Heinzen, a German refugee of 1848-49, was a radical author and lecturer and, from 1854 to 1879, editor of Der Pionier. Correspondence relating to Der Pionier, his efforts to prevent confirmation of Col. Ludwig Blenker as brigadier general in the United States Army, and other matters; manuscripts of his poems, lectures, articles, and other works, including Gedichte and Erlebtes; and family papers of his father, Joseph Heinzen, and his wife, Henriette Schiller Heinzen (Schiller and Moras families). Correspondents include Louis Bamberger, Heinrich von Ende, Hugo Erichsen, Ferdinand Freiligrath, Clara Neymann, Karl Roser, Julia A. Sprague, Mathilde F. Wendt, and Franz Zitz. The papers are in German, French, and English, chiefly in old-style German cursive. Many letters are accompanied by transcriptions, translations, or summaries in English.
Karl P. Heinzen was a German radical author, journalist and lecturer. Born in Gevenbroich, Prussia in 1809, his formal education was at the Gymnasium of Clece. He began the study of medicine at Bonn in 1827, but on account of a revolutionary speech was dismissed from the university. His leftist leanings slowly matured during a period in the Dutch and Prussian military service, and later in the Prussian civil service, finding expression in creative writing. A volume of poems, published in 1841, was favorably received, but his satirical essays criticizing the Prussian civil government (notably Die Ehre (1842), Die Geheime Konduitenliste (1842), and Die preussische Büreaukratie (1844) ) were the true reflection of his growing radical spirit. His contributions to radical journals were even bolder, and he was soon forced to escape from Prussia, only to be later banished from various cities in Switzerland, and after the revolutions of 1848, even from France.
From 1850 on, Heinzen lived in the United States, working as a journalist and editor for several radical newspapers. Most failed after only short periods (e.g., Der Völkerbund, Die deutsche Schnellpost, New Yorker deutsche Zeitung, and Janus). The paper which established Heinzen as a leader in the German-American radical movement was Der Pionier which he founded in 1854, and which continued until 1879, one year before his death. For further details on Heinzen, see Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, Bd.50 (1905) and the Dictionary of American Biography vol. 8.
The Karl Heinzen Papers are arranged in four series: Correspondence; Personal, Family and Biographical Papers; Manuscripts; and Printed Materials.
The Correspondence series consists of letters to and from Heinzen. The correspondence generally pertains to Heinzen's political and literary activities in general, and Der Pionier in particular.
The Personal, Family and Biographical series consists of Heinzen's legal and financial documents, papers of Heinzen's father, papers of Heinzen's first wife and her family, and secondary biographical material about Karl Heinzen. Some of this material is oversized.
The Manuscripts series consists of Heinzen's manuscripts, which are mostly handwritten in German.
The Printed Materials series consists of newspaper clippings, galleys, and pamphlets. In addition to one folder in the oversized box, the series includes several editorial pages in an oversized portfolio.
In addition to this finding aid, the Special Collections Library holds a more detailed inventory of the papers.