Born in Budapest, Hungary, in April 1847, Joseph Pulitzer was the son of a successful grain-trader. At age seventeen, he emigrated to America and soon enlisted in the Union cavalry near the end of the Civil War (1861-65). After the war, he settled in a largely German area of St. Louis, Missouri. Pulitzer worked as a mule tender, waiter, and driver before landing a job as a reporter for a German-language newspaper. A short time later, he was nominated for the state legislature by Republicans. His candidacy was considered a joke because he was nominated in a Democratic district. Pulitzer, however, ran seriously and won. In the legislature, he fought against corruption, and in one wild dispute shot an adversary in the leg. He escaped punishment with a fine, which was paid by friends.

Industrious and ambitious, Pulitzer bought the St. Louis Post for about $3,000 in 1872, then...