Stegerwald was born the son of a farmer in Greußenheim in Lower Franconia and attended primary school there between 1881 and 1888 before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter in Würzburg.

From 1896, he was part of the workers' electoral association of the Centre Party in Munich, where he was committed to building the burgeoning Catholic trade union movement.

Stegerwald was elected to both the national and Prussian constituent assembles early in 1919, and became minister for public welfare in Prussia under Social Democratic minister-president Paul Hirsch.

At the DGB congress in 1920, Stegerwald proposed the formation of an inter-denominational "People's Party", through which he hoped to unite both Catholics and Protestants in a conservative project opposed to socialism, liberalism, and materialism.

[1]: 610–611 [2]: 328–332 Stegerwald strongly advocated for the Centre to form part of a conservative government in the Reich under Hans Luther, using his role as head of the DGB to claim widespread union support.

Ultimately the unions passed a resolution declaring neutrality in political affairs and Stegerwald was forced to walk back his previous statements.

This choice was intended to be a fig leaf to the unions and facilitate Stegerwald's movement out of the DGB leadership into full-time politics, which he had long sought.

The party hierarchy considered several alternatives and ultimately put forward three names to a floor vote: Stegerwald, his rival in the unions Joseph Joos, and prelate Ludwig Kaas.

It was also in this time that he achieved the long-sought for cooperation with the moderate and religious elements of the Protestant right following the secession from the DNVP of the Conservative People's Party and CSVD, who collaborated in the Brüning government.

[1]: 623 Following Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in January 1933, Stegerwald was attacked by SA storm troopers at an election rally in Krefeld on 21 February.

[3] The following month, he helped lead negotiations with the Nazi Party to secure the Centre's support for the Enabling Act of 1933 which handed de facto dictatorial power to Hitler.

From 1933 to 1934 he was indicted, along with Wilhelm Marx and Heinrich Brauns, in the trial of the Cologne Volksverein Verlag in his capacity as board member of the National Association for Catholic Germany.

[5] Following the end of the Second World War, the American occupation authority appointed the 71-year-old Stegerwald administrator of the Lower Franconia district.

He became leader of the "Würzburg group" which proved instrumental in the foundation of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria in the late summer and autumn of 1945.

Another building in Königswinter, originally acquired by Jakob Kaiser and used by Catholic welfare and political associations in the Weimar period, was renamed Adam-Stegerwald-Haus in 1948 after its acquisition by the new German Trade Union Confederation.