Swept up in the 1848 Revolutions, Jüssen's opportunities for education in Germany were limited due to his political affiliations, and he elected to instead travel to the United States with his uncle, Georg.

Edmund Jüssen came to the Wisconsin Territory from Germany in 1847 and first found employment with the Hungarian nobleman Agoston Haraszthy, who helped the young man learn English through the use of his extensive library.

[4] In an effort to establish himself in a larger community, Jüssen moved to Madison, where he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1861 as a Republican.

[4] In 1869, Jüssen was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the First District of Illinois and it was during his tenure in this office that he discovered the earliest activities of the Whiskey Ring, prior to the outbreak of the scandal.

Unable to bribe him into ceasing his investigations, whiskey distillers managed to secure his removal from office by the end of the year.