to extend his knowledge, 
 and unless he makes use of his intellect he can never feel that 
 there is no reason for doubting. Pollen told his audiences 
 plainly that he could see no irreverence in questioning the doc 
 trine of the Gospel, for to him it seemed that there could be 
 no basis for an abiding belief in its truth unless its fundamental 
 teachings could stand the test of reason; unless its principles 
 could be considered a subject of free interpretation rather than 
 a mere matter of fact and history. The Bible, he maintained, 2 
 gives us only the means of arriving at truth, not truth itself, 
 for "Man finds the law and the prophets in his own soul." 
 
 In these lectures Follen gave such a liberal and reasonable 
 interpretation of the Bible and Christianity, and was so fair in 
 his treatment of the skeptics, that many of them were made to 
 see that they had been at variance not with religion, but with 
 Calvinistic theology, and were thus converted to the cause of 
 
 1 Ibid., I, 448. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 449. 
 
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POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 liberal Christianity. The general effect of these lectures was 
 so far-reaching that a movement was soon set on foot to 
 establish a great free church in New York with Follen as its 
 pastor. 1 It was one of Pollen s fondest hopes to found a 
 church upon what he considered the true Christian principle: 
 that of universal brotherhood; a church whose doors should 
 be open alike to Jew and Gentile, to believers and unbelievers, 
 to all whose creed was toleration and universal love, to all 
 who were in search of truth. His object was to introduce a 
 more truly social worship and to have the whole congregation 
 enter into all devotional exercises. He wished also to place 
 women on an equality with men, and to encourage everyone 
 to speak from the pulpit according to his or her gifts. For a 
 time it seemed probable that the project would be carried out, 
 but for want of sufficient encouragement it finally came to 
 naught. 
 
 The last two years of Pollen s ministry were spent in and 
 near Boston. Here he repeated his lectures on Infidelity, and 
 on two different occasions delivered a series of lectures on the 
 history of Pantheism. The question of the relation between 
 God and the world, whether there is a God of nature or 
 whether nature is God, was a subject to which he had devoted 
 years of faithful study. Although he was hardly in sympathy 
 with the pantheistic tendency of the new school of theology, 
 with which he fully identified himself, he believed that a fair 
 discussion of the subject would be a real aid to the cause of 
 true religion. During these two years he took part also in the 
 meetings of the Transcendental Club as indicated by the fol 
 lowing extract from a letter 2 to Miss Martineau in December, 
 1838 : "I have lately attended a meeting of some of the leaders 
 of the new school of Unitarians. A clear determination to 
 break loose from the Unitarian orthodoxy, and a vague con 
 ception of something greater and better with marked individ 
 uality of opinion and mutual respect, characterized the dis 
 cussion." He made another effort also to carry out his plan 
 
 1 Cf. Works, I, 496. 
 
 2 Ibid, I, 506. 
 
 - 182 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 for a free church on broad, unsectarian principles, but the time 
 was not yet ripe for the full realization of the projected re 
 ligious reform which hovered before his eyes. 
 
 At the beginning of his ministry Follen carefully wrote 
 out his sermons, but gradually discarded this practice, some 
 times writing them out in part, again writing only an outline, 
 and often preaching entirely extempore. He did not move his 
 audience by a passionate appeal, but held their attention by his 
 earnestness, logic, and wealth of profound thoughts. * By 
 many he was considered metaphysical and abstract, and those 
 who did not attempt to follow his train of reasoning called his 
 sermons uninteresting. A perusal of his printed sermons bears 
 out the statement of his biographer that the thought which he 
 put into one discourse was sufficient to furnish the ordinary 
 preacher with material for a dozen sermons. The clearness 
 with which he sought to unfold his subject sometimes made 
 the statement of his thoughts dry, but his manner was always 
 eloquent. Dr. Peabody, 2 who often heard him preach, char 
 acterizes his sermons as "instructive and impressive, weighty 
 in thought, full fraught with devotional feeling, written in a 
 style both full and simple, and delivered with solemnity and 
 earnestness though without oratorical adornment." W. H. 
 Channing 3 considered him most successful in his extempore 
 addresses, characterizing him in the following words : "The 
 thought seemed to pour from deep inward stores in language 
 made fluent by his fervor; accordingly great beauty of fancy 
 played over the surface of his arguments." As he gained in 
 experience he became less abstruse, holding the interest of his 
 hearer by his direct personal appeal. He never dogmatized, 
 but made the reason and conscience of the individual stand at 
 
 1 Cf. Letter of Rev. George F. Simmons in Sprague s Annals, VIII, 
 544. 
 
 2 Harvard Reminiscences, 121; Peabody remarks also that Pollen s 
 failure to pronounce the th-sound was the only peculiarity of utterance 
 ,that would have betrayed him as a foreigner ; that his use of English 
 was as free from solecisms and inaccuracies as if it had been his ver 
 nacular. 
 
 3 Christian Examiner, XXXIII, 53f. 
 
 - 183 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 the bar in witness of the truths he proclaimed. He aroused 
 men to do themselves justice and to learn the wealth of their 
 own experience. "No one can have listened to his preaching," 
 says James Freeman Clarke, 1 "without honoring the man and 
 feeling the power of the truth, which he dispensed so much 
 according to the spirit." The clear, chaste style, the interest 
 ing subject matter, and the deep moral earnestness of his dis 
 courses caused Judge Cranch of Washington to speak of him 
 as a perfect model of pulpit eloquence. 2 The few sermons 
 which he committed to writing form one volume of his pub 
 lished works. These show r a wide range of subjects with 
 abundant illustrations drawn from common life, and are writ 
 ten in a style of pungent directness and unaffected pathos. The 
 one golden note which rings throughout every discourse, the 
 one theme on which Pollen loves to dwell, is that of Freedom 
 and Immortality , the tendency of the human mind to infinite 
 progress and its capability of approaching continuously, 
 through moral action and religious feeling, to divine perfection. 
 
 Although Riley seems inclined to believe that the views of 
 Emerson, the chief representative of Transcendental thought 
 in America, were for the most part original, he speaks never 
 theless about the transcendental movement as a whole as 
 follows : 3 "It may safely be said that the German influence 
 on American thought has been the most significant and the 
 most weighty of all foreign forces. This is due in large 
 measure to the after effect of that great epoch of German 
 humanism systematized by the names of Goethe and Kant, 
 Schiller and Fichte. The very substance of the life-work of 
 these men and their company consisted in this, that they re 
 placed the ecclesiastical doctrine of atonement by the belief in 
 the saving quality of restless striving. * * * They trusted in 
 the essential goodness of all life; they conceived of the uni- 
 
 1 Western Messenger, October, 1836. 
 
 2 Works, I, 444. 
 
 8 American Thought, 229ff. 
 
 184 
 
UNITARIANISM 
 
 verse as a spiritual being, engaged in constant self-revelation 
 and in a constant struggle toward higher forms of existence." 
 The discussion in the foregoing pages is an attempt to show in 
 some measure that this was the very doctrine that Pollen 
 brought with him from Germany in 1824, and which he pro 
 claimed on every occasion, both in his teaching and preaching, 
 in public and in private, in his intercourse with the learned men 
 of Boston and with the Harvard students who were later to 
 become the leaders of the new movement. 
 
 Upon its introduction into New England, as Frothingham 
 testifies, the transcendental philosophy took root and blos 
 somed out in every form of social life, becoming thus a highly 
 important factor in shaping our national life. To use his exact 
 words: 1 "It affected thinkers, swayed politicians, guided 
 moralists, inspired philanthropists, created reformers. The 
 moral enthusiasm which broke out with such prodigious power 
 in the holy war against slavery; which uttered such earnest 
 protests against capital punishment, and the wrongs inflicted 
 on women ; which made such passionate pleading in behalf of 
 the weak, the injured, the disfranchised of every race and 
 condition ; which exalted humanity above institutions, and pro 
 claimed the inherent worth of men, owed, in larger measure 
 than is suspected, its glow and force to the Transcendent- 
 alists." 
 
 If the views of such writers as Frothingham and Riley 
 are correct; if New England Transcendentalism was a new 
 way of looking at the world and the facts of human existence; 
 if it was a call for immediate application of ideas to life ; and 
 especially if it owed its origin, in some measure, to German 
 thought; then as one of the earliest interpreters of German 
 romantic literature and the German systems of philosophy in 
 this country, and as an active leader in the important reform 
 movements of the time Follen was not only from the meta 
 physical but also from the practical standpoint at least a har 
 binger if not one of the earliest pioneers of the movement. 
 
 1 Transcendentalism in New England, Preface Vf. 
 185 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 HIS ANTISLAVERY ACTIVITY. 
 
 It is one of the characteristics of the philosophy, of which 
 Pollen as the representative of German literature became the 
 interpreter, that it did not resign itself to the mere establish 
 ment of abstract systems, but that it strove to carry its message 
 into actual life. This is true especially of the philosophy of 
 Fichte, which placed the greatest emphasis upon the will and 
 the deed. "Alles Hohere," says Fichte, 1 "muss eingreifen wol- 
 len auf seine Weise in die unmittelbare Gegenwart und wer 
 wahrhaitig in jenem (Hoheren) lebt, lebt zugleich auch in der 
 letzteren." Like Fichte, his teacher and model, Follen believed 
 that the knowledge of the true scholar consists in visions of 
 a spiritual world that does not yet exist, in pictures of a world 
 that is to be realized by man s actions. It is from this point 
 of view that we can understand his active interest in the 
 political affairs of this country, and the motives which impelled 
 him to enter into the antislavery movement. 
 
 After landing in this country Follen became at once a 
 keen observer of our national life. Although he was pleased 
 with the general atmosphere of democracy, he gradually be 
 came impressed more and more with what he considered a 
 striking contrast between our republican institutions and our 
 habits of thought. 2 On the one hand the American people 
 professed to believe in freedom and independence in spiritual 
 matters, yet the partisan spirit in religion and politics often 
 made public opinion extremely tyrannical; on the other hand, 
 in liberty and equality, yet they held millions of human beings 
 in physical bondage. Like the forty-eighters a quarter of a 
 century later Follen felt that this republic fell short of the 
 political Utopia he had imagined it. With prophetic vision he 
 saw that if America was to realize the high ideals of the 
 
 1 12th Address to the German Nation, Samtliche Werke, VII, 447. 
 
 2 Address on the Cause of Freedom in our Country, Quarterly 
 Anti-Slavery Magazine, October, 1836 ; also Works, I, 478 ; cf . also his 
 letter to Dr. Bowring, Works, I, 335ff. 
 
 - 186 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 founders of the republic, if it was to become the hope of the 
 world, liberty and equality, both spiritual and physical, would 
 have to become a fact as well as a theory. Despite these in 
 consistencies, however, he did not lose faith in democratic 
 principles, but dedicated himself anew to the cause of freedom 
 and stood ready to struggle and suffer if necessary in opposing 
 the same principles that had driven him from his native land. 
 The part which he took in the intellectual regeneration of this 
 country has been recounted. The role which he played in the 
 movement for the abolition of chattel slavery will be the theme 
 of the following pages. 
 
 It is a well-known historical fact that there was a strong 
 current of opposition to the institution of slavery during the 
 colonial period of our history, especially by the Quakers of 
 Pennsylvania j 1 and the Declaration of Independence embody 
 ing the political philosophy of the 18th century concerning the 
 natural rights of man gave a still greater impulse to the anti- 
 slavery sentiment. 2 Impressed by the inconsistency of waging 
 a heroic war for emancipation from despotic foreign rule while 
 holding in bondage a half million slaves, the Revolutionary 
 fathers sought to check the encroachment of a system which 
 made merchandise out of human beings. For a quarter of a 
 century thereafter philanthropic men in the South as well as 
 in the North carried on an antislavery propaganda, organizing 
 societies for improving the condition of the slaves as well as 
 for bringing about their freedom ; and during the same period 
 several New England states abolished slavery by constitutional 
 provisions while some of the middle states enacted measures 
 for gradual emancipation. 3 
 
 As early as 1776 it was discovered at the drafting of the 
 Declaration of Independence that the North and South were 
 already at odds over slavery, 4 and this disagreement became 
 still more evident in the Constitional Convention of 1787 as 
 
 1 Goodell, Slavery and Antislavery, 35ff. 
 
 2 Ibid., 69ff. 
 
 3 Ibid., 99ff. 
 
 4 See note No. 1 on page 188. 
 
 187 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 shown by a compromise concerning the representation of the 
 slaves on a two-thirds ratio in the House of Representatives. 2 
 Not only did the people assume, perhaps correctly, that the 
 Constitution tacitly recognized slavery as a legal institution, 
 but the products of slave labor were beginning to pour such 
 a stream of gold into the coffers of the northern merchants 
 and manufacturers that the question of abolition gradually 
 came to be regarded as a subject too dangerous to be dis 
 cussed. Owing to the belief also that slavery would gradually 
 be subverted after the prohibition of the foreign slave-trade, 
 the early abolition propaganda subsided to a great extent. 3 
 For a short time the Missouri controversy of 1820 again 
 aroused serious thought on the subject, but Clay s compromise 
 lulled the people into such a state of acquiescence, and the 
 Colonization project drew their attention from the main issue 
 to such an extent that by the close of another decade neither 
 the pulpit nor the press made more than an occasional allusion 
 to the subject. 4 
 
 In spite of this lethargy of public opinion, however, the 
 antislavery sentiment was kept alive by a number of earnest 
 men both in the free and in the slave states. Among these is 
 to be mentioned especially the New Jersey Quaker, Benjamin 
 L,undy, who as early as 1815 was traveling up and down the 
 country from one state to another speaking against slavery 
 and organizing antislavery societies. 5 L,undy founded also an 
 antislavery paper, "The Genius of Universal Emancipation," 
 which he published successively in several different cities, and 
 finally in Baltimore. In 1828 he was attracted by the anti- 
 slavery writings of William Lloyd Garrison, then a young man 
 23 years of age, who was publishing a newspaper in Benning- 
 
 1 von Hoist, Constitutional History of the U. S. f I, 282. 
 
 2 Hart, Slavery and Abolition, 155. 
 
 3 May, Recollections of the Antislavery Conflict, 6. 
 
 4 Hart, 165f. 
 
 5 May, llff. 
 
 188 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 ton, Vermont, and in the following year persuaded him to come 
 to Baltimore to assist him in editing the "Genius", "thus put 
 ting the burning torch into the hands of the man raised up by 
 Providence to lead the new crusade against the slave power." 1 
 The first hand knowledge of slavery which Garrison gained 
 in the slave market of Baltimore convinced him that it should 
 be abolished immediately and unconditionally. With this pro 
 gram in view he returned to Boston and on New Years day, 
 1831, issued the first number of the Liberator, an event which 
 is usually regarded as the beginning of the so-called Garri- 
 sonian Abolition propaganda. 
 
 Although slavery no longer existed in New England the 
 slave power had thoroughly intrenched itself in commercial 
 affairs, and the proslavery sentiment had become almost uni 
 versal in political, ecclesiastical, academic, and social circles. 
 Consequently when the Liberator appeared with its radical 
 doctrine of immediate abolition an angry protest went up from 
 the South, and the northern business men, yielding to these ap 
 peals, decried the antislavery commotion as a dangerous con 
 spiracy. The pulpit and the press also denounced it as un 
 constitutional and revolutionary, branding Garrison as a 
 fanatic and heaping the grossest insults upon him. Encouraged 
 by its northern sympathizers the South demanded that the 
 Liberator should be suppressed by law, and one state went 
 so far as to offer a large reward to any one who wouM abduct 
 its editor and bring him to trial under the laws of that state. 2 
 But, to use the words of Pollen, 3 "it was then that the voice of 
 one crying in the wilderness, waxing louder and louder in the 
 general indifference, found a response in a few hearts. A 
 small number of men, citizens of Boston, determined to join 
 in the devoted labors and to share the contumely and detesta 
 tion that fastened upon the disinterested and uncompromising 
 efforts of the obscure printer, who had dared to take upon him 
 self openly the office of a servant of servants." 
 
 1 Johnson, William Lloyd Garrison and His Times, 22. 
 
 2 May, 33. 
 
 3 Christian Examiner, XXIII, 232. 
 
 189 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 In January, 1832, this small group of men formed in 
 Boston the first Antislavery Society in New England. From 
 this association the movement spread so rapidly that in re 
 sponse to a demand for a national organization delegates from 
 ten different states founded at Philadelphia in December, 1833, 
 the American Antislavery Society, which maintained in its 
 declaration of principles that all men are created equal; that 
 slavery is a crime against human nature ; and that it should 
 be immediately and unconditionally abolished without compen 
 sation to the slaveholders. 1 
 
 HIS ESPOUSAL OF THE: CAUSE:. 
 
 In the great slavery conflict various arguments were 
 advanced for and against slavery, moral, religious, econom 
 ical, and political, but Pollen based his arguments upon strictly 
 philosophical principles, upon Kant s and Fichte s doctrine of 
 man s right to self-determination. He began his antislavery 
 propaganda in this country in his popular lectures on moral 
 philosophy, which he delivered at Boston in 1830. The course 
 of reasoning which he pursued may be briefly stated as fol 
 lows : 2 Man is a free moral agent created to develop toward 
 infinite perfection. He is entitled by nature to such a mode of 
 existence and action as is conducive to his happiness, to a 
 sphere of freedom in which he can unfold and exercise all his 
 faculties. He has, therefore, the inherent right to property 
 and to freedom from any kind of interference with his will 
 as long as his conduct does not infringe upon the natural 
 rights of others. Follen spoke in no uncertain terms to his 
 Boston audience when he declared that every one who seeks 
 in any way to deprive any individual of his natural rights "is 
 an enemy to society, who should be resisted and if necessary 
 destroyed by the united power of the people." He branded 
 slavery as a huge social conspiracy in which society was using 
 the civil power, designed to be the right hand of justice, "to 
 oppress human beings simply because mother nature had ar- 
 
 1 Goodell, 398. 
 
 2 Expounded especially in his 13th lecture, Works, III, 252-270. 
 
 190 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 rayed them in black and red." In these words he protested 
 against the unjust treatment accorded to the American Indians 
 as well as to the negroes. But why was such injustice toler 
 ated? "Because the slave-holders are in the majority," was his 
 reply; "because some cents less on every pound of cotton will 
 satisfy the sensible and practical people all over the world that 
 slave labor is useful and slavery is right." In these lectures 
 Follen did not enter into the reasons for or against the pre 
 tended rights of slavery on the grounds of color, birth, or 
 capture, because he believed there was no room for argument 
 on the subject from the standpoint of moral philosophy. He 
 maintained that long-settled usage may alter the boundaries 
 of property, but that it cannot abolish the difference between 
 man and beast; that is cannot prevail against the rights of 
 human nature. "I allow," he says, 1 "that slave-holders among 
 themselves may settle with the strictest justice the rights of 
 every freeman ; but I confess that when I hear the great prin 
 ciples of liberty and equality proclaimed by slave-holders and 
 advocates of slavery I know not whether to rejoice at this 
 meritorious inconsistency, or to mourn to see liberty thus 
 wounded in the house of her friends." So radical a doctrine 
 had seldom been heard in Boston prior to 1830. 
 
 Pollen s connection with the abolition movement dates 
 from 1831. His widow relates 2 the following incident con 
 cerning his first visit to Garrison : One Sunday morning when 
 he was returning from preaching in a neighboring town he 
 overtook a negro on the road, whom he found a very interest 
 ing companion. Since it was raining and the man looked 
 rather infirm he invited him to take a seat in the carriage. The 
 man soon began to talk about slavery and told him of Mr. 
 Walker, the author of the incendiary pamphlet, "Appeal to the 
 Colored Citizens of the World." He said that Mr. Walker had 
 died suddenly and the colored people thought from appear 
 ances that he had been poisoned. This accidental conversation 
 with the poor negro excited Pollen s mind so powerfully that 
 
 1 Works, III, 265. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 304. 
 
 191 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 he soon visited Mr. Garrison, of whose efforts for the slaves 
 he had already heard. According to Mr. May, 1 it was the 
 bugle-blast of the Liberator that summoned him to the conflict. 
 Whatever affected the welfare of mankind was a matter of 
 deep concern to him; therefore he could not be indifferent 
 to a movement which had for its sole object the promotion of 
 human freedom. While most of the clergymen and philan 
 thropists of Boston held themselves aloof from Garrison, 
 Pollen often went to the Liberator office, says May, to converse 
 with and encourage the young man who had dared to face the 
 insults and opposition of his fellow citizens in preaching the 
 immediate and unconditional abolition of negro slavery. 
 
 Pollen did not join the Antislavery Society in the first 
 year of its existence, but he was fully in sympathy with its 
 principles and followed the progress of its propaganda with 
 the liveliest interest. He had already sacrificed country, home, 
 and all that he held dear for the sake of freedom, and it could 
 not be wondered at if even a man of his heroic stamp should 
 have hesitated to take a step which he believed would endanger 
 his worldly interests if not involve him and his family in 
 poverty. He had received repeated warnings 2 that his pros 
 pects for advancement would be materially injured unless he 
 adhered strictly to the policy of the College, and had been 
 reminded, too, that as a foreigner it was highly improper for 
 him to meddle with a question whose aim was the subversion 
 of an established American institution. Pearing the loss of 
 southern trade, and honestly believing also that the radical doc 
 trine and severe language of the antislavery agitators would 
 endanger the peace of the country as well as postpone gradual 
 emancipation, the citizens of Boston became embittered against 
 Garrison and his followers; consequently those who identified 
 themselves with the abolition movement did so at the risk of 
 injuring their business interests, of alienating their friends, 
 and of arousing the ill-will of the whole community. Pollen 
 however was a man who would not desert the cause of human- 
 
 1 Antislavery Conflict, 252. 
 
 2 Works, I, 343. 
 
 - 192 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 ity for these or any other considerations. He did not hesitate 
 long. In the summer of 1833 appeared Mrs. Child s "Appeal 
 in Favor of that Class of Americans called Africans." This 
 appeal made so deep an impression upon his mind that after 
 solemn consideration of every objection his devout sense of 
 duty would not permit him any longer to stand aloof from a 
 society whose aim was the immediate and unconditional eman 
 cipation of over two millions of slaves. 
 
 Pollen s active participation in the doings of the Anti- 
 slavery Society began in January, 1834. 1 Upon invitation by 
 the secretary to deliver the main address at the second anniver 
 sary of the association he replied as follows: 2 "Your letter is 
 an additional inducement to me to attend the coming anni 
 versary of the New England Antislavery Society. The deep 
 interest I feel in the abolition of slavery throughout the world 
 has made me desirous of becoming more thoroughly ac 
 quainted with the plans and the proceedings of your Society, 
 and for this reason I had determined before I received your 
 letter to attend its next general meeting. I feel truly grateful 
 to you and the other gentlemen of the committee for the con 
 fidence you have expressed in my sentiments, and for the 
 honor you have conferred upon me by desiring my services on 
 that interesting occasion. But, with the most sincere desire to 
 cooperate with you in this great and holy undertaking, my 
 information on the subject, particularly with regard to the 
 peculiar relations of this country, is still so imperfect, that I 
 do not feel authorized to promise beforehand to make a public 
 
 1 May, 254 : "Soon after the New England Antislavery Society was 
 instituted Follen made known his intention to join it. Some friends 
 remonstrated. They admonished him that so doing would be very 
 detrimental to his professional success. He joined the society, became 
 one of its vice-presidents, was an efficient officer and rendered us in 
 valuable service. The apprehensions of his friends proved to be too 
 well founded. The funds for the support of his professorship at Cam 
 bridge were withheld, and he was obliged to retire from a position in 
 which he had been exceedingly useful." 
 
 In her Reminiscences of Charming, 359, Miss Peabody states that 
 although the latter did not feel able to take an active part in the Anti- 
 slavery Society he was glad to see Follen join it and expressed to him 
 the wish that he would use his influence in its counsels to convince the 
 North of 4 its duty to compensate the slaveholders. 
 
 2 Works, I, 341. 
 
 193 - 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 address at the first meeting of the Society which I shall attend. 
 I shall take great pleasure in being present as a listener, and a 
 learner, and a warmly sympathizing friend." 
 
 The following account of Pollen s actual participation in 
 this meeting will show still more conclusively with what peril 
 to himself he joined the Society, and will indicate also in what 
 esteem he was held by such an abolition leader as Whittier. 
 "At the time of the formation of the American Antislavery 
 Society," Whittier writes, 1 "Pollen was Professor in Harvard 
 University, honored for his genius, learning, and estimable 
 character. His love of liberty and hatred of oppression led 
 him to seek an interview with Garrison and express his sym 
 pathy with him. Soon after, he attended a meeting of the 
 New England Antislavery Society. An able speech was made 
 by Rev. A. A. Phelps, and a letter of mine was read. Where 
 upon he rose and stated that his views were in unison with 
 those of the society, and that after hearing the speech and the 
 letter he was ready to join it, and abide the probable conse 
 quences of such an unpopular act. He lost by so doing his 
 professorship. He was an able member of the Executive Com 
 mittee of the American Antislavery Society. The few writings 
 left behind him show him to have been a profound thinker of 
 rare spiritual insight." 
 
 ADDRESS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 
 
 In May, 1834, the first convention of the New England 
 Antislavery Society was held in Boston. It was a large gath 
 ering, and as a member of the committee on arrangements Fol- 
 len took great interest in making the meeting a success. His 
 activity in the antislavery propaganda had already brought him 
 recognition as one of the leading champions of abolition, and 
 for this reason he was chosen by the convention as chairman 
 of a committee to draft an address to the people of the United 
 States on the subject of slavery. 2 The address 3 which he 
 
 1 Poetical Works (Riverside Ed.), IV, 30. 
 
 2 May, 255. 
 
 3 Given in Works, V, 189-227. 
 
 194 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 wrote on this occasion is a lucid exposition of the principles of 
 abolition showing, too, how thoroughly he had studied the 
 slavery question and how deeply concerned he was over the 
 gravity of the whole situation. The general spirit of this 
 appeal to the nation is not unlike that of Fichte s addresses to 
 the German Nation; the same moral fervor, the same deep 
 earnestness, the same breadth of view, and the same prophetic 
 vision. In both cases the situation confronting the nation was 
 somewhat the same. Deeply conscious of the moral decline of 
 his time, the root of which he found in the prevailing egotism, 
 Fichte recognized that an entirely new public spirit had to be 
 created if Germany was to become a strong united nation and 
 fulfill the destiny of the Teutonic race, for the spiritual free 
 dom which it had given to the world could not long exist if the 
 nation itself should succumb to foreign oppression. 1 Follen. 
 too, forsaw the impending crisis which threatened the Ameri 
 can nation. To him it was evident 2 that national solidarity 
 was endangered by an immoral and corrupt system that would 
 sooner or later bring the interests of two great sections of the 
 country into direct conflict. He felt also that our republican 
 government could not endure without strict adherence to the 
 principles of the Declaration of Independence, and that the 
 American ideal of human freedom could not be attained with 
 out the creation of a new national spirit. 
 
 To the Abolitionists the slavery system seemed so contrary 
 to every principle of justice and humanity that they believed 
 the success of their propaganda would be assured if the mat 
 ter were given an intelligent, impartial hearing by the Amer 
 ican public. Despite the degenerating effects of slavery the 
 Abolitionists believed, as Follen pointed out, that the spark of 
 divinity in the slave and the feelings of humanity in the master 
 were not yet extinct, and upon this belief they based their 
 justification of abolition and their hope of its accomplishment. 
 The object of this address was, therefore, to place clearly 
 before the people the evils of slavery as well as to refute some 
 
 1 Cf. Fichte s 1st Address, Werke, VII, 264ff. 
 
 2 Works, V, 213. 
 
 - 195 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 of the more important proslavery arguments ; not to convince 
 them of its evils, for that would be as unnecessary, the writer 
 says, as an attempt to prove that liberty is an inestimable good ; 
 but to impress upon them the inconsistency and danger of 
 advocating the principles of freedom and equality without at 
 the same time yielding obedience to the universal law of liberty. 
 The address opens with a general exposition of the injustice of 
 slavery from the standpoint of the Declaration of Independ 
 ence which Pollen considered the fundamental law of the 
 land. According to this document which was read with pride 
 throughout the country on every Fourth of July, all govern 
 ment among men derives its just power from the consent of 
 the governed, and is instituted to secure the inalienable rights 
 of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with which all 
 men are endowed equally by their creator. In Pollen s opinion 
 these self-evident truths proved the unlawfulness of the gov 
 ernment established over the slaves in the same terms in which 
 it justified the self-government of the free. 
 
 After this introduction Pollen proceeds to portray in clear 
 and convincing arguments the debasing effects of slavery both 
 upon the slaves and upon the slave-holders. In regard to its 
 evil effects upon the nation as a whole he asserted that the 
 system was the cause of all our political dissensions; that it 
 tended to unsettle the groundwork of the government so that 
 every institution founded on the common ground of the Union 
 was like an edifice on volcanic soil, ever liable to have its 
 foundation shaken and the whole structure consumed by sub 
 terranean fire. 
 
 Among the many proslavery arguments was the contention 
 that immediate emancipation would entail great property loss ; 
 that the great majority of slaves were well treated, content, 
 and happy ; that they were not prepared for liberty and if sud 
 denly freed would take vengeance upon their masters for their 
 past sufferings. To all these objections to abolition Pollen 
 advanced the strongest arguments to show that universal and 
 immediate emancipation \vould in general prove highly bene 
 ficial both to the slave-holders and to the slaves. Granting that 
 the slaves were content with their lot, would this have been a 
 
 196 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 good reason for continuing the system? Quite the contrary 
 Pollen replied, for he believed that if the slave had fallen so 
 low as to rest satisfied with his own degradation and forget 
 that he was a man, then slavery had done its worst and free 
 men were in duty bound to abolish it. 
 
 One of the strongest arguments against the promotion of the 
 abolition propaganda was based upon constitutional grounds. 
 Although the Constitution nowhere speaks of slavery, it was 
 generally interpreted as recognizing the legality of that insti 
 tution in those states in which it had not been prohibited by the 
 state itself. Everything indicated that slavery was supported 
 by the federal laws, hence the proslavery party maintained that 
 it was improper and dangerous to agitate the question at all. 
 Follen admitted that these objections to the antislavery move 
 ment were well grounded, but maintained also that the usual 
 interpretation of Art. IV, Sec. Ill, 3, of the Constitution was 
 inconsistent with correct principles of legal interpretation. 
 This clause which was supposed to authorize slavery reads as 
 follows : "No person held to service or labor in one State, 
 under the laws thereof, escaping to another, shall, in conse 
 quence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from 
 such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of 
 the party to whom such service or labor may be due." Follen 
 explains * that this clause is not inconsistent with the Declara 
 tion of Independence if interpreted as referring to such service 
 as may be due from one person to another on any legal grounds 
 except slavery, but that it is inconsistent with the Declaration 
 if interpreted as referring to slave labor and involuntary servi 
 tude as well as to free labor and hired service. Admitting for 
 the sake of argument, Follen continues, that the Declaration 
 be acknowledged no longer as valid, and considering the Con 
 stitution in the light of a more recent law, which on that 
 account ought to take precedence over the Declaration con 
 cerning any point on which these two documents disagree, still 
 it is an established principle of legal interpretation, he explains, 
 that in case of an apparent conflict between two laws the lat 
 ter should be interpreted strictly ; that is, if the words admit 
 
 i Works, V, 208f. 
 
 197 
 
FGLLEX IN AMERICA 
 
 of a wider and narrower interpretation they should be accepted 
 in that sense in which they are least inconsistent with the spirit 
 of the former law. Interpreted in its broader sense the clause 
 in question would recognize slavery as legal ; in its narrower 
 sense it would secure the rights of the master to the service of 
 laborers and apprentices only. Since Follen considered it a 
 self-evident truth that service or labor is due only to him who 
 pays for it he maintained that the words "to whom service is 
 due" could not be applicable in the case of slave-labor; there 
 fore he saw no other alternative than either to adopt the 
 stricter interpretation of this clause, or to admit that the funda 
 mental principles of the Declaration, which acknowledges the 
 inalienable rights of man as the only just foundation of govern 
 ment, had been repealed by the Constitution. 
 
 Even if the proslavery party admitted the soundness of 
 this interpretation of the Constitution they could still object 
 to its practical application on the grounds that the Constitu 
 tional Convention meant to legalize slavery under the broader 
 import of the clause in question. Follen was willing to assume 
 that the framers of the Constitution actually intended to do 
 this very thing, but he believed that they had done it reluct 
 antly. The very fact that they had worded this clause in such 
 a way that it would still be applicable to the service of laborers 
 and apprentices, even if slavery were abolished, made it seem 
 evident to him that they were looking forward to a time when 
 the principles of the Declaration should have removed every 
 sort of government that had not been derived from the consent 
 of the governed. To substantiate this view Follen called 
 attention to the fact that many of the men who framed the 
 Constitution also took part in the early congressional legisla 
 tion which prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude from 
 the Northwest Territory. 1 
 
 According to Follen s view the Abolitionists did not rest 
 their cause upon the intentions of the Constitutional Conven- 
 
 1 This measure originated with Jefferson, was passed by the Old 
 Congress in 1787, and was ratified by the first Congress under the new 
 Constitution, the entire southern delegation voting for its adoption; 
 cf. Goodell, 83. 
 
 -198- 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 tion or upon the interpretation of the Constitution itself, but 
 grounded their hopes of success upon the principle laid down 
 in Washington s farewell address, that the basis of our political 
 system is the right of the people to make and alter their consti 
 tutional government. Personally, Follen relied x upon the 
 freedom guaranteed by the Constitution to assemble and con 
 sult, to speak and to print, and after arousing public sentiment 
 thereby to petition the federal government as well as the state 
 legislatures to abolish slavery by legislative enactments, in 
 other words, by constitution amendments. Thus he advocated 2 
 that the Abolitionists armed with the weapons furnished by 
 the Constitution itself were in duty bound to continue their 
 propaganda until the principle that man could hold property 
 in man would be effaced from the statute books. 
 
 Follen closed his address by urging all American patriots 
 to yield to the new spirit of freedom which was manifest in 
 the popular uprisings of European nations against the divine 
 right of kings. He reminded the people that those nations 
 were awaking to the truth that a man is a man whether 
 European prejudice frowned upon him on account of his sta 
 tion or American prejudice because of his color, and that they 
 would not omit to scrutinize critically the title of a state which 
 used its laws to hold in bondage more than one sixth of its 
 population. He appealed to all true Republicans in whose 
 keeping the destiny of the nation had been committed to prove 
 by their stand on the slavery question whether their liberty was 
 the fruit of determined choice or of a fortunate accident. 
 With prophetic vision he expressed his conviction 3 that unless 
 the slave system were abolished it would sooner or later prove 
 destructive of the Union ; that those who were striving directly 
 or indirectly to secure its existence were nourishing the seeds 
 of civil war, and that their efforts to avert it from themselves 
 would only serve to insure its breaking in upon their descend- 
 ents with increased violence. 
 
 1 Works, V, 212. 
 
 2 Ibid., V, 213. 
 
 3 Ibid., V, 217. 
 
 199 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 This address was perhaps one of the most philosophical 
 and convincing abolition arguments that had up to that time 
 been presented to the American public. It was printed and 
 sent broadcast over the country, to each member of Congress 
 and to some of the most distinguished men of the South. Mrs. 
 Pollen states * that from the large number of copies sent out 
 only one was returned, with some insulting expressions about 
 foreigners throwing firebrands written in the margins; that 
 although some of the proslavery papers of Boston made insult 
 ing remarks about the author, the argument and general spirit 
 of the address were of such a high order that it elicited much 
 praise even from some of the most bitter enemies of the aboli 
 tion movement. According to Mr. May 2 the people of New 
 England in general knew very little about the Constitution; 
 some of the most intelligent citizens supposed that it expressly 
 guaranteed slavery while many had never read it at all. 
 Shortly after the address was written the Antislavery Society 
 printed a large edition of the Constitution for distribution with 
 Pollen s address and other antislavery tracts. 3 It seems rea 
 sonable to assume, therefore, that Pollen s discussion of the 
 constitutional question of slavery along with a copy of the 
 Constitution itself must have been instrumental in arousing the 
 interest of many people in the abolition movement. 
 
 THE; MOB YEAR. 
 
 The year between the spring of 1835 and that of 1836 was 
 one of the stormiest periods of the early abolition movement, 
 a time that tried the souls of men, and it is often spoken of 
 as the "mob year," the "reign of terror." Although the anti- 
 slavery cause was growing rapidly it experienced at this time 
 some of its greatest trials and its most bitter proslavery op 
 position. Por a time antislavery meetings were frequently dis 
 turbed by mobs, which were sanctioned and even encouraged 
 
 1 Ibid., I, 343. 
 
 2 Antislavery Conflict, 141f. 
 
 3 Ibid., 142. 
 
 200 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 by the pulpit and the press. 1 The notorious outrage of the 
 Boston mob against the Ladies Antislavery Society, and the 
 dragging of Garrison through the streets with a rope around 
 his body deeply moved the soul of Follen, as his wife writes, 2 
 winning his heart anew to the persecuted cause. At this time 
 he was a member of the board of managers of the Massa 
 chusetts Antislavery Society, attending all its regular business 
 meetings and engaged in organizing auxiliary branches. 
 Samuel May, who as general agent of the Society came into 
 close touch with him during this period, speaks 3 as follows 
 about his fidelity and fearlessness : "He never quailed. His 
 countenance always wore its accustomed expression of calm 
 determination. He aided us by his counsels, animated us by 
 his resolute spirit, and strengthened us by the heart-refreshing 
 tones of his voice/ 
 
 About this time Miss Martineau, who was studying social 
 conditions in this country, was visiting New England. Dis 
 tinguished alike for her philanthropic and literary works she 
 was received everywhere with the greatest respect. During 
 her travels the proslavery party sought naturally to impress 
 her in favor of slavery, and in Boston especially she heard 
 many aspersions cast upon the Abolitionists. It chanced dur 
 ing her visit in this city that she met the Pollens, and this 
 resulted at once in a mutual admiration and an intimate friend 
 ship between them. It seems from Miss Martineau s account 4 
 that it was Follen who was instrumental in having her visit a 
 meeting of the Ladies Antislavery Society. She accepted the 
 invitation somewhat reluctantly, as she intimates, in order to 
 learn more about the aims and methods of the Abolitionists, 
 concerning which she as yet knew very little. Although she 
 was antislavery in sentiment her visit to this meeting caused 
 her to identify herself openly with Abolitionists, as is well 
 
 1 Goodell, 404ff. 
 
 2 Works, I, 379. 
 
 3 Antislavery Conflict, 255. 
 
 4 Autobiography, I, 347. 
 
 - 201 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 known, 1 and from this time on she wielded her powerful pen 
 in defense of the abolition cause. 
 
 In a preceding chapter allusion has been made to Miss 
 Martineau s tour of the west in company with the Follens and 
 several other friends in the spring of 1836. Although they 
 made this journey primarily as a pleasure trip it became a 
 veritable antislavery tour. Everywhere they made abolition 
 propaganda as indicated by Miss Martineau s account 2 as fol 
 lows : "Wherever we went it was necessary to make up our 
 minds distinctly, and with the full knowledge of each other, 
 what we should say and do in regard to the subject which was 
 filling all men s minds. We resolved, of course, to stand by 
 our antislavery principles, and advocate them wherever fair 
 occasion offered; and we never did omit an opportunity of 
 saying what we knew and thought. On every steamboat and 
 in every stage (when we entered public conveyances) the sub 
 ject arose naturally; for no subject was so universally dis 
 cussed throughout the country, though it was interdicted 
 within the walls of the Capitol at Washington. Mr. Coring 
 joined in the conversation when the legal aspects of the matter 
 were discussed; and Dr. Follen when the religious and moral 
 and political bearings of slavery were the subject. Mrs. Fol 
 len and Mrs. Coring were full of facts and reasons about the 
 workings of Abolitionism in its headquarters. As for me my 
 topic was Texas. * * * The further we went the more we heard 
 of lynchings which had lately taken place, or were designed 
 for the next Abolitionists who should come that way. In 
 Detroit we heard that our party of Abolitionists were expected, 
 and that everything was in readiness to give us a similar recep 
 tion. Our Abolitionism could be no secret, ready as we always 
 were to say what we knew and thought." 
 
 ADDRESS ON THE RIGHTS OF FOREIGNERS AND WOMEN IN 
 THE ANTISLAVERY MOVEMENT. 
 
 The proslavery press was especially bitter in its denuncia 
 tion of foreigners who "dared to meddle" in the question of 
 
 1 Ibid., I, 351. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 366. 
 
 202 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 American slavery, notably in the case of the distinguished Eng 
 lish Abolitionist, George Thompson, who was making a lecture 
 tour in this country at this time in the interest of the anti- 
 slavery movement. 1 Although Follen had lived in this country 
 eleven years and had possessed all the rights of an American 
 citizen for five years he, too, was condemned for his abolition 
 activity both in public and in private as a foreign meddler. 2 
 Through his address to the American People his active inter 
 est in the propaganda made him so well known as an Aboli 
 tionist that he was occasionally reminded by the newspapers 
 that a foreigner should remember the protection afforded him 
 by the institutions of this country instead of casting fire 
 brands among the people. To these criticisms Garrison 8 
 replied in the Liberator : "We wish we had more such foreign 
 ers among us." It was this hostile attitude against antislavery 
 agitators of foreign birth, especially the unkind criticism 4 of 
 Miss Martineau after her public avowal of abolition principles 
 that inspired one 5 of Pollen s most powerful antislavery 
 addresses. To quote the words of May : 6 "This was his 
 bravest speech. There was not a word, nor a tone, nor a look 
 of compromise in it. He met our opponents at the very points 
 where some of our friends thought us deserving of blame, and 
 he manfully maintained every inch of his ground. It is not 
 easy even for us to recall, and it is impossible to give to those 
 who were not Abolitionists then, a clear idea of the state of 
 the community at the time that speech was made." 
 
 This address is couched in the form of a resolution and 
 opens thus : "Resolved that we consider the Antislavery Cause 
 as the cause of philanthropy, with regard to which all human 
 
 1 May, 125. 
 
 2 Works, I, 342. 
 
 3 Cf. Story of his Life by his Children, I, 441 f. 
 *Cf. Autobiography, I, 352; Works, I, 380f. 
 
 5 Made in the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Antislavery 
 Society at Boston, January, 1836. Extant only in part, Works, I, 637ff. 
 
 6 Antislavery Conflict, 255. 
 
 203 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 beings, white men and colored men, citizens and foreigners, 
 men and women, have the same duties and the same rights." 
 
 Pollen began with the statement that the whole abolition 
 creed could be summed up in the single proposition that the 
 slave is a man created in the image of God and is therefore a 
 freeman by divine right. The very fact that the slave is a 
 human being, is Pollen s argument, makes it incumbent upon 
 everyone of whatever color, nationality, or sex, by virtue of a 
 common nature, to become his rightful and responsible de 
 fender. Pollen admitted that in personal and domestic relation 
 each individual may choose his company according to his likes 
 or dislikes. He insisted, however, that the colored people 
 should be admitted into all public meetings and societies de 
 signed for the establishment of human rights, for he was 
 consistent enough not to demand that the white slaveholder of 
 the South live on terms of civil equality with colored slaves 
 unless the white Abolitionists of the North would do the same. 
 
 In the second part of his address Pollen speaks in defense 
 of the foreign-born agitators. Since the antislavery movement 
 was not a national but a philanthropic cause he contended that 
 no distinction should be made between foreigners and natives. 
 If millions of human beings were driven out daily to hard toil 
 and degraded without redress, and millions of free citizens 
 neglected in their prosperity to aid their unfortunate fellow- 
 men, suppose some foreigner chanced to come along and 
 sought to heal the wounds of the downtrodden, who, Pollen 
 asked, would be a neighbor to them who were wounded in body 
 and soul? "Shall we," he exclaimed reprovingly, "on behold 
 ing such signal kindness, cry out with the Jews of old, He is 
 a Samaritan and has a devil! or with our modern national 
 bigots, He is a foreigner, an English emissary, mob him, tar 
 and feather him !" Pollen felt that those foreigners who sup 
 ported the abolition cause were America s best friends and 
 that their very participation in it was the surest pledge of their 
 confidence in American love of truth and sense of justice. He 
 was firmly convinced also that any attempt to prevent either 
 citizens or foreigners from expressing fully their opinion on 
 such a great moral question was far worse in this country than 
 
 204 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 in any other, simply because we had pledged our lives and 
 fortunes and sacred honor to uphold the equal rights of all. 
 
 The last topic of the address is a defense of the rights of 
 women. It has already been pointed out in the preceeding 
 chapter how Follen took the advance ground on this question. 
 how in his plan of religious reform he desired to place 
 women upon an equality with men and to give them equal 
 opportunity to speak in public services. According to the cus 
 tom of those times few women except among the Quakers took 
 part in public meetings, but the abolition movement marked 
 the dawn of a new era in this respect. At the very beginning 
 of the movement several earnest and talented women devoted 
 themselves to the cause, making suggestions, giving advice, em 
 ploying their pens, and through the encouragement and sup 
 port of such men as Garrison and Whittier gradually began to 
 take part in public discussions. Follen, too, was an ardent 
 advocate of equal rights, and the argument which he made in 
 this address must have had an inspiring effect upon the women, 
 especially so since it was a rare thing at that time to hear a 
 public defense of their cause in conservative New England. 
 One of the most significant portions of this address runs as 
 follows : 
 
 "I maintain that with regard to the antislavery cause men 
 and women have the same duties and rights. The ground I 
 take on this point is very plain. I wish to spare you, I wish to 
 spare myself, the worthless and disgusting task of replying in 
 detail to all the coarse attacks and flattering sophisms by which 
 men have endeavored to entice or to drive women from this 
 and from many other spheres of moral action. Go home and 
 spin ! is the well-meaning advice of the domestic tyrant of the 
 old school. Conquer by personal charms and fashionable at 
 tractions ! is the brilliant career marked out for her by the 
 idols and the idolaters of fashion. Never step out of the 
 bounds of decorum and the customary ways of doing good ! 
 is the sage advice of maternal caution. Rule by obedience, by 
 submission sway ! is the golden saying of the moralist poet, 
 sanctioning female servitude, and pointing out a resort and 
 compensation in female cunning. With the fear of insolent 
 
 205 - 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 remarks and of being thought unfeminine, it is indeed proof 
 of uncommon moral courage or of an overpowering sense of 
 religious duty and sympathy for the oppressed that a woman 
 is induced to embrace the unpopular, unfashionable, obnoxious 
 principles of the Abolitionists. Popular opinion, the habit of 
 society, are all calculated to lead women to consider the place, 
 the privileges, and the duties which etiquette has assigned to 
 them as their peculiar portion, as more important than those 
 which nature has given to them in common with men. Men 
 have at all times been inclined to allow to women peculiar 
 privileges, while withholding from them essential rights. In 
 the program of civilization and Christianity one right after 
 another has been conceded, one occupation after another has 
 been placed within the reach of w r omen. Still we are far from 
 a practical acknowledgement of the simple truth, that the 
 rational and moral nature of man is the foundation of all 
 rights and duties and that women as well as men are rational 
 and moral beings. Women begin to feel that the place men 
 have marked out for them is but a small part of what society 
 owes to them, and which they themselves owe to society." 
 
 To what extent Pollen s address was instrumental in 
 stimulating an interest in women s rights cannot of course be 
 determined. At any rate it must have made a deep impression. 
 Mr. May observes 1 that Whittier, who was present, was so 
 deeply affected by its fervor and logic that he composed that 
 very night his famous "Stanzas for the Times," 2 one of his 
 best antislavery poems. 
 
 DEFENSE OF FREE SPEECH. 
 
 The Abolitionists reached the culmination of their trials 
 in the spring of 1836. Not only did the mobs attempt to sup 
 press the antislavery movement, but the proslavery leaders, 
 claiming that all antislavery newspapers were designed to 
 incite the slave to insurrection and murder, sought to gag the 
 press through statutory enactments. As early as 1832 Judge 
 
 1 Antislavery Conflict, 265. 
 
 2 Poetical Works (Riverside Ed.), Ill, 35. 
 
 206 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 Thatcher * of Boston, in a charge to the Grand Jury, pro 
 nounced it a misdemeanor indictable at common law to publish 
 in one state with intent to send into another any such publica 
 tions, and in 1835 the Hon. Wm. Sullivan wrote a pamphlet 
 expressing the same sentiment as follows : "It is to be hoped 
 and expected," he said, 2 "that Massachusetts will enact laws 
 declaring the printing, publishing, and circulating of papers 
 and pamphlets on slavery, and also the holding of meetings to 
 discuss slavery and abolition, to be public indictable offenses, 
 and provide for the punishment thereof in such manner as will 
 more effectually prevent such offenses." Such sentiment in 
 the North naturally encouraged the South to demand legisla 
 tion upon the subject. Accordingly the Governor of South 
 Carolina declared in a message 3 to the legislature in December 
 1835 that the corner-stone of the republican edifice rests upon 
 slavery, and demanded that the laws of every community 
 should punish with death without benefit of the clergy all those 
 who interfered with the institution. The legislatures of several 
 southern states passed resolutions 4 requesting the non-slave* 
 holding states of the union to suppress all abolition societies, 
 and to make it highly penal to print, publish, and distribute 
 newspapers, pamphlets, tracts and pictorial representations 
 calculated or having a tendency to excite the slaves of the 
 southern states to insurrection and revolt. 
 
 In consequence of these demands, which were officially 
 communicated to the governors of the non-slaveholding states, 
 Governor Edward Everett in his message to the legislature of 
 Massachusetts in January 1836, alluded particularly to the 
 subject of slavery, admonishing all classes to abstain from 
 discussing the subject, censuring the Abolitionists, and intimat 
 ing that they were guilty of offenses punishable at common 
 law. This portion 5 of the message was referred to a joint 
 
 1 Johnson, Garrison and his Times, 212f. 
 
 2 Ibid. ; also Goodell, 409. 
 
 3 Goodell, 413. 
 
 4 Original resolutions quoted by Goodell, 413f. ; cf . also May, 185ff. 
 
 5 Quoted by Goodell, 415. 
 
 207 
 
POLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 legislative committee of five members for consideration. 
 Believing that any unfavorable action by this commission 
 would jeopardize the abolition cause and endanger also the 
 liberties of the people in general, the Massachusetts Anti- 
 slavery Society petitioned the committee to grant them a hear 
 ing in order to present reasons why the legislature should not 
 take action condemning the Abolitionists. Upon permission 
 to present their claims the Society sent a delegation to the 
 legislature w r here, on the 4th of March, it entered into one of 
 the most memorable and heroic struggles in the history of the 
 early abolition movement. Follen was among the nine repre 
 sentatives chosen to avert the danger that seemed impending 
 over the Abolitionists, and in this struggle he disinguished 
 himself as one of the most powerful defenders of the freedom 
 of speech and of the press. 
 
 The scene in the legislature just preceding the hearing is 
 described as follows 1 by Miss Martineau, who was present on 
 that occasion : "While the committee were, with ostentatious 
 negligence, keeping the Abolitionists waiting, the Senate 
 Chamber presented an interesting spectable. The contemptu 
 ous committee, dawdling about some immaterial business, were 
 lolling over a table, one twirling a pen, another squirting 
 tobacco juice, and another giggling. The Abolitionists, to 
 whom this business was a prelude to life or death, were earn 
 estly consulting in groups, at the further end of the chamber 
 Garrison and another; somewhat nearer, Dr. Follen, looking 
 German all over, and a deeper earnestness than usual over 
 spreading his serene and meditative countenance ; and in con 
 sultation with him Mr. Loring. There was May, and Goodell, 
 and Sewall, and several others, and many an anxious face 
 looking down from the gallery. During the suspense the door 
 opened and Dr. Charming entered one of the last people who 
 could on that winter afternoon have been expected." 
 
 Concerning the proceedings that then took place Garrison 2 
 
 1 The Martyr Age of America, Westminster Review. December, 
 1838. 
 
 2 Story of his Life by his Children, II, 95ff. 
 
 208 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 gives the following account: "Mr. May began the defense 
 and spoke pretty well for nearly an hour, but was frequently 
 interrupted by the members of the committee, who, with one 
 exception, behaved in an insolent and arbitrary manner. Mr. 
 lyoring then spoke about fifteen minutes in a very admirable 
 manner. Mr. Goodell then followed at some length, very ably, 
 but was cramped by the committee. I succeeded him pretty 
 warmly, but without interruption. Professor Pollen began 
 next with great boldness and eloquence. His share was to 
 show the relation of cause and effect between Faneuil Hall 
 meeting and the mob of October 21 as foreshadowing the 
 result of legislative resolutions censuring the Abolitionists." 
 
 Follen began his argument x with a series of philosophical 
 remarks upon the rights of man and upon the spirit and pur 
 pose of our republican institutions, maintaining that liberty 
 of speech and of the press was essential to the preservation of 
 the government. He declared boldly at the outset that what 
 ever would not bear to be examined and criticized must be 
 essentially bad and ought not to be perpetuated, and that any 
 attempt to stifle the voice or muzzle the press was a sure 
 indication of an attempt to perpetuate what ought to be abol 
 ished. He pointed out that the Abolitionists wished to over 
 throw slavery only by exercising their constitutional right to 
 speak and print their opinions of it, whereas the proslavery 
 party was bent on preventing this, not by proving that slavery 
 was not an evil, but by denying the right to express any opinion 
 whatsoever about it. After alluding to the attempts to excite 
 odium against the Abolitionists, and to the demands of south 
 ern legislatures for the suppression of their doctrines by penal 
 laws, he referred also to the Faneuil Hall meeting 2 and its 
 censure of the Abolitionists. Believing that this meeting had 
 instigated the Boston mobs Follen argued that legislative cen 
 sure of the Abolitionists would have similar consequences. 
 "Would not the mobocrats," he asked, "again undertake to 
 
 1 Works, I, 389ff. 
 
 2 Held by the proslavery party in August, 1835, to oppose the Abo- 
 lutionists ; cf . May, 151. 
 
 209 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 execute the informal sentence of the general court?" Here 
 upon the chairman of the committee cried out : "Stop Sir, 
 you may not pursue this course of remark, it is insulting to 
 this committee and to the legislature which they represent." * 
 After protesting that he had not even intimated that the com 
 mittee or the legislature would approve an act of violence, and 
 being refused a second permission to proceed with his defense, 
 Pollen took his seat. After a vigorous protest by the members 
 of the delegation he was allowed to take the floor again. With 
 calm dignity he arose a second time and asked to be distinctly 
 informed what he had said that could be construed as dis 
 respectful to the committee, and whether the right to speak 
 was to be recognized only as a special favor. The chairman 
 would make no satisfactory reply to these questions, where 
 upon Pollen again took his seat and the meeting came to an 
 abrupt close. 
 
 The Abolitionists sent a remonstrance to the legislature 
 on the following day. This was referred to the same commit 
 tee, and a second hearing was granted on the 8th. According 
 to Mr. May 2 it was intended that Pollen should address the 
 committee first, beginning just where he had been interrupted 
 by Mr. I^unt, and that he should press home that part of the 
 argument which was deemed so important. When he again 
 confronted the committee he opened with the statement that the 
 only point at issue was the principle of the freedom of speech, 
 maintaining that the Abolitionists were accused of crime not 
 for anything they had done, but for what they had believed 
 and said, and that the governor had endorsed the accusation 
 simply because they had exercised in the cause of humanity a 
 right which was guaranteed by the laws of the state and of the 
 federal government. He called attention to the fact that 
 Jefferson himself had prophesied long before that slavery must 
 come to an end in America, and that the European countries 
 had already begun to free their slaves. Since the spirit of the 
 times demanded emancipation, and since it was only a ques- 
 
 i May, 194. 
 
 2 Antislavery Conflict, 195. 
 
 210 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 tion, as he believed, whether it was to come by peaceful dis 
 cussion or by the arbitrament of war, it was highly important, 
 he maintained, to meet the issue face to face instead of de 
 manding silence on the subject. He admitted that the Aboli 
 tionists had in some cases been intemperate in their speech, 
 but asserted that the right of free expression of their opinions 
 could not for that reason be denied. The all-important ques 
 tion was, therefore, not whether the legislature would crush 
 the abolition propaganda, but whether it would suppress free 
 speech forever. Follen expressed his belief that the action of 
 the mobs was due to misrepresentations of the Abolitionists, 
 and that it was honestly intended to preserve the Union, but 
 he contended that penal enactments against the Abolitionists 
 would be less dangerous to them than condemnatory resolu 
 tions which would be left to Judge Lynch for enforcement. 
 At this point he was again called to order on the ground of 
 using language disrespectful to the committee. To this he 
 replied that he could not understand how such an allusion 
 could be interpreted as disrespectful to the committee or to the 
 legislature, but the chairman retorted that it was improper and 
 would not be permitted. After a long parley he was permitted 
 to proceed and had the satisfaction of expressing his views 
 without further opposition. He pointed out clearly and forci 
 bly that legislative censure would tend directly and indirectly 
 to excite mobs, explained the dangerous consequences of mob 
 rule to all classes, and insisted that the legislature could not 
 justly censure citizens in the exercise of a legal right. 
 
 Inch by inch Follen fought his way, battling for freedom 
 of speech in a free land. In his contention for principle and 
 his resistance of wrong he manifested the same invincible 
 spirit that had animated him in his European struggle for free 
 dom. 1 Concerning his conduct on this occasion Mr. May 
 speaks thus : 2 "A committee of the Massachusetts legislature 
 might not be so august a presence as the Holy Alliance, but in 
 
 1 By the proslavery press Follen was bitterly assailed for the part 
 he took in this legislative hearing. Cf. Works, I, 403. 
 
 2 Eulogy on Follen before the Antislavery Society of Boston in 
 April, 1840. Quoted in part, Works, I, 402. 
 
 211 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 Pollen s regard the occasion that called him to the Hall of 
 Representatives was as much more momentous than the occa 
 sion on which he resisted the Allied Sovereigns at Basel as the 
 infringement of the liberties of speech by a democratic govern 
 ment would be more disastrous to the cause of freedom than 
 any encroachment on human rights by absolute monarchs. 
 We were all impressed by his intent look, his earnest, solemn 
 manner. And we can never cease to be grateful to him for his 
 pertinacity in maintaining his own rights against the aggres 
 sive overbearance of the chairman of that committee." "I 
 have sometimes thought it was the turning point in the affairs 
 of our old Commonwealth." * 
 
 THE CAUSE: OF FREEDOM IN OUR COUNTRY. 
 
 Under the above caption Follen addressed another power 
 ful appeal to the people of the United States. In this dis 
 course 2 he strikes at the very root of the whole trouble, 
 directing his remarks not so much against the institution of 
 slavery itself, but against what he considered the general spirit 3 
 of intolerance and oppression, which he believed was under 
 mining the very foundations of our national life, a spirit of 
 which negro slavery was only the grosser manifestation. In 
 spite of delusive appearance, of the deceptive calm on the 
 surface of society, he saw with the eye of a critical observer 
 in all the different phases of American life, in all the flunctua- 
 tions of public opinion, two antagonistic principles, liberty 
 and oppression. By liberty he meant, of course, the natural 
 rights to those things which best subserve the progress and 
 happiness of mankind; and by oppression any infringement 
 on those rights, whether imposed upon one or all, by the cun 
 ning of a few or by the violence of the many. 
 
 He directed public attention especially to what he con 
 sidered a tendency to oppression not only in the manners and 
 
 1 Antislavery Conflict, 256. 
 
 2 Published in Quarterly Antislavery Magazine, October, 1836. 
 
 3 In a letter to Follen, May 9, 1837, Channing expresses this same 
 idea; cf. Channing s Life, 546. 
 
 212 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 habits of the people, but also in the state and national laws 
 themselves. Although the Declaration of Independence had 
 recognized the inalienable rights of man as the infallible test 
 of the validity of every law, the accepted interpretation of the 
 Constitution supported, to use his own words, an aristocracy 
 of absolute monarchs." These illiberal principles and anti- 
 republican tendencies were increasing, as he pointed out, were 
 influencing public opinion, and in some cases beginning to 
 modify American institutions and modes of life. Slavery was 
 not only a local evil in the South, but its moral effect upon the 
 nonslaveholding states caused thousands of colored freemen 
 to be excluded from institutions of learning, from the refining 
 influence of good society, from profitable employment, and 
 even from the exercise of political rights. Not only had these 
 illiberal principles affected the African, but had made the In 
 dian, too, one of the greatest victims of oppression. 
 
 Turning from these more prominent defects in- our social 
 system in general, Pollen next discussed the symptoms of this 
 same spirit of oppression, which he had observed in both our 
 public and private life. He called these symptoms "in part 
 superannuated remnants of European feudal institutions, in 
 part the indication of new-grown propensities to return to the 
 same creations of political idolatry." Among the remains of 
 feudalism which still existed in republican America of the 19th 
 century Follen mentions imprisonment for debt, which was 
 still allowed by the laws of some states; and the binding out 
 of children as apprentices for a much longer and severer servi 
 tude, he asserts, than the laws even of monarchical Europe 
 permitted. As to the question of women s rights he speaks 
 again as follows : "Women, although fully possessed of that 
 rational and moral nature which is the foundation of all rights, 
 enjoy amongst us fewer legal rights than under the civil law of 
 continental Europe. Chivalrous courtesy is a poor substitute 
 for rights withheld. The deference so generally paid to women 
 often bears the character of condescending flattery rather than 
 respect grounded on a sincere recognition of equality." 
 
 Another weakness of our national life that Follen pointed 
 out was the passion for aristocratic distinction, the great 
 
 213 - 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 regard which certain Americans had for foreign titles of nobil 
 ity, their intemperate craving after office, and their eager pur 
 suit of wealth in order to keep up a certain high style of living 
 and to move in a certain social set. Pollen found this same 
 spirit present in religion and politics, dividing society into 
 classes, cliques and clans, and suppressing individual feeling 
 and opinion. In academic life he observed in many cases a 
 certain subserviency to wealth, an artificial system of emula 
 tion among students, and arbitrary discipline, defects which 
 he considered incompatible with the ideals of a republican na 
 tion. To him this illiberal tendency seemed to be confined to 
 no particular individuals or classes ; the friends of freedom in 
 one sphere often acting the part of oppressors in another. 
 This spirit gave rise especially to industrial tyranny, as Follen 
 observed; in attempts to prevent the association of laboring 
 men for their mutual benefit, in the attempts of these same 
 labor organizations to force individuals to comply with their 
 resolutions, and in the monopolies of privileged corporations. 
 But the worst of all was, as he maintained, the attempt to make 
 property instead of men the basis of political representation, 
 to prevent universal suffrage, and to throw obstacles in the 
 way of universal education. 
 
 It was this universal spirit of tyranny which was sapping 
 the life of the nation, that aroused Follen to send forth his 
 warning of danger a warning which in its pertinency is ap 
 plicable even at the present time. He believed that safety lay 
 only in strict adherence to the principle "that in a republic as 
 a collective, moral, free agent, all should govern and obey 
 themselves ;" that is, in universal suffrage. 
 
 sf^&v 
 
 USE OF THE: PULPIT IN THE: MOVEMENT. 
 
 Such writers as May, Johnson, and Birney are unanimous 
 in declaring that the churches were the bulwark of slavery and 
 that the clergy was on the whole hostile to abolition. While 
 on the other hand it is conceded * that later Unitarianism was 
 
 1 Cf. Frothingham, Trancendentalism in New England, Preface ; 
 Merriam, American Political Theories, 216ff. ; Birney, 281ff. 
 
 214 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 closely related to the abolition propaganda, it is not known 
 generally that Pollen was one of the first Unitarian preachers 
 who used the pulpit as a direct means of proclaiming anti- 
 slavery principles. Soon after entering the ministry he was 
 taken to task by one of his friends in the following words: 1 
 "Your sermons are very sensible, but you spoil your discourses 
 with your views about freedom. We are all weary of hearing 
 the same thing from you. You always have something about 
 freedom in whatever you have to say to us. I am sick of 
 hearing about freedom; we have too much freedom." His 
 wife states 2 that he never introduced the subject of immediate 
 abolition directly in the pulpit except once, but that he always 
 preached against slavery. All his sermons were expressions 
 in some form or another of his faith in the divinity of human 
 nature, and on the question of slavery he stated his views 
 simply and fully, actuated only by an unswerving devotion to 
 what he believed was true. It was not merely his pity for the 
 negro slave that made him an antislavery preacher, but rather 
 his great respect for the rights of men as such. He was often 
 sharply rebuked by his parishioners, 3 but to all criticisms of 
 his views on slavery he replied with merely a pleasant smile 
 and a kindly word and preached on, discussing the question 
 with full consciousness of the social sacrifice it involved. 
 
 When Follen was invited to preach on Unitarianism in 
 Washington, the stronghold of slavery, he was requested not 
 to introduce his slavery views into his discourses. As a guest 
 he had, of course, to accede to the wishes of the people, but 
 his Unitarian sermons were at the same time antislavery ser 
 mons without the mention of slavery. Concerning this incident 
 Follen wrote to Channing as follows: 4 "I am obliged to be 
 silent on Abolition but I preach with all my might on the 
 dignity and rights of human nature, on the great texts, Honor 
 all men/ and All ye are brethren/ and pray for the oppressed. 
 
 1 Works, I, 250. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 486. 
 
 3 Ibid., I, 463f . 
 
 4 Ibid., I, 443. 
 
 215 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 There is now and then, apparently, an expectation of hearing 
 rank abolition doctrine, but I avoid exciting words and let 
 the principles make the desired impression. I have never been 
 so strongly impressed with the intrinsic antislavery tendency 
 of Unitarianism, as taking its stand on the absolute worth and 
 eternal destiny of human nature/ 
 
 When he became pastor of the First Unitarian Church in 
 New York he was careful at the very outset to acquaint his 
 congregation with his attitude upon the slavery question. In 
 his first sermon to them he spoke of the duties of the clergy to 
 all efforts of philanthropy, mentioning among them the duty 
 of the Christian minister toward the Society for the Abolition 
 of Slavery. In a later sermon 1 he gave direct expression to 
 his views on slavery. He told his congregation plainly that 
 the spirit of civil liberty which had prompted the founders of 
 the republic to throw off the hereditary traditions of the old 
 world and to found a new nation based upon the principles of 
 freedom and equality should induce their descendents to sym 
 pathize with the antislavery cause, to employ all lawful and 
 moral means and to make any sacrifice for removing from our 
 soil the curse of slavery. He admonished his hearers to study 
 the subject thoroughly and impartially, to read both sides and 
 then with determined purpose to follow the course which 
 conscience dictated. He maintained that the subject had to be 
 discussed, that free discussion was the only way to settle the 
 question satisfactorily, and that it was the duty of every citizen 
 under all circumstances to uphold the supremacy of the law 
 against the attempts of mobs to suppress the freedom of 
 speech. 
 
 Doctrines such as Pollen here and in his antislavery 
 speeches promulgated are taken by us today as a matter of 
 course, but to the masses of New York and New England 
 three quarters of a century ago they sounded like the utter 
 ances of an anarchist. The effect which the sermon just men 
 tioned made upon the fashionable circles of New York is 
 described by Pollen in a letter 2 to Miss Martineau, as follows : 
 
 1 Ibid., II, Sermon 16. 
 
 2 Ibid., I, 435. 
 
 216 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 "The impression made by this small part of my sermon was 
 very strong; and two influential men, one who belongs to my 
 society and another who belongs to Mr. Dewey s, left the meet 
 ing-house in great anger while I was preaching. I have been 
 blamed by many for introducing this subject, though they all 
 agree that what I said was true, and that old custom allowed 
 the preacher on Thanksgiving day to preach on politics. It is 
 somewhat doubtful now whether they will keep me here 
 permanently, though they declare themselves satisfied in other 
 respects. I feel sure that if I had known the consequences I 
 should have changed nothing in manner or matter. A few 
 strongly approved of the part I had taken, but the majority are 
 either angry or afraid or sorry." The matter turned out as 
 Follen suspected it would. At the close of the period for 
 which he had been engaged on trial so much opposition l to 
 his reappointment was manifested that he withdrew his name 
 as a candidate for the permanent pastorate of the church. 
 
 Dr. Channing is usually accorded the highest honor among 
 those Unitarian clergymen who took their stand on the slavery 
 question. From his early life he was deeply impressed with 
 the evils of slavery. By preaching eloquently against it and by 
 contributing to antislavery literature he rendered most im 
 portant service in creating antislavery sentiment, but while 
 recognizing the justice of immediate abolition he never identi 
 fied himself with the Abolitionists. To Follen he wrote in 
 July 1834 as follows : 2 "So great a question as slavery cannot 
 be viewed by all from one position, nor with entire agreement 
 as to the modes of treating it; and the cause will be aided by 
 the existence of a body who have much sympathy with people 
 at large as to the difficulties of emancipation, but who uncom 
 promisingly maintain that the abolition of slavery ought im 
 mediately to be decided on, and means used for immediately 
 commencing this work. I feel no freedom, as some sects say, 
 to join any of your bodies, but the cause is dear to my heart." 
 In his letter to Birney in 1836 he criticized the Abolitionists 
 for their intemperate language and radical doctrines. To these 
 
 1 Ibid, I, 478. 
 
 2 Channing s Works, 530. 
 
 217 - 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 criticisms Follen sent him subsequently the following friendly 
 rebuke : x "I could wish that your censure of the Abolitionists 
 had been as clearly denned as your generous expression of 
 what you approve in their conduct. More distinct and pointed 
 censure would have benefitted them and have deprived the 
 enemies of their cause of a means of arming themselves with 
 quotations which, taken by themselves, imply a more general 
 condemnation than they actually contain when held together 
 by other parts of the letter." 
 
 According to Chadwick 2 it was through Pollen s influence 
 that Channing made his nearest approach to the Abolitionists. 
 On this point Garrison himself speaks thus : 3 I was no 
 favorite of Dr. Channing at any time. He never gave me a 
 word of counsel or encouragement. He never invited me to 
 see him that he might understand from my own lips my real 
 feelings and purposes, and afford me the benefit of his ex 
 perience and advice. My early faithful and clear-sighted 
 friend, Professor Follen, tried to induce him to make my 
 acquaintance, believing it would be mutually serviceable, but 
 he never manifested any desire to do so." 
 
 Although Follen did not agree with Garrison on many 
 questions, the latter counted him as one of his staunchest 
 supporters and held him in such loving esteem that he named 
 his own son, "Charles Follen." "The child had a certain facial 
 resemblance to Dr. Follen," says the biographer of Garrison, 4 
 "and in his father s own words when the boy died in 1849, 
 gave promise of future usefulness and excellence in some 
 degree commensurate with the worth and fame of the truly 
 great and good man after whom he was named admiringly, 
 gratefully, reverently. 
 
 1 Works, I, 438. 
 
 2 William Ellery Channing, 382. 
 
 3 Liberator, 23 (1854) ; Story of his Life, III, 242. 
 
 4 Story of his Life, III, 242. 
 
 218 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 POLITICAL ATTITUDE ON SLAVERY. 
 
 As the abolition movement progressed the radical Gar- 
 risonians, it will be remembered, 1 gradually diverged from the 
 main body of the Abolitionists and identified themselves with 
 other social movements, denouncing the Constitution and 
 advocating non-resistance, non-coercion, and the no-govern 
 ment theory in politics. Follen, however, can hardly be classed 
 with this extreme left wing. According to Mrs. Pollen s 
 account, 2 he did not agree with Garrison on some questions 
 apart from the antislavery propaganda, and was often dis 
 pleased with his intemperate language and bitter attacks upon 
 individuals, but he loved and honored him and aided him in 
 every way possible, believing that his virtues far outweighed 
 his faults and that his harsh utterances were prompted by 
 the same spirit that moved the prophets of old. Follen him 
 self never indulged in personal vituperation on the slavery 
 question ; as Rev. Simmons testifies, 3 "his zeal in Antislavery 
 never betrayed him into ascerbity and intolerance, for he was 
 not a bigot in any department of thought or action." Like 
 Garrison he was a staunch advocate of abolition, but unlike 
 him he was, according to Miss Peabody s statement, 4 "an un 
 compromising compensationist." As to immediate abolition 
 he believed 5 that the state of ignorance obtaining among the 
 slaves might, indeed, render it inexpedient to give them the 
 immediate and unlimited exercise of every privilege, but main 
 tained it was a duty to give them the immediate enjoyment of 
 all those rights for which they were qualified together with 
 the means to fit themselves as soon as possible for the exercise 
 of every privilege enjoyed by the white freemen. 
 
 It was the main function and the chief service of the 
 early Abolitionists, such as Garrison, May, Whittier, and Fol- 
 
 1 Birney, 314ff. ; Goodell, 457ff . ; Woodburn, 56ff. 
 
 2 Works, I, 379f . 
 
 s Cf . Sprague s Annals, VIII, 544. 
 
 4 Ibid., VIII, 547. 
 
 5 Cf. Address to the American People, Works, V, 198. 
 
 219 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 len to arouse the national conscience, to lay the foundation 
 upon which was to rise a political party to oppose the spread 
 of slavery. About 1834 Garrison advocated a "Christian party 
 in politics," with particular reference, it is said, 1 to the slave 
 question, but soon abandoned this for his no-government 
 hobby. Follen, on the other hand, was desirous of carrying 
 the propaganda into the political arena. This is plainly evident 
 from his article on The Cause of Freedom in our Country. 
 "When we see the anti-republicans," he says, 2 "in every walk 
 of life and line of business endeavoring to strengthen their 
 natural connection by active alliance and cooperation, it is high 
 time that the republicans of every description, the friends of 
 universal freedom in speaking, printing, trading, manufactur 
 ing, voting, and worshipping, should recognize each other as 
 fellow-laborers and learn consistency from their common 
 enemy." 
 
 In the last paragraph of this article he expressly advocates 
 the founding of a new progressive democratic party organized 
 upon the fundamental principles of abolition. He expresses 
 himself on the subject as follows : 3 "It becomes those who 
 have not lost all sense of the dignity of human nature to 
 declare that they consider the personal rights of man as the 
 foundation of every other; and that they cannot recognize 
 any property which is inconsistent with that which every 
 human being holds in his own soul and body. If there is ever 
 to be in this country a party that shall take its character and 
 name not from particular liberal measures, or popular men, 
 but from its uncompromising and consistent adherence to 
 Freedom, it must direct its first decided effort against the 
 grossest form, the most complete manifestation of oppression ; 
 and having taken antislavery ground, it must carry out the 
 principle of liberty in all its consequences. It must support 
 every measure conductive to the greatest possible individual, 
 social, moral, intellectual, religious, and political freedom, 
 
 1 Goodell, 469; Birney, 289, 309. 
 
 2 Quarterly Antislavery Magazine, October, 1836, p. 65 ; cf. also 
 Goodell, 469. 
 
 Ibid., p. 72f . 
 
 220 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 whether that measure be brought forward by inconsistent 
 slave-holders or by consistent freemen. It must embrace the 
 whole sphere of human action, watching and opposing the 
 slightest illiberal, anti-republican tendency; and concentrating 
 its whole force and influence against slavery itself, in com 
 parison with which every other species of tyranny is tolerable, 
 by which every other is strengthened and justified." 
 
 Pollen made his last contribution 1 to antislavery literature 
 in the autumn of 1838. In July of that year the Christian 
 Examiner contained two articles 2 in which the Abolitionists 
 were accused of being wrong and unwise in their measures, 
 and of having discussed the subject of slavery in a manner 
 decidedly at variance with constitutional liberty of speech and 
 of the press. Since Pollen s name was on the list of con 
 tributors to the Examiner he was given permission 3 by the 
 editors to send in an article in vindication of these charges on 
 condition that it should contain no pointed answer to anything 
 the Examiner had published against abolition. In his vindi 
 cation Pollen gave a complete resume of abolition principles, 
 emphasizing that political means were to be employed for the 
 prohibition of slavery in all federal domains, but disclaiming 
 any purpose on the part of the Abolitionists to interfere with 
 the so-called state rights. 
 
 Concerning the political phase of abolition Pollen ex 
 presses his views again in a letter 4 written about this time to 
 Miss Martineau, as follows : "We Abolitionists have changed 
 our political course. We are satisfied that abolition in the 
 District of Columbia and prohibition of the internal trade are 
 more important than all other political controversies of the 
 day. So each is ready to waive his democratic or whig pro 
 pensities in favor of the candidate who will vote for these two 
 
 1 Antislavery Principles and Proceedings, published in the Chris 
 tian Examiner, XXIII (November, 1838). 
 
 2 Review of Dr. Wayland s Limitation of Responsibility, and of 
 Miss Martineau s Retrospect of Western Travel. 
 
 3 Works, I, 493. 
 
 4 Works, I, 489f . 
 
 221 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 measures. This course, considering the nearly equal strength 
 of the two parties, will give us a practical influence for free 
 dom, which no attempt at forming a new party of our own 
 would procure us. Think of the disgrace of the democratic 
 members in the last Congress before the adjournment, agreeing 
 upon a declaration of sentiments in which antislavery is de 
 nounced for the purpose of conciliating the South." 
 
 It was this attitude of subserviency on the part of the two 
 great parties to the interests of the slave power that led the 
 one wing of the political Abolitionists to discard the plan of 
 holding a balance of power and to found an independent poli 
 tical party in 1840. 1 In view of the fact that Follen was a 
 staunch advocate of such a party somewhat earlier, it is very 
 probable that he would have affiliated with this new Liberty 
 Party had he lived until its organization. 
 
 ****** 
 
 Pollen s untimely death caused great sorrow in the ranks 
 of the Abolitionists; they felt, as Mr. May expresses it, that 
 "one of our towers of strength had fallen." Follen lost his 
 life in January, 1840, and in February following, the Anti- 
 slavery Society made arrangements to hold a great public 
 memorial service in which Mr. May was to make the main 
 eulogy. So strong was the feeling against the Society that all 
 the churches of Boston were refused for this meeting. 2 
 Channing indeed offered his church, but the trustees would not 
 give their consent. 3 Even Follen s own church 4 at East Lex 
 ington which had been built under his direction, and to the 
 
 1 Goodell, 468ff. ; Birney, 332ff. 
 
 2 Cf . Antislavery Conflict, 258f. According to Chadwick s Life of 
 Channing, 294, Wendell Phillips denounced this incident as the lowest 
 depths of Boston s subserviency to the slaveholding interests. 
 
 3 Channing was greatly grieved by this insult to the memory of his 
 friend; cf. Channincfs Life, 571 ; Chadwick, 412, says also that the fact 
 that Channing preached only a few more times in the Federal Street 
 Church may be taken as a sign of his instinctive withdrawal from a 
 ministry to which such an incident was possible. 
 
 4 The church is now called the Follen Church and a tablet in mem 
 ory of Follen has recently been placed on its walls. 
 
 222 
 
ANTISLAVERY 
 
 dedicatory exercises of which he was on his way when he met 
 his horrible death, was refused. Not until April 27th was 
 there a church unbarred, when Rev. Walker offered the use 
 of Marlborough Chapel in which to hold the eulogy and other 
 appropriate exercises commemorative of Pollen s service to the 
 cause of liberty both in Europe and in America. His struggle 
 for political freedom and German unity had ended in exile. 
 His moral courage, his boldness, and fearlessness in daring to 
 lift up his voice in behalf of the enslaved had destroyed his 
 prospects also in this country. 1 The consequent poverty and 
 loss of friends made him a second time a martyr to the cause 
 of freedom. 
 
 In regard to the part which the German-Americans took 
 in the abolition of American slavery Follen was a pioneer pav 
 ing the way for those who came later, especially the Forty- 
 eighters, who played so important a role in the organization 
 of the Republican party and in fighting the battles of the civil 
 war. Had Karl Follen lived to continue his efforts and to take 
 part in the great final conflict his name would without doubt 
 stand high 2 in the list of those heroic spirits through whose 
 labors and sacrifice the stain of slavery was blotted out of our 
 national life. 
 
 1 It is said that his prospects for promotion in the University and 
 in the Unitarian Church were destroyed by his devotion to antislavery. 
 Cf. May, Antislavery Conflict, 256f . ; Whittier, Poetical Works, IV, 30; 
 Carlos Martyn s work on Wendell Phillips, 108; Lindsay Swift s work 
 on Garrison, 119, 144; J. J. Chapman s work on Garrison, 28. 
 
 2 The service alone which he rendered the cause in his defense of 
 free speech was great enough in the opinion of W. H. Channing to 
 rank him among our national heroes and sages. Cf. Christian Exam 
 iner, XXXIII, 54. 
 
 223 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 Follen exerted his greatest influence not so much by his 
 writings as by his deeds. In summing up his various activities 
 one is impressed by the fact that they emanated from a person 
 ality endowed with a moral will-power of extraordinary force. 
 It is the manifestation of this will-power which gives his 
 tragic career the character of an organic unity. The term 
 "Der Unbedingte" under which he was known in his youth 
 characterized him to the end of his life. Whatever he recog 
 nized as just and true he pursued with unyielding perseverence 
 regardless of the results. There was an element of heroism in 
 his character. 
 
 To his moral strength was joined also great intellectual 
 power. He was eminent not only in the field of benevolent 
 action, but also in the realm of abstract thought. He had a 
 profound knowledge of history and law, but his inclinations 
 were chiefly to philosophical subjects, especially to questions 
 concerning the nature and destiny of the human mind. With 
 Kant he considered life a state in which man, as a free moral 
 agent and faithful to duty, is to determine himself, is to 
 advance amid trials and temptations toward a more perfect 
 existence. In the discussion of such exalted themes his 
 thoughts, often original, were arrayed in language beautified 
 by his lively immagination and deep feeling. 1 His intellect and 
 heart reacted upon each other. To use the words of Miss 
 Peabody, 2 "his mind could comprehend any depths of prin 
 ciple, but he did not carry his brain in his head so much as in 
 his heart." This beautiful harmony of his nature explains the 
 secret of his remarkable influence. 
 
 It was Pollen s idealism that made him a political and 
 religious reformer. Imbued with the teachings of the idealistic 
 philosophers and poets of Germany, he was filled with 
 righteous indignation at the arrogant despotism of the German 
 rulers of his time. For him to think and be convinced was to 
 
 1 Cf . Miss Martineau, Society in America, III, 76: "The great 
 mass of his knowledge is vivified by a spirit which seems to have 
 passed through all human experiences." 
 
 2 Cf. Sprague s Annals, VIII, 547. 
 224 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 act ; consequently he entered the struggle against absolute mon- 
 archism regardless of the cost to himself, espousing the cause 
 of liberty with a moral heroism which could not be daunted 
 by the threats of tyrants. In his attempt to overthrow despot 
 ism he was actuated only by the purest and noblest motives, 
 by his sense of justice, his ardent patriotism, and his love of 
 liberty. On account of his unfaltering devotion to these ideals 
 he was driven from his native land, persecuted in person and 
 in reputation. 
 
 Endowed with talents of the highest order, distinguished 
 for his broad learning, and hailed as the champion of liberal 
 ism in Germany, he came to this country at a time when 
 American life, as has been indicated, was in the initial stages 
 of cultural and national evolution. With an unswerving 
 devotion to his ideals of social, political, and religious freedom 
 he identified himself with the chief reform movements of the 
 times. In the lecture room of the College, from the pulpit and 
 political platform, and through the press he contributed to the 
 introduction of those German ideals which, by fusing with the 
 best spirit of American civilization, were to become an im 
 portant factor in the growth of our composite national culture. 
 He was convinced that the highest of American and German 
 ideals tended toward the same end : * a freer and more perfect 
 humanity. While in character and aspirations he remained a 
 true German he was at the same time a loyal and devoted 
 citizen of this country. 
 
 In the sphere of higher education he was a living exponent 
 of German freedom and thoroughness in teaching and in 
 learning, thus contributing by precept and example to the 
 remodeling of the American universities upon the German 
 plan. 2 In the field of modern language instruction, especially 
 of German, he was a pathfinder. 
 
 1 It is interesting to note that several years before he left Europe 
 he wrote the following, anticipating his future mission in this country : 
 "Wenn es als die hochste Aufgabe des amerikanischen Gemeinwesens 
 gilt, die Idee der Freiheit und Gleichheit in reinster Form zu verwirk- 
 lichen, so muss von Deutschland als dem Mittelpunkt der ganzen neuen 
 Bildung auch fur Amerika der tiefe geistige Gehalt ausgehen, der allein 
 die Grundlage seines Bestrebens ausmachen kann" ; cf . Haupt, 146. 
 
 2 Cf. Works, III, 291ff. 
 
 - 225 - 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 In matters of religion he found New England held in the 
 bonds of sectarian prejudices, but seeking after those universal 
 principles of faith that are convincing and inspiring to all 
 hearts and minds. By his interpretation of German literature 
 and idealistic philosophy, and by expounding the liberalism 
 and spirituality of Schleiermacher he contributed in some 
 measure to the spreading of religious principles which opened 
 the way for a new religious life and a more scientific theology 
 in this country. In view of the central position which religious 
 thought still occupied in the American mind of his time his 
 influence was that of a spiritual liberator who might have risen 
 to national eminence had his career not been cut short by an 
 untimely death. 
 
 True to his principles of reform he threw all the weight 
 of his influence upon the side of the antislavery movement also. 
 "I thank God," he exclaimed, 1 "that I have been allowed to 
 embark in this great ark of liberty, floating upon the deluge of 
 slavery that covers the East and the West, and bearing within 
 it the seeds of the regeneration of the human race." 
 
 Personally he was preeminently a lovable character. The 
 traits of his nature which most strongly impressed themselves 
 upon people were his charming courtesy and his thoughtful- 
 ness of others. His portrait shows a face which reveals the 
 rare and lofty spirit within. W. E. Channing describes him 
 thus : 2 "He was a hero, a man of lion heart, victorious over 
 fear, gathering strength and animation from danger, and 
 bound the faster to duty by its hardships and privations ; and 
 at the same time he was a child in simplicity, sweetness and 
 innocence. His countenance, which at times wore a stern 
 decision, was generally lighted up with a beautiful benignity; 
 and his voice, which expressed when occasion required it an 
 inflexible will, was to many of us musical beyond expression 
 from the deep tenderness which it breathed." His heart beat 
 in unison with humanity. Although endowed with superior 
 intellectual qualities and refined tastes he had the greatest 
 
 1 Ibid., I, 458. 
 
 2 Channing- s Works, 614. 
 
 226 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 respect for minds trained in simple habits, and the broadest 
 sympathies with ordinary laboring men. Nature, too, was a 
 perpetual joy to him; it was a part of that worship which was 
 always arising from his soul to the creator of the universe. 
 His wife tells x us that he would step out of his path to avoid 
 crushing the most common flower, that he looked up at the 
 stars nightly with the same devout admiration as if they had 
 just been hung in the unfathomable depths of the heavens, and 
 that he rejoiced at the sight of the rising sun every morning 
 as if it had just been created and he was beholding it for the 
 first time. 
 
 Such is the record of his life and services. It was a career 
 of disappointments, but the trials which he had to bear never 
 conquered his spirit nor clouded his hope. After being ex 
 pelled from positions of honor in Germany he secured in this 
 country a sphere of activity which again opened up to him the 
 opportunity of support and usefulness. But in spite of his 
 great attainments and ability his life in the United States was 
 one of hard struggle and narrow circumstances. Had he been 
 less devoted to truth and duty, and ready to compromise, he 
 might have gained high position, at least a home and a com 
 fortable living. To superficial observers his life may have 
 seemed a failure; but, to use the words of W. H. Channing, 2 
 "in all that is best worth living for, growth, peace, love, use 
 fulness, honor, and abiding presence in grateful memories, 
 Karl Follen was crowned with a perfect success." 
 
 The news of Pollen s sudden death cast a shadow of deep 
 gloom over his large circle of friends. In speaking of his 
 tragic end, Bryant, 3 who had learned to love and admire him 
 in New York, eulogized him as follows : "The world had not 
 a firmer, a more ardent, a more consistent friend of liberty. 
 No man could have known him, even slightly, without being 
 strongly impressed by the surpassing benignity of his temper. 
 He is taken from us by a mysterious Providence in the midst 
 
 1 Works, I, 406. 
 
 2 Christian Examiner, XXXIII, S4f. 
 
 3 Goodwin, Life of Bryant, I, 377. 
 
 -227- 
 
FOLLEN IN AMERICA 
 
 of his usefulness." Charles Sumner, 1 who had been his pupil 
 at Harvard, wrote to a friend: "Dr. Follen is gone; able, 
 virtuous, learned, good, with a heart throbbing to all that is 
 honest and humane." Harriet Martineau 2 characterized him 
 as the most remarkable and greatest man she had met in 
 America. Dr. Channing 3 paid him the high tribute of being 
 on the whole one of the best men he had ever known : "His 
 loss is one of the greatest bereavements of my life. * * * I 
 honored and loved him above most friends. * * * Such sweet 
 ness and such nobleness have seldom been joined. He was one 
 of the few who won my heart and confidence." 
 
 In the following lines, Whittier 4 has immortalized the 
 name of his departed friend: 
 
 Friend of my soul! as with moist eye 
 
 I look upon this page of thine, 
 Is it a dream that thou art nigh, 
 
 Thy mild face gazing into mine? 
 
 That presence seems before me now, 
 A placid heaven of sweet moonrise, 
 
 When, dew-like, on the earth below 
 Descends the quiet of the skies. 
 
 The calm brow through the parted hair, 
 The gentle lip which knew no guile, 
 
 Softening the blue eye s thoughtful care 
 With the bland beauty of thy smile. 
 
 Thou livest, Follen! not in vain 
 
 Hath thy fine spirit meekly borne 
 
 The burthen of Life s cross of pain, 
 
 And the thorned crown of suffering won. 
 
 Tis something to a heart like mine 
 To think of thee as living yet; 
 
 To feel that such a light as thine 
 Could not in utter darkness set. 
 
 1 Life and Letters, II, 133. 
 
 2 Society in America, III, 75f. 
 Channmo/s Works, 608. 
 
 4 Poetical Works, Riverside Edition, IV, 30ff. 
 
 228 
 
LIST OF POLLEN S WRITINGS. 
 
 Grundziige fur eine kiinftige teutsche Reichs-Verfassung, 1818. Cf. 
 
 Jarcke, 83ff. 
 
 Beitrage zur Geschichte der teutschen Samtschulen, Teutschland, 1818. 
 Das Grosse Lied, 1818. Cf. Wit s Fragmente I, 430-448. 
 Politische Aufsatze, 1819. Ibid. Ill, Sec. 1, 174-200. 
 Denkschrift iiber die deutsche Bildungsanstalt in Nordamerika, 1819. 
 
 Preserved in State Archives, Berlin. 
 Ged ichte, Freye Stimmen frischer Jugend. Jena, 1819. 
 Ucber Spinoza, Zeitschrif t der Wissenschaf tlichen Religion. Basel, 1823. 
 Ueber die Bestimmung des Menschen, Ibid. 
 Deutsches Lesebuch fur Anfanger. Cambridge, 1826. 
 A Practical Grammar of the German Language. Boston, 1828. 
 The Future State of Man, Chr. Exam. VII, 1829, VIII, 1830; Works V, 
 
 30f. 
 
 Contributions to the Christian Teacher s Manual. Boston, 1828- 30. 
 German-English Interlinear Gospel of St. John. Boston, 1836. 
 Review of Bancroft s Translation of Heeren s History of the States of 
 
 Antiquity, Am. Quart. Rev. 1829; Works V, 99ff. 
 Review of Wheaton s History of the Northmen. Ibid. 1831. 
 Inaugural Discourse, 1831, Works V, 125ff. 
 
 Review of Benj. Constant s Work on Religion, Am. Quart. Rev., 1832. 
 Funeral Oration on Dr. Gasper Spurzheim, 1832, Works V, 153ff. 
 Address to the American People on Slavery, 1834, Ibid. V, 189ff. 
 Franklin Lecture to the Workingmen of Boston, Nov. 1834, Ibid. V, 
 
 228ff. 
 
 Address before the Mass. Antislavery Society, 1836, Ibid. I, 637ff. 
 Religion and the Church, 1836, Ibid. V, 254ff. 
 The Cause of Freedom in our Country, Quart. Antislavery Mag. Oct. 
 
 1836. 
 
 Discussion of International Copyright Law, The Plaindealer, Feb. 1837. 
 Antislavery Principles and Proceedings, Chr. Exam., Nov. 1838. 
 Peace and War, U. S. Mag. and Demo. Rev. V, 1839; also Works V, 
 
 314ff. 
 
 Lectures on Schiller, Works IV. 
 Lectures on Moral Philosophy, Ibid., III. 
 Introduction to the Elements of Psychology, Ibid., Ill, 323ff. 
 Sermons, Ibid., II. 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Adamson, Robert Fichte. Philadelphia, 1881. 
 
 Addison, D. D. The Clergy in American Life and Letters. London, 
 1900. 
 
 229 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Alcott, A. Bronson Memoirs by Sanborn & Harris. Boston, 1893. 
 Allen, J. H. A Historical Sketch of the Unitarian Movement since the 
 
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 Baird, Robert Religion in America. New York, 1856. 
 Bancroft, George Life and Letters, by M. A. Howe. New York, 1908. 
 Bied ermann 25 Jahre deutscher Geschichte. Leipzig, 1889. 
 Birney, William James G. Birney and his Times. New York, 1890. 
 Carlyle, Thomas The Life of Friedrich Schiller. Reprint with Pre 
 face by Charles Follen. Boston, 1833. 
 Chadwick, John White William Ellery Channing. Boston and N. Y., 
 
 1903. 
 Channing, W. H. The Life of William Ellery Channing. Centenary 
 
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 Channing, W. E. Works. New Edition Complete. Boston, 1877. 
 Clarke, James Freeman Autobiography, Diary and Correspondence, by 
 
 E. E. Hale. Boston and N. Y., 1892. Nineteenth Century Questions. 
 
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 Cooke, George Willis Unitarianism in America. Boston, 1902. 
 Emerson-Carlyle Correspondence, by C. E. Norton. Boston, 1886. 
 Everett, Edward Orations and Speeches, II. Boston, 1870. 
 Faust, A. B. The German Element in the U. S. Boston & N. Y., 1909. 
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 Fuller, Margaret Memoirs, by Emerson, Channing and Clarke. Boston, 
 
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 Godwin, Parke Life of William Cullen Bryant, I. New York, 1883. 
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 Goodell, William Slavery and Antislavery. New York, 1852. 
 Grund, Francis Die Amerikaner. Stuttgart und Tubingen. 1837. 
 Hart, A. B. Slavery and Abolition. New York, 1905. 
 
 230 - 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Haupt, Hermann Karl Follen und die Giessener Schwarzen. Giessen, 
 
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 Stuttgart, 1823. 
 
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 1885. 
 
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 Korner, Gustav Das deutsche Element. Cincinnati, 1880. 
 Lamprecht, Karl Deutscher Aufstieg. Gotha, 1914. 
 Leo, Heinrich Meine Jugendzeit. Gotha, 1880. 
 Ludwig, Albert Schiller und die deutsche Nachwelt. Berlin, 1909. 
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 Peabody, Andrew P. Harvard Reminiscences. Boston, 1888. 
 Peabody, Elizabeth P. Reminiscences of Channing. Boston, 1880. 
 Pregizer, Richard Die politischen Id een des Karl Follen. Stuttgart, 
 
 1911. 
 
 Quincy, Josiah History of Harvard University. Boston, 1840. 
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 Riley, I. Woodbridge American Philosophy, New York, 1907. Ameri 
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 231 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Selbie, W. B. Schleiermacher. London, 1913. 
 
 de Stael, Madame De I Allemagne. 
 
 Stern, Alfred Geschichte Europas 1815 bis 1871. Berlin, 1891. 
 
 Sumner, Charles Life and Letters, II. London, 1878. 
 
 Thwing, C. F. History of higher Education in America. New York, 
 
 1906. 
 
 Ticknor, George Life, Letters, and Journals. Boston and N. Y., 1909. 
 Turner, E. R. The Negro in Pennsylvania. Washington, 1911. 
 Treitschke Deutsche Geschichte im 19. Jarhundert, II, III, V. Leipzig. 
 Viereck, L. Zwei Jahrhunderte deutschen Unterrichts in den Ver- 
 
 einigten Staaten. Braunschweig, 1903. 
 Walker, W. A. History of the Congregational Churches in the U. S. 
 
 New York, 1903. 
 
 Warren, Edward Life of John Collins Warren, M. D. Boston, 1860. 
 Weiss, John Life and Correspondence of Theodore Parker. New 
 
 York, 1864. 
 
 Wendell, Barrett A Literary History of America. New York, 1906. 
 Wesselhoft, Robert Deutsche Jugend in weiland Burschenschaften 
 
 und Turngemeinden. Magdeburg, 1828. 
 
 Whittier Poetical Works. Riverside Edition. Boston and New York. 
 Wilson, Henry Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, I. 
 
 Boston and New York, 1872. 
 Windelband, W r . Geschichte der Philosophic. 
 
 Windsor, J. The Memorial History of Boston, III. Boston, 1881. 
 Wit, Johannes Fragmente aus meinem Leben und meiner Zeit. Leip 
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 Woodburn, J. A. Political Parties and Party Problems in the U. S. 
 
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 PERIODICALS. 
 
 Americana Germanica, I (1897) : America as the Political Utopia of 
 Young Germany, by T. S. Baker. 
 
 Ill (1899-1900) : Early Influence of German Literature in Amer 
 ica, by F. H. Wilkins. 
 V New Series, 3 : Schiller in America, by E. C. Parry. 
 
 American Journal of Education, I (1826) : Editorials on Boston Gym 
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 American Monthly Review, I (1832) : Rev. of Pollen s Inaugural 
 Address. 
 
 American Museum, IV (1788) : Article by Dr. Benjamin Rush. 
 
 American Quarterly Observer, II (1834) 172: Article on Schiller. 
 
 American Quarterly Register, IX, (1837) 77: Notice of Pollen s inter 
 linear Gospel of St. John. 
 
 232 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 American Quarterly Review, VIII (1829) : Rev. of Bancroft s trans 
 lation of Heeren s History, by Pollen. 
 
 X (1831) : Rev. of Wheaton s History of the Northmen, by Fol- 
 len. 
 
 XI (1832) : Rev. of Benjamin Constant s Work on Religion, by 
 Pollen. 
 
 Atlantic Monthly, LXXIX (1897) : Cheerful Yesterdays, by T. W. 
 
 Higginson. 
 Christian Examiner, XI (1832) : Rev. of Pollen s Inaugural Address, 
 
 by George Ripley. 
 
 XVI (1834) : German Literature, by P. H. Hedge. 
 
 XXIII (1838) : Antislavery Principles and Proceedings, by Pollen. 
 
 XXXIII (1843) : Life and Writings of Pollen, by W. H. Channing. 
 Christian Teacher s Manual, Edited by Eliza Lee Pollen. Boston, 1828- 
 
 1830. 
 Circular of Information, U. S. Bureau of Education, 1885, No. 5: 
 
 Physical Training in American Colleges, by E. M. Hartwell. 
 Deutsche Rundschau, Bd. 25, Dec. 1880, p 88ff., Article by Fr. Kapp. 
 Educational Review, I (1891) : Recollection of the Round Hill School, 
 
 by George E. Ellis. 
 Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte, XXIII (1883) : Zur Kritik der 
 
 Nachrichten iiber die Attentate von 1819, by J. Hermann. 
 The Harvard Book, II (1875) : The Gymnasium and Gymnastics in 
 
 Harvard College, by T. W. Higginson. 
 Harvard Graduate Magazine, VI: Gottingen and Harvard 80 years 
 
 ago, by T. W. Higginson. 
 The Harvard Register, II (1880) : Reminiscences of Harvard, 1822-26, 
 
 by Rev. Cazneau Palfrey. 
 Knickerbocker, IX (1837), 425: Critical notice of Pollen s Preface to 
 
 Carlyle s Life of Schiller. 
 
 XIV (1839), p. 50: Editorial on Dr. Channing s Germanic Infec 
 tions. 
 Mind and Body, XII (1905) : Gymnastics in the U. S., by E. L. 
 
 Leonard. 
 North American Review, XXIV, New Series XV (1827) : Critical 
 
 notice of Pollen s Lesebuch. 
 
 North American Review, XXXIX, New Series XXX, July 1834. 
 Publications of the Modern Language Society, V (1890) : Address by 
 
 J. R. Lowell. 
 The Plaindealer, I (1837) No. 11: Article on International Copyright 
 
 Law, by Pollen. 
 Quarterly Antislavery Magazine, (Oct., 1836) : The Cause of Freedom 
 
 in Our Country, by Pollen. 
 Reports of the Commissioner of Education, I (1897-1898) : 
 
 Physical Training, by E. M. Hartwell. 
 
 233 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Foreign Influence upon Education in the U. S., by Hinsdale. 
 Siid deutsche Monatshefte, IX (1906) : Karl Sand, by Wm. Hauscn- 
 
 stein. 
 United States Literary Gazette, IV (1828) : Review of Pollen s Lese- 
 
 buch. 
 Westermanns Monatshefte, XXXV (1873-1874) : Deutsche Studenten- 
 
 bilder, und Mordgeschichten aus dem tollen Jahre 19, by Karl 
 
 Braun. 
 
 Western Messenger, II (1836) : Editorial on Pollen, by J. P. Clarke. 
 Westminster Review, XXXII (1836) : The Martyr Age of America, 
 
 by Harriet Martineau. 
 
 234 
 
VITA. 
 
 The writer was born at Woodland, Michigan, November 
 15, 1877. After receiving his secondary education he entered 
 Indiana University where he pursued his German studies 
 under the direction of Professor Gustaf Karsten, receiving the 
 A. B. degree in 1900. In 1906 he was Instructor in Latin and 
 German in the High School of Carthage, Missouri. From 1907 
 to 1909 he was Instructor in German in Indiana University, 
 receiving from that institution the A. M. degree in 1908. 
 From 1909 to 1911 he was Instructor in German in the State 
 University of Kansas. After this he spent two semesters in 
 Berlin and one in Munich, hearing lectures on the German 
 language and literature under Professors Erich Schmidt, 
 Richard Meyer, Gustav Roethe, Wm. Streitberg, Rudolph 
 Unger and others. In 1913 he became Assistant in German 
 in the State University of Illinois, continuing his Germanic 
 studies under Professors Julius Goebel, O. E. Lessing and 
 Dr. Alexander Green. 
 
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