Justus Hashagen

“ HECKER, FRIEDRICH FRANZ KARL (1811–1881) , German revolutionist, was born at Eichtersheim in the Palatinate on the 28th of September 1811, his father being a revenue official. He studied law with the intention of becoming an advocate, but soon became absorbed in politics. On entering the Second Chamber of Baden in 1842, he at once began to take part in the opposition against the government, which assumed a more and more openly Radical character, and in the course of which his talents as an agitator and his personal charm won him wide popularity and influence. ”

“ Hecker was always very much beloved of all the German democrats. The song and the hat named after him (the latter a broad slouch hat with a feather) became famous as the symbols of the middle-classes in revolt. In America, too, he had won great esteem, not only on political grounds but also for his personal qualities.
See F. Hecker, Die Erhebung des Volkes in Baden für die deutsche Republik (Baden, 1848) ; F. Hecker, Reden und Vorlesungen (Neerstadt a. d. H., 1872) ”