The 1840s in Germany were years of severe economic hardship, and of intense political and intellectual ferment. One expression of this intellectual ferment was the free congregation (“Freie Gemeinde”) movement. Deeply affected by rationalism, science, and humanism, the free congregations that emerged protested against established religious dogma, blind faith, and clerical intolerance. The members of these free congregations were guided instead by the principles of reason and tolerance, and by a deep interest in ethical conduct. The hardships and ferment of the 1840's culminated in a revolution in Germany in 1848 that aimed at creating a unified German state around liberal political and economic principles. The failure of this revolution led to a period of repression in Germany, and to a large emigration of educated and politically progressive Germans. Among these emigrants were many members of the free congregations, who soon established free congregations in the United States. The Free Congregation of Milwaukee was founded in 1851, and the Free Congregation of Sauk City came into existence on October 24, 1852. By the end of 1852 there were thirty free congregations in Wisconsin, but only the ones in Milwaukee and Sauk City have survived into the present.
For three decades, the Free Congregation of Sauk City was closely associated with the charismatic figure of Eduard Schroeter (1811-1888). Schroeter, previously a pastor of a free congregation in Germany, had been driven into exile in the aftermath of the events of 1848. Active in the Free Congregation of Milwaukee since 1851, Schroeter was called to Sauk City in June 1853 to tend to the needs of the recently established Free Congregation there. Under Schroeter's leadership, the organization grew from a handful of members to over eighty members by 1876. These members pursued an exceptionally active cultural and intellectual life. The activities of the Free Congregation emphasized music, drama, and philosophy. Its annual festivals included a Spring Festival, a Founding Day, and a celebration in honor of Thomas Paine. As membership grew during Schroeter's leadership, the Free Congregation added a Women's Society (which currently calls itself the Ladies Aid Society), a Theater Group, and a Choral Society.
The years after the turn of the century brought about a gradual transformation of the Free Congregation of Sauk City as its members became increasingly Americanized. This process brought important changes, especially during the last four decades. In 1937 the Free Congregation adopted English as the language for the conduct of its meetings and the keeping of its records. The English name, a loose rendering of “Freie Gemeinde”, was also adopted at that time. Since 1955, the Free Congregation has been affiliated with the Unitarian Church.
Several brief studies provide information on the Free Congregation of Sauk City. The pioneering study is Clara Runge's The Free Congregation of Sauk City: An Outline History from 1852 to 1940. Runge was an elderly member of the Free Congregation, and she wrote this study to commemorate Founding Day in 1940. In 1965, Victor Thiessen's M.A. thesis,”On Spitting Against the Wind” (University of Wisconsin-Madison), used the Free Congregation of Sauk City to demonstrate how a militant minority might gradually become assimilated by the larger community in which it operates. A two-part article by J. J. Schlicher entitled “Eduard Schroeter the Humanist” appeared in The Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 28, nos. 2-3 (December 1944 and March 1945). Two brief articles by Berenice Cooper on the Free Congregation movement contain important information on the Free Congregation of Sauk City. The first, “Die Freien Gemeinden in Wisconsin,” has been published in Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, 53 (1964). The second, “The Contribution of “Die Freien Gemeinden” to Science, Arts and Letters in Wisconsin,” was published in Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, 54 (1965).
