The Friend of Light: Hermann's Anti-Slavery Voice

Hermann was built by Germans who wanted to stay German, but from the very beginning that German identity carried an unusual political current. Missouri had entered the Union as a slave state in eighteen twenty one, and slavery was a legal reality throughout the region. But many of the German immigrants in Hermann brought with them a tradition of liberal thought, including opposition to slavery.

In the eighteen forties, a German-language newspaper was founded in Hermann called the Licht Freund, which translates as Friend of Light. The paper quickly became known for its anti-slavery views, a striking stance in a Missouri county where enslaved people were held and sold. The Licht Freund was not alone.

Across the Missouri Rhineland, German immigrant communities were disproportionately opposed to slavery and later strongly aligned with the Union cause. German civic clubs were often centers of antislavery activism. When the Civil War came, many Germans in the region sided with the Union.

Missouri Germans became among the most reliable Union supporters in the state, and their political weight was a significant factor in keeping Missouri, barely, within the Union.