Shulze studied at Franklin College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was ordained a minister in the Lutheran church in 1796.

[citation needed] Together with Mayor Joseph Watson of Philadelphia, in the mid-1820s Schulze worked to recover young free blacks of a group of about 20 who had been kidnapped from Philadelphia in 1825 and sold into slavery in Mississippi, as well as to prosecute members of the Cannon-Johnson gang of Maryland/Delaware for the crimes.

John Purnell, a mulatto member of the gang, was tried in Philadelphia County Court in 1826, convicted of two counts of kidnapping and sentenced to a fine and 42 years in prison.

She was indicted on four counts of murder in 1829 after the remains of four blacks were found buried on her land, but she died in jail before being tried, likely a suicide.

Although it failed to pass during his administration, he laid the groundwork for its adoption and funding under his successor, George Wolf.

Shulze Hall, located on the campus of Penn State University, is named in his honor.