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diff --git a/old/64574-0.txt b/old/64574-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 298ab2c..0000000 --- a/old/64574-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,18244 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, History of the Jews in America, by Peter -Wiernik - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: History of the Jews in America - From the Period of the Discovery of the New World to the Present Time - - -Author: Peter Wiernik - - - -Release Date: February 16, 2021 [eBook #64574] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN AMERICA*** - - -E-text prepared by Richard Hulse and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 64574-h.htm or 64574-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/64574/64574-h/64574-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/64574/64574-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/historyofjewsina00wier - - - ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ - │ │ - │ Transcriber’s note: │ - │ │ - │ The text may show quotations within quotations, all set │ - │ off by similar quote marks. The inner quotations have been │ - │ changed to alternate quote marks for improved readability. │ - │ │ - │ Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. │ - │ │ - │ Non-printable characteristics have been given the following │ - │ Italic text: --> _text_ │ - │ bold text: --> =text=. │ - │ │ - │ The symbol ‘‡’ indicates the description in parenthesis has │ - │ been added to an illustration. This may be needed if there │ - │ is no caption or if the caption does not describe the image │ - │ adequately. │ - │ │ - │ Footnotes are identified in the text with a number in │ - │ brackets [2] and have been accumulated in a single section │ - │ at the end of the text. │ - │ │ - │ Transcriber’s Notes are used when making corrections to the │ - │ text or to provide additional information for the modern │ - │ reader. These notes are identified in the text by a ♦ symbol, │ - │ and are accumulated in a single section at the end of the │ - │ book. │ - └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ - - - - - - Illustration: (‡ Text on base: - RELIGIOUS LIBERTY - DEDICATED - TO THE - PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES - BY THE - ORDER B’NAI B’RITH) - - EZEKIEL’S STATUE OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY - IN FAIRMOUNT PARK, PHILADELPHIA. - - -HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN AMERICA - -From the Period of the Discovery of The New World -to the Present Time - -by - -PETER WIERNIK - - - - - - -New York -The Jewish Press Publishing Company -1912 - -Copyright, 1912 -By the Jewish Press Publishing Co. -All Rights Reserved - - - - - PREFACE. - - -There were less than ten thousand Jews in the New World three centuries -after its discovery, and about two-thirds of them lived in the West -Indies and in Surinam or Dutch Guiana in South America. While the -communities in those far-away places are now larger in membership than -they were at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, their comparative -importance is much diminished. The two or three thousand Jews who lived -in North America or in the United States one hundred years ago have, -on the other hand, increased to nearly as many millions, the bulk of -them having come in the last three or four decades. On this account -neither our conditions nor our problems can be thoroughly understood -without the consideration of the actual present. The plan of other -works of this kind, to devote only a short concluding chapter to the -present time, or to leave it altogether for the future historian, could -therefore not be followed in this work. The story would be less than -half told, if attention were not paid to contemporary history. - -The chief aim of the work――the first of its kind in this complete -form――being to reach the ordinary reader who is interested in -Jewish matters in a general way, original investigations and learned -disquisitions were avoided, and it was not deemed advisable to -overburden the book with too many notes or to provide a bibliographical -apparatus. The plan and scope of the work are self evident; it was -inevitable that a disproportionately large part should be devoted to -the United States. The continuity of Jewish history is made possible -only by the preservation of our identity as a religious community; -local history really begins with the formation of a congregation. Each -of the successive strata of immigration was originally represented -by its own synagogues, and when the struggle to gain a foothold or to -remove disabilities was over, communal activity was the only one which -could properly be described as Jewish. Economic growth could have been -entirely neglected, despite the present day tendency to consider every -possible problem from the standpoint of economics. But the material -well-being of the Jews of the earlier periods was an important factor -in the preparation for the reception and easy absorption of the larger -masses which came later, and this gives wealth a meaning which, in the -hands of people who are less responsible for one another than Jews, -it does not possess. The Marrano of the Seventeenth or the Eighteenth -Century who brought here riches far in excess of what he found among -the inhabitants in the places where he settled, would probably not -have been admitted if he came as a poor immigrant, and his merit as a -pioneer of trade and industry interests us because he assisted to make -this country a place where hosts of men can come and find work to do. -Without this only a small number could enjoy the liberty and equality -which an enlightened republic vouchsafes to every newcomer without -distinction of race or creed. - -Still these absorbingly interesting early periods had to be passed -over briefly, despite the wealth of available material, to keep within -the bounds of a single volume, and to be able to carry out the plan of -including in the narrative a comprehensive view of the near past and -the present. While no excuse is necessary for making the latter part of -the work longer than the earlier, though in most works the inequality -is the other way, the author regrets the scarcity of available sources -for the history of the Jewish immigration from Slavic countries other -than Russia. There were times when German Jewish historians were -reproached with neglecting the Jews of Russia. In those times there -was a scarcity of necessary “_Vorarbeiten_” or preparation of material -for the history of the Jews of that Empire. To-day, as far as the -history of the Jewish immigrant in America is concerned, the scarcity -is still greater as far as it concerns the Jews who came from Austria -and Roumania. - -The principal sources which were utilized in the preparation of this -work are: _The Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society_ -(20 vols., 1893–1911), which are referred to as “Publications”; -_The Jewish Encyclopedia_ (Funk and Wagnalls, 12 vols., 1901–6); _The -Settlement of the Jews in North America_, by Judge Charles P. Daly, -edited by Max J. Kohler (New York, 1893), often referred to as “Daly”; -_The Hebrews in America_, by Isaac Markens (New York, 1888); _The -American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen_, by the Hon. Simon Wolf, -edited by Louis Edward Levy (Philadelphia, 1895). Other works, like -Dr. Kayserling’s _Christopher Columbus_, Mr. Pierce Butler’s _Judah P. -Benjamin_ (of the American Crisis Biographies, Philadelphia, 1906) and -the Rev. Henry S. Morais’ _Jews of Philadelphia_, were also drawn upon -for much valuable material which they made accessible. All of these -works were used to a larger extent than is indicated by the references -or foot-notes, and my indebtedness to them is herewith gratefully -acknowledged. - -Where biographical dates are given after the name of a person born in a -foreign country, the date of arrival in the New World is often fully as -important as that of birth or death. This date is indicated in the text -by an _a._, which stands for _arrived_, as _b._ stands for _born_ and -_d._ for _died_. - -In conclusion I gladly record my obligation to Mr. Abraham S. Freidus -of the New York Public Library for aid in the gathering of material; to -Mr. Isaiah Gamble for re-reading of the proofs; to Mr. Samuel Vaisberg -for seeing the work through the press, and to my sister, Bertha Wiernik, -for assistance in the preparation of the index. - - _P. W., New York, July, 1912._ - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - INTRODUCTION - - - PART I. - =THE SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE PERIOD.= - - CHAPTER I. - THE PARTICIPATION OF JEWS IN THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. - - The Jew of Barcelona who has navigated the whole known world―― - Judah Cresques, “the Map Jew,” as director of the Academy of - Navigation which was founded by Prince Henry the Navigator―― - One Jewish astronomer advises the King of Portugal to reject - the plans of Columbus――Zacuto as one of the first influential - men in Spain to encourage the discoverer of the New World―― - Abravanel, Senior and the Marranos Santangel and Sanchez who - assisted Columbus――The voyage of discovery begun a day after - the expulsion of the Jews from Spain――Luis de Torres and other - Jews who went with Columbus――America discovered on “Hosannah - Rabbah”――The Indians as the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel――Money - taken from the Jews to defray the expenditure of the second - voyage of Columbus――Vasco da Gama and the Jew Gaspar――Scrolls - of the Thorah from Portugal sold in Cochin――Alphonse - d’Albuquerque’s interpreter who returned to Judaism. - - CHAPTER II. - EARLY JEWISH MARTYRS UNDER SPANISH RULE IN THE NEW WORLD. - - Children torn from their parents were the first Jewish - immigrants――Jewish history in the New World begins, as - Jewish history in Spain ends, with the Inquisition――Emperor - Charles V., Philip II. and Philip III.――Lutherans persecuted - together with Jews and Mohamedans――Codification of the laws of - the Inquisition, and its special edicts for the New World. - - CHAPTER III. - VICTIMS OF THE INQUISITION IN MEXICO AND IN PERU. - - Impossibility of obtaining even approximately correct figures - about the Inquisition――A few typical cases――The Carabajal - family――Relaxation for several decades――The notable case of - Francisco Maldonado de Silva. - - CHAPTER IV. - MARRANOS IN THE PORTUGUESE COLONIES. - - Less persecution in Portugal itself and also in its colonies―― - Marranos buy right to emigrate――They dare to profess Judaism in - Brazil, and the Inquisition is introduced in Goa――Alleged help - given to Holland in its struggle against Spain. - - - PART II. - =THE DUTCH AND ENGLISH COLONIAL PERIOD.= - - CHAPTER V. - THE SHORT-LIVED DOMINION OF THE DUTCH OVER BRAZIL. - - The friendship between the Dutch and the Jews――Restrictions and - privileges in Holland――Dutch-Jewish distributors of Indian - spices――Preparations to introduce the Inquisition in Brazil―― - Jews help the Dutch to conquer it――Southey’s description of - Recife――Vieyra’s description. - - CHAPTER VI. - RECIFE: THE FIRST JEWISH COMMUNITY IN THE NEW WORLD. - - The “Kahal Kodesh” of Recife or Pernambuco in Brazil――Manasseh - ben Israel’s expectation to make it his home――Large immigration - from Amsterdam――Isaac Aboab da Fonseca and his colleagues―― - First rabbis and Jewish authors of the New World――The siege and - the surrender――The return, and the nucleus of other communities - in various parts of America. - - CHAPTER VII. - THE JEWS IN SURINAM OR DUTCH GUIANA. - - Jews in Brazil after the expulsion of the Dutch――The community - of ♦Paramaribo, Surinam, was founded when Recife was still - flourishing――First contact with the English, whom the Jews - preferred――David ♦Nassi and the colony of Cayenne――Privileges - granted by Lord Willoughby――“de Jooden Savane”――Trouble with - slaves and bush negroes――Plantations with Hebrew names――German - Jews――Legal status and banishments――Jewish theaters――Literature - and history. - - CHAPTER VIII. - THE DUTCH AND ENGLISH WEST INDIES. - - The community of Curaçao――Encouragement to settle is followed by - restrictions――Plans of Jewish colonization――Trade communication - with New Amsterdam――Stuyvesant’s slur――The first congregation―― - Departures to North America and to Venezuela――Barbadoes―― - Taxation and legal status――Decay after the hurricane of 1831―― - Jamaica under Spain and under England――Hebrew taught in the - Parish of St. Andrews in 1693――Harsh measures and excessive - taxation――Naturalizations. - - CHAPTER IX. - NEW AMSTERDAM AND NEW YORK. - - Poverty of the first Jewish immigrants to New Amsterdam―― - Stuyvesant’s opposition overruled by the Dutch West India - Company――Privileges and restrictions――Contributions to build - the wall from which Wall street takes its name――The first - cemetery――Exemption from military duty――Little change at the - beginning of the English rule――The first synagogue after a - liberal decree by the Duke of York――Marranos brought back - in boats which carried grain to Portugal――Hebrew learning―― - Question about the Jews as voters and as witnesses――Peter - Kalm’s description of the Jews of New York about 1745――Hyman - Levy, the employer of the original Astor. - - CHAPTER X. - NEW ENGLAND AND THE OTHER ENGLISH COLONIES. - - The Old Testament spirit in New England――Roger Williams――The - first Jew in Massachusetts――Judah Monis, instructor in Hebrew - at Harvard――Newport――Jews from Holland bring there the first - degrees of Masonry――The cemetery immortalized by Longfellow―― - Jacob Rodrigues Rivera introduces the manufacture of sperm - oil――Aaron Lopez, the greatest merchant in America――Immigration - from Portugal――Rabbi Isaac Touro――Visiting rabbis――First Jews - in Connecticut――Philadelphia――Congregation Mickweh Israel―― - Easton’s wealthy Jews――Maryland――Dr. Jacob Lumbrozo――General - Oglethorpe and the first Jews of Georgia――Joseph Ottolenghi―― - The Carolinas――Charleston. - - - PART III. - =THE REVOLUTION AND THE PERIOD OF EXPANSION.= - - CHAPTER XI. - THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. - - Spirit of the Old Testament in the Revolutionary War――Sermons in - favor of the original Jewish form of Government――The New Nation - as “God’s American Israel”――The Quebec Act――The intolerance - of sects as the cause of separation of Church and State――A - Memorial sent by German Jews to the Continental Congress――Fear - expressed in North Carolina that the Pope might be elected - President of the United States――None of the liberties won were - lost by post-revolutionary reaction, as happened elsewhere. - - CHAPTER XII. - THE PARTICIPATION OF JEWS IN THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. - - Captain Isaac Meyers of the French and Indian War of 1754――David - S. Franks and Isaac Franks――David Franks, the loyalist――Solomon - and Lewis Bush――Major Benjamin Nones――Other Jewish Soldiers, - of whom one was exempted from duty on Friday nights――The Pinto - brothers――Commissary General Mordecai Sheftal of Georgia――Haym - Salomon, the Polish Jew, and his financial assistance to the - Revolution. - - CHAPTER XIII. - THE DECLINE OF NEWPORT; WASHINGTON AND THE JEWS. - - England’s special enmity to Newport caused the dispersion of its - Jewish congregation――The General Assembly of Rhode Island meets - in the historic Newport Synagogue――Moses Seixas’ address to - Washington on behalf of the Jews of Newport and the latter’s - reply――Washington’s letters to the Hebrew Congregations of - Savannah, Ga., and to the congregations of Philadelphia, New - York, Richmond and Charleston. - - CHAPTER XIV. - OTHER COMMUNITIES IN THE FIRST PERIODS OF INDEPENDENCE. - - Rabbi Gershom Mendez Seixas――Growth of the Jewish community - of Philadelphia on account of the War――Protest against the - religious test clause in the Constitution of Pennsylvania―― - Benjamin Franklin contributes five pounds to Mickweh Israel―― - Secession of the German-Polish element――New Societies――Jewish - lawyers; Judge Moses Levy――Congressman H. M. Phillips――The - Bush family of Delaware――New Jersey and New Hampshire――North - Carolina: the Mordecai family and other early settlers. - - CHAPTER XV. - THE QUESTION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN VIRGINIA - AND IN NORTH CAROLINA. - - Little change in the basic systems of State institutions――Patrick - Henry, Madison and Jefferson on religious liberty in Virginia―― - The similarity between the Virginia statute and the conclusions - of Moses Mendelssohn pointed out by Count Mirabeau――The first - congregation of Richmond――Article 32 of the Constitution of - North Carolina against Catholics, Jews, etc.――How Jacob Henry, - a Jewish member of the Legislature, defended and retained - his seat in 1809――Judge Gaston’s interpretation――The first - congregation of Wilmington, N. C.――Final emancipation in 1868. - - CHAPTER XVI. - THE WAR OF 1812 AND THE REMOVAL - OF JEWISH DISABILITIES IN MARYLAND. - - The Jewish community almost at a standstill between the - Revolution and the War of 1812――Stoppage of immigration and - losses through emigration and assimilation――No Jews in the - newly admitted States――The small number of Jews who fought - in the second war with England included Judah Touro, the - philanthropist――The Jewish disabilities in Maryland――A Jew - appointed by Jefferson as United States Marshal for that - State――The “Jew Bill” as an issue in Maryland politics――Removal - of the disabilities in 1826. - - CHAPTER XVII. - MORDECAI MANUEL NOAH AND HIS TERRITORIALIST-ZIONISTIC PLANS. - - Noah’s family; his youth and his early successes as journalist - and as dramatist――His appointment as Consul in Tunis and - his recall――His insistence that the United States is not a - Christian nation――Editor and playwright, High-Sheriff and - Surveyor of the Port of New York――His invitation to the Jews - of the world to settle in the City of Refuge which he was to - found on Grand Island――Impressive ceremonies in Buffalo which - were the beginning and the end of “Ararat”――His “Discourse on - the Restoration of the Jews”――Short career on the bench――Jewish - activities. - - - PART IV. - =THE SECOND OR GERMAN PERIOD OF IMMIGRATION.= - - CHAPTER XVIII. - THE FIRST COMMUNITIES IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. - - Impetus given to immigration to America by the reaction after - the fall of Napoleon――The second period of Jewish immigration―― - First legislation about immigration (1819)――The first Jew in - Cincinnati――Its first congregation, Bene Israel――Appeals to - outside communities for funds to build a synagogue――The first - Talmud Torah――Rabbis Gutheim, Wise and Lilienthal――Cleveland―― - St. Louis――Louisville――Mobile――Montgomery and its alleged - Jewish founder, Abraham Mordecai――Savannah and Augusta――New - Orleans――Judah Touro. - - CHAPTER XIX. - NEW SETTLEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE WEST AND ON THE PACIFIC COAST. - - Increase in general immigration――Estimated increase in the - number of Jews――The natural dispersion of small traders over - the country――Chicago――First congregations and other communal - institutions――Indiana――Iowa: Polish Jews settle in Keokuk and - German Jews in Davenport――Minnesota――Wisconsin――Congregation - “Bet El” of Detroit, Mich.――The first “minyan” of gold seekers - in San Francisco――“Mining congregations”――Solomon Heydenfeldt―― - Portland, Oregon. - - CHAPTER XX. - THE JEWS IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF TEXAS. THE MEXICAN WAR. - - The first settler in 1821――Adolphus Sterne, who fought - against Mexico and later served in the Texan Congress――David S. - Kaufman――Surgeon-General Levy in the army of Sam Houston――A Jew - as the first meat “packer” in America――Major Leon Dyer and his - brother Isadore――Mayor Seeligsohn of Galveston (1853)――One Jew - laid out Waco; Castro County is named after another――Belated - communal and religious activities――The War with Mexico, in - which only a small number of Jews served――David Camden de Leon - and his brother Edwin, U. S. Consul-General in Egypt. - - CHAPTER XXI. - THE RELIGIOUS REFORM MOVEMENT. - - Political liberalism and religious radicalism of the German - Jewish immigrant――The struggle with Orthodoxy hardly more than - an animated controversy――No attempt made here by the Temple to - swallow the Synagogue, as was the case in Germany――The first - Reformers of Charleston, S. C.――Isaac Leeser, the conservative - leader, the first to make a serious effort to adjust Judaism to - American surroundings――Dr. Max Lilienthal――Isaac M. Wise, the - energetic organizer of Reform Judaism――Dr. David Einhorn――Dr. - Samuel Adler――Bernhard Felsenthal――Samuel Hirsch. - - CHAPTER XXII. - CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM AND ITS STAND AGAINST REFORM. - - “The poor Jews of Elm street and the rich Jews of Crosby - street”――Rabbis Samuel M. Isaacs, Morris J. Raphall and Jacques - J. Lyons――Sabato Morais――Kalish and Hübsch, the moderate - reformers――Benjamin Szold――Dr. Marcus Jastrow’s career in - three countries――Alexander Kohut――Russian Orthodoxy asserts - itself in New York, and the Bet ha-Midrash ha-Godol is founded - in 1852――Rabbi Abraham Joseph Ash and his various activities―― - Charity work which remains subordinate to religious work in - the synagogue. - - CHAPTER XXIII. - INTERVENTION IN DAMASCUS. - THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SWISS DISCRIMINATION. - - The Damascus Affair; the first occasion on which the Jews of - the United States requested the government to intercede in - behalf of persecuted Jews in another country――John Forsyth’s - instructions to American representatives in Turkey, in - which those requests were anticipated――A discrimination - in a treaty with Switzerland to which President Fillmore - objected, and which Clay and Webster disapproved――The case of - a Jewish-American citizen in Neufchatel――Newspaper agitation, - meetings and memorials against the Swiss treaty――President - Buchanan’s emphatic declaration, and Minister Fay’s “Israelite - Note” about the Jews of Alsace――Question is settled by the - emancipation of the Swiss Jews. - - - PART V. - =THE CIVIL WAR AND THE FORMATIVE PERIOD.= - - CHAPTER XXIV. - THE DISCUSSION ABOUT SLAVERY. LINCOLN AND THE JEWS. - - Pro-slavery tendencies of the aristocratic Spaniards and - Portuguese――David Yulee (Levy)――Michael Heilprin and his reply - to Rabbi Raphall’s _Bible View on Slavery_――Immigrants of the - second period as opponents of slavery――Two Jewish delegates in - the Convention which nominated Abraham Lincoln, and one member - of the Electoral College in 1860――Two other Jews officially - participate in Lincoln’s renomination and re-election in 1864―― - Abraham Jonas――Encouragement from the Scripture in original - Hebrew. - - CHAPTER XXV. - PARTICIPATION OF JEWS IN THE CIVIL WAR. JUDAH P. BENJAMIN. - - Probable number of Jews in the United States at the time of the - outbreak of the Civil War――Seddon’s estimate of “from ten to - twelve thousand Jews in the Southern Army”――Judah P. Benjamin, - the greatest Jew in American public life――His early life and - his marriage――Whig politician, planter and slave owner――Elected - to the United States Senate and re-elected as a Democrat――Quits - Washington when Louisiana seceded and enters the cabinet of the - Confederacy――Attorney-General, Secretary of War and Secretary - of State――His foreign policy――His capacity for work――When - all is lost he goes to England and becomes one of its great - lawyers――His last days are spent in France. - - CHAPTER XXVI. - DISTINGUISHED SERVICES OF JEWS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STRUGGLE. - - More “brothers in arms” and a larger proportion of officers in - the Confederate Army than in that of the North, because most - Southern Jews were natives of the country――Some distinguished - officers――A gallant private who later became a rabbi――Paucity - of Southern records――Generals Knefler, Solomon, Blumenberg, - Joachimsen and other officers of high rank in the Union - Army――New York ranks first, Ohio second and Illinois third - in the number of Jews who went to the front――Two Pennsylvania - regiments which started with Jewish colonels――Commodore Uriah - P. Levy, the ranking officer of the United States navy at - the time of the outbreak of the war, is prevented by age from - taking part in it. - - CHAPTER XXVII. - THE FORMATIVE PERIOD AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. - - Ebb and flow of immigration between 1850 and 1880――Decrease and - practical stoppage of Jewish immigration from Germany――The - breathing spell between two periods of immigration, and the - preparation for the vast influx which was to follow――The - period of great charitable institutions――Organization - and consolidation――The Hebrew Union College and the Union - of American Hebrew Congregations――The Independent Order - B’nai B’rith――Other large fraternal organizations and - their usefulness――Important local institutions in New York, - Philadelphia, Chicago, etc. - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - NEW SYNAGOGUES AND TEMPLES. IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA PRIOR TO 1880. - - Continued increase in the wealth and importance of the - German-Jewish congregations――New and spacious synagogues and - temples erected in various parts of the country in the “sixties” - and the “seventies”――Problems of Russian-Jewish immigration - prior to 1880――Economic condition of the Jewish masses in - Russia worse in the “golden era” than under Nicholas I.―― - Emigration from Russia after the famine of 1867–68 and after - the pogrom of Odessa in 1871――Presumption of the existence of - a Hebrew reading public in New York in 1868――The first Hebrew - and Yiddish periodicals. - - - PART VI. - =THE THIRD OR RUSSIAN PERIOD OF IMMIGRATION.= - - CHAPTER XXIX. - THE INFLUX AFTER THE ANTI-JEWISH RIOTS IN RUSSIA IN 1881. - - The country itself is well prepared for the reception of a - larger number of Jewish immigrants――Absence of organized or - political Antisemitism――Increase in general immigration in 1880 - and 1881――Arrival of the “Am Olam”――Imposing protest meetings - against the riots in Russia――Welcome and assistance――Emma - Lazarus――Heilprin and the attempts to found agricultural - colonies――Herman Rosenthal――Failures in many States――Some - success in Connecticut and more in New Jersey――Woodbine―― - Distribution――Industrial workers and the new radicalism. - - CHAPTER XXX. - COMMUNAL AND RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES AMONG THE NEW COMERS. - - Congregational and social activities among the new comers―― - Ephemeral organizations――The striving after professional - education――Synagogues as the most stable of the new - establishments――“Landsleut” congregations――The first efforts to - consolidate the Orthodox community of New York――The Federation - of Synagogues――Chief Rabbi Jacob Joseph――Other “chief rabbis” - in Chicago and Boston――Prominent Orthodox rabbis in many - cities――Dr. Philip Klein――The short period in which the cantor - was the most important functionary in the Orthodox synagogue―― - Synagogues change hands, but are rarely abandoned. - - CHAPTER XXXI. - NEW COMMUNAL AND INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITIES. - - The Jewish Alliance of 1891 as the first attempt to form a - general organization in which the immigrants of the latest - period should be officially recognized――Some of the prominent - participators――The new Exodus of 1891――The Baron de Hirsch - Fund――Various activities――Decrease in the numbers and - proportion of the helpless and the needy――The American Jewish - Historical Society――The Jewish Publication Society of America―― - The Jewish Chautauqua――Participation in the World’s Columbian - Exposition in 1893――The Council of Jewish Women. - - CHAPTER XXXII. - THE LABOR MOVEMENT AND NEW LITERARY ACTIVITIES. - - Difficulty of securing data for the history of the Labor Movement - among Jewish immigrants――John R. Commons’ characterization of - a Jewish labor union――A constantly changing army of followers - under the same leaders――The movement under the control of the - radical press――The leaders as journalists and literary men―― - They popularize the press and teach the rudiments of politics―― - The voter――The “Heften”――Neo-Hebrew periodicals――The Yiddish - stylists――The plight of the Hebraists. - - CHAPTER XXXIII. - RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA. THE PASSPORT QUESTION. - - The normal rate of Jewish immigration is but slightly affected by - the panic of 1893――Oppressiveness of the Sunday Laws are felt - by the new immigrants――The Extradition Treaty with Russia―― - Beginning of the struggle about the Passport Question――The - first Resolution against Russia’s discrimination, introduced - in Congress by Mr. Cox in 1879――Diplomacy and diplomatic - correspondence――More resolutions――Rayner, Fitzgerald, Perkins―― - Henry M. Goldfogle――John Hay’s letter to the House――More - letters, speeches and discussions――The Sulzer Resolution and - the last step to abrogate the Treaty of 1832. - - CHAPTER XXXIV. - LEGISLATION ABOUT IMMIGRATION. SUNDAY LAWS AND THEIR ENFORCEMENT. - - Jewish interest in immigration――The first legislation on the - subject――The Nativists or “Know Nothings”――A Congressional - investigation in 1838――President Taylor’s invitation to - foreigners to come and settle here――A law to encourage - immigration passed on Lincoln’s recommendation in 1864――The - General Immigration Law of 1882――The “Ford Committee”――Permanent - Immigration Committees in Congress――Continued agitation and - legislation on the subject――A bill containing the requirement - of an educational test is vetoed by President Grover Cleveland - in 1897――The last Immigration Law of 1907――The Immigration - Commission of 1907 and its report in 1910――Sunday Laws and - their significance for the Orthodox Jew――Laws of various - States and Territories――Their effect on movements for municipal - reform――Status of the problems. - - CHAPTER XXXV. - END OF THE CENTURY. THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. - THE DREYFUS AFFAIR. ZIONISM. - - Jews in the Spanish-American war――Commissioned and - non-commissioned officers, privates and “Rough Riders”――Jews in - the Navy: Simon Cook, Joseph Strauss and Edward David Taussig―― - The career of Rear-Admiral Adolph Marix――His part in the - Inquiry about the “Maine” and in the war――The significance of - the Dreyfus Affair――Its influence on the spread of Zionism――The - American press almost as pro-Dreyfus as the Jewish――The Zionist - movement in America――The rank and file consists of immigrants - from Slavic countries, under the leadership of Americans. - - - PART VII. - =THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. PRESENT CONDITIONS.= - - CHAPTER XXXVI. - SYNAGOGUES AND INSTITUTIONS. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA. - ROUMANIA AND THE ROUMANIAN NOTE. - - Synagogues and other Jewish Institutions――General improvement - and moderation――The Jewish Encyclopedia――Its editors and - contributors――The Roumanian situation and the American - Government’s interest in it since 1867――Benjamin F. Peixotto, - United States Consul-General in Bucharest――Diplomatic - correspondence between Kasson and Evarts――New negotiations - with Roumania in 1902――The Roumanian Note to the signatories - of the Berlin Treaty――The question still in abeyance. - - CHAPTER XXXVII. - HELP FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE RUSSIAN MASSACRES IN 1903 AND 1905. - OTHER PROOFS OF SYMPATHY. - - The Kishinev massacre――Official solicitude and general sympathy―― - Protest meetings and collections――The “Kishinev Petition” and - its fate――Less publicity given to the later pogroms, whose - victims were helped by “landsleut” from this country――The - influence of pogroms on immigration――The frightful massacres - in Russia in the fall of 1905, and the assistance rendered by - this country――A Resolution of sympathy adopted in Congress――The - 250th Anniversary of the Settlement of the Jews in the United - States――Relief for Moroccan Jews proposed by the United - States――Oscar S. Straus in the Cabinet. - - CHAPTER XXXVIII. - THE AMERICAN-JEWISH COMMITTEE. - EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND FEDERATIONS. - - Formation of the American Jewish Committee――Its first fifteen - members and its membership in 1911――The experimental Kehillah - organizations――The re-organized Jewish Theological Seminary―― - Faculty of the Hebrew Union College――The Dropsie College of - Hebrew and Cognate Learning――The Rabbi Joseph Jacob School―― - Other Orthodox “Yeshibot”――Talmud Torahs and “Chedarim”――Hebrew - Institutes――They become more Jewish because other agencies now - do the work of Americanizing the immigrant――Technical Schools―― - Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Associations――Federations - of various kinds. - - CHAPTER XXXIX. - THE JEWS IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA. - - The legend about the Jewish origin of Chevalier de Levis――Aaron - Hart, the English Commissary, and Abraham Gradis, the French - banker――Early settlers in Montreal――Its first Congregation―― - Troubles of Ezekiel Hart, the first Jew to be elected to the - Legislature――Final Emancipation in 1832――Jews fight on the - Loyalist side against ♦Papineau’s rebellion――Prominent Jews in - various fields of activity――Congregation “Shaar ha-Shomaim”―― - Toronto――First synagogue in Victoria, B. C., in 1862――Hamilton - and Winnipeg――Other communities――Agricultural Colonies――Jewish - Newspapers. - - CHAPTER XL. - JEWS IN SOUTH AMERICA, MEXICO AND CUBA. - - The first “minyan” in Buenos Ayres, Argentine, in 1861――Estimate - of the Jewish population in Argentine――Occupations and economic - condition of the various groups――Kosher meat and temporary - synagogues as indications of the religious conditions―― - Communities in twenty-six other cities――The Agricultural - Colonies――Brazil――The rumor that General Floriano Peixotto, - the second president of the new Republic, was of Jewish - origin――Communities in several cities――The Colony Philippson―― - Jews in Montevido, Uruguay――Other South American Republics―― - Isidor Borowski, who fought under Bolivar――Panama――Moroccan - Jews are liked by Peru Indians――About ten thousand Jews in - Mexico――Slowly increasing number in Cuba, where Jews help to - spread the American influence. - - CHAPTER XLI. - MEN OF EMINENCE IN THE ARTS, SCIENCES AND THE PROFESSIONS. - - Jews who attained eminence in the world of art and of science―― - Moses J. Ezekiel――Ephraim Keyser――Isidor Konti――Victor - D. Brenner――Butensky and Davidson――Painters: Henry Mosler, - Constant Mayer, H. N. Hyneman and George D. M. Peixotto――Max - Rosenthal and his son, Albert――Max Weyl, Toby E. Rosenthal, - Louis Loeb and Katherine M. Cohen――Some cartoonists and - caricaturists――Musicians, composers and musical directors――The - Damrosch family, Gabrilowitsch, Hoffman and Ellman――Operatic - and theatrical managers and impressarios――Playwrights and - actors――Scientists: A. A. Michelson, Morris Bloomfield, Jacob - H. Hollander, Charles Waldstein and his family――Charles Gross―― - Edwin R. A. Seligman, Adolph Cohn, Jaques Loeb, Simon Flexner - and Abraham Jacobi――Fabian Franklin――Engineers: Sutro, Gottlieb - and Jacobs――Some eminent physicians and lawyers――Merchants and - financiers. - - CHAPTER XLII. - LITERATURE: HEBREW AND ENGLISH. PERIODICALS. - - Curiosities of early American Jewish literature which belong - to the domain of bibliography――Rabbinical works: Responses, - commentaries and Homiletics――Hebrew works of a modern - character――Ehrlich’s Mikra Ki-Peshuto and Eisenstein’s Ozar - Israel――Neo-Hebrew Poets and literati――Jewish writers in the - vernacular――“Ghetto Stories”――Writers on non-Jewish subjects―― - Scientific works――Writers on Jewish subjects and contributors - to the “Jewish Encyclopedia”――A. S. Freidus――Non-Jewish writers - about Jews――Daly――Frederic, Davitt and Hapgood――Journalists, - editors and publishers――The Ochs brothers; the Rosewaters―― - Pulitzer and de Young of Jewish descent――The Jewish - denominational press in English――The “Sanatorium.” - - CHAPTER XLIII. - YIDDISH LITERATURE, DRAMA AND THE PRESS. - - Yiddish poets of the United States equal, if they do not - excell, the poets of the same tongue in other countries――Morris - Rosenfeld――“Yehoash” and Sharkansky――Bovshoer and other - radicals――Zunser――Old fashioned novelists――The sketch writers - who are under the influence of the Russian realistic writers―― - Abner Tannenbaum――Alexander Harkavy――“Krantz,” Hermalin, - Zevin and others――Abraham Goldfaden and the playwrights who - followed him――Jacob Gordin and the realists――Yiddish actors - and actresses――The Yiddish Press――The high position attained - by the dailies――Weekly and monthly publications. - - CHAPTER XLIV. - PRESENT CONDITIONS. THE NUMBER AND THE DISPERSION OF JEWS - IN AMERICA. CONCLUSION. - - Dispersion of the Jews over the country and its colonial - possessions――The number of Jews in the United States about - three millions――The number of communities in various States―― - The number of Jews in the large cities――The number of the - congregations is far in excess of the recorded figures――The - process of disintegration and the counteracting forces――The - building of synagogues――Charity work is not overshadowing other - communal activities as in the former period, and more attention - is paid to affairs of Judaism――The conciliatory spirit and the - tendency to federate――Self-criticism and dissatisfaction which - are an incentive to improvement――Our great opportunity here―― - Our hope in the higher civilization in which the injustices of - the older order of things may never reappear. - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - FRONTISPIECE (EZEKIEL’S STATUE OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY) - - COL. ISAAC FRANKS - - JUDAH TOURO - - RABBI ISAAC LEESER - - DR. ISAAC M. WISE - - RABBI SABATO MORAIS - - DR. MARCUS JASTROW - - MICHAEL HEILPRIN - - LEWIS N. DEMBITZ - - JUDAH P. BENJAMIN - - HON. SIMON WOLF - - COMMODORE URIAH P. LEVY - - JULIUS BIEN - - KASRIEL H. SARASOHN - - EMMA LAZARUS - - HERMAN ROSENTHAL - - CHIEF RABBI JACOB JOSEPH - - MISS SADIE AMERICAN - - PROF. GOTTHARD DEUTSCH - - HON. JACOB H. SCHIFF - - HON. OSCAR S. STRAUS - - JUDGE MAYER SULZBERGER - - HON. BENJAMIN SELLING - - PROF. SOLOMON SCHECHTER - - MARTHA WOLFENSTEIN - - MORDECAI MANUEL NOAH - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - - THE JEWS AS EARLY INTERNATIONAL TRADERS. - -The ten centuries which passed between the fall of the Western Roman -Empire and the discovery of the New World are commonly known as the -Middle Ages or the Dark Ages. They were, on the whole, very dark -indeed for most of the inhabitants of Europe, as well as for the Jews -who were scattered among them. It was a time of the fermentation of -religious and national ideas, a formative period for the mind and the -body politic of the races from which the great nations of the present -civilized world were evolved. It was a period of violent hatreds, of -cruel persecutions, of that terrible earnestness which prompts and -justifies the extermination of enemies and even of opponents; there was -almost constant war between nations, between classes, between creeds -and sects. The ordinary man had no rights even in theory, the truths -“that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator -with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty -and the pursuit of happiness” were not self-evident then; they were -not even thought of until a much later era. - -The treatment accorded to the Jews in our own times in the countries -where the general conditions are nearest to those prevailing in the -dark ages, gives a clear idea of what the Jew had to undergo when the -average degree of culture was so much lower than it is in the least -developed of the Christian countries at present. The records of the -times are so filled with pillage, expulsions and massacres, that they -impress us as having been common occurrences, though they happened -further apart to those who lived through the peaceful intervals -which distance of time makes to appear short to us. There were, of -course, some bright spots, the most shining of which was the Iberian -peninsula during the earlier part of the Moorish domination. Sometimes -a kind-hearted king would afford his Jews protection and even grant -them valuable privileges; a clear-headed prince often found it to his -own interest to utilize them for the advancement of the commerce of -his dominion, and in a rare period of peace and prosperity there also -happened a general relaxation of the severity which characterized the -time. But if we view the entire thousand years as a single historical -period, we find the condition of the Jews slowly deteriorating; with -the result that while the modern nations were welded together and came -out of the medieval furnace strengthened and developed, the Jews were -pushed back, segregated and degraded, ready for the numerous expulsions -and various sufferings which continued for more than two centuries in -Western Europe and are not yet over in other parts of the Old World. - -The favorable position of the Jews at the beginning of the Middle Ages -is less familiar to the reading public, even to the Jewish reader, than -the troublesome times which came later. As a matter of fact the Jews -were, except for the lack of national unity and of the possession of an -independent home, better situated materially four centuries after the -destruction of the Second Temple than before the last dissolution of -the Kingdom of Judah. The instinct for commerce which is latent in the -“Semitic” race was awakened in the Diaspora and, after an interruption -of more than a thousand years, we find, at the end of the classical -times, international trade again almost exclusively in the hands of -members of that race. The Sumero-Accadians or original Babylonians -who were the earliest known international traders on land, and the -Phoenicians, who first dared to trade over seas, were of Semitic -origin. As foreign commerce is the highest form of activity in regard -to the utilization of human productivity, so it is also the forerunner -of mental activity and of the spread of an ennobling and instructive -culture. The beginnings of both Egyptian and Greek civilization, -according to the latest discoveries, point unmistakably to Mesopotamian -or Phoenician origin, with a strong probability that the latter -received it from the former in times which we usually describe as -pre-historic, but about which we now possess considerable exact -information. Culture followed the great route of the caravans to -Syria and Egypt on one side, to Iran, India and as far as China in -an opposite direction. And if we accept the wholly incorrect and -un-scientific division of the white race into Aryans and Semites, -then this original and most fertile of the cultures of humanity was -undoubtedly Semitic. A more modern and more nearly correct division -would place these ancient inhabitants of the plateau of Asia as a part -of the great Mediterranean or brunette race, which includes, besides -all the so-called Semites, a number of European nations which are -classed as Aryans. Greece succeeded Phœnicia and was in turn succeeded -by Rome in the hegemony of international trade as well as in that of -general culture. Both commerce and culture declined when the ancient -civilization was all but destroyed by the invasion of the blond -barbarians of the northern forests, who were themselves destined to -attain in a far-away future the highest form of civilization of which -mankind has hitherto proven itself capable. (See _Zollschan_ “Das -Rassenproblem,” Vienna, 1910, pp. 206 ff.) - -It so happened that at the time of the downfall of the Roman Empire, -or, as it is usually called, the beginning of the Middle Ages, another -people of Semitic origin, the Jews, were for the most part engaged -in international trade. There are records of Jewish merchants of that -period shipping or exporting wine, oil, honey, fish, cattle, woolens, -etc., from Spain to Rome and other Latin provinces, from Media to -Brittannia, from the Persian Gulf and Ethiopia to Macedonia and Italy; -there was no important seaport or commercial center in which the Jews -did not occupy a commanding position. Their prominence as importers and -exporters rather increased than diminished by the downfall of the great -Empire. The new nations of the Germanic kingdoms which were founded -on the ruins of Rome, knew nothing of international trade, and the -position of the Jews as merchants was accepted by them as a matter of -course. Hence the first traces of Jewish settlements in modern European -countries are almost exclusively to be found in the earliest records -of commerce and of trading privileges. They are then known as traders -with distant countries, as sea-going men, as owners of vessels and as -slave-traders. The commercial note or written obligation to pay, which -is accepted in lieu of payment and is itself negotiable as a substitute -for money, is a Jewish invention of those times. They developed -industries and improved the material conditions of every place in which -they were found in large numbers. As late as 1084, when their position -had been already much weakened and the coming Crusades were casting -their shadows, Bishop Rudiger of Speyer began his edict of privileges -granted to the Jews with the statement: “As I wish to turn the village -of Speyer into a city ... I call the Jews to settle there.” (See ibid. -p. 351.)[1] - - - THE SPANISH JEWS AS LAND OWNERS. - -Canon Law on one side and the rise of cities on the other shattered the -position of the Jews until they were reduced to sore straits at the end -of the Middle Ages. The church labored persistently and relentlessly -through the centuries in which Europe was thoroughly Christianized, to -separate the Jews as far as possible from their Gentile neighbors. The -ties which united the two parts of the population by a thousand threads -of mutual interest, friendship, co-operation and beneficial intercourse, -were slowly loosened and, where possible, all but severed. At the -various Church Councils, from Nicea to the last Lateran, there was laid -down the theory of the necessity to force the Jews out of the national -life of the countries in which they dwelt, and to segregate them as -a distinct, inferior and outlawed class. The principles enunciated by -the higher clergy were disseminated by the priests and the demagogues -among the masses. Special laws and restrictions were often followed -by attacks, sacking of the Jewish quarters and degradations of -various kinds. In the twelfth and the following three centuries the -ill-treatment was often followed by expulsions and cancellation of -debts, while heavy fines on individual Jews or on entire communities -were accepted on both sides as a lesser evil or as easy terms for -escaping greater hardships. The climax of this method of dealing with -the Jews, the greatest blow administered to the unhappy Children of -Israel by Christian princes, was the expulsion from Spain in 1492, and -its concomitant, the expulsion from Portugal five years afterwards. - -But the Church alone could never have accomplished the ruin of the -Jews if the changing economic conditions and the rise of a large and -powerful class of Christian merchants did not help to undermine the -position of the erstwhile solitary trading class. The burgher classes -were the chief opponents and persecutors of their Jewish competitors: -they seconded, and in many cases instigated, the efforts of the clergy -to exclude the Jews from many occupations. So when the city overpowered -the land owner and began to exert a preponderant influence on the -government, the cause of the Jew was lost, or at least postponed -until a more humane and liberal time, when the ordinary claims of -the brotherhood of man were to overcome the narrow-minded mercantile -and ecclesiastical policies of a ruder age. The great historian Ranke -pointed out that the struggle between the cities and the nobility in -Castille was decided in favor of the former by the marriage of Queen -Isabella to Ferdinand of Aragon. It was also this marriage which sealed -the doom of the Spanish Jews, as well as that of their former friends -and protectors, the Moors, who had by that time sunk so low, that it -was impossible for them to keep their last stronghold in Europe much -longer. - -Though the outlook in Spain was very dark, it was much worse in all -other known countries, which accounts for the fact that there was -hardly any emigration from the Christian parts of Spain in the time -immediately preceding the expulsion. The Spanish Jew was then, and -has to some extent remained even unto this day, the aristocrat among -the Jews of the world. His intense love for that country is still -smouldering in the hearts of his descendants, and not without reason. -In other European countries the Jew could, during the middle ages, -only enjoy the sympathy and sometimes be accorded the protection -of the nobility. In Spain and Portugal he actually belonged to that -class. For, as Selig (Dr. Paulus) Cassel has justly remarked (in his -splendid article _Juden_ in Ersch and Gruber’s Encyclopædia) sufficient -attention has not been paid by Jewish historians to the important fact -that Spain and Portugal were the only considerable countries during the -Middle Ages in which the Jews were permitted to own land. The statement, -for which there is an apparent Jewish authority, that they owned -about a third of Spain at the time of their exile, is doubtless an -exaggeration, but there can be no question of their being extensive -holders of land-properties. - -This largely explains why the Jew in Spain has not sunk in public -estimation as much as he did in other countries, why his fate was -different, and, in the end, worse than that of his more humiliated and -degraded brother elsewhere. When the German or French Jew was forced -out of commerce he could only become a money-lender at the usurious -rates prevailing in those times. This vocation drew on him the contempt -and hatred of all classes, as was always the case and as is the case in -many places even to-day. But while the usurer was despised he was very -useful, often even indispensable, especially in those times when there -was a great scarcity of the precious metals and of convertible capital. -This may explain why the exiled Jews were in other countries usually -called back to the places from which they were exiled. The prejudice -of the age may render their work disreputable, but it was none the less -necessary; they were missed as soon as they left, and on many occasions -negotiations for their return were begun as soon as the popular fury -cooled down, or when the object of spoliation was attained. - -Not so in Spain. The Jewish merchant who could no longer hold his own -against his stronger non-Jewish competitor, could do what is often -done by others who voluntarily retire from such pursuits, i. e., invest -his capital in landed estates. We can imagine that the transition did -not at all seem to be forced, that those who caused it, and even its -victims, might have considered it as the natural course of events. -After the great massacres of 1391, a century before the expulsion, many -Jews emigrated to Moorish North Africa, where there still remained some -degree of tolerance and friendliness for them, mingled perhaps with -some hope of re-conquering the lost parts of the Iberian peninsula. But -later there was less thought of migration, least of all of emigrating -to the parts of Spain which still remained in the possession of the -Moors. The race which was, seven centuries before, assisted by the -Jews to become masters of Iberia, and which together with them rose to -a height of culture and mental achievement which is not yet properly -appreciated in modern history, has now become degenerate and almost -savage in its fanaticism. The Jew of Spain was still proud, despite -his sufferings. He could not see his fate as clearly as we can now from -the perspective of five hundred years. He was rooted in the country in -which he lived for many centuries. He was, like most men of wealth and -position, inclined to be optimistic, and he could not miss his only -possible protection against expropriation or exile――the possession of -full rights of citizenship――because the Jews nowhere had it in those -times and had not had it since the days of ancient Rome. - -The catastrophe of the great expulsion, which came more unexpectedly -than we can now perceive, was possibly facilitated by the position -which the Jews held as land owners. It certainly contributed to make -the decree of exile irrevocable. The holder of real property is more -easily and more thoroughly despoiled, because he cannot hide his most -valuable possessions or escape with them. He is not missed when he -is gone; his absence is hardly felt after the title to his lands has -been transferred to the Crown or to favorites of the government. When -the robbery is once committed only compunction or an awakened sense of -justice could induce the restitution which re-admission or recall would -imply. And as abstract moral forces had very little influence in those -cruel days, it is no wonder that the expulsion was final――the only one -of that nature in Christian Europe. - -This peculiar position of the Jews in Spain and Portugal was also the -cause of the immense number of conversions which gave these anti-Jewish -nations a very large mixture of Jewish blood in their veins. The -temptation to cling to the land and to the high social position which -could not be enjoyed elsewhere was too strong for all but the strongest. -Thus we find Marranos or secret Jews in all the higher walks of life -in the times of the discovery of America. The more steadfast of their -brethren who were equally prominent in the preceding period assisted -in various ways earlier voyages of discovery, and even contributed -indirectly to the success of the one great voyage, which did not begin -until they were exiled from Spain forever. - -But we must constantly bear in mind, when speaking of the Middle -Ages and of the two centuries succeeding it, the sixteenth and the -seventeenth, that the Jews did not possess the right of citizenship -and were not, even when they were treated very well, considered as an -integral part of the population. This was the chief weakness of their -position and the ultimate cause of all the persecutions, massacres -and expulsions. Still they had many opportunities and made the most of -them to advance their own interests and those of the countries in which -they dwelt. We find them in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in -close touch with the current of national life in the countries which -were most absorbed in enterprises of navigation and discovery. Many -of them were still great merchants, numerous others were scholars, -mathematicians and astronomers or astrologers; some had influence in -political life as advisers or fiscal officials at the royal courts. -They accomplished much, as Jews and as Marranos, even when the danger -of persecution must have been ever-present, or later, when in constant -terror of the Inquisition. Many of them could therefore participate -in the work which led to the discovery of a New World, where their -descendants were destined to find a home safer and more free than was -ever dreamt of in medieval Jewish philosophy. - - - - - PART I. - - THE SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE PERIOD. - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE PARTICIPATION OF JEWS IN THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. - - - The Jew of Barcelona who has navigated the whole known world―― - Judah Cresques, “the Map Jew,” as director of the Academy of - Navigation which was founded by Prince Henry the Navigator――One - Jewish astronomer advises the King of Portugal to reject the - plans of Columbus――Zacuto as one of the first influential - men in Spain to encourage the discoverer of the New World―― - Abravanel, Senior and the Marranos Santangel and Sanchez who - assisted Columbus――The voyage of discovery begun a day after - the expulsion of the Jews from Spain――Luis de Torres and other - Jews who went with Columbus――America discovered on “Hosannah - Rabbah”――The Indians as the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel――Money - taken from the Jews to defray the expenditure of the second - voyage of Columbus――Vasco da Gama and the Jew Gaspar――Scrolls - of the Thorah from Portugal sold in Cochin――Alphonse - d’Albuquerque’s interpreter who returned to Judaism. - -In the days when Church and State were one and indissoluble, and when -all large national enterprises, such as wars or the search for new -dominions by means of discovery, were undertaken avowedly in the name -and for the glory of the Catholic religion, it could not have been -expected that governments will make an effort to protect international -trade as long as it was in Jewish hands. We must therefore go as far -back as to the first half of the 14th century to find a record of -Jews who went to sea on their own account in an independent way. -According to the great authority on the subject of this chapter (Dr. -M. Kayserling, “Christopher Columbus and the participation of the Jews -in the Spanish and Portuguese Discoveries,” English translation by -the late Prof. Charles Gross of Harvard University) Jaime III., the -last king of Mallorca, testified in 1334 that Juceff Faquin, a Jew of -Barcelona, “has navigated the whole then known world.” About a century -later we find again a Jew prominently identified with navigation; -but in this instance he is a scientific teacher, in the employ of an -energetic prince who considered navigation as a national project of -the greatest moment. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460), -who helped his father to capture Ceuta, in North Africa, and there -“obtained information from Jewish travellers concerning the south coast -of Guinea and the interior of Africa”, established a naval academy or -school of navigation at the Villa do Iffante or Sagres, a seaport town -which he caused to be built. He appointed as its director Mestre Jaime -of Mallorca whose real name was Jafuda (Judah) Cresques, the son of -Abraham Cresques of Palma, the capital of Mallorca. Jafuda was known as -“the Map Jew,” and a map which he prepared for King Juan I. of Aragon -and was presented by the latter to the King of France, is preserved -in the National Library of Paris.[2] He became the teacher of the -Portuguese in the art of navigation as well as in the manufacture of -nautical instruments and maps. In this work he had no superior in his -day. - -While this Jewish scholar helped the Portuguese to many notable -achievements in their daring voyages, another one, at a later period, -was almost the direct cause of their being overtaken by the Spaniards -in the race for new discoveries. For it was Joseph Vecinho, physician -to King João, of Portugal, considered by the high court functionaries -to be the greatest authority in nautical matters, who influenced the -King to reject the plan submitted by Christopher Columbus (1446?‒1506), -and thereby caused the latter to leave Portugal for Spain in 1484. - -Columbus came to Spain when Ferdinand and Isabella, with the aid of the -newly introduced Inquisition, were despoiling the wealthy Marranos, who -were burned at the stake in large numbers. The last war with the Moors -had already begun. - -Another and more famous Jewish scholar was to make amends for whatever -suffering was caused to the great discoverer by Vecincho’s fatal advice. -Abraham Ben Samuel Zacuto, who was born in Salamanca, Spain, about -the middle of the 15th century and died an exile in Turkey after 1510, -was famous as an astronomer and mathematician, and in his capacity as -one of the leading professors in the university of his native city was -formerly the teacher of the above named Vecinho. He was more discerning -than his pupil, and when he learned to know Columbus, soon after the -latter’s arrival in Spain, he encouraged him personally and also gave -him his almanacs and astronomical tables, which were a great help in -the voyage of discovery. Zacuto was among the first influential men -in Spain to favor the plans of Columbus, and his favorable report -caused Ferdinand and Isabella to take him into their service in -1487. The explorer was then ordered to proceed to Malaga, which was -captured several weeks before, and there made the acquaintance of the -two most prominent Jews of Spain in that time――the chief farmer of -taxes, Abraham Senior, and Don Isaac Abravanel. These two men were -provisioning the Spanish armies which operated against the Moors, and -were in high favor at Court. Abravanel was one of the first to render -financial assistance to Columbus. - -Louis de Santangel and other Marranos interposed in favor of Columbus -when he was about to go to France in January, 1492, because Ferdinand -refused to make him Viceroy and Life-Governor of all the lands which -he might discover. Santangel’s pleadings with Isabella were especially -effective, and when the question of funds remained the only obstacle -to be overcome, he who was saved from the stake by the King’s grace at -the time when several other members of the Santangel family perished, -advanced a loan of seventeen thousand florins――nearly five million -maravedis――to finance the entire project. Account books in which the -transfer of money from Santangel to Columbus, through the Bishop of -Avila, who afterwards became the Archbishop of Granada, were recorded, -are still preserved in the _Archive de India_ of Seville, Spain. - -“After the Spanish monarchs had expelled all the Jews from all their -Kingdoms and lands in April, in the same month they commissioned me -to undertake the voyage to India”――writes Christopher Columbus. This -refers to the Decree of Expulsion, but the coincidence of the actual -happening was still more remarkable. The expulsion took place on the -second day of August, 1492, which occurred on the ninth day of the -Jewish month of Ab, the day on which, according to the Jewish tradition, -is the anniversary of the destruction of both the first Holy Temple -of Jerusalem in the year 586 B. C. and also of the second Temple at -the hands of the Romans in the year 70 C. E. The day, known as “Tishah -be’Ab,” was observed as a day of mourning and lamentation among the -Jews of the Diaspora in all countries and is still so observed by -the Orthodox everywhere to this day. Columbus sailed on his momentous -voyage on the day after――the third of August. The boats which were -carrying away throngs of the expatriated and despairing Jews from the -country which they loved so well and in which their ancestors dwelt for -more than eight centuries, sighted that little fleet of three sailing -craft which was destined to open up a new world for the oppressed of -many races, where at a later age millions of Jews were to find a free -home under the protection of laws which were unthought of in those -times. - -Neither all the names nor even the number of men who accompanied -Columbus on his first voyage are known to posterity. Some authorities -place the number at 120, others as low as 90. But among the names -which came down to us are those of several Jews, the best known among -them being Louis de Torres, who was baptized shortly before he joined -Columbus. Torres knew Hebrew, Chaldaic and some Arabic, and was taken -along to be employed as an interpreter between the travellers and -the natives of the parts of India which Columbus expected to reach by -crossing the Ocean. Others of Jewish stock whose names were preserved -are: Alfonso de Calle, Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, the physician -Maestro Bernal and the surgeon Marco. - -Land was sighted October 12, 1492, on “Hosannah Rabbah” (the seventh -day of the Jewish Feast of the Booths), and Louis de Torres, who was -sent ashore with one companion to parley with the inhabitants, was -thus the first white man to step on the ground of the New World. As -the place proved to be not the Kingdom of the Great Khan which Columbus -had set out to reach, but an island of the West Indies, with a strange -hitherto unknown race of copper-colored men, it is needless to say that -the linguistic attainments of the Jewish interpreter availed him very -little. After he managed to make himself somewhat understood, he was -favorably impressed with the new country and finally settled for the -remainder of his life in Cuba. He was the first discoverer of tobacco, -which was through him introduced into the Old World. It is also -believed that in describing in a Hebrew letter to a Marrano in Spain -the odd gallinaceous bird which he first saw in his new abode, he gave -it the name “Tukki” (the word in Kings I, 10 v. 22, which is commonly -translated peacock) and that this was later corrupted into “turkey,” by -which name it is known to the English-speaking world. - -It may also be remarked, in passing, that the belief identifying the -red race which was surnamed Indian with the lost ten tribes of Israel, -began to be entertained by many people, especially scholars and divines, -soon after the discovery of America. It attained the dignity of a -theory in the middle of the 17th century when Thorowgood published his -work: “The Jews in America; or, Probabilities that the Americans are -of that Race.” (London, 1650.) This view was supported among our own -scholars by no less an authority than ♦Manasseh Ben Israel, who wrote -on the same subject in his “Esperança de Israel” which was published in -Amsterdam in the same year. - -Columbus wrote the first reports of his wonderful discovery to Louis -de Santangel and to Gabriel Sanchez. The letter to the first is dated -February 15, 1493, and was written on the return voyage, near the -Azores or the Canaries. - -It was decreed by a royal order of November 23, 1492, that the -authorities were to confiscate for the State Treasury all property -which had belonged to the Jews, including that which Christians had -taken from them or had appropriated unlawfully or by violence. This -gave Ferdinand sufficient means to provide for the second voyage of -Columbus (March 23, 1493). The King and the Queen signed a large number -of injunctions to royal officers in Soria, Zamora, Burgos and many -other cities, directing them to secure immediate possession of all -the precious metals, gold and silver utensils, jewels, gems and other -objects of value that had been taken from the Jews who were expelled -from Spain or had migrated to Portugal, and everything that these Jews -had entrusted for safe keeping to Marrano, relatives or friends, and -all Jewish possession which Christians had found or had unlawfully -appropriated. The royal officers were later ordered to convert this -property into ready money and to give the proceeds to the treasurer, -Francisco Pinelo, in Seville, to meet the expenditure of Columbus’ -second expedition. - -One of the specific instances of these confiscations which deserves to -be mentioned, is the order to Bernardino de Lerma to transfer to Pinelo -all the gold, silver and various other things which Rabbi Ephraim (who -is sometimes referred to in contemporary documents as Rabi Frayn, also -as Rubifrayn, and who was perhaps the father of the great Rabbi Joseph -Caro, author of the Shulhan Aruk, etc.), the richest Jew in Burgos, -had before emigrating left with Isabel Osoria, the wife of Louis Nunez -Coronel of Zamora. Not merely the clothing, ornaments and valuables -which had been taken from the Jews were converted into money, but -also the debts which they had been unable to recover were declared by -order of the Crown to be forfeited to the state treasury, and stringent -measures were adopted to collect them. A moderate estimate places the -sum thus obtained at six million maravedis, to which ought to be added -the two millions contributed by the Inquisition of Seville as a part -of the enormous sums which it wrested from Jews and Moors. According to -another order, issued in the above-named date, it was from this Jewish -money that Columbus was paid the ten thousand maravedis which the -Spanish monarchs had promised as a reward to him who should first sight -land.[3] - -In the days of suffering and disgrace which came to Columbus after his -discoveries, Santangel and Sanchez remained faithful to him and often -interceded in his behalf with Ferdinand and Isabella. They both died -in 1505, about one year before the great discoverer whose success they -made possible. Their immediate descendants occupied high positions in -the royal service. - - * * * * * - -Columbus was not the only renowned discoverer of that time who was -directly and indirectly assisted by Jews. The great and cruel Vasco -da Gama, who did for Portugal almost as much as Columbus did for Spain, -could hardly have carried out his important undertakings without the -help of at least two Jews. One of them was the above-mentioned Abraham -Zacuto, who, like many of his unfortunate brethren, went from Spain to -Portugal after the calamity of 1492. He was highly favored by King João -and by his successor, Dom Manuel, and the latter consulted him on the -advisability of sending out under Vasco da Gama’s command the flotilla -of four boats which was to reach India by the way of Cape of Good Hope. -Zacuto pointed out the dangers which would have to be encountered, -but gave it as his opinion that the plan was feasible and predicted -that it would result in the subjection of a large part of India to -the Portuguese crown. Zacuto’s works and the instruments which he -invented and made available materially facilitated the execution of -the enterprises of Vasco da Gama and other explorers. As in the case of -Columbus and Spain, da Gama sailed in the year of the expulsion of the -Jews from the country which fitted out his expedition (1497). When he -returned Zacuto was an exile in Tunis, though he probably could have -remained in Portugal, just as Abravanel could have remained in Spain. - -It was during his return voyage to Europe, while staying at the -little island of Anchevide, sixty miles from Goa (off the Indian coast -of Malabar) that Vasco da Gama met the second Jew who became very -useful to him and to Portugal. A tall European with a long white beard -approached his ship in a boat with a small crew. He had been sent by -his master, Sabayo, the Moorish ruler of Goa, to negotiate with the -foreign navigator. He was a Jew who, according to some chronicles, -came from Posen, according to others from Granada, whose parents had -emigrated to Turkey and Palestine. From Alexandria, which some give as -his birthplace, he proceeded across the Red Sea to Mecca and thence to -India. Here he was a long time in captivity, and later was made admiral -(capitao mór) by Sabayo. - -The Portuguese were overjoyed “to hear so far from home a language -closely related to their native speech.” But he was soon suspected of -being a spy and was forced by torture to join the expedition and――as -a matter of course――to embrace Christianity. The admiral acted as his -godfather and his name came down to us as Gaspar da Gama or Gaspar -de las Indias. He was brought to Portugal, where he was favored by -King Manuel and “rendered inestimable service to Vasco da Gama and -several later commanders.” He accompanied Pedro Alvarez Cobral on the -expedition in 1500 which led to the independent discovery of Brazil, -which became a Portuguese possession. On the return voyage Gaspar met -Amerigo Vespucci, who received much information from him and mentions -him as a linguist and traveller who is trustworthy and knows much about -the interior of India. - -On another expedition in which he accompanied his godfather in 1502, -Gaspar found his wife in Cochin. She had remained true to him and to -Judaism since he was carried away by the Portuguese, but probably both -of them considered it unsafe for her to join him. He again journeyed -to Cochin in 1505 in the retinue of the first Viceroy of India, which -also included the son of Dr. Martin Pinheiro, the Judge of the Supreme -Court of Lisbon. The young Pinheiro carried along a chest filled with -“Torah” scrolls which were taken from the recently destroyed synagogues -of Portugal. Gaspar’s wife negotiated the sale in Cochin, “where there -were many Jews and synagogues,” obtaining four thousand parados for -thirteen scrolls. The viceroy later confiscated the proceeds for the -state treasury and sent an account of the whole affair to Lisbon. - -Another Portuguese commander and governor of India, Alphonse -d’Albuquerque, obtained much information and valuable assistance -from his interpreter, a Jew from Castille whom he induced to embrace -Christianity and to assume the name Francisco d’Albuquerque. His -companion Cufo or Hucefe underwent the same change of religion and -visited Lisbon, but soon found himself in danger and escaped to Cairo, -where he again openly professed Judaism. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - EARLY JEWISH MARTYRS UNDER SPANISH RULE IN THE NEW WORLD. - - - Children torn from their parents were the first Jewish - immigrants――Jewish history in the New World begins, as - Jewish history in Spain ends, with the Inquisition――Emperor - Charles V., Philip II. and Philip III.――Lutherans persecuted - together with Jews and Mohamedans――Codification of the laws of - the Inquisition, and its special edicts for the New World. - -We have seen in the preceding chapter that the Jews were expelled -forever from Spain and Portugal at the time when these two nations, -with considerable assistance from professing and converted Jews, -discovered the New World and took possession of it. Nothing could -therefore have been farther from the thoughts and the hopes of the Jews -of those dark days than the idea that America was to be, in a far-away -future, the first Christian country to grant its Jewish inhabitants -full citizenship and absolute equality before the law. For nearly a -century and a half no professing Jew dared to tread upon American soil, -and even the secret Jews or Marranos were as much in danger in the -newly-planted colonies as in the mother countries under whose rule they -remained for a long time. - -The first Jewish immigrants in the New World were children who were -torn away from the arms of their parents at the time of the expulsions, -and even they were persecuted as soon as they grew up. The Marranos who -sought a refuge in America in these early days were soon followed by -the same agencies of persecution which made life a burden to them in -their old home. We meet in America for more than a century after its -discovery almost the same conditions as in Spain and Portugal after the -Jews were exiled. Where the history of the Jews in Spain ends――says Dr. -Kayserling――the history of the Jews in America begins. The Inquisition -is the last chapter in the record of the confessors of Judaism on the -Pyrenean peninsula and its first chapter in the western hemisphere. The -Nuevos Christianos concealed their faith, or were able to conceal it, -as little in the New World as in the mother country. With astonishing -tenacity, nay, with admirable obstinacy, they clung to the religion -of their fathers; it was not a rare occurrence that the grandchildren -and great-grandchildren of the martyred Jews sanctified the Sabbath -in a most conscientious manner, by refraining from work as far as -possible and by wearing their best clothing. They also celebrated the -Jewish Festivals, observed the Day of Atonement by fasting, and married -according to the Jewish customs. They clung to their faith and suffered -for it even as late as the eighteenth century, which means that the -Jewish religion was handed down secretly and preserved in the seventh -and eighth generation after the exile. Many went to the stake or died -in the prisons of the Inquisition in the New World; many others were -transported in groups to Spain and Portugal and gave up their lives as -martyrs in Seville, Toledo, Evora or Lisbon. Their religious heroism -will be apparent in all its magnitude when the immense documentary -material which is heaped up in the archives of Spain and Portugal, -and other places on this side of the ocean, will have been sifted and -worked up. (“Publications,” II, p. 73.) - -Intolerance reigned supreme in America almost immediately after its -colonization, and the secret Jews who settled there were not permitted -to enjoy peace or prosperity. Juan Sanchez of Saragossa, whose father -was burnt at the stake, was the first to obtain permission of the -Spanish government to trade with the newly-discovered lands. In 1502 -Isabella permitted him to take five caravels loaded with wheat, barley, -horses and other wares to Española (Little Spain, the large West Indian -Island containing Haiti and Santo Domingo), without paying duty. In -1504 he was again permitted to export merchandise to that country. -Other secret Jews went to the new places and settled there, some even -obtaining positions in the public service. As early as 1511 we hear -already of measures taken by Isabella’s daughter, Queen ♦Juana of -Castille, against “the sons and grandsons of the burned” who held -public office. The Inquisition was introduced there by a decree of that -year, and one of its first victims was Diego Caballera of Barrameda, -whose parents, according to two witnesses, had been prosecuted and -condemned by the same tribunal in Spain. - -The Inquisitor-General of Spain, Cardinal Ximenes de Cisneros, on -May 7, 1516, appointed Fray Juan Quevedo, Bishop of Cuba, his delegate -for the Kingdom of _Terra Firma_, as the mainland of Spanish America -was then called, and authorized him to select personally such officials -as he needed to hunt down and exterminate the Marranos. Emperor -Charles V. (1500–1558), with the permission of his former teacher, -Cardinal Hadrian (1459–1523), the Dutch Grand-Inquisitor of Aragon who -later became Pope (Hadrian or Adrian VI. 1522–23), issued an edict on -May 25, 1520, whereby he ordained Alfonso Manso, Bishop of Porto Rico, -and Pedro de Cordova, Vice Provincial of the Dominicans, as Inquisitors -for the Indies and the islands of the ocean. - -At first the secret Jews were not the only victims of the persecutions -and not even the most numerous among them. “There were many heathenish -natives who were forcibly converted by the mighty clerical arm of the -Spanish conqueror, but who nevertheless remained at heart loyal to -their hereditary belief and practised their idolatrous customs with -as much zeal as the fear of discovery and consequent punishment would -allow.” Fiendish atrocities were committed in the name of religion -against those Indian Marranos, and the fearful persecutions depopulated -the country to such an extent that the tyrants themselves perceived -that they must desist. - -The Inquisition in Spain itself had, however, fallen more or less into -desuetude during the reign of the above-mentioned Emperor Charles V., -who was the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella, and had inherited their -Spanish and American possessions. It was revived and invigorated under -the more bigoted rule of his son, King Philip II. (1527–1598), who -ascended the Spanish throne in 1556, after his father’s abdication. -Under the new reign the laws of the Inquisition were codified and -promulgated at Madrid on September 2, 1561. A printed copy of the new -code was sent to America in 1569. Another document, dated February 5, -1569, issued by Cardinal Diego de Spinosa, General Apostolic Inquisitor -against Heresy, Immorality and Apostasy, addressed “to the Reverend -Inquisitors Apostolic ... in his Majesty’s Dominions and Seignories of -the Provinces of Piru (Peru), New Spain and the new Kingdom of Granada -and the other provinces and Bishoprics of the Indies of the Ocean” -consists of forty sections prescribing the rules of procedure. (See -Elkan Nathan Adler, _The Inquisition in Peru_, Publications XII, -pp. 5–37.) - -A later document containing the general edicts to be read on the third -Sunday of Lent and the fourth Sunday of Anathema in every third year in -the Cathedral of Lima and all the towns of the districts, was printed -in Peru itself shortly after 1641, and records the names of the places -which were included in the jurisdiction of those issuing it. It reads: -“We, the Inquisitors against Heresy, Immorality and Apostasy in this -city and Archbishopric of Los Reyes (Lima) with the Archbishopric of -Los Charcas and Bishoprics of Quito, Cuzco, Rio de la Plata, Paraguay, -Tucuman, Santiago and Concepcion of the Dominions of Chile, la Paz -(Bolivia), Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Guamanga, Areguipa, and Truxillo, -and in all the Dominions, Estates and Seignories of the Provinces -of Peru, and its Viceroyalty Government and district of the Royal -Audiencias thereto appertaining.” In this document we find the name -of a new Christian sect which is to be punished for heresy together -with the unbelievers who were known to the Inquisition of the earlier -period. Lutherans are now enumerated among heretics after the Jews and -the Mohamedans. Among the books and engravings which are considered -as heretical and indecent are mentioned the books of Martin Luther -and other heretics, the Alcoran or other Mohamedan books, “Biblias -en romance” (Bibles in the vernacular) and others prohibited by the -censorships and catalogues of the Holy Office, etc. Then follow lengthy -descriptions of how to detect Jews, Mohamedans and Lutherans; and in -the case of the first even the drinking of Kosher wine and the making -of a “berakah” or pronouncing a blessing before tasting it are not -omitted from the practices which characterized the secret Jew whom the -Inquisition was to discover and punish. - -But it seems that the Marranos came to America in large numbers despite -all the severity of Philip II. His son Philip III. (1578–1621), who -succeeded him in 1598, endeavored to prevent their emigrating to the -New World and issued in the beginning of the seventeenth century, the -following edict: - - “We command and decree that no one recently converted to our - holy faith, be he Jew or Moor, or the offspring of these, - should settle in our Indies without our distinct permission. - Furthermore we forbid most emphatically the immigration into New - Spain of any one [who is at the expiration of some prescribed - penance] newly reconciled with the Church; of the child or - grandchild of any person who has ever worn the ‘san benito’ - publicly; of the child or grandchild of any person who was - either burnt as a heretic or otherwise punished for the crime - of heresy, through either male or female descent. Should any one - [falling under this category] presume to violate this law, his - goods will be confiscated for the benefit of the royal treasury, - and upon him the full measure of our grace or disgrace shall - fall, so that under any circumstances and for all time he shall - be banished from our Indies. Whosoever does not possess personal - effects, however, should atone for his transgression by the - public infliction of one hundred lashes.” - -This characteristic specimen of anti-immigration legislation of three -centuries ago, including what would in the colloquialism of to-day be -called a “grandfather clause,” was the cause of much suffering; but it -is not possible to state with any degree of certainty how far it was -effective. It is probable that the number of Marranos in the “Indies” -which belonged to the King of Spain went on increasing until about -the middle of the seventeenth century, when certain territories were -for the first time opened for them in the New World where they could -practise Judaism openly. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - VICTIMS OF THE INQUISITION IN MEXICO AND IN PERU. - - - Impossibility of obtaining even approximately correct figures - about the Inquisition――A few typical cases――The Carabajal - family――Relaxation for several decades――The notable case of - Francisco Maldonado de Silva. - -The Inquisition, or, as it styled itself, the Holy Office, was -an institution of tremendous power and influence which during its -existence of more than three centuries deeply impressed the character -of the Spanish and Portuguese peoples. A great number of books were -written about it, but the material to be dealt with is so vast that -none of the works purporting to be histories of the Inquisition really -deserve that name. It has been mentioned already in the preceding -chapter that an immense mass of documentary material which is heaped -up in various archives awaits to be sifted and worked up. An idea of -the actual quantity of this material can be obtained from the statement -made by Mr. E. N. Adler, in the monogram on the Inquisition in Peru -quoted above, that thirty-three million documents, relating to the -Inquisition, are preserved in 80,000 “legajos” or bundles in the -_castille_ of Simancas, a small town, seven miles from Valladolid, -in Spain. - -It is therefore next to impossible to attempt to give a general review -of the work of that awful tribunal in the old world or the new; it is -even unsafe to quote figures as to the total number of trials, Autos -da Fé or of victims, because most of the authorities contradict one -another or disagree in vital points. Many facts which are given at one -time as reasonably certain, are soon disproved by the discovery of more -authentic records, which necessitates a constant changing of the time, -the place and the identity of persons spoken of in such descriptions. -It is therefore considered best to mention here only a few typical -cases of victims about whose identity and Jewish extraction there can -be no doubt. From these the reader may form his own opinion as to what -was constantly happening in the various places since the Inquisition’s -firm establishment in the New World in the second half of the sixteenth -century, until its final disappearance at the end of the eighteenth and -in some instances as late as the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. - -Several members of the Carabajal (Carvalho?) family suffered martyrdom -in Mexico at the end of the sixteenth century and at the beginning of -the seventeenth. Francisca Nunez de Carabajal, born in Portugal about -1540, was among the members of the family seized by the Inquisition -in 1590. She was tortured until she implicated her husband and her -children, and the entire family was forced to confess and abjure -Judaism at a public Auto da Fé which was celebrated on Saturday, -February 24, 1590. Later, after more than five years’ imprisonment, -they were convicted of relapsing into Judaism, and Francisca, her -son Luis and her four daughters were burned at the stake in Mexico -City, December 8, 1596. She was the sister of Don Luis de Carabajal -y Cueva (born in Portugal, 1539), who was appointed Governor of New -Leon, Mexico, in 1579 and is said to have died in 1595. He arrived -in Mexico in 1580, where, in consideration of his appointment as -governor of a somewhat ill-defined district, he undertook to colonize -a certain territory at his own expense, being allowed the privilege -of reimbursing himself out of the revenue. There were many Spanish -Jews among his colonists, and within a decade after their settlement -more than a score were denounced and more or less severely punished -for Judaizing. He is the subject of a work, half romantic and half -historical, by Mr. C. K. Landis, entitled _Carabalja the Jew, a Legend -of Monterey_ (Vineland, 1894). - -Another heroic martyr of Mexico was Don Tomas de Sobremonte, a Judaizer, -who died at the stake April 11, 1649, without uttering a groan, mocking -“the Pope and his hirelings” and taunting his tormentors with his last -breath. - -The Inquisition in Lima, Peru, is known to have solemnized thirty-four -Autos da Fé at that place between 1573 (November 15) and 1806 (July 17) -and at ten or eleven of them there were Jewish victims, their numbers -ranging from one or two to as high as fifty-six (January 23, 1639). -From the earliest day of its establishment it looked with suspicion -upon the Portuguese who settled there. In this case as in many others, -Portuguese was only another name for Marranos, and they were treated -with great severity. There is a record of one David Ebron, who in -1597 sent a memorial to Philip II. relating to his discoveries and -services in South America, but it is not known how far his claims were -recognized. About 1604 or 1605 a number of those who were accused in -Peru of Judaizing sent memorials to the King of Spain in which they -pleaded that life under such conditions had become unbearable. Relief -was obtained in the form of an Apostolic Brief from Pope Clement VIII., -commanding the Inquisitors to release, without delay, all Judaizing -Portuguese in Peru. When this order arrived in Lima, only two prisoners -were still detained in the dungeons of the Tribunal, ♦Gonzalo de -Luna and Juan Vicente. The others had either become reconciled or had -suffered death at the stake. - -The liberal decree, which arrived too late for most of the complainants -who were to benefit by it, still seems to have had the effect of -securing the Marranos against molestation for several decades. But as -soon as they had increased in wealth and influence the establishment -of a new Tribunal was ordered in the Province of Tucuman, it having -been ascertained that quite a colony of Jews were domiciled in the -Rio de la Plata. In consequence of this order, dated May 18, 1636, the -Portuguese were again hounded and many of them lost life and fortune. -The Inquisition succeeded in ferreting out the fact that in Chili alone, -at that time, there were no less than twenty-eight (secret) Jews, most -of them enjoying the rights of citizenship and living securely and at -peace with their neighbors. It has now been practically ascertained -that a considerable number of Jews or Marranos lived in Peru, Chili, -Argentine, Cartagena and La Plata towards the end of the sixteenth -century, that their number and wealth increased in the first half of -the seventeenth, when the new era of persecutions was ushered in by -attacks and denunciations. - -A notable instance, typical of the times, was the case of Francisco -Maldonado de Silva. His sister Doña Isabel Maldonado, forty years old, -on the 8th day of July, 1626, testified before the Commissioner of -the City of Santiago de Chile that her brother had, to her horror and -indignation, confessed to being a Jew, imploring her not to betray -him and using all endeavors to convert her too. He was arrested in -Concepcion, Chili, April 29, 1627, and was transported to Lima in July -of the same year, where he was imprisoned in a cell of the convent -of San Domingo. He is described in the records of the Tribunal as a -bachelor, thirty-three years old, an American by birth, having been -born of new-Christian parents in the city of San Miguel, Province of -Tucuman, Peru. His father, the Licentiate Diego Nunez de Silva, and his -brother, Diego de Silva, were both reconciled by the Inquisition at an -auto held in Lima March 13, 1605. He confessed that he was brought up -as a Catholic and that up to his eighteenth year he rigidly observed -the tenets of the Christian faith. According to a circumstantial -description of his case (Publications, XI, pp. 163 ff.), he remained in -prison for nearly twelve years, during which time he had many hearings -and disputed with many priests who undertook to convert him. He also -wrote much in defence of his views and at one time made a nearly -successful effort to escape. In the last years of his confinement he -fasted very much, thereby becoming so feeble that he could not turn -in his bed, “being nothing but skin and bones.” He was, with ten -others, burnt at the stake in Lima, on January 23, 1639, at a splendid -and gruesome Auto da Fé, for which the preparations were costly and -elaborate, involving fifty days of uninterrupted labor, holidays -included. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - MARRANOS IN THE PORTUGUESE COLONIES. - - - Less persecution in Portugal itself and also in its colonies―― - Marranos buy right to emigrate――They dare to profess Judaism in - Brazil, and the Inquisition is introduced in Goa――Alleged help - given to Holland in its struggle against Spain. - -While the expulsion of the Jews from Portugal, which took place five -years after the great expulsion from Spain, was in many respects -more cruel and accompanied by greater atrocities, notable among which -were the forced conversions and the robbing of children from their -Jewish parents to be brought up as Christians, the conditions in the -Portuguese colonies, including Brazil, were somewhat more favorable for -the reception of Jewish refugees than in the Spanish possessions of the -New World. This happened because the conditions in Portugal itself were -much more favorable to the Jews prior to the era of expulsions, and the -sudden severity against the Jews in 1497, which was almost unexpected, -was due to the influence of the Spanish rulers. It was Queen Isabella -of Spain who prevailed on King Manuel of Portugal (reigned 1495–1521), -her future son-in-law, to exile the Jews of his dominion, vowing she -would never set foot on Portuguese soil until the country was clear of -them. - -In the preceding centuries the Jews, though they were recognized and -treated as a separate nation in Portugal even more than in Spain, their -condition when judged by the standards of the dark ages was much more -favorable and well nigh secure. There are no records of systematic -persecutions in Portugal before the exile from Spain. The influence -of the Church grew much more slowly in the former country, and its -kings followed the old Spanish policy of protecting the Jews and Moors -against the encroachments of the clergy long after it was abandoned -by Spain. Marranos and other Jews who escaped from the Inquisition to -Portugal before the Spanish expulsion were――because the King did not -want or did not dare to harbor them――permitted to go to the Orient but -not to Africa, because in the latter place they could become dangerous -to him as allies of the Moors. So it came to pass that while in the -more extensive Spanish domains across the Atlantic we hear only of -individual crypto-Jewish settlers and more of their misfortunes and the -Autos da Fé of which they were the victims, than of their successes, -we learn of considerable settlements of Marranos in Brazil early in the -sixteenth century. - -But even the better conditions in the Portuguese territories must not -be taken in the sense which such a term would imply to-day or even a -hundred years ago. The Portuguese policy was cruel and vaccillating, -only a little less so than that of its larger and more consistent -neighbor. King Manuel forbade the neo-Christians, in 1499, to leave -Portugal, the prohibition was removed in 1507 and again put into -effect in 1521. His successor John III. (reigned 1521–57) was even less -favorably disposed towards the secret Jews who remained in his Kingdom, -and in 1531 the Inquisition was introduced there by the authorization -of Pope Clement VII. The Marranos bought from John’s successor King -Sebastian (reigned 1557–78) the right of free departure for the sum -of 250,000 ducats. But there were other involuntary departures in the -periods when the emigration of those suspected converts was prohibited. -For a considerable time in the 16th century Portugal sent annually two -shiploads of Jews and criminals to Brazil, and also deported persons -who had been condemned by the Inquisition. The banishment of large -numbers to Brazil in 1548 is especially mentioned. - -Jews or Marranos were soon settled in all the Portuguese colonies, and -they carried on an extensive trade with various countries. “As early -as 1548 (according to some, 1531) Portuguese Jews, it is asserted, -transplanted the sugar-cane from Madeira to Brazil.” Some of them -began to feel so secure that they dared to profess Judaism openly. The -result was the introduction of the Inquisition into Goa, the metropolis -of the Portuguese dominions in India, with jurisdiction over all the -possessions of that country in Asia and Africa, as far as the Cape of -Good Hope. It was therefore but natural for the hunted and despairing -new-Christians to sympathize with the Dutch who were at that time -(beginning at 1567) fighting for their freedom, and to help them later -against Portugal itself in the New World and in the Far East. The -charge that the Marranos of the Indies sent considerable supplies to -the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in Hamburg and Aleppo, who in turn -forwarded them to Holland and Zeeland, is probably not true. But the -act would have certainly been justified in times when the Marranos -were legally burned alive when convicted of adhesion to the religion of -their forefathers. The charge also proves that the Jews and Marranos of -various and distant countries were then believed to be in communication, -and to render assistance to one another or to their friends when -the occasion required it. We may recognize in such charges the false -accusations which were circulated about Jews from times immemorial -to our present day; but it nevertheless tends to prove that the Jews -retained some recognizable importance as international traders even in -times when their fortunes were at the lowest ebb. - -Except for the brief period in the 17th century (which is dealt with -more extensively in a subsequent chapter), in which Brazil came under -the domination of the Dutch, it remained almost entirely free of Jews -until the present time. The time was approaching when liberal and -enterprising nations, pursuing a more enlightened and more profitable -policy, were beginning to grant the Jewish refugee not only shelter -and security, but also the religious liberty and broad human tolerance -which were almost unknown in the Catholic countries in the Middle Ages. -The dawn of a new era began for the Jews in Europe with the ascendency, -first of Holland and then of England, and the Children of Israel were -soon to share openly in the invaluable benefits which the discovery of -the New World brought to mankind in general. - - - - - PART II. - - THE DUTCH AND ENGLISH COLONIAL PERIOD. - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE SHORT-LIVED DOMINION OF THE DUTCH OVER BRAZIL. - - - The friendship between the Dutch and the Jews――Restrictions and - privileges in Holland――Dutch-Jewish distributors of Indian - spices――Preparations to introduce the Inquisition in Brazil―― - Jews help the Dutch to conquer it――Southey’s description of - Recife――Vieyra’s description. - -The United Provinces of Netherland, or, as it is commonly called, -Holland, became a safe place for Jews as soon as the Union of Utrecht -(1579) made its independence reasonably secure. When the liberator -of these provinces, William of Orange (“The Silent,” 1533–84), was -installed as Stadtholder in 1581 he declared that “he should not suffer -any man to be called to account, molested or injured for his faith or -conscience.” This implied, and actually resulted in, better treatment -of the Jews, which led to their enjoying a larger degree of prosperity -and security in Holland in the following century than anywhere else. -The friendship between the Jews and the Dutch which commenced at that -period has never, unto this day, been marred by systematic persecution -or any retrogressive step. It proved mutually beneficial in various -parts of the world, and has cost Spain and Portugal much more than is -ordinarily known even to students of History.[4] - -But while the treatment was immeasurably better, the vicious principle -of separation remained. The Jews in Holland were as much a nation apart, -in theory at least, as in Spain and Portugal before the expulsion. They -did not enjoy the full rights of citizenship (until they received it, -somewhat against their will, during the French invasion at the end of -the eighteenth century) and were not even free from other restrictions. -They were not permitted to serve in the train bands or militia of the -cities, but paid a compensation for their exemption therefrom. The -prohibition of intermarriage with Christians could hardly be considered -a hardship for Jews of the seventeenth century; but the fact that they -were not allowed any mechanical pursuit or to engage in retail trade -has a much deeper significance. It explains, at least partly, why the -Dutch succeeded where the Portuguese failed, notably in that Indian -trade, whose interruption by the Turkish conquest of Constantinople -was the cause of searching new water routes to the East and of the -discovery of the New World. - -Having exiled their best international traders and kept those -remaining as Marranos in constant terror, the Portuguese could not -derive the full benefit from that lucrative trade in spices which was -to be the reward of their great discoveries. When the sixty years’ -captivity――as the domination of Spain over Portugal, from 1580 to -1640, is called――brought, among other disasters, the capture of the -Portuguese Indian possessions by the Dutch, the superiority of the -latter’s methods were soon apparent. They succeeded with more ease -“since, with true commercial spirit, they not only imported merchandise -from the East to Holland, but also distributed it through Dutch -merchants to every country in Europe; whereas the Portuguese in the -days of their commercial monopoly were satisfied with bringing over -the commodities to Lisbon and letting foreign nations come to fetch -them.” It is not difficult to surmise who were those Dutch merchants -who distributed the spices to every country in Europe, when we think -of that class of wealthy Marrano immigrants in Holland who were not -permitted to follow mechanical pursuits or to engage in retail trade. -Holland’s tendency was clearly apparent. The Jews, mostly Portuguese, -were permitted to use their wealth, their abilities and their foreign -connections to carry on and extend that trade which languished in the -hands of those who banished them. The Jews were exceedingly grateful -for the opportunity which Holland afforded them to be useful to -themselves and to her, and the very effective results of the friendship -between the Jews and the Dutch were soon apparent in the ensuing -struggle between the latter and the Portuguese over the possession of -Brazil. - -The Dutch commenced the realization of their ambitious scheme for the -conquest of Brazil in the second decade of the seventeenth century, -at a time when the large number of Marranos who lived there were -terrorized by rumors of the introduction of the inquisition. These -rumors became current as early as 1610, when it was reported that the -physicians of Bahia, who were mainly new-Christians, prescribed pork -to their patients in order to lessen the suspicion that they were still -adhering to Judaism. In connection with some of the earliest Brazilian -intrigues in favor of the Dutch, mention is made of one Francisco -Ribiero, a Portuguese captain, who is described as having many Jewish -relatives in Holland. About 1618 the Inquisition in Oporto, Portugal, -had arrested all merchants of Jewish extraction. Many of the victims -were engaged in Brazilian trade, and the Inquisitor-General applied -to the government to assist the Holy Office to recover such parts -of their effects as might be in the hands of their agents in Brazil. -Accordingly, Don Luis de Sousa was charged to send home a list of -all the new-Christians in Brazil “with the most precise information -that can be obtained of their property and place of abode.” It seems -highly probable that it was the Dutch war alone which prevented the -introduction of the dreaded Tribunal in Brazil. - -The Dutch West India Company, which was formed in 1622 in furtherance -of the project of conquering Brazil, had Jews of Amsterdam among its -large stockholders, and several of them in its Board of Directors. One -of the arguments in favor of its organization was “that the Portuguese -themselves――some from their hatred of Castille, others because of their -intermarriage with new-Christians and their consequent fear of the -Inquisition――would either willingly join or feebly oppose an invasion, -and all that was needful was to treat them well and give them liberty -of conscience.” - -When the Dutch fleet was sent to Bahia all the necessary information -was obtained from Jews. The city was taken in 1624 and Willeken, -the Dutch commander, at once issued a proclamation offering liberty, -free possession of their property and free enjoyment of religion to -all who would submit. This brought over about two hundred Jews, who -exerted themselves to induce others to follow their example. Bahia -was re-captured by the Portuguese in 1625, and though the treaty for -its deliverance provided for the safety of the other inhabitants, the -new-Christians were abandoned and five of them were put to death. Many -others, however, seemed to have remained there for several years. - -Another foothold was gained by the Dutch when the city of Recife or -Pernambuco, which had a large Crypto-Jewish population, was captured -in 1631. Most of the Jews and new-Christians from Bahia and other -Brazilian towns soon removed to that city. The conquerors appealed to -Holland for colonists and craftsmen of all kinds, and many Portuguese -Jews came over in response to that call. Robert Southey, the historian -of Brazil, asserts that the Jews there made excellent subjects of -Holland. “Some of the Portuguese Brazilians gladly threw off the -mask which they had so long been compelled to wear, and joined their -brethren in the Synagogue. The open joy with which they celebrated -their ceremonies attracted too much notice. It excited the horror of -the Catholics; and even the Dutch themselves, less liberal than their -own laws, pretended that the toleration of Holland did not extend to -Brazil.” The result was an edict by which the Jews were ordered to -perform their rites more privately. - -When in 1645 Vieyra was inciting the Portuguese to re-conquer Brazil, -he pointed particularly to Recife, calling attention to the fact that -“that city is chiefly inhabited by Jews, most of whom were originally -fugitives from Portugal. They have their open Synagogues there, to the -scandal of Christianity. For the honor of the faith, therefore, the -Portuguese ought to risk their lives and property in putting down such -an abomination.” The Portuguese, who had shortly before thrown off -the Spanish yoke and regained their independence at home, responded -to that call and redoubled their effort to reconquer their gigantic -South American colony. But although the history of that first really -Jewish settlement in the New World was brief, extending over less than -two decades, it was so brilliant in itself and had such far-reaching -consequences in the settlement of Jews in other parts of America that -another chapter must be devoted to its description. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - RECIFE: THE FIRST JEWISH COMMUNITY IN THE NEW WORLD. - - - The “Kahal Kodesh” of Recife or Pernambuco in Brazil――Manasseh - ben Israel’s expectation to make it his home――Large immigration - from Amsterdam――Isaac Aboab da Fonseca and his colleagues――First - rabbis and Jewish authors of the New World――The siege and the - surrender――The return, and the nucleus of other communities in - various parts of America. - -The rebuke to the joyful demonstrations of the Jews in Recife did not -prevent the establishment there of the first real Jewish community in -the New World. The Dutch Stadtholder of Brazil, John Maurice, of Nassau, -was a just and honorable official who encouraged the development of the -community and its steady increase by immigration. The Jews of Recife, -who were soon numbered by thousands, called themselves “Kahal Kodesh” -(The Holy Congregation) and had a governing body consisting of David -Senior Coronel, Abraham de Mercado, Jacob Mucate and Isaac Casthunho. -One of the earliest settlers there was Ephraim Sueiro, a step-brother -(or brother-in-law) of the famous Rabbi of Amsterdam, Manasseh Ben -Israel (1604–57). Don Francisco Fernandez de Mora, who had a grandchild -in Amsterdam, held important offices; while another member of the -community, Gaspar Diaz Ferrena, was considered one of the wealthiest -men in the country. Dr. Kayserling, in his paper on “The Earliest -Rabbis and Jewish writers in America” (“Publications” III, p. 13 ff.) -quotes from the correspondence between the old Vossius and Hugo -Grotius, in which they speak of the intention of their mutual friend, -the above-named Rabbi Manasseh, to emigrate to Brazil in order to -improve his material condition, which was unsatisfactory in Amsterdam, -notwithstanding the high communal position which he held there. He -dedicated the second part of his “Conciliador” to the prominent men of -the congregation of Recife, probably in anticipation of the expected -journey, which, however, was never made. - -But though the man who was later to induce Oliver Cromwell to admit -Jews into England did not come, other reputable Hebrew scholars soon -arrived to lend lustre to the new congregation. In 1642 about six -hundred Spanish-Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam embarked for Brazil, -accompanied by two men of learning, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (1605–93) -and Moses Raphael de Aguilar (d. 1679). Aboab became the Chacham or -Rabbi――the first in America. Aguilar, who was also a grammarian, became -the reader or cantor. A congregation was also organized at Tamarica, -which had its own Chacham, Jacob Lagarto, the first Talmudical author -in the Western Hemisphere. A certain Jacob de Aguilar is also mentioned -as a Brazilian rabbi of that time. Considerable numbers of Jews also -resided at other places in Brazil, particularly at Itamarica, Rio de -Janeiro and ♦Parahiba. But Recife was the great center, and its fame -soon spread even into the Old World. Nieuhoff, the historian, writes -that the Jews there had built stately homes, that they had a vast -traffic and purchased sugar mills. Several years later they raised -large sums to assist the Dutch in defending the coast. - -The last and most important immigrants were barely settled when -the sanguinary struggle between the Portuguese and the Dutch for -the possession of the colony began in 1645. A conspiracy into which -native Portuguese entered for the purpose of assassinating the Dutch -authorities at a banquet in the capital was discovered and exposed by a -Jew, and a possible sudden termination of Dutch rule was averted. Open -war broke out in 1646 and Recife had to endure a long and costly siege. -Jews vied with Dutch in suffering and in bravery, and there is a record -of the fact that Marranos in Portugal used their influence to call the -attention of the government of the Netherlands to the gravity of the -situation in South America. But the resources of the West India Company -were exhausted by the possession of Brazil, and as the home government -would not or could not give it proper support, the heroism and the -self-sacrifice of both Dutch and Jews served only to prolong the -struggle. It probably also served to cement the friendship between the -defenders, who were later to dwell together for longer periods in other -parts of America. - -Aboab commemorated the thrilling experience of this war in the -introductory chapter of his Hebrew version of Abraham Cohen Herrera’s -_Porta Coeli_ (Sha’ar ha-Shomayim). He also wrote a poetical account -of the siege in a work entitled “_Zeker Rab_: Prayers, Confessions and -Supplications which were composed for the purpose of appealing to God -in the trouble and the distress of the congregation when the troops -of Portugal overwhelmed them during their sojourn in Brazil in 5406 -(1646).” The Rabbi ordered fasts and prayers, while wealthy members -of the community, like Abraham Coen, contributed material support. -“Many of the Jewish immigrants were killed by the enemy, many died of -starvation; the remainder were exposed to death from various causes. -Those who were accustomed to delicacies were glad to be able to satisfy -their hunger with dry bread; soon they could not obtain even this. -They were in want of everything, and were preserved alive as if by a -miracle.” - -Among the instances of individual heroism which deserve to be recorded -is that of one of the Pintos, who is said to have manned the fort Dos -Affrogades single-handed, until, overwhelmed by superior force, he was -compelled to surrender. - -On the 23d of January, 1654, Recife, together with the neighboring -cities of Mauritsstad, Parahiba, Itamarica, Seara and other Hollandish -possessions, was ceded to the Portuguese conquerors, with the condition -that a general amnesty should be granted. The Jews, as loyal supporters -of the Dutch, were promised every consideration; nevertheless the -new Portuguese Governor ordered them to quit Brazil at once. Sixteen -vessels were placed at their disposal to carry them and their property -wherever they chose to go, and they were also furnished with passports -and safeguards. - -Aboab, Aguilar, the Nassys, Perreires, the Mezas, Abraham de Castro -and Joshua Zarfati, both surnamed _el Brasil_, and many others returned -to Amsterdam. Jacob de Velosino, (b. in Pernambuco, 1639, d. in Holland, -1712), the first Hebrew author born on American soil, settled at The -Hague. Others went to Surinam, Cayenne and Curaçao, and it is generally -assumed that the first Jewish settlers who in that year arrived -in New Amsterdam (the future New York) came directly――or at least -indirectly――from Pernambuco. The community of Recife formed thus, -by its dissolution, the nucleus of several of the oldest and most -important Jewish communities in the New World. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE JEWS IN SURINAM OR DUTCH GUIANA. - - - Jews in Brazil after the expulsion of the Dutch――The community - of ♦Paramaribo, Surinam, was founded when Recife was still - flourishing――First contact with the English, whom the Jews - preferred――David ♦Nassi and the colony of Cayenne――Privileges - granted by Lord Willoughby――“de Jooden Savane”――Trouble with - slaves and bush negroes――Plantations with Hebrew names――German - Jews――Legal status and banishments――Jewish theaters――Literature - and history. - -The history of the Jews in Brazil practically ends with the termination -of the Dutch rule, and there is a gap which extends until the new -settlements at the beginning of the twentieth century. There was -the usual aftermath of Marranos and persecutions which was almost -a repetition of the happenings under Portuguese dominion prior to -the short, liberal era under Holland’s sway. Some new-Christians -continued to reside in Brazil after the capitulation of 1654. Their -number was largely increased towards the end of the seventeenth century, -when Portugal again banished to Brazil the Marranos who had become -reconciled. These transportations continued from 1682 to 1707; and the -Jews again became to be known as a distinct class. They were closely -watched, however, and many were sent back to Lisbon from time to time, -to be tried by the Inquisition. Many Jews from Rio were burned at an -Auto da Fé at Lisbon in 1723. Several of these martyrs were men of -great repute, the most prominent being the famous Portuguese poet and -dramatist, Antonio José da Silva, a native of Rio de Janeiro, who was -burned as a Jew at Lisbon in 1739. In 1734 Jews appear to have been -influential in controlling the price of diamonds in Brazil. - -The transportations to Lisbon of those accused of Judaizing had become -so common at the middle of the eighteenth century, that “a wide ruin -was produced and many sugar mills at the Rio stopped in consequence.” -The influential Marquis de Pombal, with all his power, did not venture -to proclaim toleration for the Jews; but he succeeded in having laws -enacted making it penal for any person to reproach another for his -Jewish origin, and removing all disabilities of Jewish blood, even -from the descendants of those who had suffered under the Inquisition. -He prohibited public Autos da Fé, and required all lists of families -of Jewish extraction to be delivered up. These statutes deprived the -Inquisition of its most important means of accusation; and as a result -the Marranos were ultimately absorbed in the Catholic population of -Brazil. - -The Jewish community which was founded in Surinam or Dutch Guiana, -near Brazil, in the days when the community of Recife was still in -a flourishing condition, and which soon rose to prominence after the -dispersion of the latter, has enjoyed an almost uninterrupted existence -until the present day. According to the latest researches, the oldest -indication in the archives of the Dutch-Portuguese Jews shows that the -Jews had already settled in Surinam in the year 1639.[5] As far as can -be traced, the first Jewish marriage was celebrated there between Haham -Isaac Mehatob and Judith Mehatob in 1643. The text of the “Ketubah,” -which has been preserved, proves that Surinam, or rather the city of -Paramaribo, had already in that year a sufficient number of Jews to -require the services of a Haham or Rabbi. - -Though the Dutch had claims on it, Guiana was at that time practically -British territory, and it was there that the Jew came first in contact -with the Englishman in the New World, many years before they began to -dwell together in North America. And while it was recognized that of -all European nations the Dutch were then the most friendly to the Jews, -many of the latter who had experience with both nationalities in that -part of the world soon learned to prefer the English. Lord Willoughby, -who arrived for the second time in Surinam in 1652, brought with him -several Jewish families, and the community was thus increasing even -before the influx of refugees from Brazil two years later. - -On September 12, 1659, the Jews were permitted, under the patronage -of David Nassi, to found a colony on the island of Cayenne (French -Guiana). According to the tenor of the eighteen articles contained in -the letters patent of that date, all the land over which they exercised -the rights of possession within four years from that date, would -become their property; and they would be allowed to administer justice -according to the Jewish usages and customs. The colony was further -increased by the arrival, in 1660, of one hundred and fifty-two Jews -from Leghorn, Italy. But the four years’ limit was barely passed when -the French took Cayenne in 1664, and all the Jews left the island for -Surinam under the leadership of the above-mentioned David Nassi. The -French of the time of “the Grand Monarch” Louis XIV would not suffer -Jews to be settled in their colonies; a century and a quarter had -to pass before France, shaken to its very foundations by the great -revolution which began in 1789, was the first of modern European -nations to grant its Jews the absolute equality which is implied in -full citizenship. - -Even while the Portuguese Jews were still in Cayenne, they were given -by Lord Willoughby, in 1662, the same privileges in Surinam as the -English colonists. A year after their return, on August 17, 1665, was -issued the famous grant of privileges by the Governor, Council and -Assembly of Surinam, of which the preamble reads as follows: - -“Whereas, it is good and sound policy to encourage as much as possible -whatever may tend to the increase of a new colony, and to invite -persons of whatsoever country and religion to come and reside here and -to traffic with us; and whereas, we found that the Hebrew nation, now -already resident here, have, with their persons and property, proved -themselves useful and beneficial to this colony; and being desirous -further to encourage them to continue their residence and trade here, -we have with the authority of the Governor, his Council and Assembly -passed the following act:” - -The provisions of the act (the full text of which is reproduced in -“Publications”, vol. III, pp. 145–46; vol. IX, pp. 144–45, and vol. XVI, -pp. 179–80) is extremely favorable to the Jews. The British Government -of Surinam therein ratified all former privileges of the Jews, -guaranteed them full enjoyment and free exercise of their religious -rites and usages, and made void any summons served upon them on their -Sabbaths and holidays. They were not to be called for any public duties -on those days, except in urgent cases. Civil suits of less value than -ten thousand pounds of sugar were to be decided by their Elders, and -the magistrates were obliged to enforce their judgments. They were also -permitted to bequeath their property according to their own laws of -inheritance. They were given ten acres of land for the erection of a -Synagogue and such buildings as the congregation might need; and in -order to induce Jews to settle there, it was decided that all who came -for that purpose should be considered as British-born subjects, in -return for obeying all the decrees of the King of England which did not -infringe on their privileges. - -For Portuguese Jews of the seventeenth century, i. e., for extremely -conservative Jews whose relatives were at that very time tortured and -burned at the stake for adherence to their religion, these privileges -were probably much more acceptable than an outright admission to -full citizenship could have been. There was no desire or striving -for assimilation on either side in those times. No especially -organized movement was necessary to emphasize the fact, which was -then self-evident, of the existence of a separate Hebrew nation. Nobody -thought otherwise before the philosophers of the eighteenth century -instilled in the minds of the civilized nations the idea of the modern -assimilationist. The frank selfishness of the preamble was, therefore, -a better guarantee of good faith and more convincing than phrases -about humanity and inherent rights could possibly be in those illiberal -times. The English were thus less sentimental and more business-like in -their dealings with the Jews than the Dutch, and were probably on that -account more trusted. When Surinam became a Dutch province, July 13, -1667, the Jews were allowed all rights of citizenship. Still a number -of them left with the English and went to Jamaica. Another declaration -by the home government of Holland, made two years later, to the Jews -of Surinam, that they would be allowed free exercise of their religion, -tends to prove that there must have been cases, or at least fears, -of restraint in that respect. Even if the “Documents relating to the -attempted departure of the Jews from Surinam in 1675” (edited by Dr. J. -H. Hollander, in “Publications” VI, pp. 9–29) in which the anxiety of -many Jews to leave Surinam for British territory is described, should -be considered as somewhat exaggerated, it could not have been entirely -an invention. The Jews’ preference for the British rule was therewith -clearly established, and so was their acknowledged usefulness in the -newly founded colonies. - -The Jews of Surinam were then chiefly engaged in agriculture, the -wealthy among them being large planters and slave holders. The chief -men of the congregation were David Nassi, Isaac Perreira, Isaac Aries, -Henriques de Caseras, Raphael Aboab, Samuel Nassi, Isaac R. de Pardo, -Aaron de Silva, Alaus de Fonseca, Isaac Mera, Daniel Mesia, Jacob Nunez, -Israel ♦Calabi Cid, Isaac da Costa, Isaac Drago, Bento da Costa. The -first Synagogue was built in 1672, on an elevated spot in Thorarica -belonging to the Jews, da Costa and Solis. There are still some -tombstones with illegible Hebrew inscriptions. We hear about that time -of Rabbi Isaac Neto who was called from England as minister of the -congregation of Paramaribo (1674 or 1680), and later we find recorded -the name of another rabbi, David Pardo, who also came from London and -died in 1713 (or 1717). The last named wrote, while still in Europe, -“Sefer Shulhan Tahor” (Amsterdam, 1686), extracts from the “Shulhan -Aruk,” and is considered the most distinguished rabbi of Surinam. - -In 1682 the above-named Samuel Nassi, who has been described as -capitein and as the richest planter in Surinam, gave to the Jews an -island on the river Surinam, about seventy miles from the sea, where -most of them settled and which was henceforth known as “de Jooden -Savane” (Savannah of the Jews, the name originally meaning: a treeless -region) and was the principal seat of the Jewish community of Surinam. -It was there that the Congregation Berakah-we-Shalom (Blessing and -Peace) built its splendid Synagogue in 1685. One hundred years later -the centennial of the dedication of that Synagogue was appropriately -celebrated on Wednesday, Heshwan 8, 5546 (October 12, 1785), of which -a record was printed in Amsterdam the following year, partly in Hebrew -and partly in Dutch. (See Roest, _Catalog ... der Rosenthalschen -Bibliothek_ I, p. 738.) - -When a French squadron attacked Surinam in 1689, the Jews under -the leadership of Samuel Nassi did good service in beating them -off. Similar valuable service was rendered in 1712, this time under -Capitein Isaac Pinto, against another French attack under Cassard. -The unfriendliness of the French was demonstrated again in that year, -when they took the Jewish Savannah and desecrated the Synagogue by -slaughtering a pig on the “Teibah” or Ammud. The Jews, on the other -hand, did not always get the protection to which they were entitled. -When the slaves on the plantation of M. Machado revolted and killed -their master in 1690, Governor Van Scherpenhuitzen refused to assist -the Jews. At a later period (in 1718), when there was continual trouble -with bush negroes, who destroyed the plantation of David Nassi, they -were chastised by Jews under the leadership of Capitein Jacob d’Avilar. -David Nassi (1672–1743) himself served under him with distinction, and -his praises were sung by the Judeo-Spanish poetess Benvenide Belmonte. -We also find traces of legal restrictions in such instances as the -decree of 1703, by which all Jewish marriages contracted in Surinam -up to that year are confirmed, but henceforth they must be made in -conformity with the Dutch marriage law of 1580. Sunday-closing laws -were also brought into force against them, but they were later repealed. - -A list of the names of about sixty-five plantations belonging to -Jews at that period and the names of the owners has been preserved. -(“Publications,” IX, p. 129 ff.) Some of the plantations bear Hebrew -names like Carmel, Hebron, Succoth and Beer-Sheba. The number of Jews -in Surinam was then (about 1694) 570, consisting of ninety-two Dutch -or Portuguese families, about fifty unmarried persons and ten or twelve -German families. They possessed about nine thousand slaves. - -Difficulties between the earlier settlers and the Germans, who arrived -later, soon arose, and in 1734 the latter requested permission to form -a separate community, which was granted. They were, however, prohibited -to own any possession on the Jewish Savannah, nor were they allowed -to have their own jurisdiction. The act of the separation of the -“Hoogduytsche” (High-German) Jews, who founded the congregation Neweh -Shalom, is dated January 5, 1735. It is signed by A. Henry de Scheusses -(Governor) and Samuel Uz. Davilar, Ishac Carrilho, Abraham Pinto -Junior, Jehoshuah C. Nassi, for the Portuguese; Solomon Joseph Levie, -I. Meyer Wolff, Gerrit Jacobs, Jakob Arons Polak for the German Jews. -The Portuguese thereupon built a new Synagogue, “Zedek we-Shalom,” -which was dedicated in 1737. But the Germans also stuck to the -Portuguese Minhag or prayer-book, and we have it on the authority of -Rabbi Roos of Paramaribo (1905) that there never existed a Synagogue -with the Minhag Ashkenaz in Surinam. - -Bloody conflicts with negroes continued for about forty years longer, -and many valiant deeds of Jewish military leaders and their followers -embellish the records of that period. David Nassi was killed in battle -at the age of 71 (in 1743), after being successful in more than thirty -skirmishes, and was succeeded as capitein by Isaac Carvalho. In 1749 -another Jewish capitein, Naär, won a victory against the Auka negroes; -while in 1750 young Isaac Nassi and three hundred of his men were -killed by an overwhelming force of bush negroes. At last, in 1774, -forts were erected and a military line drawn from the Savannah of the -Jews along the river Commoimber to the sea; and we hear no more of -negro wars. - -The legal status of the Jews was undergoing some changes, as is almost -unavoidable so long as there is not the same law for Jew and Gentile -alike. Some measures could be considered as improvements, like the -law of 1749, which granted the Jews of Surinam their own judiciary in -matters affecting less than 600 gulden. On the other hand we hear of -an unsuccessful attempt in 1768 to institute a Ghetto in Paramaribo, -and in 1775 Jews were forbidden to visit a certain amateur theatre -of that town. At that time the two communities also began to make -use of the right which was bestowed on them by the English Charter of -Privilege (and later confirmed by the Dutch authorities), of “banishing -troublesome people and persons of bad demeanour.” The “Deputies of -the Jewish Nation” had only to declare to the Governor the reasons why -they wished to have these persons banished, and they were expelled. The -above named Rabbi J. S. Roos has noted five cases of such banishments: - -Solomon Montel was banished in 1761 on the request of the Portuguese -deputies, because he refused to restitute rents or usury “which is -contrary to the Mosaic law.” In 1772 ♦Noah Isaaks was banished on -the request of the German deputies, and in the following year Abraham -Isaac Moses Michael Fernandes Henriques, alias Escarabajos, was, on the -request of the Portuguese deputies, made to quit the place. Elias Levin -was banished in 1781 by the Germans and Abraham de Mesquita, the last -of those exiled, belonged to the Portuguese part of the community. - -The German Jews kept on increasing in numbers, and in 1780 their -Synagogue in Paramaribo was enlarged and two burial grounds were -procured. In 1784 the Jewish theatre of that city, probably the first -in modern history, was enlarged and embellished. The Savannah, of -which only ruins remain now, was on its decline, and had only about -forty houses in 1792; while the community in Paramaribo was growing -and two Jewish play houses are mentioned in that year. The Portuguese -were still the majority, numbering 834, but the Germans were gaining -fast, and from the ten families at the end of the seventeenth century -they rose now to the number of 477. There were also about 100 Jewish -mulattoes in Paramaribo in that time. - -The Jews of Surinam in that period also commenced to display -considerable literary activity. J. C. Nassi and others wrote the _Essai -historique sur la Colonie de Surinam avec l’histoire de la nation juive -y etablie_ (Paramaribo, 1788), which is one of the principal sources of -the history of the Jews of Surinam. A highly interesting correspondence -between representative Jews of that community and Christian Wilhelm v. -Dohm (1751–1820) relating to the latter’s work favoring the Jews, is -printed at the end of that Essay. (Reproduced in “Publications,” XIII, -pp. 133–35). Various other works of historical, religious and poetical -nature were written and published there in the following half century. - -The history of the community of Paramaribo in the nineteenth century -is uneventful. In 1836, when the German congregation, which now -numbered 719 souls, already exceeded the Portuguese portion, which -had declined to 684, a new “Hoogduitsche of Nederlandsche” Synagogue -was erected. In 1838 Rabbi B. C. Carrilon became the spiritual head of -the Dutch-Portuguese congregation. Twenty years later M. J. Lewenstein -(1829–64) was inaugurated as the Chief Rabbi of the congregation of -Paramaribo and held the position for six years, until his death. In -1900 the city contained about 1,500 Jews, who occupied an honorable -position and controlled the principal property of the colony. Even -modern Antisemitism has not failed to invade this distant Jewish -settlement, the oldest in the New World. - -At present (1911) there are about 4,000 Jews in Surinam, mostly in -Paramaribo, which has now about 50,000 inhabitants. The two communities, -both strongly orthodox, are still in existence, and each has its -rabbi. The most prominent Jewish citizen in the colony is Mr. David -♦Da Costa, a former President of the Provincial Parliament, who was -lately appointed by the Dutch Government to be the presiding judge -of the Supreme Court of the colony. Mr. da Costa was for many years -Parnass or President of the Portuguese congregation. Another member of -the Jewish community, M. Benjamin, is at the head of the educational -system of the province. Several families trace their descent from the -original settlers who came there in 1639, and all of them, now fully -enfranchised for several generations, have no other mother-tongue than -the Dutch. Their staunch orthodoxy has saved them from being absorbed -in the non-Jewish population, as happened with most of the early -settlers in the British colonies in North America. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE DUTCH AND ENGLISH WEST INDIES. - - - The community of Curaçao――Encouragement to settle is followed by - restrictions――Plans of Jewish colonization――Trade communication - with New Amsterdam――Stuyvesant’s slur――The first congregation―― - Departures to North America and to Venezuela――Barbadoes―― - Taxation and legal status――Decay after the hurricane of - 1831――Jamaica under Spain and under England――Hebrew taught in - the Parish of St. Andrews in 1693――Harsh measures and excessive - taxation――Naturalizations. - -Another early settlement on Dutch territory which is still in a -flourishing condition is on the island of Curaçao, Dutch West Indies. -It is probable that Jews from Holland were among the first settlers in -the island under the Dutch Government, which captured it from Spain in -1634; but there is no definite record until 1650, when twelve Jewish -families――De Meza, Aboab, Perreire, De Leon, La Parra, Touro, Cardoze, -Jesurum, Marchena, Chaviz, Oliveira and Henriques Coutinho――were -granted permission by Prince Maurice of Orange to settle there. Mathias -Bock, Governor of the island, was directed to grant them land and -supply them with slaves, horses, cattle and agricultural implements, -in order to further the cultivation and develop the natural resources -of the island. The land assigned to them was situated at the northern -outskirts of the present district of ♦Willemsted, which is still -known as the “Jodenwyk” (Jewish quarter). But despite the favorable -conditions under which they settled there, severe restrictions were -put on their movements, and they were even prohibited in 1653 from -purchasing additional negro slaves which they needed for their farms. - -By a special grant of privilege, dated February 22, 1652, Joseph Nunez -de Fonseca (known also as David Nassi), who undertook to emigrate and -take with him a large number of people under a Jewish patron named Jan -de Illan, two leagues of land along the coast were to be given him for -every fifty families, and four leagues for every hundred families which -he should bring over. The colonists were exempted from taxes for ten -years, and could select the land on which they desired to settle. They -were also accorded religious liberty, though they were restrained from -compelling Christians to work for them on Sunday, “nor were any others -to labor on that day.” The project was, however, not carried out on any -extensive scale. - -It was only after the re-conquest of Brazil by the Portuguese in -1654, and the consequent expulsion and dispersion of the Jews from the -territory which was now again forbidden to them, that their effective -settlement in Curaçao began. The Brazilian Jews who came there in -that period brought with them considerable wealth, and they laid the -foundation of that prominence in the commerce of the island which they -have since retained. - -Shortly afterwards (1657) regular communications for the purposes -of trade were established between New Amsterdam and Curaçao, and it -was principally in the hands of Jews. An original bill of lading (in -Spanish) and an invoice of goods shipped from Curaçao to New Netherland -in 1658 and addressed to Joshua Mordecai En-Riquez, includes Venetian -pearls and pendants, thimbles, scissors, knives, bells, etc. An illicit -trade was also carried on with Isaac de Fonseca of Barbadoes, which -tended to undermine the trade monopoly enjoyed by the Dutch West Indies -Company. But Fonseca’s threat to abandon Curaçao and turn his trade -towards Jamaica, kept the authorities from interfering. - -Peter Stuyvesant (1592–1672), the Governor of New Netherlands, -complained to the directors of the West India Company in the following -year, that the Jews in Curaçao were allowed to hold negro slaves -and were granted other privileges not enjoyed by the colonies of New -Netherlands; and he demanded for his own people, if not more, at least -the same privileges as were enjoyed by “the usurious and covetous Jews.” - -The Congregation Mickweh Israel was founded in 1656 under the direction -of the Spanish and Portuguese community of Amsterdam, and regular daily -services were held in a small wooden building which was rented for the -purpose. The Rev. Abraham Haim Lopez de Fonseca, who, according to one -of the oldest tombstones on the Jewish burial ground in Curaçao, died -Ab. 22, 5432 (1672), was the earliest hazzan or rabbi whose name has -come down to us. The first regularly appointed Hakam was Joshua Pardo, -who arrived from Amsterdam in 1674 and remained until 1683, when he -left for Jamaica. A new Synagogue was erected in 1692 and consecrated -on the eve of Passover of that year, the services being read by the -Hazzan David Raphael Lopez da Fonseca (d. 1707). The building, which -was enlarged in 1731, still stands. - -In the last decade of the seventeenth century a considerable number -of Jews left the island for the continent of America, many of them, -including the Touro family, going to Newport. A number of Italian -settlers who originally came from the Jewish colony of Cayenne, -which was dispersed in 1664, went to Tucacas, Venezuela, where they -established a congregation called “Santa Irmandade.” - -The prosperity of those who remained in Curaçao went on increasing in -the eighteenth century. A benevolent society was established in 1715; -five years later they responded liberally to an appeal for aid from -the Congregation Shearith Israel of New York, and in 1756 met with -an equal generosity a similar appeal from the Jews of Newport. By -1750 their numbers had increased to about two thousand. They were -prosperous merchants and traders, and held positions of prominence in -the commercial and political affairs of the island. By the end of the -century they owned a considerable part of the property in the district -of Willemsted; and as many as fifty-three vessels are said to have -left in one day for Holland, laden with goods which for the most part -belonged to Jewish merchants. - -A new congregation, which called itself “Neweh Shalom” and occupied -a tract across the harbor from Willemsted, was organized about 1740, -and its Synagogue in the “Otrabanda” was consecrated on Ellul 12, -5505 (1745). It was established chiefly in order to save those who -lived there from crossing the water on the Sabbath to attend divine -services, and for a time it was regarded as merely a branch of the -older congregation and as under its direction. This led to a series of -disputes which culminated, in 1749, in an open breach. It was settled -by the intervention of Prince William Charles of Orange-Nassau, in -a decree dated April 30, 1750, in which the original jurisdiction of -the older congregation, subject to the regulations of the Portuguese -community of Amsterdam, was sustained. The arrangement lasted for the -following one hundred and twenty years, when the younger congregation -became independent (1870). - -The increase in numbers and material well-being continued during -the nineteenth century, but the community was not without internal -dissensions. It was due to one of these controversies between the -Parnassim and the ministers that a society called the “Porvenir” was -founded in 1862. In the following year it developed into a Reform -Congregation under the name “Emanuel,” whose new Synagogue, in the -quarter “Scharlo,” was dedicated in 1866. About three years before -a moderate change in the direction of reform was introduced into the -liturgy of the oldest congregation. - -The congregations of Curaçao now have more than one thousand members, -nearly four-fifths of it belonging to Mickweh Israel. The Jews are -among the leading citizens of the island, in business, as well as in -the professions; they occupy executive and judicial positions, and -are well represented among the officers of the militia. Almost all of -them, like in Holland itself, are true to their religion, and there -are probably less apostasies and intermarriages than in any other free -community in which the emancipation of the Jews has been fully carried -out in theory as well as in practice. - - * * * * * - -The Jewish settlements in the British West Indies also enjoyed long -periods of increase and prosperity; but they declined when the English -colonies of the North American continent, and later, the United States, -offered a wider field of activities and better opportunities under -conditions which were so similar to those prevailing in the older -places as to make the change of residence a matter of very little -inconvenience. The oldest settlement under the English flag in the West -Indies was probably on the island of Barbadoes, where, it is believed, -Jews came first in 1628. On April 27, 1655, Oliver Cromwell issued -passes to Abraham de Mercado, M. D., Hebrew, and his son, Raphael, -to go to Barbadoes to exercise his profession. In 1656 the Jews were -granted, upon petition, the enjoyment of the privileges of the laws and -statutes of the Commonwealth of England and of the Island relating to -foreigners and strangers. - -In April, 1661, Benjamin de Caseres, Henry de Caseres and Jacob -Fraso petitioned the King of England to permit them to live and trade -in Barbadoes and Surinam. Their petition was supported by the King -of Denmark, which tends to prove that they must have been men of -considerable importance. In the report made by the Commissioners of -Foreign Plantations, to whom it was referred, it is stated that the -whole question of the advisability of allowing Jews to reside in and -trade with his majesty’s colonies “hath been long and often debated.” -The merchants of England were opposed to the admission of Jews, because -of their ability to control trade wherever they entered, and because -they would divert it from England to foreign countries. The planters, -on the contrary, favored their admission and accused the merchants of -aiming to appropriate the whole trade to themselves. The commissioners -refrained from deciding the general question, but advised that these -three highly recommended Jews, who had behaved themselves well and with -general satisfaction in Barbadoes, should be granted a special license -to reside there or in any other plantations. - -The Jewish community was soon increased to a considerable extent, -partly by the arrival of former members of the dissolved colony of -Cayenne (1664). It is recorded in the minutes of the vestry of St. -Michael’s Parish (July 9, 1666) “that the Jews inhabiting this Parish -do pay the quantity of 35,000 pounds Muscovado sugar, to be levied by -themselves and paid to Senior Lewis Dias and Senior Jeronimo Roderigos, -who are hereby ordered to pay it to the present church wardens.” The -order is repeated in October, 1666, and again in 1667; and in that -year another order making the levy for the year 20,000 pounds was -issued. In 1669 the order in January was for 14,000 pounds, and in -March for 16,000. In 1670 it was again for 16,000, but the Jews sent -in a petition declaring the amount to be excessive. This had the effect -of reducing the amount of the tax to 7,000 pounds in 1671 and to “half -of what was levied last year” in 1672. For the following five years it -was mostly 7,000 pounds a year, “levied for their trade.” In 1680 it -is 8,500 pounds, apportioned among forty-five Jews, some being made to -contribute only twelve pounds, several others as high as 792 each, with -David Raphael de Mercado heading the list with 1,075 pounds. (See list -of names in “Publications,” XIX, pp. 174–75.) - -Antonio Rodrigo Rigio, Abraham Levi Regio, Lewis Dias, Isaac Jerajo -Coutinho, Abraham Pereira, David Baruch Louzada and other Hebrews who -were made free denizens by His Majesty’s letters patent, petitioned in -1669 about the refusal to accept the testimony of Jews in the courts of -the colony. The governor, in forwarding the petition, says, that “they -had not been exposed to any other injuries in their trade or otherwise.” -But the privilege granted was only for cases “relating to trade and -dealing.” Special taxes continued to be imposed at various times until -1761, when all additional burdens were lifted, and afterward the Jews -were rated and paid taxes on the ♦same scale as other inhabitants. All -political disabilities were removed by act of the local government in -1802, and by act of Parliament in 1820. - -The number of Jews in Barbadoes was never as large as that of Surinam. -In 1681 the total Jewish population of the island was 260. They went -on increasing slowly, the great majority living in Bridgetown (where -the first Synagogue was erected, probably prior to 1679) and a small -number in Speightstown. In 1792, at the beginning of the period of the -greatest prosperity of the community, the congregation of Bridgetown -had 147 members, and 17 pensioners were supported. The name of the -congregation was “Kehol Kodesh Nidhe Israel,” and its ministers were -all selected by the vestry of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in -London. - -The decline of the Jewish community of Barbadoes dates from the great -hurricane in 1831 which devastated the island, and also destroyed the -Synagogue. Though a new edifice was erected and dedicated in 1833, -and even a religious school was established several years later, the -members kept on leaving the island for the United States, most of them -going to Philadelphia. In 1848 there were only 71 Jews left. In 1873, -those remaining petitioned for relief from taxation of property held by -the congregation. The census of 1882 showed 21 Jews, and the number was -still smaller at the end of the nineteenth century. - - * * * * * - -When England conquered the largest of its West Indian possessions, the -island of Jamaica, in 1655, a considerable number of Jews, known as -“Portugals,” were living there. They dared not profess Judaism openly, -or organize themselves into a congregation; but they were less in -danger on account of their faith than in any other Spanish colony. The -proprietary rights of the island was vested in the family of Columbus -until about 1576, when it passed to the female Braganza line, and -these exclusive rights exempted the island from the jurisdiction of -the Inquisition, and prevented it from being included in the bishopric -of Cuba. The British were careful to distinguish between the Portuguese -Jews and the Spaniards, with the result that the Jews at once began -to establish and develop the commercial prosperity of the colony. -Sir Thomas Lynch, governor of Jamaica, writing in March, 1672, to the -Council for Trade and Transportation, mentions, as points in favor of -the Jews that “they have great stocks, no people, and aversions to the -French and Spaniards.” - -Several years before that time Jacob Joshua Bueno Enriques, a resident -of Jamaica for two years, petitioned the King for permission to work -a copper mine, and that he and his brothers, Josef and Moise, “may use -their own laws and hold Synagogues.” In 1668 Solomon Gabay Faro and -David ♦Gomez Henriques were recommended by the King to the governor -to remain and trade in Jamaica as long as they behaved well and fairly. -There were considerable increases by arrivals from Brazil, later from -the withdrawal of the British from Surinam, by direct immigration -from England and even from Germany. But there must have been also -considerable emigration of Jews, for at the end of the seventeenth -century the number of Jews in Jamaica is figured at eighty. While the -inclusion of Hebrew in the curriculum of the free school which was -established in the Parish of St. Andrews in 1693――the earliest known -instance of the teaching of Hebrew in an English settlement in the -New World――may be taken as a concession to the Jewish inhabitants, -there was no lack of harsh and galling measures. In 1703 the Jews -were prohibited, under penalty of five hundred pounds, from holding -Christian servants. In 1711 they were prohibited, along with mulattoes, -Indians and negroes, from being employed as clerks in any of the -judicial or other offices. - -The struggle of the Jews of Jamaica against heavy taxation forms an -interesting chapter in their history at the beginning of the eighteenth -century. (See “Publications” II, p. 165 ff.) In 1700 a memorial was -presented to Sir William Beeston, Governor-in-Chief of the Island of -Jamaica, against the excessive special taxation of four assemblies, -and against “being forced to bear arms on our Sabbath and holy days ... -without any necessity or urgent occasion (which is quite contrary to -our religion, unless in case of necessity, when an enemy is in sight or -apprehension of being near us).” The reply by the governor and council -begins with the admission of the truth of the statement about taxation; -but a counter-claim is advanced that “their first introduction into -this island was on the condition that they should settle and plant, -which they do not, there being but one considerable and two or three -small settlements of the Jews in all the island. But their employment -is generally keeping of shops and merchandise, by the first of which -they have engrossed that employment, and by their parsimonious living -(which I do not charge as a fault in them) they have thereby means of -underselling the English; that they cannot, many in them, follow that -employment, nor can they in reason put their children to the Jews to be -trained up in that profession, by which the English nation think they -suffer much, both in their own advantages and what may be made to their -children hereafter.” - -The governor then proceeds to explain that the Jews themselves -requested that “they might on any occasion be taxed by the lump,” and -that because of their controlling of trade, especially of the retail -trade, the Assembly have thought it but just that they should pay -something in proportion more than the English. He continues: “As for -their bearing of arms, it must be owned that when any public occasion -has happened or an enemy appeared they have been ready and behaved -themselves very well; but for their being called into arms on private -times and that have happened upon their Sabbath or festivals, they have -been generally excused by their officers, unless by their obstinacy or -ill-language they have provoked them to the contrary.” - -Traces of retrogression are also discernible in a document which was -presented in 1721 to the Jamaica House of Representatives, entitled: -“A petition of Jacob Henriques, Moses Mendes Quixano and David Gabai -on behalf of themselves and the rest of the Jews now resident in this -island ... praying that the House will take into consideration the -great disparity there is between the numbers, trade and substance of -the Jews now resident in this island in this and former times, and -to mitigate the assessment of tax to be laid upon them.” But it seems -that there was an improvement and an increase of the community about -the middle of that century; for not less than 151 of the 189 Jews in -the British-American Colonies whose names have been handed down as -naturalized between 1740 (under the act of Parliament of that year) and -1755 resided in Jamaica. - -Among the leading Jewish families which contributed most signally to -the development of Jamaica’s trade are: de Silva, Soarez, Cardozo, -Belisario, Belinfante, Nuñez, Fonseca, Gutterect, de Cordova, Bernal, -Gomez, Vaz and Bravo. - -Kingston was from the time of its foundation (1693) the principal seat -of the Jewish community; an earlier Synagogue which is mentioned in -1684 and 1687 was probably situated in Port Royal. There were also -settlements in Spanish Town, Montego Bay, Falmouth and Lacovia. - -Here also, like in most other Dutch and English colonies, the local -authorities were less liberal than the home governments, especially -in matters of taxation. The assistance of the crown was necessary -to abolish all special taxation, and also to check such attempts as -were made during the reign of William III. to expel the Jews from the -island. There is a record (see “Publications” XIX, p. 179–80) of a -Mr. Montefiore who made an application to be admitted as an attorney -in Jamaica in 1787, and produced a certificate of his admission in -the Court of King’s Bench, in London, in 1784; but the above-mentioned -anti-Jewish law of 1711 was cited to disqualify him from acting as -attorney in Jamaica. It is believed that the man who met with this -refusal was Joshua Montefiore (1762–1843), an uncle of Sir Moses -Montefiore (1784–1885). - -The community was in a flourishing condition in 1831, when all civil -disabilities were finally removed, and the Jews immediately began to -take a leading part in the affairs of the colony. In 1838 Sir Francis -H. Goldsmid (1808–78) was able to compile a long list of Jews who were -chosen to civil and military offices in Jamaica since the act of 1831, -which was used by him as an argument in favor of removing the Jewish -disabilities at home. - -Alexander Bravo was the first Jew to be chosen as a member of the -Jamaica Assembly, being elected for the district of Kingston in 1835. -He later became a member of the council and afterward receiver-general. -In 1849 eight of the forty-seven members of the colonial assembly -were Jews, and Dr. C. M. Morales was elected Speaker in that year. -Phinchas Abraham (d. 1887) was one of the last survivors of the body -of merchants who contributed to the prosperity of the West Indies (see -_Jew. Encyclopedia_ s. v.). - -The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Kingston, situated on Princess -street until the time of its destruction by the great fire of 1882, was -consecrated in 1750. It was replaced by a new edifice on East street -in 1884. The English and German Synagogue was consecrated in 1789, -a third (German) was merged with the first in 1850. The Synagogue of -the “Amalgamated Congregation of Israelites,” which was consecrated -in 1888, was destroyed by the earthquake of January, 1907. The United -Congregation now worships at the East street Synagogue, which was -enlarged for the purpose. The English-German Congregation consecrated -a new Synagogue in 1894. There is also a Hebrew Benevolent Society and -a Gemilut Hasodim Association which is more than a century old. - -Among the rabbis of Jamaica were: Joshua Pardo who came there from -Curaçao in 1683; his contemporary, the Spanish poet, Daniel Israel -Lopez Laguna; Hakam de Cordoza (d. in Spanish Town, 1798); Rev. Abraham -Pereire Mendes (b. Kingston, 1825; d. New York, 1893); Rev. George -Jacobs; Rev. J. M. Corcos, and the present rabbi of the English-German -Synagogue on Orange street, Rev. M. H. Solomon. The two Synagogues in -Kingston are the only ones in the colony, which has about two thousand -Jews, or nearly ten per cent., of the white population of Jamaica. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - NEW AMSTERDAM AND NEW YORK. - - - Poverty of the first Jewish immigrants to New Amsterdam―― - Stuyvesant’s opposition overruled by the Dutch West India - Company――Privileges and restrictions――Contributions to build - the wall from which Wall street takes its name――The first - cemetery――Exemption from military duty――Little change at the - beginning of the English rule――The first synagogue after a - liberal decree by the Duke of York――Marranos brought back - in boats which carried grain to Portugal――Hebrew learning―― - Question about the Jews as voters and as witnesses――Peter - Kalm’s description of the Jews of New York about 1745――Hyman - Levy, the employer of the original Astor. - -The wealth which made the Spanish and Portuguese Jew welcome, or at -least insured him sufferance, in the other Dutch and English colonies -of the New World, was absent in the case of those who first settled -in what is now New York. In September, 1654, the year in which the -Dutch lost control of Brazil and the great Jewish community of Recife -was scattered, there arrived in the port of New Amsterdam (as New -York was called by its Dutch founders) the barque St. Catarina, of -which Jacques de la Motthe was master, from Cape St. Anthony (Cuba?), -carrying twenty-seven Jews, men, women and children. These passengers, -the first Jews to arrive in what is now the United States, were so poor -that their goods had to be sold by the master of the vessel by public -auction for the payment of their passage. The amount realized by the -sale being insufficient, he applied to the Court of Burgomaster and the -Schoepens that one or two of them, as principals, be held as security -for the payment of the balance in accordance with the contract made -with him by which each person signing it had bound himself for the -payment of the whole amount, and under which he had taken two of them, -David Israel and Moses Ambrosius, as principal debtors. - -The court accordingly ordered that they should be placed under civil -arrest, in the custody of the provost marshal, until they should have -made satisfaction; that the captain should be answerable for their -support while in custody, as security for which a certain proportion -of the proceeds of the sale was directed to be left in the hands of -the secretary of the colony. But as no further proceedings appear upon -the records, the matter was doubtless arranged and was probably nothing -more than a dispute or misunderstanding between them and the captain -as to whether they were bound to make good the deficiency, which was -probably enhanced by the forced sale of their effects by auction.[6] -It is more likely that their embarrassment was only temporary and -was due to their being robbed shortly before or after they left their -last stopping place or residence, which was probably Jamaica. (See -Leon Hühner, _Whence came the First Jewish Settlers of New York?_ -“Publications,” IX, p. 75 ff.) It is mentioned that some of them -were awaiting remittances, which must have come in time to enable the -refugees to hold their own until the question of permitting them to -remain in the colony was settled in their favor through correspondence -with Holland. - -Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of the colony, a man of strong will -and strong prejudices, was hostile to the new arrivals, and he soon -wrote to the Directors of the Dutch West India Company in Amsterdam -requesting that “none of the Jewish nation be permitted to infest -New Netherland.” He received a reply that such a course “would be -unreasonable and unfair, especially because of the considerable loss -sustained by the Jews in the taking of Brazil, and also because of -the large amount of capital which they have invested in the shares of -this company. After many consultations we have decided and resolved -upon a certain petition made by said Portuguese Jews, that they shall -have permission to sail to and trade in New Netherland and to live -and remain there, provided that the poor among them shall not become -a burden to the company or to the community, but be supported by their -own nation.” This is the end of the reply, dated, April 26, 1655, -which began with the ominous sentence: “We would have liked to agree -to your wishes and request, that the new territories should not be -further invaded by people of the Jewish race, for we forsee from such -immigration the same difficulties which you fear.” But the influence of -the Jews in Amsterdam overcame the predilections and the fears of the -company, and a special act was issued July 15, 1655, expressly giving -Jews in New Netherlands the privileges contained in the above letter to -the governor. - -Before the favorable decision could arrive from Holland, the position -of the Jews was precarious. On the 1st of March, 1655, Abraham de la -Simon was brought before the Court of Burgomaster and the Schoepens -upon the complaint of the Schout or Sheriff for keeping open his store -on Sunday during the sermon, and selling at retail. The Sheriff on -that occasion informed the court that the Governor and Council had -resolved that the Jews who had come in the preceding autumn, as well -as those that had recently arrived from Holland, must prepare to -depart forthwith. The Court, which was also a council for the municipal -government of the city, was asked by the Sheriff whether it had any -objection to make; whereupon, says the record, it was decided that the -Governor’s resolution should take its course. - -There is reason to believe that some Jews left on account of that -resolution before the orders from Holland arrived. They presumably -went to Rhode Island. Those who remained were still objects of the -Governor’s aversion, and even the more friendly Company was not too -liberal. A letter from the directors to Stuyvesant, dated, March 13, -1556, contains the following: “The permission given to the Jews to go -to New Netherlands and enjoy the same privileges as they have here (in -Amsterdam), has been granted only as far as civil and political rights -are concerned, without giving the said Jews a claim to the privilege of -exercising their religion in a synagogue or a gathering.” - -But it must be said to the credit of the directors that they insisted -on what they granted to the Jews, and in another letter, dated, June 14, -1556, they write to the self-willed governor: “We have seen and heard -with displeasure, that against our orders of the 15th of February, 1655, -issued at the request of the Jewish or Portuguese nation, you have -forbidden them to trade to Fort Orange (Albany) and the South River -(Delaware), also the purchase of real estate, which is granted to them -without difficulty here in this country, and we wish it had not been -done, and you have obeyed your orders which you must always execute -punctually and with more respect. Jews or Portuguese people, however, -shall not be employed in any public service (to which they are neither -admitted in this city) nor allowed to have open retail shops; but -they may quietly and peacefully carry on their business as beforesaid -and exercise in all quietness their religion within their houses, -for which end they must without doubt endeavor to build their houses -close together in a convenient place on one or the other side of New -Amsterdam――at their choice――as they do here.” - -These instructions came as the result of a petition sent to the -directors by Abraham d’Lucena, Salvatore d’Andrade and Jacob Cohen, for -themselves and in the name of others of the Jewish nation, asking for a -confirmation of the privileges, which was thus granted. These three and -two other Jews, Joseph da Costa and David Frera, were in the preceding -year, 1655, assessed each 1,000 florins to defray the cost of erecting -the outer fence or city wall, from which Wall street takes its name. It -was the same amount as was imposed upon the wealthiest of the citizens, -and the five adduced it as a reason for their being entitled to the -rights to trade and to hold real property. - -Abraham d’Lucena, who appears to have been the most prominent of the -early Jewish immigrants, and several others, applied in July, 1655, -for a burying ground; but the request was refused with the reply “that -there was no need for it yet.” There was need for it, however, about a -year later, and on July 14, 1656, a lot was granted to them outside of -the city for a place of interment. This is the old cemetery on Oliver -street and New Bowery, which was augmented by further purchases in the -following century. - -The city was at that time exposed to attacks from Spanish cruisers and -pirates, and to assaults from hostile Indians. The encroachments of -the English on Long Island and Westchester was a subject of constant -anxiety, England never having conceded the rights of the Dutch to -settle New Netherlands. This caused all the male inhabitants capable -of bearing arms to enroll in the Burgher Guard, and a watch was kept up -night and day with the steadiness and vigilance of a beleaguered town. -A few months after the arrival of the Jewish immigrants the question -arose whether the adult males among them should be incorporated in the -Burgher Guard; the officers of the guard submitting the question to the -Governor and Council. It was duly deliberated upon and an ordinance was -passed (August 28, 1655), which, after reciting “the unwillingness of -the mass of the citizens to be fellow-soldiers of the aforesaid nation” -or watch in the same guard-house, and the fact that the Jews in Holland -did not serve in the train bands of the cities, but paid a compensation -for their exemption therefrom, declared that they should be exempt from -that military service, and for such exemption each male person between -the ages of sixteen and sixty shall pay a monthly contribution of -sixty-five stivers. - -Jacob Barsimson and Asser Levy (d. 1682) petitioned to be allowed -to stand guard like other burghers, or to be relieved from the tax, -which was refused by the Governor and Council with the remark that -“they might go elsewhere if they liked.” But after the last order -from Amsterdam favorable to the claims of the Jews was received, Asser -Levy applied to be admitted to the right of citizenship, and exhibited -his certificate to the court to show that he had been a burgher in -Amsterdam. His request, as well as the one made for the same purpose -by Salvatore d’Andrade and others, was not complied with. The matter -was brought before the Governor and Council, and as the directions -from Holland were controlling, an order was made April 21, 1657, that -the Burgomaster should admit them to that privilege. Here the struggle -virtually ended, and they were no longer troubled during the Dutch rule. - -When the British captured the city in 1664 and renamed it New York, the -condition of the Jews remained practically unchanged. There is a record -of at least one Jew who removed from Newport to New York in that period, -and had difficulties with the local authorities because they enforced -against him the regulation which did not permit a Jew to engage in -retail trade. The Charter of Liberties and Privileges which was adopted -in 1683 by the colonial legislature declared that “no one should be -molested, punished, disquieted or called in question for his religious -opinion, who professed faith in God by Jesus Christ,” which meant -that the Jews and unbelievers were excluded from the privileges of -religious freedom. A petition by the Jews to Governor Dongan, in 1686, -for liberty to exercise their religion, i. e., to have public worship, -was consequently decided in the negative. But James, Duke of York -(afterwards King James II., 1633–1701), to whom New York was granted by -his brother, had previously sent out instructions, which arrived about -that time, “to permit all persons of what religion soever, quietly to -inhabit within the government, and to give no disturbance or disquiet -whatsoever for or by reason of their differing in matters of religion.” - -The exact date when the Jews took advantage of that liberal decree is -not known, but it is presumed that the religious services, which had -been heretofore conducted semi-privately, were soon performed in a -house devoted to that purpose. It is certain that there was a Jewish -Synagogue in New York in 1695, probably as early as 1691, while the -restrictions as to trade were removed a few years before. The Synagogue, -the first on the North American continent, was situated on the south -side of the present Beaver street, between Broadway and Broad street. -When it became too small for the community which was increasing in -wealth and in numbers, a new edifice was erected in 1728 on Mill -street (about the present site of South William street), where the -congregation, which now assumed the name of “Shearith Israel” (Remnant -of Israel), continued to worship for more than a century. - -A profitable commerce was carried on between New York and the West -Indies at the beginning of the eighteenth century in which numerous -Jewish merchants participated. There was also carried on, though for a -short period, a considerable business of exporting wheat to Portugal, -on account of the scarcity in Europe about the close of the French war. -Abraham d’Lucena and Louis Moses Gomez, who engaged in that traffic -to Portugal, not only became two of the most affluent of the Jewish -residents of New York, but they also incidentally caused an increase -of the number of their co-religionists in the community. It is -presumed that the vessels which carried grain to the Iberian peninsula -brought Jewish or Marrano passengers on the return voyage. Most of -the new Jewish names which began to appear here about that time are -of undoubted Spanish and Portuguese origin. But there were also in -the city Jews from other countries. When the Rev. John Sharpe proposed -the erection of a school-library and chapel in New York, in 1712–13, -he points out among the advantages which the city afforded for that -purpose that: “It is possible also to learn Hebrew here as well as in -Europe, there being a Synagogue of Jews, and many ingenious men of that -nation from Poland, Hungary, Germany, etc.” - -The above-mentioned Louis Moses Gomez (b. Madrid, 1654; d. New York, -1740) who arrived in America about 1700, was until the time of his -death one of the principal merchants of New York. He had five sons, -and his descendants have intermarried with most of the old-time -American-Jewish families. - -While the community was increasing in number and wealth, something -occurred which sharply reminded the Jews that the time of complete -emancipation had not yet come. In 1737 the election of Col. Frederick -Phillips as representative of the General Assembly for the County -of Westchester was contested by Captain Cornelius Van Horne. Colonel -Phillips called several Jews to give evidence on his behalf, when an -objection was made to their competency as witnesses. After arguments -on both sides were heard, they were informed by the speaker that it -was the opinion of the House that “none of the Jewish profession could -be admitted as evidence.” It seems that Jews had voted at the election, -for after again hearing arguments from the counsel of both parties, the -House resolved that, as it did not appear that persons of the Jewish -religion had a right to vote for members of Parliament in Great Britain, -it was the unanimous opinion of the House that they could not be -admitted to vote for Representatives in the colony. This decision has -been described by a later historian as remarkable, and in explanation -of it he says: “That Catholics and Jews had long been peculiarly -obnoxious to the colonists,” that “the first settlers being Dutch and -mostly of the Reformed Protestant religion, and the migration from -England, since the colony belonged to the Crown, being principally -Episcopal, both united in their aversion to the Catholics and the -Jews.” (Quoted by Daly, _The Settlement of the Jews in North America_, -p. 46.)[7] - -The general condition of the Jews of New York was, nevertheless, -highly favorable, as is attested by Peter Kalm (1715–79), the Swedish -botanist and traveler, who spent a considerable time in the colony in -the following decade. He says: “There are many Jews settled in New York -who possess great privileges. They have a Synagogue and houses, great -country-seats of their own property, and are allowed to keep shops in -the town. They have likewise several ships which they freight and send -out with their goods; in fine, the Jews enjoy all the privileges in -common to the other inhabitants of this town and province.” - -The increase of the community between that time and the American -Revolution was very slow in comparison with the fast growth of the -general population of the city, which was less than 5,000 in 1700, -about 9,000 in 1750, and nearly 23,000 in 1776. The natural increase -and the additions which the Jewish community received by immigration, -chiefly from England, was barely sufficient to counteract the loss of -others who went to Newport, Charleston and Philadelphia. But, though -small, it continued to be a highly respectable and influential body, -having among its members some of the principal merchants of the city. -Of this number was Hayman Levy (d. 1790) who carried on an extensive -business chiefly with the Indians, and by winning their respect and -confidence became the largest fur trader in the colonies. Upon his -books are entries of moneys paid to John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), the -founder of the Astor family, for beating furs at the rate of one dollar -a day. Miss Zeporah Levy (d. 1833), a daughter of Hayman, was married -in 1779 to Benjamin Hendricks, a native of New York, the founder of a -well-known and long-maintained Jewish commercial house. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - NEW ENGLAND AND THE OTHER ENGLISH COLONIES. - - - The Old Testament spirit in New England――Roger Williams――The - first Jew in Massachusetts――Judah Monis, instructor in Hebrew - at Harvard――Newport――Jews from Holland bring there the first - degrees of Masonry――The cemetery immortalized by Longfellow―― - Jacob Rodrigues Rivera introduces the manufacture of sperm - oil――Aaron Lopez, the greatest merchant in America――Immigration - from Portugal――Rabbi Isaac Touro――Visiting rabbis――First Jews - in Connecticut――Philadelphia――Congregation Mickweh Israel―― - Easton’s wealthy Jews――Maryland――Dr. Jacob Lumbrozo――General - Oglethorpe and the first Jews of Georgia――Joseph Ottolenghi――The - Carolinas――Charleston. - -Although “the Puritans of England and America appropriated the -language of our judges and prophets” and the spirit of the Old -Testament was the most potent force in the foundation and the conduct -of the early Commonwealths of New England, still it was not a typical -or recognized leader of those who deemed themselves members of a new -Hebrew theocratic democracy, but rather an outcast from their ranks, -who first granted full religious liberty to the Jews and bade them -welcome. This man was Roger Williams (1600?‒1684), the former clergyman -of the Church of England, who later (1631) became a Puritan pastor in -Salem, Mass., and was expelled for denying the right of the magistrates -to punish Sabbath-breaking, and was four years later “banished from the -jurisdiction of the Puritans of America, and driven into the wilderness -to endure the severity of our northern winter and the bitter pangs of -hunger.”[8] - -There was at least one Jew in Massachusetts before the arrival of -the first Jews in New Amsterdam, and he is mentioned only as being -assisted――or forced――to quit the colony. The reference to him is dated -May 3, 1649, when it is stated that the court allows Solomon Franco, -the Jew, six shillings per week out of the treasury for ten weeks -for subsistence till he can get his passage into Holland (see Kohut, -_The Jews of New England_ in “Publications,” XI, p. 78). Several other -Jews are mentioned as having lived there in the latter part of the -seventeenth and in the first three-quarters of the eighteenth centuries. -But owing to the intolerance and religious zeal of the Puritans, they -either moved to other parts or embraced Christianity. When a Jew named -Joseph Frazon (or Frazier) died in Boston, in 1704, his body was sent -to Newport for burial. - -The most distinguished among the early converts was Judah Monis (born -in Algiers about 1680; died in Northborough, Mass. in 1764). He was -baptized in the College Hall at Cambridge, Mass., on March 22, 1722, -and was afterward active in the cause of his new faith, although he -observed throughout his life the Jewish Sabbath. He was an instructor -in Hebrew at Harvard University, from 1722 till 1759, when on the -death of his wife he resigned and removed to Northborough. Besides -some insignificant missionary pamphlets, he was the author of the first -Hebrew grammar printed in America (Boston, 1735). - -It was in the smallest of the original colonies, which is now likewise -the smallest State in the Union, Rhode Island, founded by the pioneer -of religious liberty in the New World, that the Jews established their -oldest congregation on the North American continent. Providence was -founded in 1636, Portsmouth and Newport about two years later, and the -last named place, which soon became one of the most important cities in -the colonies, excelling even New York as a commercial center and port -of entry until after the Revolution, began to attract Jews soon after -their arrival in these parts of the country. The earliest authentic -mention of Jews in Newport is in 1658, when fifteen Jewish families -are said to have arrived from Holland, bringing with them the first -degrees of Masonry which they proceeded to confer on Abraham Moses in -the house of Mordecai Campanall.[9] But there is reason to believe that -Jews from New Amsterdam and Curaçao settled there a year or two before. -A congregation seems to have been organized in 1658 under the name -“Jeshuat Israel.” The cemetery, immortalized by Longfellow and Emma -Lazarus, was acquired by Campanall and Moses Packeckoe, in 1677, but -it is possible that there existed an earlier Jewish cemetery. - -Still even in Rhode Island it was only tolerance; the recognition of -equal rights was yet to come with the Declaration of Independence. In -reply to a petition of the Jews, the General Assembly of Rhode Island, -in 1684, affirmed the right of the Jews to settle in the colony, -declaring that “they may expect as good protection here as any stranger -being not of our nation residing among us in His Majesty’s colony ought -to have, being obedient to His Majesty’s laws.” - -More Jewish settlers arrived from the West Indies in 1694; but the -great impulse to the commercial activity which raised Newport to the -zenith of its prosperity was given by a number of Portuguese Jews -who settled there about the middle of the eighteenth century. Most -prominent among those were Jacob Rodrigues Rivera (died at an advanced -age in 1789), who arrived in 1745, and Aaron Lopez, who came in 1750. -The former introduced into America the manufacture of sperm oil, having -brought the art with him from Portugal, and it soon became one of the -leading industries; Newport, whose inhabitants were engaged in whale -fishing, had seventeen manufactories of oil and candles and enjoyed a -practical monopoly of this trade down to the Revolution. - -Aaron Lopez (died May 28, 1782), who was Rivera’s son-in-law, became -the great merchant prince of New England. (Ezra Stiles says of him, -that for honor and extent of commerce he was probably surpassed by no -merchant in America.) The advantages of this important seaport were -quickly comprehended by this sagacious merchant, and to him in a larger -degree than to any one else was due the rapid commercial development -that followed. He was the means of inducing more than forty Jewish -families to settle there, the heads of many of which were men of wealth, -mercantile sagacity, high intelligence and enterprise. In fourteen -years after Lopez settled there, Newport had 150 vessels engaged in -trade with the West Indies alone, besides an extensive trade which was -carried on as far as Africa and the Falkland Islands. The Jews were -even then, nearly three hundred years after the expulsion, transferring -to the liberal English colonies the wealth and the still more valuable -business ability and commercial connections which they could not freely -or safely employ as Marranos in Portugal. The emigration of secret -Jews from that country increased after the great earthquake at Lisbon -(1755), and a considerable portion went to Rhode Island. One of the -vessels from that unhappy city, bound for Virginia, was driven into -Narragansett Bay, and its Jewish passengers remained at Newport. - -Isaac Touro (died Dec. 8, 1783) came from Jamaica to Newport, in 1760, -to become the minister of its prosperous congregation, and occupied -the position until the outbreak of the Revolution, when he returned -to end his days in Jamaica. Until the time of his arrival worship was -held in private houses, but in 1762 the congregation, which numbered -between sixty and seventy members, decided to erect a Synagogue. The -building, which is still standing, was completed and dedicated in 1763. -There is evidence that the Jewish population of Newport, even before -the Revolution, contained considerable German and Polish elements. -According to one historian, the city numbered before the outbreak of -hostilities 1,175 Jews――which was probably a majority of the Jews in -all the colonies――while more than 300 worshipers attended the Synagogue. - -Many Jewish rabbis from all parts of the world were attracted to -Newport in those times. The above-named Ezra Stiles (1727–95), the -famous president of Yale University, who was a preacher in Newport -at that time, mentions several of them in his diary. He met one from -Palestine in 1759, two from Poland, 1771 and 1772, respectively, a -Rabbi Bosquila from Smyrna, a Rabbi Cohen from Jerusalem and Rabbi -Raphael Hayyim Isaac Carregal (b. Hebron, Palestine, 1733; d. Barbadoes, -1777), who preached at Newport in Spanish in 1773, and became an -intimate friend of the Christian theological scholar. - -The arrival of a Jewish family from the West Indies to New Haven, -Conn., in 1772, is noted by Stiles, who was a native of that place, -in his diary as follows: “They are the first real Jews at that place -with exception of the two brothers Pinto, who renounced Judaism and -all religion.” This is substantially accurate in regard to New Haven, -although one David, the Jew, is mentioned in the Hartford town records -as early as 1659 (or 1650), and the residence of several Jews is -implied in the entry which was made in the same records under date of -September 2, 1661: “The same day ye Jews which at present live at John -Marsh, his house, have liberty to sojourn in ye town for seven months.” -They are mentioned at a subsequent period, too, which proves that they -were permitted to remain longer than the allotted seven months. But all -trace of them is lost afterwards, and almost two centuries had passed -until the first Synagogue was erected in Hartford. - - * * * * * - -The Jews of New Amsterdam who had difficulties with Peter Stuyvesant -in 1655 about their right to trade on the South River, which was -subsequently re-named the Delaware (see above, chapter 9) were probably -the first to set foot in what later became the colony and still later -the State of Pennsylvania. This was twenty years before William Penn -(1644–1718) became part proprietor of West Jersey, and more than a -quarter of a century before he came over to America (1682) and founded -the city of Philadelphia in the colony of Pennsylvania, which he -received as a grant from the King of England in the preceding year. - -The first Jewish resident of Philadelphia was Jonas Aaron, who was -living there in 1703. A number of other Jews settled there in the first -half of the eighteenth century and some of them, including David Franks -(1720–93), Joseph Marks and Sampson Levy, became prominent in the life -of the city. Isaac Miranda came there earlier (1710) and held several -State offices, but he was a convert to Christianity, and his preferment -cannot be considered a Jewish success. A German traveler mentions -the Jews among the religious sects of Philadelphia in 1734. In 1738 -Nathan Levy (1704–53) applied for a plot of ground to be used as a -place of burial, and obtained it Sept. 25, 1740. This was the first -Jewish cemetery in the city, and was henceforth known as the “Jews’ -burying ground,” situated in Spruce street, near Ninth street. It -later became the property of the Congregation Mickweh Israel, which -had its beginnings about 1745 and is believed to have worshipped in -a small house in Sterling alley. The question of building a Synagogue -was raised in 1761, as a result of the influx of Jews from Spain and -the West Indies, but nothing was then accomplished in that direction. -In 1773, when Barnard Gratz (born in Germany, 1738; died in Baltimore, -1801) was parnas and Solomon Marache, treasurer, a subscription was -started “in order to support our holy worship and establish it on a -more solid foundation,” but no Synagogue was built until about ten -years later. Barnard Gratz and his brother, Michael (b. 1740), with -whom he came to ♦America about 1755, were among the eight Jewish -merchants of Philadelphia who signed the Non-Importation Resolution in -1765. The others were Benjamin Levy, David Franks, Sampson Levy, Hyman -Levy, Jr.; Mathias Bush and Moses Mordecai. - -Jews were to be found in Lancaster, Pa., as early as 1730, before -the town and county were organized, and the name of Joseph Simon was -preserved as the best known of the first arrivals. Myer Hart (d. about -1795) and his wife, Rachel, and their son, Michael (b. 1738), were one -of the eleven original families that are classed as the founders of -Easton, Pa., about 1750. Myer Hart heads the list of those furnishing -material for the erection of a schoolhouse in Easton in 1755. He is -first described as a shopkeeper and later as an innkeeper, and he was -naturalized April 3, 1764. In 1780 his estate was valued at £2,095, and -that of his son, Michael, at £2,261, these two being the heaviest taxed -individuals in the county. At that period there were two other Jewish -merchants residing at Easton, Barnard Levi and Joseph Nathan. - -There is a tradition that Schafferstown, Pa., had a Synagogue and a -Jewish cemetery in 1732, but the facts have not been verified, and -there is a suspicion that the supposed Jews were German pietists who -assumed Biblical names. - -To the south of Pennsylvania the older colony of Maryland, which was -established in 1634, “adopted religious freedom as the basis of the -State;” but this boon was reserved for Christians only, although there -is no record that the statutory death penalty for those who denied -the trinity was ever carried out in practice. The physician, Jacob -Lumbrozo (d. May, 1666), who hailed from Lisbon, Portugal, and came to -Maryland about January, 1656, and later became an extensive land owner, -was committed for blasphemy in 1658, but this did not prevent him -from enjoying a lucrative practice and engaging in various mercantile -pursuits in subsequent years. He was even granted letters of denization -on Sept. 10, 1663, which vested him with all the privileges of a native -or naturalized subject. But his case seems to have been exceptional, -probably owing to his medical skill and his wealth. But in general, -colonial Maryland was no place for Jews, and even after it became a -part of the United States it was one of the last to remove the civil -disabilities of its Jewish citizens. - -Another Marrano physician from Lisbon, Dr. Samuel (Ribiero) Nuñez, -who escaped from the clutches of the Inquisition and arrived, in -1733, in the newly founded colony of Georgia, found a more congenial -place of refuge. Georgia was in respect to the Jews the reverse of -New Netherlands; the trustees of the colony in England were opposed to -permitting Jews to settle there, but General James Edward Oglethorpe -(1696‒1785), the Governor, was very friendly disposed towards them. -Nuñez was one of forty Jewish immigrants who unexpectedly arrived at -Savannah in the second vessel which reached the colony from England -(July 11, 1733). The Governor, one of the noblest figures of colonial -times, bade them welcome, and considered them a good acquisition to -the new colony. The first settlers were of Spanish and Portuguese -extraction,[10] but Jews who apparently came from Germany took up -their residence there less than a year afterwards. Both bands of -settlers received equally liberal treatment, and they soon organized -a congregation (1734). The first male white child born in the colony -was a Jew, Isaac Minis. Abraham de Lyon, of Portugal, introduced the -culture of grapes into Georgia in 1737, while others of the early -settlers engaged in the cultivation and manufacture of silk, the -knowledge of which they likewise brought with them from Portugal. A -dispute with the trustees of the colony respecting the introduction -of slaves caused an extensive emigration to South Carolina in 1741, -and resulted in the dissolution of the congregation. But in 1751 a -number of Jews returned to Georgia, and in the same year the trustees -sent over Joseph Ottolenghi (d. after June, 1774) to superintend -the somewhat extensive silk industry of the colony. Ottolenghi soon -attained prominence in the political life of the colony and was elected -a member of the General Assembly, where he served from 1761 to 1765. -Several other Jews ♦rendered distinguished services to Georgia, but -they belong to the period of the Revolution, which will be treated -separately in the following part. A new congregation was started in -1774. - -“Jews, heathens and dissenters” were granted full liberty of conscience -in the liberal charter which the celebrated English philosopher, John -Locke (1632–1704) drew up for the governance of the Carolinas (1669), -and the spirit of tolerance was always retained there. Still few Jews -were attracted there at the beginning, and about thirty years later -we know of only one Jew, Solomon Valentine, as living in Charleston. A -few others followed him, and in 1703 a protest was raised against “Jew -strangers” voting for members of the Assembly. About the middle of the -eighteenth century the number of Jews in Charleston suddenly increased -through the above-mentioned exodus from Georgia, and the first -Synagogue of the Congregation Bet Elohim was established in 1750. Its -first minister was Isaac da Costa, and among its earliest members were -Joseph and Michael Tobias, Moses Cohen, Abraham da Costa, Moses Pimenta, -David de Olivera, Mordecai Sheftal, Michael Lazarus and Abraham Nuñez -Cardozo. The first Synagogue was a small building on Union street; -its present edifice is situated at Hassell street. A Hebrew Benevolent -Society, which still survives, was also organized at an early date. A -German-Jewish congregation was also in existence in the last quarter -of the eighteenth century. Several prominent Jews of London purchased -large tracts of land in South Carolina, near Fort Ninety-six, which -became known as the “Jews’ Land.” Moses Lindo who arrived from London -in 1756, became engaged in indigo manufacture, which he made one of -the principal industries in the colony. Another London Jew, Francis -Salvador (d. 1776), was the most prominent Jew in South Carolina at -the time of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. - - - - - PART III. - - THE REVOLUTION AND THE PERIOD OF EXPANSION. - - - CHAPTER XI. - - THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. - - - Spirit of the Old Testament in the Revolutionary War――Sermons in - favor of the original Jewish form of Government――The New Nation - as “God’s American Israel”――The Quebec Act――The intolerance - of sects as the cause of separation of Church and State――A - Memorial sent by German Jews to the Continental Congress――Fear - expressed in North Carolina that the Pope might be elected - President of the United States――None of the liberties won were - lost by post-revolutionary reaction, as happened elsewhere. - -The spirit of the old Testament which was prevalent among the early -settlers of New England was perhaps still more manifest there at -the time of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War of Independence. -The ever-increasing antagonism which was aroused by the attempt -of the Parliament of England to regulate and to tax the colonies, -found expression in Biblical terms to an extent which can hardly be -appreciated in the present time. The people in America had to fight -over again the same battles for constitutional liberties which the -English had fought before them, and George III., so far as his claims -over the colonies were concerned, relied as much upon the kingly -prerogative, the doctrine of “Divine Right,” as ever did James I. All -of these pretensions, all the questions of right and liberty had to be -re-argued. To refute this false theory of kingly power it was not only -expedient but necessary to revert to the earliest times, to the most -sacred record, the Old Testament, for illustration and for argument, -chiefly because the doctrine of Divine Right of a King by the Grace -of God and its corollaries, “unlimited submission and non-resistance,” -were deduced, or rather distorted, from the New Testament, having been -brought into the field of politics with the object of enslaving the -masses through their religious creed. “It is, at least, an historical -fact――says the historian Lecky――that in the great majority of instances -the early Protestant defenders of civil liberty derived their political -principles chiefly from the Old Testament, and the defenders of -despotism from the New. The rebellions that were so frequent in Jewish -history formed the favorite topic of the one, the unreserved submission -inculcated by St. Paul, the other.”[11] - -While there were many free thinkers or Deists among the intellectual -leaders of the Revolution, the masses of the colonists were intensely -religious, and an argument from Scripture carried more weight with them -than any other. Education was limited at that period in the colonies; -there were not many newspapers, they were rarely issued more than once -a week, and the number of subscribers was but few. The pulpit had their -place, and the pastors in their sermons dealt with politics not less -than with religion. Sermons were for the people the principal sources -of general instruction. These pastors, in the way of history, knew -above all that of the Jewish people, and they were the first to bring -before their audiences the ideals of the old Hebrew commonwealth. Rev. -Jonathan Mayhew (1720–66), whose discourse, in 1750, against unlimited -submission was characterized as “the morning gun of the Revolution,” -declared in a later oration on the “Repeal of the Stamp Act” which -he delivered in Boston on May 23, 1766: “God gave Israel a king in -His anger because they had not sense and virtue enough to like a free -commonwealth, and to have Himself for their King――where the spirit -of the Lord is there is liberty――and if any miserable people on the -continent or isles of Europe be driven in their extremity to seek a -safe retreat from slavery in some far distant clime――O let them find -one in America.” Rev. Samuel Langdon (1723–97), President of Harvard -College, delivered an election sermon before the “Honorable Congress -of Massachusetts Bay” on the 31st of May, 1775, taking as his text the -passage in Isaiah 1. 26, “And I will restore thy judges as at first,” -in which he said: “The Jewish government, according to the original -constitution, which was divinely established, if considered only in a -civil view, was a perfect republic. And let them who cry up the divine -right of Kings consider, that the form of government which had a proper -claim to a divine establishment was so far from including the idea of a -King, that it was a high crime for Israel to ask to be in this respect -like other nations, and when they were thus gratified, it was rather -as a just punishment for their folly.... The civil polity of Israel is -doubtless an excellent general model, allowing for some peculiarities: -at least some principal laws and orders of it may be copied in more -modern establishments.” Almost everybody at that time knew by heart the -admonitions of Samuel to the children of Israel, describing the manner -in which a King would rule over them. - -Sermons drawing a parallel between George III. and Pharaoh, inferring -that the same providence of God which had rescued the Israelites -from Egyptian bondage would free the colonies, were common in that -period; and they probably had more effect with the masses than the -great orations of the statesmen or the philosophical essays of the -publicists which came down to us in the literature of the Revolution. -The success of the War of Independence was also accepted in that sense. -The election sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Ezra Stiles, President -of Yale College, on May 8, 1783, at Hartford, before Governor Trumbull -and the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, may be cited -as an instance. Dr. Stiles took for his text Deut. XXVI, 19: “And to -make you high above all nations which he has made, in praise, and in -name, and in honor, etc.” This sermon takes up one hundred and twenty -closely printed pages, and assumes the proportions of a treatise on -government from the Hebrew Theocracy down to the then present, showing -by illustration and history that the culmination of popular government -had been reached in America, transplanted by divine hands in fulfilment -of Biblical prophecy from the days of Moses to the land of Washington; -and discussing from an historical point of view “the reasons rendering -it probable that the United States will, by the ordering of heaven, -eventually become this people.” He referred to the new nation as “God’s -American Israel” and to Washington as the American Joshua who was -raised up by God to lead the armies of the chosen people to liberty and -independence.[12] - -The committee which was appointed on the same day the Declaration of -Independence was adopted, consisting of Dr. Franklin, Mr. Adams and -Mr. Jefferson, to prepare a device for a seal for the United States, at -first proposed that of Pharaoh sitting in an open chariot, a crown on -his head and a sword in his hand, passing through the dividing waters -of the Red Sea in pursuit of the Israelites: with rays from a pillar -of fire beaming on Moses, who is represented as standing on the shore -extending his hand over the sea, causing it to overwhelm Pharaoh.[13] - -Great religious animosity was also aroused by the “Quebec Act,” -which was passed by the British Parliament in 1774, for the purpose -of preventing Canada from joining the other colonies. It guaranteed to -the Catholic Church the possession of its vast amount of property, and -full freedom of worship. The object which it was intended to effect by -the passage of this act was purely one of State policy, and as far as -Canada herself was concerned it was a wise and diplomatic step. But -with the exception perhaps of the Boston Port Bill, it was the most -effectual in alienating the colonies. It was construed as an effort on -the part of Parliament to create an Established Church, and not that -alone, but the establishment of _that_ Church which was most hateful -to and dreaded by the great majority of the people in the colonies. - -It was not due to lack of religious sentiment that the ultimate bond -between the colonies was a strictly secular one, and that Church and -State were forever separated in the Constitution of the United States. -It was rather due to the great and insurmountable differences in the -religious beliefs among the various parties to the confederation; it -may be said that it was strong sectarianism which forced upon them a -non-sectarian government. The religious complexion of no two of the -American colonies was precisely alike. The various sects at the time of -the Revolution were grouped as follows: The Puritans in Massachusetts, -the Baptists in Rhode Island, the Congregationalists in Connecticut, -the Dutch and Swedish Protestants in New Jersey, the Church of England -in New York, the Quakers in Pennsylvania, the Baptists, Methodists -and Presbyterians in North Carolina, the Catholics in Maryland, -the Cavaliers in Virginia, the Huguenots and Episcopalians in South -Carolina, and the Methodists in Georgia. Owing to these diversities, -to the consciousness of danger from ecclesiastical ambition, the -intolerance of sects as exemplified among themselves as well as in -foreign lands, it was wisely foreseen that the only basis upon which it -was possible to form a Federal union was to exclude from the National -Government all power over religion. - -The ♦separation of Church and State was therefore a practical necessity, -based on causes which were deeply rooted in the life of the people. It -was almost a forced step on the way of development, not an enthusiastic -outburst in favor of an abstract principle. This is why the ground -which was then gained was never lost again, why there was no reaction -and no reversion to the former order of a religious establishment as -happened in France after the great revolution which began in 1789. -The moderate, self-restrained liberalism of the colonists held its own -after the struggle was over and kept on progressing slowly. The violent -radicalism of the older country went so far that many steps had to -be retraced, and the fight of separating Church and State had to be -fought out all over again in our own time, more than a century after -all religion was abolished during the reign of terror. - -A letter sent by an unnamed German Jew on behalf of himself and his -brethren to the President of the Continental Congress, in which the -wretched condition of the Jews in Germany at that time is depicted, and -their desire to become subjects of the thirteen provinces is expressed, -appeared in the _Deutsches Museum_ of June, 1783, and four years later -a separate edition of it was published under the title, _Schreiben -eines deutschen Juden an den Nord Amerikanischen Präsidenten_.[14] -As there is no record of its reception or discussion in America, -it probably attracted very little attention. The same is also true -of the letter which Jonas Phillips (b. in Rhenish Prussia, 1736; -d. in New York, Jan. 28, 1803), of Philadelphia, sent to the Federal -Convention in relation to the removal of the test oath in Pennsylvania -which discriminated against Jews and those who did not subscribe to -Christian doctrines (Sept. 7, 1787). When the fundamental law of the -land was adopted there were no exciting debates about the question of -religious liberty. The clause abolishing religious tests in the Federal -Constitution passed almost unanimously; the State of North Carolina -alone voted against it, and as there were hardly any Jews there at -that time, the fear of the Roman Catholics was the only cause for the -illiberal stand taken by its representatives. The extent of that fear -can be understood from the fact that when the State Convention of North -Carolina to adopt the Federal Constitution convened in Hillsborough, in -July, 1788, pamphlets were circulated “pointing out in all seriousness -the danger of the Pope being elected President should the Constitution -be adopted.” (See Hühner, _Religious Liberty in North Carolina_, -“Publications,” XVI, p. 42). The time for religious liberty as well -as for independence in national affairs had come and was accepted as -a matter of course, and it is the exceptional glory of the American -Revolution that all the liberties won were retained and the young -nation was enabled to continue on the way of progress unhindered by -post-revolutionary reaction, and to devote its energies to the solution -of the problems which the Revolution left unsolved, and to new problems -which arose after that period. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - THE PARTICIPATION OF JEWS IN THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. - - - Captain Isaac Meyers of the French and Indian War of 1754――David - S. Franks and Isaac Franks――David Franks, the loyalist――Solomon - and Lewis Bush――Major Benjamin Nones――Other Jewish Soldiers, - of whom one was exempted from duty on Friday nights――The Pinto - brothers――Commissary General Mordecai Sheftal of Georgia――Haym - Solomon, the Polish Jew, and his financial assistance to the - Revolution. - -There were only about two thousand Jews in the colonies at the time -when the war broke out, mostly well-to-do merchants of Spanish and -Portuguese descent, of whom a considerable number had formerly lived in -England or had trade connections with the mother country and with its -various dependencies. Class interest and personal predilection for old -associations were therefore in favor of their being in sympathy with -the ruling power over the sea; still the number of Jewish loyalists -was small. The largest number cast their lot with the colonists, and -performed useful service in various ways――as merchants abstaining under -non-importation agreements from buying English goods, as tradesmen -furnishing supplies, as officials assisting the movements of the army, -and as officers and soldiers in the line. In most of the colonies the -Jews were then still barred from elective office by clauses in the -charters and restrictive laws; but this did not prevent them from -participating in the work of liberating the country, while on the other -hand there was no desire manifested to exclude them from doing their -patriotic duty, from which they were excluded in the middle of the -preceding century by the less liberal burghers of New Netherlands. - -The names of more than forty Jews who served in the continental armies -of the Revolution have been preserved, and most of the data about them -is to be found in Mr. Simon Wolf’s valuable work.[15] As they almost -all belonged to the wealthier class, it is but natural that the number -of officers is disproportionately large in this small band. Four of -them reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, three became Majors, and -there were at least half a dozen Captains. Nor were these the first -Jews to bear arms or to hold military rank in the colonies. As early -as 1754, during the French and Indian War, Isaac Meyers, a Jewish -citizen of New York, called a town meeting at the “Rising Sun” Inn -and organized a company of bateau men of which he became the captain. -Two other Jews are named as taking part in the same war. Both of them -served in the expedition across the Allegheny Mountains in the year -above named. - -Two members of the Franks family served creditably in the Continental -army, while a third (they were probably cousins) became known through -his sympathy for England. David Salisbury Franks, who is described as a -“young English merchant,” settled in Montreal, Canada, in 1774, and was -active both in business and in the affairs of the Jewish community. On -May 3, 1775, he was arrested for speaking disrespectfully of the king, -but was discharged six days later. In 1776 General Wooster appointed -him paymaster to the American garrison at Montreal, and when the army -retreated from Canada he enlisted as a volunteer and later joined a -Massachusetts regiment. In 1778 he was ordered to serve under Count -d’Estaing, then commanding the sea forces of the United States; upon -the failure of the expedition he went to Philadelphia, becoming a -member of General Benedict Arnold’s military family. In 1779 he went -as a volunteer to Charlestown, serving as aide-de-camp to General -Lincoln, and was later recalled to attend the trial of General Arnold -for improper conduct while in command of Philadelphia, in which trial -Franks was himself implicated. He was aide-de-camp to Arnold at the -time of the latter’s treason, in September, 1780; on October 2 he was -arrested, but when the case was tried the next day he was honorably -acquitted. Not satisfied with this, Franks wrote to General Washington -asking for a court of inquiry; on November 2, 1780, the court met -at West Point and completely exonerated him. In 1781 he was sent by -Robert Morris to Europe as bearer of dispatches to Jay in Madrid and -to Franklin in Paris. On his return Congress reinstated him into the -army with the rank of Major. On January 15, 1784, Congress resolved -“that a triplicate of the definitive treaty [of peace] be sent out -to the ministers plenipotentiary by Lieut.-Col. David S. Franks” and -he again left for Europe. The next year he was appointed Vice-Consul -at Marseilles; in 1786 he served in a confidential capacity in the -negotiations connected with the treaty of peace and commerce made with -Morocco, and on his return to New York in 1787 brought the treaty with -him. On January 28, 1789, he was granted four hundred acres of land in -recognition of his services during the Revolutionary War. - -His relative, Isaac Franks (b. in New York, 1759; d. in Philadelphia, -1822), was only seventeen years old when he enlisted in Colonel -Lesher’s regiment, New York Volunteers, and served with it in -the battle of Long Island. On September 15 of the same year he -was taken prisoner at the capture of New York, but effected his -escape after three months’ detention. In 1777 he was appointed to -the quartermaster’s department, and in January, 1778, he was made -foragemaster, being stationed at West Point until February 22, 1781, -when he was appointed by Congress ensign in the Seventh Massachusetts -Regiment. He continued in that capacity until July, 1782, when he -resigned on account of ill-health. He settled in Philadelphia, where he -later held various civil offices, and was in 1794 appointed by Governor -Mifflin Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second Regiment of Philadelphia -County Brigade of the Militia of the Commonwealth. It was at his house -at Germantown (now No. 5442 Main Street) that President Washington -resided during the prevalence of yellow fever in 1793, when the seat -of government was removed to that suburb of Philadelphia. His portrait, -painted by his friend, Gilbert Stewart, is now in the Gibson collection -of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. - - Illustration: Col. Isaac Franks. - -The third and loyalist member of the family, David Franks (b. in -New York, 1720; d. in Philadelphia, 1793), son of Jacob Franks, -settled in Philadelphia early in life, and was elected a member of -the provincial Assembly in 1748. He supplied the army with provisions -during the French and Indian War, and in 1755 he assisted to raise a -fund for the defense of the colony. On November 7, 1765, he signed the -Non-Importation Resolution; his name is also appended to an agreement -to take the King’s paper money in lieu of gold and silver. During the -Revolution he was an intermediary in the exchange of prisoners, as well -as “an agent to the contractors for victualing the troops of the King -of Great Britain.” He was twice imprisoned by the Colonial Government -as an enemy to the American cause, and after his second release, in -1780, he left for England. He returned in 1783 and lived the last ten -years of his life in Philadelphia. - -Solomon Bush, a native of Philadelphia, the son of Matthias Bush, -was an officer in the Pennsylvania militia for ten years. In 1777 -he was appointed by the Supreme Council of Pennsylvania Deputy -Adjutant-General of the State militia. In September of that year -he was dangerously wounded during a skirmish and had to be taken to -Philadelphia. When the British captured the city in December, 1777, -he was taken prisoner, but released on parole. In 1779 he was promoted -to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and was pensioned in 1785. - -A Colonel Isaacs of the North Carolina militia is mentioned as “wounded -and taken prisoner at Camden, August 16, 1780; exchanged July, 1781.” -(Wolf, _l. c._, p. 49.) - -Lewis Bush became First Lieutenant of the Sixth Pennsylvania Battalion -on January 9, 1776, and Captain on June 24 of the same year. He was -transferred to Colonel Thomas Hartley’s additional Continental Regiment -in January, 1777, and was commissioned Major March 12, 1777. He -participated in a number of battles, and at the battle of Brandywine, -on September 11, 1777, he received wounds from which he died four days -later. - -Benjamin Nones (d. 1826), a native of Bordeaux, France, emigrated -to Philadelphia in 1777, and at once took up arms on behalf of the -colonies. He served as a volunteer in Captain Verdier’s regiment under -Count Pulaski during the siege of Savannah, and on September 15, 1779, -received a certificate for gallant conduct on the field of battle. He -attained the rank of Major, and it is stated that he was with General -De Kalb at the battle of Camden, S. C., on August 16, 1780. - -Jacob de Leon and Jacob de la Motta were captains under de Kalb; -Captain Noah Abraham was called out with the battalion of Cumberland -County militia of Pennsylvania, July 28, 1777. Aaron Benjamin (d. 1829), -who started as an ensign in the Eighth Connecticut Regiment January 1, -1777, rose three years later to the rank of Regimental Adjutant. Manuel -Mordecai Noah (1747–1825) served under General Marion; Isaac Israel -rose to the rank of Captain in the Eighth Virginia Regiment in 1777, -and Nathaniel Levy, of Baltimore, is mentioned as having served under -Lafayette. There is a record of a certificate issued by the New York -Committee of Safety, in January, 1776, which read as follows: “Hart -Jacobs, of the Jewish religion, having signified to this committee that -it is inconsistent with his religious profession to perform military -duty on Friday nights, being part of the Jewish Sabbath, it is ordered -that he be exempted from military duty on that night of the week....” -(See “Publications,” XI, p. 163.) - -Three, and probably four, brothers of the old Pinto family who resided -in Connecticut, took an active part in the Revolution. Abraham Pinto -was a member of Company X, Seventh Regiment, of that State, in 1775; -William Pinto (of whom it ♦is not certain that he was a brother) -appears as a volunteer in 1779 and 1781. Jacob Pinto, who was in New -Haven as early as 1759, appears to have been a member of a political -committee in that city in 1775, and his name is found among those of -other influential citizens of the place in a petition to the Council -of Safety for the removal of certain Tories in 1776. Solomon Pinto -served as an officer of the Connecticut line throughout the war, and -was wounded in the British attack on New Haven July 5 and 6, 1779. He -was one of the original members, in his State, of the Society of the -Cincinnati, which at the beginning included only meritorious officers -of the Revolutionary army. - -Mordecai Sheftal (b. at Savannah, Ga., 1735; d. there 1797), who was -one of the first white children born in Savannah, being the son of -Benjamin Sheftal, who came there in 1733, was the chairman of the -Revolutionary Parochial Committee of his native city. In 1777 he was -appointed Commissary-General to the troops of Georgia, and in October -of the following year he became Deputy Commissary of Issues in South -Carolina and Georgia. His imprisonment after Savannah was taken by -the British attracted much attention and the description of it forms -an interesting part of the local history of that period. In 1782 -Sheftal appeared in Philadelphia, which was then the haven for ♦patriot -refugees, as one of the founders of the Mickweh Israel congregation. In -the following year, in common with other officers, he received a grant -of land in what was called “The Georgia Continental Establishment” as -a reward for services during the war. He subsequently figures as one -of the incorporators of the Union Society (1786), which is still one of -Savannah’s representative organizations; and his name is also closely -associated with the early history of Freemasonry in the United States. - -Sheftal and the above-named Manuel Mordecai Noah, besides their active -service in the army, also contributed large sums to the cause of the -Revolution. Other Jews advanced considerable sums, some of them almost -beyond their means. The list of those who rendered valuable and timely -assistance includes Benjamin Levy, Hyman Levy, Samuel Lyons, Isaac -Moses and Benjamin Jacobs. - -There was one, however, who gave more than all of them together, who -gave away practically all he possessed, and neither he nor his rightful -heirs ever recovered the large debts which the new nation owed to him. -This man was Haym Salomon (b. in Lissa, Poland, now a part of Prussia, -in 1740; d. in Philadelphia, Jan. 6, 1785). He probably traveled -extensively before coming to America, because he could speak German, -French and Italian, besides Polish and Russian, an accomplishment which -could hardly have been acquired by a Jew in Poland in that period. -He settled in New York, and there married Rachel, a daughter of Moses -B. Franks (a brother of Jacob Franks). He was arrested by the British -as an American spy soon after they occupied New York in September, -1776, and was kept in confinement for a considerable period. When his -linguistic proficiency became known he was turned over to the Hessian -General, Heister, who gave him an appointment in the commissariat -department. He used the greater liberty which was now accorded him to -be of service to the French and American prisoners, and to assist a -number of them to effect their escape. On August 11, 1778, he escaped -from New York and settled in Philadelphia. He soon became a prominent -exchange broker, and did considerable business with Robert Morris -(1734–1806), the financier of the American Revolution,[16] who was -Superintendent of Finance for the colonies in 1781–84. He also became -broker to the French consul and the treasurer of the French army which -came to assist Washington, and fiscal agent to the French minister to -the United States, Chevalier de la Luzerne. In these capacities large -sums passed through his hands and he became the principal individual -depositor of the Bank of North America, which was founded by Morris. -The latter, who kept a diary, mentions in it nearly seventy-five -separate transactions in which Salomon’s name figures in the -negotiations of bills of exchange, by which means the credit of the -government was maintained in this period; Salomon practically being -the sole agent employed by Morris for this purpose. Most of the money -advanced by Louis XVI. to the cause of the Revolution and the proceeds -of the loans negotiated in Holland passed through his hands. - -He advanced aid to numerous prominent men of this period. James Madison, -in a letter (Aug. 27, 1782) urging the forwarding of remittances from -his State which he represented in Philadelphia, wrote: “I have for some -time been a pensioner on the favor of Haym Salomon, a Jew broker.” On -September 30 of the same year he writes: “The kindness of our little -friend in Front Street, near the coffee house, is a fund which will -preserve me from extremities, but I never resort to it without great -mortification, as he obstinately rejects all recompense. The price of -money is so usurious that he thinks it ought to be extorted from none -but those who aim at profitable speculation. To a necessitous delegate -he gratuitously spares a supply out of his private stock.” James -Wilson (1742–98), another famous delegate to the Continental Congress, -who sometimes acted as Salomon’s attorney, relates that without his -client’s aid, “administered with equal generosity and delicacy” he -would have been forced to retire from the public service. - -Haym Salomon died suddenly, at the age of forty-five, leaving a widow -and two infant children, named Ezekiel and Haym M. The inventory of his -estate showed that he had lent to the government more than $350,000, -but although these certificates of indebtedness were almost all that -was left of his wealth, they were never paid, and all efforts of his -heirs in later times to recover from Congress payment on these claims, -or even to obtain a token of recognition for his great services, have -thus far proved unsuccessful. - -Salomon also took an active part in Jewish communal affairs in -Philadelphia and was one of the original members of the Congregation -Mickweh Israel. In 1784 he was treasurer of what was probably the first -Jewish charitable organization in that city. - -His son, ♦Haym M. Salomon, lived in New York and was a dealer in powder -and shot, occupying a store in Front Street in the time of the great -fire of 1835. William Salomon (b. in Mobile, Ala., Oct. 9, 1852) of -New York is a great-grandson of ♦Haym Salomon. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE DECLINE OF NEWPORT; WASHINGTON AND THE JEWS. - - - England’s special enmity to Newport caused the dispersion of its - Jewish congregation――The General Assembly of Rhode Island meets - in the historic Newport Synagogue――Moses Seixas’ address to - Washington on behalf of the Jews of Newport and the latter’s - reply――Washington’s letters to the Hebrew Congregations of - Savannah, Ga., and to the congregations of Philadelphia, New - York, Richmond and Charleston. - -The breaking out of the Revolution put an end to the commercial -prosperity of Newport. Its situation upon the ocean, which made it -before so favorable for commerce, had now an opposite effect, and left -it more exposed to attacks from the enemy than any other place of equal -importance, in North America. Its inhabitants had especially provoked -the hostility of the mother country, as it was one of the first places -to manifest a spirit of resistance to the British Government by burning -an armed vessel of war that came to exact an odious tax. It could -expect no mercy and received none, when 8,000 British and Hessian -troops occupied it in 1776. Four hundred and eighty houses were -destroyed, its commerce was ruined and its commercial interests never -recovered from this blow, which fell with crushing effect upon the -Jewish residents. - -The congregation was dispersed, the Synagogue was closed, and Rabbi -Isaac Touro went with his family to Jamaica, where he remained until -his death in 1782. Aaron Lopez, who was a heavy sufferer, accompanied -by a majority of the foremost Jews of Newport, removed to Leicester, -Mass., and their stay in that town had a favorable effect on its -development. Others went to Philadelphia and other places. When Newport -was evacuated, in 1779, after the enemy destroyed its wharves and -fortifications and carried off its library and records, some of the -exiles began to return. When the General Assembly of the State of Rhode -Island convened for the first time after the evacuation, it met in -the historic Synagogue (Sept., 1780). Aaron Lopez was one of a number -of the Leicester colony who set out for their former home, but he was -drowned on the way, and his body was later recovered and buried in the -old cemetery. - -But those who returned did not remain long. New York had become the -great commercial center after the Revolution, and the important Newport -merchants left one by one for that city; others went to Philadelphia, -Charleston or Savannah. The congregation was, however, still in -existence when President Washington visited Newport in August, 1790, -and he was on that occasion formally addressed by Moses Seixas on -behalf of the Jews of Newport as follows: - - Sir:――Permit the children of the stock of Abraham to approach - you with the most cordial affection and esteem for your person - and merit, and to join with our fellow-citizens in welcoming you - to Newport. - - With pleasure we reflect on those days of difficulty and danger - when the God of Israel, who delivered David from the peril - of the sword, shielded your head in the day of battle, and we - rejoice to think that the same spirit which rested in the bosom - of the greatly beloved Daniel, enabling him to preside over the - provinces of the Babylonian Empire, rests and ever will rest - upon you, enabling you to discharge the arduous duties of Chief - Magistrate of these States. - - Deprived, as we have hitherto been, of invaluable rights of - free citizens, we now――with a deep sense of gratitude to the - Almighty Disposer of all events――behold a government erected by - the majesty of the people, a government which gives no sanction - to bigotry and no assistance to persecution, but generously - affording to all liberty of conscience and immunities of - citizenship, deeming every one, of whatever nation, tongue or - language, equal parts of the great governmental machine. This so - ample and extensive Federal Union, whose base is philanthropy, - mutual confidence and public virtue, we cannot but acknowledge - to be the work of the great God, who rules the armies of the - heavens and among the inhabitants of the earth, doing whatever - deemeth to Him good. - - For all the blessings of civil and religious liberty which we - enjoy under an equal and benign administration, we desire to - send up thanks to the Ancient of days, the great Preserver of - men, beseeching Him that the angel who conducted our forefathers - through the wilderness into the promised land may graciously - conduct you through all the difficulties and dangers of this - mortal life; and when, like Joshua, full of days and of honors, - you are gathered to your fathers, may you be admitted into the - heavenly paradise to partake of the water of life and the tree - of immortality. - -To this letter, which bears unmistakable traces of having been -originally composed in Rabbinical Hebrew, the Father of His Country -replied as follows: - - TO THE HEBREW CONGREGATION OF NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND. - - Gentlemen:――While I have received with much satisfaction your - address, replete with expressions of esteem, I rejoice in - the opportunity of assuring you that I shall always retain a - grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced in - my visit to Newport from all classes of citizens. - - The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger, which are - passed, is rendered the more sweet from the consciousness that - they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security. - If we have the wisdom to make the best use of the advantage - with which we are now favored, we cannot fail under the just - administration of a good government to become a great and happy - people. - - The citizens of the United States of America have the right to - applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an - enlarged and liberal policy worthy of imitation. All possess - alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. - It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were - by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed - the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for happily - the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no - sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they - who live under its protection should demean themselves as good - citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support. - - It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character - not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion - of my administration and fervent wishes of my felicity. - May the children of the stock of Abraham, who dwell in this - land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other - inhabitants, while everyone shall sit in safety under his own - vine and fig-tree and there shall be none to make him afraid. - May the Father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in - our paths and make us all in our several vocations useful here - and, in His own due time and way, everlastingly happy.[17] - - G. WASHINGTON. - -In the year following this correspondence the Synagogue was closed for -lack of attendance, and it was not reopened for nearly a century. The -above-named Moses Seixas, who for many years was cashier of the Bank of -Rhode Island, was one of the last Jews in Newport of that period. Moses -Lopez, the nephew of Aaron, is reputed to have been the last one who -remained there, and ultimately he, too, left for New York, where he -died in 1830. Sentiment caused the descendants of many of the original -families to direct that their remains should be buried in the old -cemetery, where tombstones show interments during the entire period -down to 1855. Abraham Touro (d. in Boston, 1822), the son of Rabbi -Isaac Touro, bequeathed a fund for perpetually keeping the Synagogue -in repair, and also made provisions for the care of the burial ground. -His brother Judah Touro of New Orleans replaced the old cemetery wall -with a massive one of stone, with an imposing granite gateway (1843); -and, at his own request, he himself was buried there. The street on -which the Synagogue is situated is known as Touro Street. The city -also possesses a park known as Touro Park. Though the Touro fund -provided for the support of the minister also, the Synagogue remained -closed until 1883, when the Rev. A. P. Mendes, on appointment by -the Congregation Shearith Israel of New York (which became the legal -proprietor of both Synagogue and cemetery of Newport), became minister -and conducted services until his death in 1891. - - * * * * * - -There are extant two other letters written by George Washington to -Jewish communities which felicitated him upon his advancement to the -presidency. One is in reply to an address signed by Levi Sheftal as -president, in behalf of the Hebrew Congregations of Savannah, and is -as follows: - - TO THE HEBREW CONGREGATIONS OF THE CITY OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. - - Gentlemen:――I thank you with great sincerity for your - congratulation on my appointment to the office which I have the - honor to hold by the unanimous choice of my fellow-citizens, and - especially the expressions you are pleased to use in testifying - the confidence that is reposed in me by your congregations. - - As the delay which has naturally intervened between my election - and your address has afforded me an opportunity for appreciating - the merits of the Federal Government and for communicating - your sentiments of its administration, I have rather to express - my satisfaction rather than regret at a circumstance which - demonstrates (upon experiment) your attachment to the former as - well as approbation of the latter. - - I rejoice that a spirit of liberality and philanthropy is - much more prevalent than it formerly was among the enlightened - nations of the earth, and that your brethren will benefit - thereby in proportion as it shall become still more extensive; - happily the people of the United States have in many instances - exhibited examples worthy of imitation, the salutary influence - of which will doubtless extend much further if gratefully - enjoying those blessings of peace which (under the favor of - heaven) have been attained by fortitude in war, they shall - conduct themselves with reverence to the Deity and charity - towards their fellow-creatures. - - May the same wonder-working Deity, who long since delivered - the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, planted them - in a promised land, _whose providential agency has lately - been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an - independent nation_, still continue to water them with the - dews of heaven and make the inhabitants of every denomination - participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that - people whose God is Jehovah. - - G. WASHINGTON. - -The third address was from the Hebrew Congregations in the cities of -Philadelphia, New York, Richmond and Charleston, dated December 13, -1790, and signed on their behalf by Manuel Josephson, to which the -President returned the following: - - Gentlemen:――The liberality of sentiment towards each other, - which marks every political and religious denomination of men - in this country, stands unparalleled in the history of nations. - - The affection of such a people is a treasure beyond the reach - of calculation, and the repeated proofs which my fellow-citizens - have given of their attachment to me and approbation of my - doings form the purest sources of my temporal felicity. - - The affectionate expressions of your address again excite my - gratitude and receive my warmest acknowledgment. - - The power and goodness of the Almighty, so strongly manifested - in the events of our late glorious revolution, and His kind - interposition in our behalf, have been no less visible in - the establishment of our present equal government. In war He - directed the sword, and in peace He has ruled in our councils. - My agency in both has been guided by the best intentions and a - sense of duty I owe to my country. - - And as my intentions have hitherto been amply rewarded by the - approbation of my fellow-citizens, I shall endeavor to deserve a - continuance of it by my future conduct. - - May the same temporal and eternal blessing which you implore for - me rest upon your congregations. - - G. WASHINGTON. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - OTHER COMMUNITIES IN THE FIRST PERIODS OF INDEPENDENCE. - - - Rabbi Gershom Mendez Seixas――Growth of the Jewish community - of Philadelphia on account of the War――Protest against the - religious test clause in the Constitution of Pennsylvania―― - Benjamin Franklin contributes five pounds to Mickweh Israel―― - Secession of the German-Polish element――New Societies――Jewish - lawyers; Judge Moses Levy――Congressman H. M. Phillips――The - Bush family of Delaware――New Jersey and New Hampshire――North - Carolina: the Mordecai family and other early settlers. - -While the Jewish community of New York was not entirely dispersed, like -that of Newport, by the outbreak of the Revolution, a great majority -resolved to leave the city before it was occupied by the British -(Sept. 15, 1776). The patriotic minister of the Congregation Shearit -Israel, Rabbi Gershom Mendez Seixas (b. in New York, 1745; d. there -July 2, 1816), who was the spiritual head of the community since 1766, -early espoused the cause of the colonies, and it was mostly due to his -influence that the congregation closed the door of its Synagogue on the -approach of the British. Most of those who left went to Philadelphia; -Rabbi Seixas himself first went to Stratford, Conn., where he remained -about four years, and where several of his former congregants joined -him. In 1780 he, too, went to Philadelphia, but returned to New York -after the war (March, 1784), when the Synagogue was reopened and -he resumed his former position. He later (1787) became a trustee of -Columbia College, and was one of its incorporators whose name appeared -on the charter. - -There was, however, notwithstanding the statement of Dr. Benjamin Rush -that “the Jews in all the States are Whigs,” a sprinkling of Tories -in New York Jewry, who remained at home, and some of them occasionally -held services in the Synagogue during the British occupation, under -the presidency of Lyon Jonas, and subsequently of Alexander Zuntz, -a Hessian officer, who settled in New York. On the reorganization of -the congregation at the close of the Revolution, Hyman Levy succeeded -Zuntz as president, and the congregation presented an address of -congratulation to Governor Clinton on the outcome of the war. Rabbi -Seixas was one of the fourteen ministers who participated in the -inauguration of Washington as President, in New York, on April 30, -1789. A list of the residents of New York in 1799 whose residences -were assessed at £2,000 or over includes the names of Benjamin Seixas, -Solomon Sampson, Alexander Zuntz and Ephraim Hart. - -The community was still small――not quite half as large as that of -Newport in the preceding period; there were only about 500 Jews in New -York at the commencement of the War of 1812. But it was slowly growing -and several of the first communal institutions date from that time. A -Hebrah Gemilut Hasodim, for the burying of the dead, was organized in -1785; the Polonies Talmud Torah was founded in 1802, with a fund which -Myer Polonies bequeathed to the congregation for that purpose in the -preceding year. The Hebrah Hesed we-Emet was organized in the same year. - -The Jewish community which gained most in the time of the war was -that of Philadelphia. The little building in Sterling Alley, where the -Congregation Mickweh Israel prayed at that time, soon became too small, -and a three-story brick house, in Cherry Alley, between Third and -Fourth Streets, was hired. But even the new place was soon too small, -and a plain building was constructed on a lot in Cherry Street, west -of Third Street, which was bought for the purpose. It was dedicated -on September 13, 1782, by Rabbi Seixas. A list of the members of the -congregation at that time contains 102 names[18] and the percentage -of Ashkenazic (German and Polish) names is much larger than in similar -lists of earlier dates. - -A year after the Synagogue was built the Jews of Philadelphia for the -first time appeared as an organized body in any public proceeding. -On the 23d of December, 1783, the minister, Gershom Mendez Seixas; -the parnass, Simon Nathan; and Asher Myers, Barnard Gratz and Haym -Salomon, as members of the _Mahamad_ or Board of Trustees, in behalf of -themselves and brethren, addressed the Council of Censors in relation -to the declaration required to be made by each member of the Assembly, -which affirmed that “the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments -were given by Divine inspiration,” and also in relation to that part of -the Constitution which declared that “no other test should be required -of any other civil magistrate in that State.” They represented that the -provisions deprived them of the right of ever becoming representatives. -They did not covet office, they said, but they thought the provision -improper, and an injustice to the members of a persuasion that had -always been attached to the American cause. This memorial appeared -to have had no immediate effect; but it doubtless had its influence -in procuring the ultimate modification of the test clause in the -Constitution of Pennsylvania. - -Rabbi Seixas was succeeded in Philadelphia by the Rev. Jacob Raphael -Cohen (d. Sept., 1811), who was formerly a reader or hazzan in Montreal, -Canada, and New York. The congregation was weakened by the departure -of a considerable number of members after the war, and probably -also by the death of Haym Salomon, who was one of its most generous -contributors, and found itself in financial difficulties about the year -1788. After an application to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania for -permission to set up a lottery to pay the amount due on the Synagogue -building was not granted, the congregation issued a general appeal to -citizens of all sects. Among the non-Jews who sent in contributions in -response to this appeal was the great Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) and -the astronomer, David Rittenhouse (1732–96), the former contributing -five pounds and the latter two. - -In April, 1790, the Legislature passed an act to allow the Hebrew -Congregation to raise eight hundred pounds sterling by a lottery. The -managers were: Manuel Josephson, Solomon Lyon, Solomon Hays, Solomon -Etting, William Wistar and John Duffield. The last two were not Jews, -but were placed among the trustees probably to give the project some -influence with members of other denominations. - -The inevitable secession of the Ashkenazic element took place in 1802, -when the “Hebrew-German Society Rodef Shalom,” one of the earliest -German-Jewish congregations in America was formed. It was reorganized -and chartered in 1812. Among its earliest rabbis were Wolf Benjamin, -Jacob Lipman, Bernhard Illowy, Henry Vidaver, Moses Sulzbacher and -Moses Rau. - -A Society for the Visitation of the Sick and for Mutual Assistance was -organized in October, 1813, with Jacob Cohen as its first president. -In 1819 several ladies organized the still existing Female Hebrew -Benevolent Society, of which Miss Rebecca Gratz (1781–1869), who was -reputed to be the prototype of Rebecca in Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe,” -was the first secretary. Several other benevolent and educational -societies date their origin from the first half of the Nineteenth -Century, and have helped to give the Jewish community of Philadelphia -that substantiality and compactness of organization which is missing in -other large cities of the United States. - -At the same time progress was being made in other directions, too. The -aptitude of the Jew for the legal profession could not be displayed and -utilized as early as his well known medical skill, which he exercised -even in the dark ages. But as soon as the opportunity of emancipation -was offered, good jurists appeared and soon occupied a prominent place -at the bar and also on the bench. The earliest Jewish practitioner -in Pennsylvania, of whom there is a record, was Moses Levy (d. May 9, -1826), whose admission to the bar dates as far back as 1778, and who -a year later was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of that -State. He held various offices and finally became Presiding Judge -of the District Court of the City and County of Philadelphia (1822), -after having served twenty years as Recorder. At least three other Jews -were admitted to the practice of law in Philadelphia in the eighteenth -century; Samson Levy (d. 1831) in 1787, Daniel Levy of Northumberland -county (d. 1844) in 1791, and Zalegman Phillips (1779–1839) in -1799. About a dozen more were admitted during the first half of the -nineteenth century, among them being the latter’s son, Henry Mayer -Phillips, who was admitted in 1832, and was, twenty-four years later, -elected to represent the fourth district of Pennsylvania in the 35th -Congress. (See Henry S. Morais, _The Jews of Philadelphia_, index.) - - * * * * * - -The number of Jews in the remainder of the thirteen original colonies -was at that time very small and they were mostly scattered. While there -are, for instance, records of Jews who lived or traded in Delaware -as early as 1655, there was no Jewish community in that State until -about two centuries later. But there was at least one Jewish family in -Wilmington, Del., immediately after the Revolution, several members of -which participated in that struggle. David Bush joined the Washington -Lodge of Freemasons of Wilmington on December 16, 1784.[19] He was its -Senior Warden in 1789, its Treasurer in 1791 and again Senior Warden in -1795. He was the father of Major Lewis Bush, who has been mentioned in -a former chapter (page 90), and of three other sons, two of whom also -held offices in the same lodge in the last decade of the eighteenth -century. Joseph Capelle (Carpelles?) was Master of the lodge in 1792. - -The colony of New Jersey, whose Indians, according to a description -by William Penn, closely resembled Jews, had very few real Israelites -in Colonial times, despite its proximity to New York on one side and -to Pennsylvania on the other. In the test established in West Jersey -for office-holders in 1693, the candidate had to declare on oath or -affirmation that he “professes faith in God the father, and Jesus -Christ his eternal son....” In the East Jersey Bill of Rights was -inserted the provision “that no person or persons that profess faith -in God, by Jesus Christ his only son, shall at any time be any way -molested.... Provided this shall not be extended to any of the Romish -religion.” But, as it is justly observed by Mr. Friedenberg (see -“Publications,” XVII, p. 36), these provisions were not at all aimed -against the Jews, of whom there were hardly any in the colony at -that time, but against heathens, atheists, infidels and Catholics, -especially against the latter. No Jews were naturalized in New Jersey -before the Revolution. David Hays is known to have resided on a -plantation in Griggs Town, Somerset County, in 1744, when he offered -it for sale; and Myers Levy, a Dutch Jew, is reported to have absconded -from Spottsville, in East New Jersey, in 1760, leaving many debts -behind. Another Jew, Nathan Levy, a shop keeper of Philipsburg, Sussex -County, West Jersey, is mentioned many years later. There was only, as -far as it is known, one Jew in the New Jersey troops of the Continental -Army: Asher Levy or Lewis, a grandson of the well-known Asser Levy -of New Amsterdam. He was commissioned ensign in the first regiment, -September 12, 1778. “The New Jersey Journal” was established by David -Franks at Camden in 1778 and existed about four years. - -The first families with Jewish names which are mentioned in the records -of New Hampshire, were the Moses and the Abrams family “descendants -of Jewish Christians.” The Abrams family, according to tradition, is -descended from two brothers who came from Palestine to New England at -an unknown date, their names being William Abrams, who was a ship’s -carpenter and fell into the sea and was drowned, and John, the other -brother, who settled at Amesbury, Mass. (“Publications,” XI, p. 79). -In the list of grants to settlers on the road, between Wolfsborough and -Leavits Town (Ossipee), issued in 1770, on condition that each settler -had to give a bond for £30 that a house would be erected by him within -a year, grant No. 11 was made to Joseph Levy. In 1777 mention is made -of William Levi, of Somersworth, as a private in the 2d New Hampshire -Continental Regiment. Abraham Isaac settled in Portsmouth about the -close of the Revolution and was active in Masonic affairs. A local -historian writes of him that “he and his wife were natives of Prussia -and Jews of the strictest sect. They were the first descendants of -the venerable Patriarchs that ever pitched their tents in Portsmouth, -and during their lives were the only Jews among us. He acquired a -good property and built a house on State street. Their shop was always -closed on Saturday.” Mr. Isaac died February 15, 1803, and on the stone -which marks his grave in the North Burying Ground is an epitaph written -by the poet J. M. Sewall, author of the popular revolutionary song -“Vain Britons Boast No Longer.” - -It has already been mentioned in a former chapter (page 86) that -there were hardly any Jews in North Carolina at the time when its -representatives voted at the Constitutional Convention against the -abolition of religious tests. The provision of its State Constitution -of 1776, which read “That no person who shall deny the being of God or -the truth of the Protestant religion ... shall be capable of holding -any office or place of trust or profit in the Civil Department within -the State” was doubtless aimed primarily at Roman Catholics, though -it necessarily included Jews, Quakers, Mohamedans, etc. Jews did not -become directly interested in the struggle for religious liberty in -that State until the first decade in the Nineteenth Century, and the -description of it will be found in the following chapter. The annals -of Freemasonry, which usually disclose the earliest Jewish settlers in -various localities in the eighteenth century, do not contain any Jewish -names in the lodges of that fraternity until its very close. Jacob -Mordecai (b. in Philadelphia, 1762; d. in Richmond, 1838), the son of -Moses Mordecai (b. in Bonn, Germany, 1707; d. in Philadelphia, 1781), -was Master of Johnston Caswell Lodge No. 10, of Warrenton, N. C., in -1797, 1798 and 1799. He was the founder and proprietor of a female -seminary in that city which enjoyed a good reputation. One of his sons, -Major Alfred Mordecai (1804–87), was probably the first Jewish graduate -of the United States Military Academy of West Point.[20] Zachariah Hart -(also spelled Harte) was a member of David Glasgow Lodge, in Glasgow -County, in 1798 and 1799. Abraham Isaacs was Senior Warden of St. -Tammany Lodge No. 30, of Wilmington, in 1798. Aaron Lazarus (1777–1841), -who is mentioned as one of the first Hebrews to reach Wilmington and -later became one of the first directors of the Wilmington & Weldon -Railroad Company, was a member of the same lodge in 1803. There were -about half a dozen other Jewish Masons in the lodges of Wilmington, -Newbern and of Beaufort County about that time. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - THE QUESTION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN VIRGINIA - AND IN NORTH CAROLINA. - - - Little change in the basic systems of State institutions――Patrick - Henry, Madison and Jefferson on religious liberty in Virginia―― - The similarity between the Virginia statute and the conclusions - of Moses Mendelssohn pointed out by Count Mirabeau――The first - congregation of Richmond――Article 32 of the Constitution of - North Carolina against Catholics, Jews, etc.――How Jacob Henry, - a Jewish member of the Legislature, defended and retained - his seat in 1809――Judge Gaston’s interpretation――The first - congregation of Wilmington, N. C.――Final emancipation in 1868. - -The provision in Article VI of the Constitution of the United States -(§3) that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification -to any office or public trust under the United States” settled the -matter only as far as the National Government was concerned. Each -of the independent and sovereign States could solve this problem in -its own way, though most of them have already adopted full religious -freedom. But it must be remembered that the basic institutions of the -States were not directly changed by the Revolution, and in some of -them they were not changed at all. In some instances Royal Charters -remained, with some alterations, as State Constitutions; English common -law remained in force even to this day, unless otherwise provided for -by special enactment. The colonies were too free originally to require -or desire a sudden radical change when they threw off the British yoke. -They kept on progressing by the slow process of evolution, but not at -an equal pace, each emphasizing the questions in which its inhabitants -were mostly interested. Uniform or simultaneous action was not to be -expected under such conditions. - -Virginia, the State of Washington and of Jefferson, the “mother of -presidents” and the home of the framers of the National Constitution, -began to consider the question of religious liberty seriously soon -after peace was declared. It was not a new question even then, for -as early as 1776, when a new Constitution for the Commonwealth was -drafted, there occurred a significant discussion about the difference -between toleration and rights. The Declaration of Rights, reported by -a committee of which Colonel Mason was chairman, contained a provision -relative to religious liberty whose authorship is attributed to Patrick -Henry (1736–99). It provided that all men should enjoy the fullest -toleration in the exercise of religion. Madison strongly opposed the -use of the word toleration, which recognized liberty of worship not -as a right but as a favor granted to dissenting denominations. At -his instance the provision was amended to read: “All men are equally -entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates -of conscience.” - -But even this was still far from actual separation of Church and State -in Virginia. Even the annual assessments, which had been theretofore -levied in favor of the Episcopal Church, were not abolished outright, -they were simply suspended from year to year, until, at Jefferson’s -instance, the grant was defeated in 1779. In that year he introduced -a measure entitled “A bill for establishing religious freedom,” which, -after two readings, was sent throughout the State to secure the sense -of the people relative to it before taking final action at the next -legislature. It was permitted to languish unacted upon for several -years, and during that time an agitation was kept up against the spirit -which it embodied. Various measures were suggested, about 1784, looking -to establish Christianity in Virginia instead of any single Christian -sect, as before the Revolution, and for securing governmental support -to all Christian sects. The theory of the advocates of such measures -was, that while there should be no actual persecution of non-Christian -sects, the State ought to establish Christianity as the religion of -the great majority of the people, and that the Revolution had evolved -merely the principle that no single Christian sect should be preferred -over any other. On November 11, 1784, a resolution drafted by Patrick -Henry was reported to the Lower House of the Legislature, providing -that “the people of the Commonwealth, according to their respective -abilities, ought to pay a moderate tax or contribution for the support -of the Christian religion, or of some Christian church denomination -or communion....” In spite of Madison’s opposition, it was adopted by -a vote of 47 to 32, and a special committee, of which Mr. Henry was -chairman, was appointed to draft such a bill.[21] - -It was clearly understood that this measure was intended to curtail the -rights of Jewish and other non-Christian residents. Beverly Randolph, -writing about this subject to James Monroe, says: “The only great point -that has been discussed since the sitting of the Assembly has been -a motion for a general assessment, upon more contracted ground than -I could ever have expected. The generals on the opposite sides were -Henry and Madison. The former advocated, with his usual art, the -establishment of the Christian religion in exclusion of all other -Denominations. By this I mean that Turks, Jews and Infidels were -to contribute to the support of a religion whose truth they did not -acknowledge. Madison displayed great learning and ingenuity, with all -the powers of a close reasoner; but was unsuccessful in the event, -having a majority against him. I am, however, inclined to think that -the measure will not be adopted.... The supporters of this holy system -will certainly split whenever they come to enter upon the minute -arrangements of the business.” - -“A bill establishing a provision for teachers of the Christian -religion” was brought in December 23, 1784, and after it was amended, -but without materially changing its substance, it passed its second -reading. But on the next day (December 24) Madison was able to secure -the passage of a resolution postponing the third reading till the -following November, and copies of the bill were ordered to be printed -and distributed in every county of the Commonwealth. The people were -requested to signify their opinion respecting the adoption of such a -measure to the next session of the legislature. An active and thorough -discussion of the bill followed throughout the State. Madison prepared -a “Memorial and Remonstrance” against the bill, which was extensively -circulated and signed. - -Madison made no mistake in suggesting this appeal to the people. When -the Assembly met in October, 1785, the table of the House of Delegates -almost sunk under the weight of the accumulated copies of the memorial -against the bill which came from different counties, each with its -long and dense columns of subscribers. The fate of the assessment was -sealed. The manifestation of the public judgment was too unequivocal -and overwhelming to leave the faintest hope to the friends of the -measure, and it was abandoned without a struggle. The declaratory act -for the establishment of religious liberty, which had been drawn by -Jefferson as one of the committee of revisors and presented to the -legislature in 1779, was then taken up and passed into a law. Madison’s -“Memorial and Remonstrance” had cleared away every obstruction. - -In a letter to Madison, dated December 16, 1786, Jefferson, who was -then our Minister to France, wrote: “The Virginia Act for religious -freedom has been received with infinite approbation in Europe, and -♦propagated with enthusiasm. I do not mean by the governments, but by -the individuals who compose them. It has been translated into French -and Italian, has been sent to most of the courts of Europe, and has -been the best evidence of the falsehoods of those reports which stated -us to be in anarchy. It is inserted in the new Encyclopædia, and is -appearing in most of the publications respecting America. In fact, it -is comfortable to see the standard of reason at length erected, after -so many ages during which the human mind has been held in vassalage by -kings, priests and nobles; and it is honorable for us to have produced -the first legislature who had the courage to declare that the reason of -men may be trusted with the formation of his own opinions.” - -In the following year Count Mirabeau (1749–91) the most distinguished -of the advocates of Jewish emancipation in France, calls attention in -his essay _On Moses Mendelssohn and the Political Reform of the Jews_ -(1787) to the striking similarity of the enactment of Virginia to -the conclusions at which the Jewish philosopher of Berlin arrived by -abstract reasoning; assuming that Mendelssohn never saw the preamble -of the American law, which was drafted by Jefferson four years before -the publication of “Jerusalem” in 1783. It is clear, however, that -about seven years later, when the great French Revolution, which -was influenced by the American Revolution much more than is commonly -supposed, was in full swing, even the debates of the Constitutional -Convention of Virginia of 1776 had become known to the friends of -religious liberty in France. In the course of a petition in favor of -their own emancipation, addressed by the French Jews to the National -Assembly on January 29th, 1790, they said: “America, to which politics -will owe so many useful lessons, has rejected the word toleration from -its code, as a term tending to compromise individual liberty and to -sacrifice certain classes of men to other classes. To tolerate is, -in fact, to suffer that which you could, if you wish, prevent and -prohibit.” - -There were not many Jews in Virginia in the time when this momentous -question was discussed and solved. Individual Jews are mentioned in the -Seventeenth Century, but the first record of a congregation occurs in -connection with the address to Washington, mentioned above (page 102), -which was sent by the Hebrew congregations of Philadelphia, Richmond, -New York and Charleston. The minute-book of the Congregation Bet Shalom -of Richmond, Va., dates back to the year 1791, and it is assumed that -the first or Sephardic congregation was organized in that year. The -first place of worship was in a room of a three-story brick building on -the west side of 19th street, between Franklin and Grace streets, where -one of the members resided. It later moved to a small brick building, -erected on the west side of 19th street in the rear of the Union Hotel, -which then stood on the corner of Main street. After some years a lot -was purchased from Dr. Adams on the east side of Mayo street, above -Franklin street, on which a commodious synagogue was erected, in which -the congregation worshipped for upwards of three-quarters of a century. -The burial ground on Franklin street, near 21st street, which is now -enclosed with a substantial granite wall, was conveyed by Isaiah Isaac -to Jacob I. Cohen, Israel I. Cohen, David Isaac, Moses Mordecai, Jacob -I. Cohen, Jr., Simon Gratz, Aaron Levy, Moses Jacob and Levy Myers, -as trustees, on October 21st, 1791. It was used until about 1816, when -Benjamin Wolfe, then a member of the Common Council of the City of -Richmond, made application on behalf of the congregation for a new -piece of ground, which was granted by an ordinance passed on the 20th -day of May, giving for that purpose an acre of land belonging to the -City of Richmond lying upon Shockoe Hill.[22] - - * * * * * - -North Carolina, like Virginia, had an Established Church until a -short time before the outbreak of the Revolution, all citizens being -required to pay toward its support, and dissenting clergymen being -denied the privilege of performing even the marriage ceremony. But when -the Dissenters won their fight against the Establishment, they took -an uncompromising stand against the complete emancipation of Roman -Catholics, Jews and others not belonging to a Protestant denomination. -The opposition to Jews was mainly theoretical or academic, as there -were practically no Jews in North Carolina at that time. In happy -contrast to some Old World countries of the present time, opposition -to Jews in the United States developed only in parts of the country -where they were least known. In all the original States which had -considerable Jewish communities, like New York, Pennsylvania and -Rhode Island, full religious liberty was firmly established before -the adoption of the Federal Constitution. - -Like Virginia, too, North Carolina adopted a Constitution in 1776. -It provided for liberty of worship and even excluded clergymen from -being members of the Senate, House of Commons or Council of State. -But when it came to the question of holding office, an exception was -incorporated in Article 32 which read as follows: - -“That no person who shall deny the being of God or the truth of the -Protestant religion or the Divine Authority, either of the Old or New -Testament, or who shall hold religious principles incompatible with the -freedom and safety of the State, shall be capable of holding any office -or place of trust or profit in the Civil Department within the State.” - -This article was doubtless aimed primarily at Roman Catholics: but -the prohibition being a sweeping one, it necessarily included Jews, -Quakers, Mohamedans, Deists, etc. While there was some opposition -to the adoption of this section, it seems to have expressed the -predominating opinion of the State on that point, for, as it was -noted above (page 86), the delegates of North Carolina voted at the -Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787 against the clause abolishing -religious tests. The entire question was again discussed at the State -Convention which was called in 1788 to ratify the Constitution of the -United States, and the narrower view prevailed. The Convention resolved -neither to ratify nor reject the Constitution, but that a Declaration -of rights be laid before Congress and twenty-six amendments proposed. -North Carolina was therefore unrepresented in the extra session of the -first Congress which adopted the first amendment, “That Congress shall -make no laws respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting -the free exercise thereof.” This amendment was partly a concession -to that State, implying a guaranty that even should a Papist or a -Mohamedan be elected President, he should not be able to force his -religion on those unwilling to accept it. After its adoption, North -Carolina adopted the Constitution, in November, 1789. - -Despite all this prejudice, section 32 of the State Constitution soon -came to be regarded a dead letter. As a matter of fact, a Catholic was -elected Governor in 1781. It was not until 1809 that the whole subject -again came prominently to the front in the case of Jacob Henry, a Jew, -who was elected a member of the Legislature for Carteret County. He had -served throughout the year 1808 and had apparently been re-elected for -1809, and then a fellow member asked to have his seat declared vacant -on account of his faith. - -Henry delivered a notable address in the Assembly in defense of his -rights to his seat. It made a strong impression at that time, and was -later republished as an example of fine composition in a work known -as the _American Orator_.[23] He was permitted to retain his seat, but -the principle at issue was rather avoided than settled. It was decided -that the article prohibiting non-Protestants from holding office in any -civil department of the State did not exclude such persons from serving -in the Legislature, because the legislative office was above all civil -offices. The view was more pointedly defined by saying that Catholics -and Jews could make the laws, but could neither execute nor interpret -them. Actually, however, both executive and judicial offices were held -by non-Protestants, before and after that incident. - -When a distinguished Roman Catholic, William Gaston (1778‒1844), was -chosen Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina (1834) a doubt -arose, even in his own mind, whether he could accept the office. But he -resorted to an even more ingenious interpretation of the Constitution, -which was subsequently followed in other cases as well. He argued that -the word “deny” implied an overt act, and that “the Constitution does -not prescribe the faith which entitles to or excludes from civil office, -but demands from all those who hold office, that decent respect of the -prevalent religion of the country which forbids them to impugn it, to -declare it false, to arraign it as an imposition upon the credulity of -the people.” - -While the acceptance of this decision made it possible for every one -to hold office, the efforts to abolish the religious test altogether -did not cease. The question was again thoroughly debated at the -Convention which came together in 1835 to amend the State Constitution. -There were practically no Jews in the State even then, but some of -the distinguished members of the Convention championed the cause of -absolute religious liberty and worked for the abolition of the entire -article which prescribed the test. Their efforts, however, were not -successful, and the change which was adopted emancipated only the -Catholics, by substituting the word “Christian” for “Protestant.” - -The small Jewish Congregation of Wilmington, N. C., which was organized -in 1852 for burial purposes, began about four years later to circulate -a petition for the removal of the existing disability. A bill to that -effect was introduced in the Legislature in the same year (1858), -but the committee to which it was referred reported that while it -considered the objectionable clause “a relic of bigotry and intolerance -unfit to be associated in our fundamental law with the enlightened -principle of representative government ... it is highly inexpedient -to alter or amend the Constitution by legislative enactment in any -particular whatsoever.” - -When the Constitution of North Carolina was again changed by -the Convention of 1861, which voted for secession and joined the -Confederacy, the article in question was changed in phraseology only. -The word “Christian” was omitted, but the clause still debarred from -holding office a “person who shall deny the being of God or the Divine -Authority of both the Old and the New Testament.” The convention of -the period of reconstruction, which met in 1865, afforded no relief, -but the Constitution which it framed was rejected by the people at the -polls in the following year, though on other grounds. It was not until -the Constitutional Convention of 1868 that Jewish emancipation was -accomplished in North Carolina. The time was ripe for the abolition of -all religious tests, and there appears to have been no debate on that -point. Only “persons who shall deny the being of Almighty God” were, -and still are, debarred from holding office in that State, as no change -has been made in this regard since 1868. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE WAR OF 1812 AND THE REMOVAL OF JEWISH DISABILITIES - IN MARYLAND. - - - The Jewish community almost at a standstill between the - Revolution and the War of 1812――Stoppage of immigration and - losses through emigration and assimilation――No Jews in the - newly admitted States――The small number of Jews who fought - in the second war with England included Judah Touro, the - philanthropist――The Jewish disabilities in Maryland――A Jew - appointed by Jefferson as United States Marshal for that - State――The “Jew Bill” as an issue in Maryland politics――Removal - of the disabilities in 1826. - -The hopes of the Jews of western Europe were raised by the French -Revolution, which gave the Jews of France full citizenship. The -Napoleonic wars brought liberty and Jewish emancipation in the -countries and principalities which were conquered by the great Corsican, -and even where this was not achieved it became a probability for the -near future. The disturbed state of Europe made foreign travel, and -especially emigration over sea, hazardous, and there were hardly any -new arrivals of Jews from the Old World during the quarter century -following the establishment of the United States Government. There were, -on the other hand, numerous departures of Jews for England and its -American colonies, especially Jamaica, during and after the Revolution, -and the losses through baptism and mixed marriages, which account -for the disappearance of a large number of colonial Jewish families, -retarded the natural growth of the communities. As a result it is -doubtful whether there were as many Jews in the United States at -the time of the outbreak of the second war with England, in 1812, as -there were in the Revolutionary period. Neither had their wealth or -importance increased in those times; it seems that there was even some -deterioration in both, caused no doubt by the lack of new blood which -is indispensable to small communities. - -There were hardly any Jews in the three new States which were admitted -to the Union in the eight years of Washington’s administration. In -Vermont, which came in in 1791, there was no Jewish Congregation -until the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Kentucky (1792) and -Tennessee (1796) had very few Jews until a later period, and the stray -Jewish sounding names which are met with in various records in the -first half century of their existence as States are not safe material -for the foundation of a history of the Jews in these Commonwealths. -Ohio, which was admitted in 1803, had very few Jews at that time, and -the immense territory of Louisiana, which was purchased from Napoleon -in the same year, had practically none, as Jews never thrived in -the French possessions in the New World, except in colonies like -Martinique,[24] where there was a Jewish community prior to it being -occupied by the French (1635). - -The number of Jews who took part in the War of 1812 was therefore -smaller than that of the participants in the War of Independence, and -the disproportionately large percentage of officers shows that they -still belonged mostly to the wealthier classes. In the list which is -enumerated in the valuable work of Mr. Simon Wolf, which was mentioned -above, there are mentioned thirteen officers, of whom one, Nathan Moses -of Pennsylvania, achieved the rank of Colonel, and two, Mayer Moses -of South Carolina and Mordecai Myers of Pennsylvania, were captains. -(General Joseph Bloomfield of New Jersey, who is included in the list, -was not a Jew, see “Publications,” XI. p. 190.) The balance comprises -three lieutenants, one adjutant, one ensign, two sergeants, three -corporals and twenty-seven privates. Among the latter were Jacob Hays, -and Benjamin Hays of New York, father and son; and Judah Touro, the -philanthropist, who was dangerously wounded at the battle of New -Orleans in January, 1815. - -The War of 1812 gave the impetus to a renewal of the agitation for the -removal of the disabilities of the Jews of Maryland, the only State -which had a considerable Jewish community in such a disadvantageous -position. The church establishment in Maryland terminated with the -fall of the proprietary rule and the emergence into statehood. With -it fell, too, the force of the legislation which for a century and -a half had declared the profession of Jewish faith a capital offence, -as was already mentioned in a previous chapter (page 77).[25] But part -of the old spirit remained under the new conditions, and the new State -Constitution of 1776, which granted free exercise of religion, provided -for “a declaration of belief in the Christian religion” as a necessary -qualification for holding public office. But this did not prevent -a gradual influx of Jews during and after the Revolutionary War, -which is to be attributed to the commercial and industrial advantages -of Baltimore. The first formal effort to effect the removal of the -disability was made in December, 1797, when Solomon Etting (b. in York, -Pa., 1764; d. in Baltimore, 1847), Bernard Gratz (b. in York, Pa., -1764; d. in Baltimore, 1801) and others presented a petition to the -General Assembly at Annapolis in which they averred “that they are -a sect of people called Jews, and thereby deprived of many of the -valuable rights of citizenship, and pray to be placed upon the same -footing with other good citizens.” The committee to whom this petition -was referred reported the same day that they “have taken the same into -consideration and conceive the prayer of the petition is reasonable, -but as it involves a constitutional question of considerable importance -they submit to the House the propriety of taking the same into -consideration at this advanced stage of the session.” This disposition -of the petition put a quietus upon further agitation for the next five -years. In the meantime (1801) Reuben Etting (b. in York, Pa., 1762; d. -in Philadelphia, 1848), a brother of the above-mentioned Solomon, was -appointed by President Jefferson United States Marshal for Maryland, -which presented the anomalous condition of a man who could not be -chosen constable under the State laws, holding a highly responsible -Federal office. A second petition with the same object in view as the -first was presented to the General Assembly in November, 1802, and this -time it came to a vote, but it was refused, thirty-eight voting against -it and only seventeen in its favor. The attempt was renewed in 1803 -and in 1804, when it was again defeated by a vote of thirty-nine to -twenty-four. This fourth defeat disheartened the few determined spirits -upon whom the brunt of the struggle had thus far fallen, and the formal -agitation ceased for a time. - -The arrival in Baltimore from Richmond, Va., in the year 1808, of the -Cohen family, consisting of the widow and six sons of Jacob J. Cohen, -a soldier of the Revolution (a native of Rhenish Prussia, who came to -America in 1773 and died in 1808), and other arrivals in that period, -helped to increase the material importance and the communal influence -of the Jews of Baltimore. After Solomon Etting and several members of -the Cohen family served with distinction in the defense of Baltimore -and in subsequent military engagements, the injustice of the Jewish -disabilities became more manifest. The sympathy of a group of men -active in public life was enlisted, and these conducted the legislative -struggle for full emancipation of the Jews in the General Assembly from -1816 to 1826. The most prominent figure in this group, which included -Thomas Brackenridge, E. S. Thomas, General Winder, Colonel W. G. D. -Worthington and John V. L. MacMahon, was Thomas Kennedy of Washington -county. - -The “Jew Bill” became a clearly defined issue in Maryland politics, and -here we see again the American peculiarity mentioned above (page 118), -that those who knew the Jew best were his most ardent defenders. -Several representatives from country districts, where Jews were known -by name only, failed of re-election because they had voted for the -repeal of Jewish disabilities: while, on the other hand, a disposition -favorable to Jewish emancipation became at an early date a sine qua -non of election from Baltimore. The successful effort of Jacob Henry -to retain his seat in the Legislature of North Carolina, which has -been described in the previous chapter, was effectively used by the -friends of the Jews in Maryland. Speaking on the Jew Bill in 1818, -Mr. Brackenridge alluded to the incident as follows: “In the State of -North Carolina there is a memorable instance on record of an attempt to -expel Mr. Henry, a Jew, from the legislative body of which he had been -elected a member. The speech delivered on that occasion I hold in my -hand. It is published in a collection called “The American Orator,” a -book given to your children at school and containing those republican -truths you wish to see earliest implanted in their minds. Mr. Henry -prevailed, and it is a part of our education as Americans to love and -cherish the sentiments uttered by him on that occasion.” Six years -later Col. Worthington, in the course of a speech on the same subject, -also recalled Henry’s triumph in glowing terms. Some of the addresses -delivered on that subject were considered of sufficient importance -to be republished separately after the question was settled; one -collection of them entitled “Speeches on the Jew Bill in the House of -Delegates in Maryland” was published in Philadelphia in 1829. - -Finally, in 1822, a bill to the desired effect passed both houses -of the General Assembly; but the Constitution of Maryland required -that any act amendatory thereto must be passed at one session and -published and confirmed at the succeeding session of the Legislature. -Accordingly, recourse was necessary to the session of 1823–24, in which -a confirmatory bill was introduced accompanied by a petition from the -Jews of Maryland. The bill was confirmed by the Senate, but defeated -in the House of Delegates after a stirring debate, and all formal -legislation hitherto enacted was rendered nugatory. But the time was -ripe for this act of justice, and on the last day of the following -session of the Legislature (Feb. 26, 1825) an act “for the relief of -the Jews of Maryland,” which had already received the sanction of the -Senate, was passed by the House of Delegates by a vote of twenty-six -to twenty-five. The bill provided that “every citizen of this State -professing the Jewish religion” who shall be appointed to any office -of profit or trust shall, in addition to the required oaths, make and -subscribe a declaration of his belief in a future state of rewards and -punishments, instead of the declaration now required by the government -of the State. In the following year a brief confirmatory act was passed -and the battle for Jewish emancipation was won. Theoretically there -still remained a discrimination, which was not eliminated until many -years afterwards; but practically there was no formal disability. -Solomon Etting and Jacob I. Cohen, both of whom had been throughout -the moving spirits of the legislative struggle, were promptly elected -in Baltimore (Oct., 1826) as members of the City Council, and the -former ultimately became president of that body. A number of Jews later -occupied and still occupy important political positions in Maryland -commensurate with their individual ability and with the prominence of -Jews in the business and professional life of the State. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - MORDECAI MANUEL NOAH AND HIS TERRITORIALIST-ZIONISTIC PLANS. - - - Noah’s family; his youth and his early successes as journalist - and as dramatist――His appointment as Consul in Tunis and - his recall――His insistence that the United States is not a - Christian nation――Editor and playwright, High-Sheriff and - Surveyor of the Port of New York――His invitation to the Jews - of the world to settle in the City of Refuge which he was to - found on Grand Island――Impressive ceremonies in Buffalo which - were the beginning and the end of “Ararat”――His “Discourse on - the Restoration of the Jews”――Short career on the bench――Jewish - activities. - -While the last vestiges of discrimination against the Jews were being -removed in Maryland, a grandiose plan for solving the Jewish problem -through colonization in America was conceived by one of the most -prominent Jews of New York. This man was Mordecai Manuel Noah (b. in -Philadelphia, July 19, 1785; d. in New York March 22, 1851). He was of -Portuguese descent, a son of Manuel Mordecai Noah of South Carolina, -who served in the Revolutionary army, and a cousin of Henry M. Phillips -(b. in Philadelphia, 1811; d. there 1884), who was a member from the -fourth district of Pennsylvania in the Thirty-fifth Congress (elected -as a Democrat in 1856), and besides occupying various positions of -honor and trust, also served as Grand Master of Free Masons of his -native State. Noah was left an orphan at the age of four, and was -brought up by his maternal grandfather, Jonas Phillips (b. in Germany, -1736; d. in Philadelphia, 1803). Noah was apprenticed to a carver and -gilder, but his studious habits and abilities attracted the attention -of some prominent men, and it is said that the financier, Robert Morris, -procured the cancellation of his indentures and obtained for him an -appointment as clerk in the office of the Auditor of the United States -Treasury. - -Upon the removal of the national capital to Washington, young Noah -resigned his clerkship and accepted employment as a reporter at the -sessions of the Pennsylvania Legislature at Harrisburg, where he -acquired his first experience in journalism. Several years later he -removed to Charleston, S. C., where he became in 1809 the editor of -“The City Gazette” and became an ardent advocate of war with England. -This was against the prevailing spirit of the wealthy seaport town, and -it involved him in many quarrels and in several duels, in one of which -he killed his opponent. It was also in this city that his first play, -“Paul and Alexis,” or “The Orphans of the Rhine,” was performed for the -first time. It was afterwards taken to England, where it was somewhat -altered, and with its name changed to “The Wandering Boys” was brought -out in 1820 at the Park Theatre in New York with great success. - -After declining an appointment as Consul to Riga, Russia, in 1812, Noah -was appointed by President Madison a year later as American Consul to -Tunis, with a special mission to Algiers. He sailed from Charleston in -a vessel bound for France, which was captured by the British fleet off -the French coast. He was brought to England as a prisoner of war, but -being regarded as a person of importance he was allowed to remain at -liberty upon his parole, and to utilize the time in travelling through -the country. After some months he was released and proceeded by the -way of Spain to his post of duty. He was soon engaged in the work for -which he was specially commissioned――to ransom the American prisoners -then held in slavery by the Algerians. He was to endeavor to release -the captured sailors in such wise as to lead the Algerians to believe -that the relatives and friends of the captives, and not the American -government, was interested in their ransom. Noah effected this in a -creditable manner under the circumstances; but he was compelled to -expend a sum exceeding the amount allowed him by his government. Noah’s -political opponents at home made use of this apparent irregularity to -effect his recall. Mr. Monroe, then Secretary of State, wrote to him -that it was not known at the time of his appointment that his religion -would be any obstacle to the exercise of his consular functions, but -that recent information, on which entire reliance could be placed, -proved that it would have a very unfavorable effect; that the President -therefore had deemed it expedient to revoke his commission, and that -upon the receipt of this letter he should consider himself as no -longer in the service of the United States.[26] Noah finally extricated -himself from all his difficulties, and later was thoroughly vindicated, -his actions approved and his advances remitted. - -One of his official acts as Consul deserves special mention. The war -between the United States and England was still raging, when one day -an American privateer came into the harbor of Tunis with three English -East Indiamen loaded with valuable cargoes as prizes. The prizes and -cargoes were turned over to the American Consul to sell at auction. The -British Minister protested against such sale on the ground of a clause -in the treaty with England which provided that no Christian power -should sell a British prize or its cargo in an Algerian port. Noah -admitted the _bona fides_ of the stipulation, but contended that under -proper interpretation of international law the United States could -not be held to be a Christian nation within the meaning of the treaty -and hence was excepted from the inhibition. To prove his contention -he exhibited the Constitution of the United States with its provisions -against sectarianism and religious tests, and finally cited the Joel -Barlow Treaty with Turkey of 1808, ratified by the United States Senate, -which declared that the United States made no objections to Mussulmen -because of their religion and that they are entitled to and should -receive all the privileges of citizens of the most favored nations. -This argument was sustained by the Bey and the prizes were accordingly -sold in Tunis. Noah’s contention thus became established as a principle -of international law which has never since been challenged. It was -perhaps this stand taken by Noah in declaring the American nation to be -non-Christian which convinced the government at home that his faith was -“an obstacle to the exercise of his consular functions.” - -On his return to America Noah settled in New York (1816), where he -resided for the rest of his life in the enjoyment of many honors and -great popularity. He was successively the editor of the “National -Advocate,” “New York Enquirer,” “Evening Star,” “Commercial Advertiser,” -“Union” and “Times and Messenger.” In 1819 he published in New York -his “Travels in England, France, Spain and the Barbary States” in which -he described his experiences abroad, the services he had rendered to -his government in Tunis and the manner in which he was requited. His -occupation as a journalist, which brought him into frequent connection -with the theatre, led him to return to dramatic authorship, and he was -reputed to be one of the most popular American playwrights of his day. -Most of his plays were based on American history, but some of them -dealt with other themes, like his successful melodrama “Yousef Carmatti, -or The Siege of Tripoli.” - -He also took an active part in politics, and was appointed High Sheriff -of New York in 1822; but when the office was made elective a short -time afterwards he was defeated after an exciting campaign. He was a -supporter of General Jackson, and was later appointed by him Surveyor -of the Port of New York. - -But during all these varied activities he never forgot, as he -was indeed seldom permitted to forget, that he was a Jew. He had -strong convictions on the subject of Jewish nationality and devoted -considerable attention to the Jewish question in general. Finally, -in 1825, he turned to his long cherished scheme of the restoration of -the Jews to their past glory as a nation. For this purpose he acquired, -with the aid of some of his friends, an island thirteen miles in -length and about five miles broad, called Grand Island, in the Niagara -River, opposite Tonawanda, not far from Buffalo, N. Y., and issued a -proclamation to the Jews of the world, inviting them to come and settle -in the place, which he named “Ararat, a City of Refuge for the Jews.” - -The plan had its practical side and attracted considerable attention. -Noah was at that time perhaps the most distinguished Jewish resident in -America, and could by no means be considered a visionary. The tract was -chosen with particular reference to its promising commercial prospects, -being close to the Great Lakes and opposite to the newly constructed -Erie Canal; and Noah deemed it “pre-eminently calculated to become -in time the greatest trading and commercial depot in the new and -better world.” After heralding this project for some time in his own -newspapers and in the press, religious and secular, generally, Noah -selected September 2, 1825, as the date for laying the foundation stone -of the new city. Impressive ceremonies, ushered in by the firing of -cannon, were held, and participated in by state and federal officials, -Christian clergymen, and even American Indians, whom Noah identified as -the “lost tribes” of Israel, and who were also to find refuge in this -new “Ararat.” - -It was found on that day that there were not boats enough in Buffalo to -carry to Grand Island all who wished to go there, and the celebration, -in consequence, took place in Buffalo. A procession, headed by a -band of music, was formed, composed of military companies and several -Masonic bodies in full regalia, after which came Noah, as Governor and -Judge of Israel, wearing a judicial robe of crimson silk trimmed with -ermine, followed by fraternal officers and dignitaries. After marching -through the principal streets of Buffalo, the procession entered the -Episcopal Church, where exercises, including a long oration by Noah, -were held; the close of the ceremonies being announced by a salvo of -twenty-four guns. - -The celebration in Buffalo was the beginning and the end of the scheme. -There was no response to the proclamation, the city was never built, -and the monument of brick and wood which was erected upon the island -on the site of the contemplated town fell to pieces, and in the course -of time wholly disappeared. The only relic of the enterprise is the -foundation stone of the proposed city, which is preserved in the rooms -of the Buffalo Historical Society, with the inscription of 1825 still -legible. - -Noah’s plan was to establish “Ararat” as a merely temporary city -of refuge for the Jews, until in the fulness of time a Palestinian -restoration could be effected. The failure of this project of a -“temporary asylum” did not weaken his belief in the ultimate redemption -of the Jews and their return to the Holy Land. Nearly twenty years -after the unsuccessful attempt to concentrate the Jews on Grand Island, -Noah delivered the greatest oration of his life, “A Discourse on the -Restoration of the Jews,” which was soon afterwards published in book -form (New York, 1844), in which he urged the return to Palestine as the -only solution of the Jewish question, which had become acute in Europe -in the troublesome times preceding the upheavals of 1848. - -Noah resigned the office of Surveyor of the Port of New York in 1833, -after having held it about four years. After eight years of intense -journalistic and political activity, he was, in 1841, appointed by -Governor Seward an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Sessions. -He had no sooner commenced to discharge his judicial duties than James -Gordon Bennett, in the “New York Herald,” began to assail and ridicule -him. Noah himself made no complaint, but others took up the defence of -the court’s dignity and Bennett was indicted for libel. Noah himself -was not anxious to have the case prosecuted, asserting that the attack -on him was the result of an old editorial quarrel, in which he had -been to a considerable degree the aggressor. Bennett came off with a -small pecuniary fine. Noah shortly afterwards resigned from the bench, -to avoid sitting upon the trial for forgery of a certain member of -Congress whom he had known from boyhood. - -He took an active part in Jewish communal affairs of New York City, -and was in 1842 elected president of the Hebrew Benevolent Society. -He was also president of the Jewish Charity Organization of New York, -and remained at its head when it was merged into a B’nai ♦B’rith lodge. -Among his works of Jewish interest deserves also to be mentioned a -translation of the “Book of Jashar,” which he published in 1840. - -He married Rebeccah Jackson of New York, and their offspring numbered -five sons and a daughter. He died in the 66th year of his age, and was -the last Jew that was buried within the limits of old New York City. - - - - - PART IV. - - THE SECOND OR GERMAN PERIOD OF IMMIGRATION. - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - THE FIRST COMMUNITIES IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. - - - Impetus given to immigration to America by the reaction after - the fall of Napoleon――The second period of Jewish immigration―― - First legislation about immigration (1819)――The first Jew in - Cincinnati――Its first congregation, Bene Israel――Appeals to - outside communities for funds to build a synagogue――The first - Talmud Torah――Rabbis Gutheim, Wise and Lilienthal――Cleveland―― - St. Louis――Louisville――Mobile――Montgomery and its alleged - Jewish founder, Abraham Mordecai――Savannah and Augusta――New - Orleans――Judah Touro. - -The reaction in Western Europe after the fall of Napoleon in 1815 -gave an impetus to emigration to America. This was especially true of -Germany and more particularly of the German Jews. Those who had already -tasted the sweets of freedom could not so easily endure the returning -hardships of the galling exceptional laws and discriminations, as did -their fathers and grandfathers who knew not the experience of better -conditions. While the struggle for political and religious liberty -was carried on with increased intensity in the various German states -and principalities, many ventured to come out to the New World in -quest of more favorable conditions and better opportunities. This -new immigration, which continued for about half a century, until -the Jews in all the German states were emancipated, much exceeded -the immigration of the preceding two centuries, while it now appears -almost insignificant in comparison with the large influx from the -Slavic countries in the last thirty years. These Jewish immigrants of -the second period, which is usually called the German period (though a -considerable number came from Austria-Hungary, Russian-Poland and even -Russia proper), were in one essential point more like the Slavic Jews -who came after them than like the Sephardim of former times; they came -poor, and grew up with the country. The Spanish and Portuguese Jews as -a class were wealthy; some of them brought more capital with them than -was found in the localities in which they settled. Their wealth and -their business connections made them welcome or secured them sufferance -at a time and at places――in the Old World as well as in the New――where -a poor Jew, coming to earn his living as a peddler or craftsman, -would probably never have been admitted. But better times had come; -an immensely large country, which had now increased its territory by -the Louisiana Purchase, and doubly secured its independence by the -successful issue of the second war with its former masters, now needed -men even more than money, and the immigrant who came to cast his lot -with the new nation was welcome. A substantial part of the Jewish -immigrants of this new era remained in the older communities, which -were thereby largely increased. But many penetrated far into the South -and the West; new settlements were founded in scores of places, and -almost in each case a congregation was formed as soon as there were a -sufficient number of Jews to warrant such an undertaking. As there was -no longer any struggle between the Jews, as such, and the surrounding -non-Jewish world, the history of the Jews of a locality is mainly the -history of its communal institutions and of its individual members, who -reflect credit on it by their distinction in various fields of activity. -We shall now follow the formation of these new communities in various -parts of the country, with an effort to understand the spirit which -moved the early settlers in their Jewish activities, which helped them -to rise to an eminent position in their new home and to be useful to -their fellow citizens, as well as to their co-religionists who arrived -at a later period. - - * * * * * - -There are no statistical figures for the number of immigrants who -arrived in the second decade of the nineteenth century; but what may be -considered as an official declaration (in the voluminous report of the -Immigration Commission, issued in 1910) states that after the year 1816 -“an unprecedented emigration from Europe to the United States occurred. -It is estimated that no less than 20,000 persons arrived in 1817.” -The sudden demand for passage caused overcrowding, disease and death -in the steerage of the sailing vessels, which resulted in the first -“legislative interference” by a law which “became effective March 2, -1819, containing provisions intending to regulate the number of -passengers on each vessel and proper victualing of each vessel.” A -provision of this law also marked the beginning of statistics relative -to immigration into the United States. And as there was now a certain -percentage of Jews among the arrivals of each year, it may be presumed -that the Jews of that time were as much interested in these earliest -provisions relating to immigration, as we are to-day in that perennial -question. - -Some of the pioneers of this new Jewish immigration came from England, -but as in the earlier period of the Spanish Jews, the Germans and the -Polish soon followed, or came simultaneously. A typical instance was -that of Cincinnati, where the first Jewish congregation in the Ohio -Valley was formed. The first Jew to settle there was Joseph Jonas -(b. in Exeter, England, 1792; d. in Cincinnati, May 5, 1869), who -came to America in 1816 and lived for a short time in New York and in -Philadelphia. He left the latter city on the second day of January, -1817, and arrived in Cincinnati on the eighth of March. He was a -watchmaker by trade, and had little difficulty in establishing himself. -He was a curiosity at first, as many in that part of the country had -never seen a Jew before. Numbers of people came from the country round -about to see him, and he related in his old age of an old Quakeress who -said to him: “Art thou a Jew? Thou art one of God’s chosen people. Wilt -thou let me examine thee?” She turned him round and round and at last -exclaimed: “Well, thou art no different to other people.”[27] - -Jonas remained the only Jew in Cincinnati for about two years, when -he was joined by Lewis Cohen of London, Barnet Levi of Liverpool -and Joseph Levy of Exeter. These four, with David Israel Johnson of -Brookville, Ind. (a frontier trading-station), conducted in the autumn -of 1819 the first Jewish service in the western portion of the United -States. Solomon Buckingham, Moses Nathan and Solomon Menken came there -from Germany in 1820. The last named established the first wholesale -dry goods house in Cincinnati. The six Moses brothers, one of whom, -Phineas (d. 1895), lived to the age of ninety-seven, arrived in the -following two years, and about this time Joseph Jonas was joined by his -three brothers, Abraham, Samuel and George; their parents and a fourth -brother, Edward, coming some time afterwards. Services were held only -on Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur until 1824, when the number of Jewish -inhabitants reached about twenty. (See “Publications,” IX, p. 155, for -fourteen Jewish names from the Cincinnati Directory of 1825.) In the -first month of that year the Congregation “Bene Israel” was formally -organized, and at a meeting held some time thereafter it was resolved -to build a suitable house of worship. - -There was not, however, sufficient wealth in the new community to -enable the congregation to undertake the work unaided, and an appeal -was sent to the older congregations in the United States and also to -England, for help in the proposed undertaking. A copy of this appeal -has been preserved (in “Publications,” X, pp. 98–99) and reads as -follows: - - TO THE ELDERS OF THE JEWISH CONGREGATION AT CHARLESTON. - - GENTLEMEN:――Being deputed by our Congregation in this place, as - their committee to address you in behalf of our holy Religion, - separated as we are and scattered through the wilds of America - as children of the same family and faith, we consider it as our - duty to apply to you for assistance in the erection of a House - to worship the God of our forefathers, agreeably to the Jewish - faith; we have always performed all in our power to promote - Judaism and for the last four or five years we have congregated - where a few years before nothing was heard but the howling of - wild beasts and the more hideous cry of savage man. We are well - assured that many Jews are lost in this country from not being - in the neighborhood of a congregation, they often marry with - Christians, and their posterity lose the true worship of God - forever; we have at this time a room fitted up for a synagogue, - two manuscripts of the law and a burying ground, in which we - have already interred four persons, who, but for us, would - have lain among the Christians; one of our members also acts - as Shochet. It will therefore be seen that nothing has been - left undone, which could be performed by eighteen assessed - and six unassessed members. Two of the deceased persons were - poor strangers, one of whom was brought to be interred from - Louisville, a distance of near 200 miles. - - To you, Gentlemen, we are mostly strangers and have no further - claim on you, than that of children of the same faith and - family, requesting your pious and laudable assistance to promote - the decrees of our holy Religion. Several of our members are, - however, well known both in Philadelphia and New York――namely - Mr. Samuel Joseph, formerly of Philadelphia; Messrs. Moses Jonas - and Mr. Joseph Jonas, the two Mr. Jonas’s have both married - daughters of the late Rev. Gerson Mendes Seixas of New York. - Therefore with confidence, we solicit your aid to this truly - pious undertaking, we are unable to defray the whole expense, - and have made application to you as well as the other principal - congregations in America and England, and have no doubt of - ultimate success. - - It is also worthy of remark that there is not a congregation - within 500 miles of this city, and we presume it is well known - how easy of access we are to New Orleans, and we are well - informed that had we a synagogue here, hundreds from that city - who now know and see nothing of their religion, would frequently - attend here during holidays. - - We are, Gentlemen, your obedient servants, - - S. Joseph Chan, - Joseph Jonas, - D. I. Johnson, - Phineas Moses. - - I certify the above is agreeable to a Resolution of the Hebrew - Congregation of Cincinnati. - - July 3, 1825. - - Joseph Jonas, Parnas. - -Both the congregation in Charleston and that in Philadelphia sent -contributions, and so did some individuals in New Orleans and in -Barbadoes, W. I. It was some time, however, until the necessary amount -was collected. The congregation was chartered by the General Assembly -of Ohio in 1830, and the synagogue was dedicated in the year 1836. The -first official reader was Joseph Samuels; he was succeeded by Henry -Harris, who was followed in 1838 by Hart Judah. In the same year was -organized the first benevolent association. The first religious school -was founded in 1842, but it existed only a short time. A Talmud Torah -was established in 1845, which gave way in the following year to the -Hebrew Institute, of which James K. Gutheim (b. in Prussia, 1817; d. -in New Orleans, 1886) was the founder. This also flourished but a short -time, for with the departure of Rabbi Gutheim for New Orleans in 1848 -the institute was closed. - -A considerable number of German Jews arrived in the city during the -fourth decade of the nineteenth century. They were not in sympathy with -the existing congregation, in which the influence of the English Jews -was predominant, and determined to form another congregation. The Bene -Yeshurun congregation was accordingly organized by these Germans in -September, 1841, and it was incorporated under the laws of the state -in 1842. Its first reader was Simon Bamberger, and when Gutheim, who -followed him, left it, he was succeeded by H. A. Henry and A. Rosenfeld. -The assumption of the office of rabbi in the Bene Yeshurun congregation -by Isaac M. Wise in April, 1854, and in the Bene Israel congregation -by Max Lilienthal (b. in Munich, 1815; d. in Cincinnati, 1882) in June, -1855, gave the Jewish community of Cincinnati a commanding position -and made it a Jewish center and the home of a number of movements which -were national in scope. But their activity in general Jewish matters -does not properly belong to the history of Jews in Cincinnati, and -will be treated in a succeeding chapter. Three other congregations were -formed before the close of the period of German-Polish immigration: the -Adath Israel, organized in 1847; the Ahabat Achim, organized in 1848; -and the Shearit Israel, in 1855. - -The first Jew who is known to have settled in Cleveland, O., was a -Bavarian, Simson Thorman, who came there in 1837. He was soon joined -by Aaron Leventrite and by others of his countrymen, and the thriving -city, which had then about 6,000 inhabitants, soon had twenty Jews, who -organized the Israelitish Society in 1839. In 1842 there was a split, -and the seceding part formed the Anshe Chesed Society; but four years -later these two again united and formed the Anshe Chesed congregation, -the oldest existing congregation in Cleveland. The first services were -held in a hall on South Water street and Vineyard lane, with Thorman -as president and Isaac Hoffman as minister or reader. A burial ground -was purchased in 1840. New dissensions arose in 1848 in the rapidly -increasing community and resulted in the withdrawal of a number of -members, who in 1850 formed the Congregation Tifereth Israel, which -from the beginning represented the reform element. Isidor Kalish (b. -in Krotoschin, Prussia, 1816; d. in Newark, N. J., 1886) was its first -rabbi until 1855, and he was followed by Wolf Fassbinder, Jacob Cohen, -G. M. Cohen, Jacob Mayer, Aaron Hahn and the present incumbent, Moses -J. Gries (b. in Newark, 1868), who assumed his position in 1892. The -rabbis of the older congregation were: Fuld, 1850; E. Hertzman, 1860–61; -G. M. Cohen, 1861–66; Nathan, 1866–67; Gustave M. Cohen, 1867–75; -Moritz Tintner (b. in Austerlitz, Austria, 1828; d. in New York, May 11, -1910), 1875–76; and M. Machol (b. in Kolmar-in-Posen, 1845) since 1876. - -The first Jewish congregation in St. Louis, Mo., was organized about -the same time as that of Cleveland, though individual Jews were living -there more than thirty years before. The Bloch, or Block, family of -Schwihau, Bohemia, settled there about 1816, the pioneer being Wolf -Bloch. Eliezer Block was an attorney-at-law there in 1821. Most of -the early arrivals intermarried with Christians, and were lost to -Judaism. It was not until the Jewish New Year in 1836 that the first -religious services were held, when ten men rented a little room over a -grocery store at the corner of Second and Spruce streets. The Achduth -Israel or United Hebrew Congregation was organized in 1839, Abraham -Weigel (d. 1888) being the first president and Samuel Davidson the -first reader. Services were held for many years in a private house in -Frenchtown. The first building used as a synagogue was located in Fifth -street, between Green and Washington avenues. According to Markens (p. -108), Bernard Illowy (b. in Kolin, Bohemia, 1814; d. near Cincinnati, -O., 1871), one of the leading conservative rabbis of America in his -time, a pupil of the great Rabbi Moses Sofer (1763–1839), of Presburg, -Hungary, was elected to the rabbinate of the St. Louis congregation -in 1854. Its temple on Sixth street, between Locust and St. Charles -streets, was dedicated in 1859. Rev. Henry J. Messing (b. 1848) held -the position of rabbi for about thirty years. The B’nai El congregation, -which was organized in 1852, moved into its own house of worship in -1855. Rabbi Moritz Spitz (b. in Csaba, Hungary, 1848), editor of the -“Jewish Voice,” has been at the head of this congregation since 1878. -The third of the earlier congregations, Shaare Emet, was organized in -1866, with H. S. Sonnenschein (b. in Hungary, 1839; d. in Des Moines, -Ia., 1908) as its first rabbi. - -The first Jewish organization of Louisville, Ky., is mentioned in the -year 1832, and two brothers named Heymann, or Hyman, from Berlin, were -known to have settled there as early as 1814. Several Polish Jews from -Charlestown, S. C., and some German Jews from Baltimore arrived there -about 1836, and were soon joined by new arrivals direct from Germany. -They bought a graveyard, built a mikweh and engaged a _shochet_. A few -wealthy Jews came from Richmond, Va., but they did not associate with -the others and were soon absorbed by the non-Jewish population. The -first regular minister was J. Dinkelspiel (1841), and the congregation, -which was named Adath Israel, was incorporated in 1842. B. H. Gotthelf -was elected cantor and _shochet_ in 1848 and later became Hebrew -teacher of a school which was opened in 1854. In 1850 a synagogue was -built on Fourth street, between Green and Walnut streets, which was -consumed by fire in 1866. A regular preacher, L. Kleeberg, was then -engaged and remained till 1878. Another congregation was chartered by -the legislature in 1851, but it was not properly organized until 1856, -when it changed its name from “The Polish House of Israel” to Bet -Israel. - -Farther to the south congregations were organized about that time in -Mobile, Ala., and in two other towns of that state. The most prominent -among the early settlers of Mobile was Israel I. Jones, who arrived -there from Charleston, S. C., and organized the Congregation Shaare -Shamayyim, the oldest in the state, in 1844. B. L. Tim, from Hamburg, -in whose residence the first services were held; I. Goldsmith, S. Lyons, -D. Markstein, Solomon Jones and A. Goldstucker, all from Germany, were -among the first members. The first synagogue was dedicated in December, -1846, with Mr. Jones as President and Rev. de Silva as minister. The -latter died in New Orleans in 1848 and was succeeded by Baruch M. -Emanuel, who served for five years. Montgomery, which is said to have -been founded by Abraham Mordecai, an intelligent Jew, who dwelt fifty -years in the Creek Nation, and confidently believed that the Indians -were originally of his people (see “Publications,” XIII, pp. 71–81, -83–88), had its first Jewish society for relieving the sick, organized -in 1846. Its first twelve members were from Germany and Poland. In -1849 this Chevra, which held religious services on Rosh ha-Shanah -and Yom Kippur, was enlarged into a regular congregation called Kahal -Montgomery or Temple Beth Or. Isaiah Weil was the first president and -the number of members was about thirty. No rabbi was employed until -about fifteen years later. There is also a record of a congregation -which was organized in Claiborne, Ala., in 1855, and had an officiating -rabbi. Most of the Jews, however, left the town and the congregation -passed out of existence. - -While the older Jewish community of Savannah, Ga., which dated from -the eighteenth century, was strengthened by the new immigration, a -new community, in Augusta, grew up in the first half of the nineteenth -century. A Mr. Florence and his wife came there from Holland in 1825. -Isaac Hendricks arrived with his family from Charleston, S. C., in 1826, -and it is believed that Isaac and Jacob Moise, also Charlestonians, -reached Augusta about the same time. Jews from Germany began to arrive -in 1844. Isaac Levy, who came there about 1840, was for many years City -Sheriff, and Samuel Levy was for two years Judge of the Superior Court -and for ten years Judge of the Court of Ordinary (Markens, p. 113). -There is reason to believe that the sixth Governor of Georgia, David -Emanuel (d. 1808), who assumed the office March 3, 1801, and after -whom the largest county in the state, Emanuel, was named, was a Jew, or -at least of Jewish Descent.[28] The number of Jews in Augusta went on -increasing until about 1846, when the congregation B’nai Israel, which -is still in existence, was organized. - - Illustration: Judah Touro. - -The prominent figure of the philanthropist Judah Touro (b. in Newport, -R. I., 1775; d. in New Orleans, 1854) looms large in the early Jewish -history of New Orleans. Touro was educated by his uncle, Moses Michael -Hays (1739–1805), who had become an eminent merchant of Boston, and was -later employed in his counting house. Touro came to New Orleans about -a year before Louisiana was purchased by the United States from France -in 1803. He opened a store and built up a thriving trade in New England -products, and soon became one of the wealthiest and most prominent -merchants of the growing city. He gave liberally to many charities -and public spirited enterprises in New Orleans and elsewhere, at a -time when large gifts for such purposes were not as common as they -are now. When he donated $10,000 towards the erection of the Bunker -Hill Monument in 1840, those interested in raising the necessary funds -had almost given up their project in despair. Though the cornerstone -was laid in 1826, on the fiftieth anniversary of the battle which -it was to commemorate, Amos Lawrence’s generous offers of aid met -with no material response, even when aided by the eloquent appeals -of Edward Everett (1794–1865) and Daniel Webster (1782–1852), until -Touro privately offered to duplicate Lawrence’s donation, provided the -remaining necessary $30,000 would be raised. On the dedication of the -monument in 1843, when Daniel Webster was the orator of the day, the -generosity of the chief donors was praised in the lines read by the -presiding officer, which became very popular at that time.[29] At his -death he left, among many other bequests, a large sum in trust to Sir -Moses Montefiore (1784–1885) for the poor Jews of Jerusalem. His name -is connected with the oldest and largest Jewish institutions in New -Orleans, while Boston, Newport and other communities have benefited by -his generosity. - -Alexander Isaacs and Asher Philips were also among the arrivals at New -Orleans early in the last century. Morris Jacobs and Aaron Daniels were -the Senior Wardens, and Abraham Plotz, Asher Philips and Abraham Green, -the Junior Wardens of a benevolent society named Shaare Chesed. In -that capacity they bought the first Jewish cemetery in New Orleans, -which was located just beyond the suburb of Lafayette, in the Parish of -Jefferson, fronting on Jackson street, where the first interment, that -of ♦Haym Harris, took place on June 28, 1828. The first congregation -adopted the name of the benevolent society, and worshipped in a room -on the top floor of a building in St. Louis street. The oldest existing -synagogue, the Shaare Chesed Nefuzot Judah, commonly known as the -Touro synagogue, was organized in its present form in 1854. The other -congregations belong to a later period, which will be described in a -subsequent part. - -Another prominent Jew, the greatest in American public life――Judah -P. Benjamin――also lived in New Orleans in this period. But he took no -interest in Jewish affairs, and his career belongs to the chapters in -which the participation of Jews in the dispute about slavery and in the -Civil War will be described. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - NEW SETTLEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE WEST AND ON THE PACIFIC COAST. - - - Increase in general immigration――Estimated increase in the - number of Jews――The natural dispersion of small traders over - the country――Chicago――First congregations and other communal - institutions――Indiana――Iowa: Polish Jews settle in Keokuk and - German Jews in Davenport――Minnesota――Wisconsin――Congregation - “Bet El” of Detroit, Mich.――The first “minyan” of gold seekers - in San Francisco――“Mining congregations”――Solomon Heydenfeldt―― - Portland, Ore. - -The tide of immigration, which began to rise still higher than before -in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, now consisted to a -considerable part of Germans, and a goodly portion of them were Jews -from Germany and the surrounding countries. The official figures for -the number of immigrants who came to the United States in 1826 are -10,837; for 1832, 60,482; in 1842 it rose to 104,565. The rise was -very unequal, with marked recessions sometimes to less than half in -the intervening years; but when measured by decades the increase was -constant, and after 1845 there were only two years――1861 and 1862――in -which the number of immigrants fell below 100,000. While there are -no figures obtainable as to the number of Jews which came in those -years, it is certain that they soon outnumbered many times the few -comparatively small communities which existed before that period. The -estimates made by representative Jews at various times, giving the -number of Jews in the country in 1818 as 3,000, in 1826 as 6,000, in -1840 as 15,000 and in 1848 as 50,000, are merely guesses, but they give -a fair idea of the estimated ratio of increase in those thirty years. -The experience of to-day is that whenever actual figures are obtained -they prove to be in excess of the estimate made by communal leaders, -and it is probable that the same results would be disclosed in the -former times, too. On the other hand, care must be exercised to guard -against exaggerated estimates, made for various reasons, but mainly for -political effect. - -As a large part of the Jewish immigrants then took to peddling or other -forms of trade on a small scale, it was natural for them to disperse -over all the states and territories, though, as we shall see farther -on, many settled in the larger cities, in which the number of Jews -soon rapidly multiplied. The problem of congestion never arose, or -could arise, among business people, no matter how small their business -might be at the beginning. It arose at a later period of immigration, -which brought to our shores large numbers of laborers, both skilled -and unskilled, with whom living near their centers of occupation was an -economic necessity as well as a convenience. This is why no artificial -aid or encouragement was at that time necessary to the scattering -of Jewish immigrants over all habitable places, and why many of them -became pioneers and early settlers in new communities. The same thing -happens now, too, with that small part of the immigrants which still -take to trading as their first vocation. - -Thus we find in Chicago, the future metropolis of the great Middle -West, a Jew by the name of J. Gottlieb, arrived within a year after its -incorporation as a town, in 1837. Isaac Ziegler (1808–93), a peddler, -came there in 1840; in the same year came also the brothers Benedict -(d. 1854) and Nathan Shubert and P. Newburg, tailors. The last named -became a tobacco dealer and later removed to Cincinnati. Benedict -Shubert became a leading merchant tailor and built the first brick -house in Chicago, on Lake street, where he carried on his business -for a number of years. About twenty Jews from Germany, including Jacob -Rosenberg (d. 1900) and the brothers Julius, Abraham (b. in Bavaria, -1819; d. in Chicago, 1871) and Moses Kohn, came to Chicago between 1840 -and 1844, and about as many in the following three years. A “Jewish -Burial Ground Society,” of which Isaac Wormser was president, was -organized in 1845, and bought from the city one acre of ground on the -north side (now within the confines of Lincoln Park) for a cemetery. -It was abandoned in 1857, when it was already within the city limits. - -The first religious services were held in a private room above a -store on Wells street (now Fifth Avenue) on Yom Kippur of the same -year, Philip Newburg and Mayer Klein officiating as readers. Only an -exact _minyan_ or ten men attended those services, which had to be -discontinued whenever one left the room. The second services, with -about the same number of attendants, were held on Yom Kippur, 1846, -also in a private room, above the dry goods store of Rosenfeld & -Rosenberg, 155 Lake street, Philip Newburg and Abraham Kohn officiating. -A scroll of the Torah which the brothers Kohn had brought with them -from Germany was used on both occasions. - -The “♦Kehillah Anshe Maarab” was organized with about twenty members in -1847. L. M. Leopold (b. in Würtemberg, 1821; d. in New York, 1889) was -the first president, and Rev. Ignatz Kunreuther (1811–84) was elected -rabbi, shochet and reader. He held the position six years, when he -retired to private life, and later engaged in the real estate and loan -business. The first synagogue, which was built on Clark street, between -Adams and Quincy streets (where the new post office now stands), was -dedicated Friday, June 13, 1851. Rev. Liebman Adler (b. in Saxe-Weimar, -1812; a. 1854: d. in Chicago, 1892), father of the prominent architect, -Dankmar Adler (1844–1900), was the second rabbi of the congregation, -and held the position for more than twenty years. The Hebrew Benevolent -Society was organized in 1851 and is still in existence. The second -congregation, under the name “B’nai Sholom,” consisting mostly of -natives of Prussian-Poland, was established in 1852. The “Jüdische -Reformverein,” which subsequently led to the organization of the Sinai -Congregation, was organized in 1858, with Leopold Mayer as president -and Dr. Bernhard Felsenthal (b. in Germany, 1822; d. in Chicago, Jan. -12, 1908) as secretary. The Hebrew Relief Association, which later -built the Michael Reese Hospital, the first Jewish hospital in Chicago, -was instituted in 1859. Henry ♦Greenebaum (b. in Germany, 1833) was -its first president. Isaac Greensfelder became treasurer, and Edward S. -Salomon, who afterwards served with distinction in the Civil War, was -brevetted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and later served for four -years as Governor of Washington Territory (1871–74), was its first -secretary. Salomon was elected Clerk of Cook County in 1861.[30] - -The oldest Jewish congregation in Illinois outside of Chicago is that -of Peoria, surnamed Anshe Emet, which was organized in 1860. - -In the neighboring State of Indiana, which was admitted to the Union -in 1816, Jews began to settle about the same time as in Illinois, -and there are four communities which date back to the period before -the Civil War. The oldest Jewish congregation in the state is the -Achdut we-Sholom of Fort Wayne, which was instituted in 1848. The -Congregation Ahawat Achim of Lafayette is but one year younger, while -the congregation of Evansville dates from about the same time. The -first Jewish settlers in Indianapolis, the capital, which now had -the largest community, were Moses Woolf, and Alexander and Daniel -Franco, who came there from England in 1849. A family of Hungarian -Jews named Knefler arrived soon afterwards. Adolph Rosenthal and Dr. -J. M. Rosenthal came in 1854, and Herman Bamberger, who later became a -leading merchant, arrived in 1855. The first congregation was organized -in 1856, but more than a decade passed until it was housed in its own -building. - -Jewish immigrants also soon penetrated west of Illinois, into that part -of the Louisiana Purchase which was organized as the Iowa Territory -in 1838. Its pioneer Jew was Alexander Levi (b. in France, 1809) who -arrived to this country in 1833 and kept a store in Dubuque in 1836. He -was the first foreigner to be naturalized in Iowa, and was a justice of -the peace in 1846. A Mr. Samuel Jacobs was surveyor of Jefferson County -in 1840, and Nathan Louis and Solomon Fine are mentioned as peddlers -in Fort Madison in 1841. They settled in Keokuk and later in McGregor, -both of which places had a number of Jews in those early days. It is -stated (see Glazer, _The Jews of Iowa_, Des Moines, 1905) that about -one hundred Jewish peddlers arrived in Iowa in the decade following -its admission as a state (1846). Burlington and Keokuk were the centers -for peddlers, who were mostly from Poland and Russia, while most of the -German Jews preferred Davenport, which was largely settled by Germans. -According to the above-mentioned authority, the first _minyan_ was held -in Keokuk in 1855, on Passover, and in that year the Jews of that place -organized a society which later became the Congregation B’nai Israel. -In Davenport a congregation having the same name was organized in 1861, -which is still in existence. Among those who participated in public -affairs was William Krouse (b. about 1823), who arrived in Iowa in -1843, and furthered the movement to remove the capital from Iowa City -to Fort Des Moines, where he resided. He was the founder and one of the -directors of the first public school in that city. His brother Robert -was one of the earliest settlers of Davenport. - -Farther to the north, there were only individual Jewish traders -in Minnesota before the Civil War, and the three brothers Samuels, -from England, who had an Indian trading post at Taylor Falls, on the -Minnesota side of the St. Croix River, seem to have been the first -Jewish settlers in that state. Morris Samuels, a captain in the Union -army, was one of them. Isaac Marks, who resided in Mankato about -that time, had a trading post near that place. About 1857 some Jews -came to St. Paul and engaged in general business, which likewise -consisted mostly in trading with the Indians. But there was no communal -organization there or in any other part of the state until about -fifteen years afterwards. - -There is a record of one Jew who resided in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as -early as 1792. His name was Jacob Franks (see “Publications,” IX, p. -151, ff.). But we know little of other Jews there prior to the time of -its admission to the Union in 1848. Shortly afterward the Congregation -Bene Yeshurun was organized in Milwaukee by Löbl Rindskopf, Leopold -Newbauer, Emanuel Silverman and others. Alexander Lasker and Marcus -Heiman were its first cantors, in the order named. Isidor Kalish, M. -Folk, Elias Epstein and Emanuel Gerechter later succeeded one another -as rabbis. - -Still farther to the north, Michigan, which became a state eleven years -before Wisconsin, received its first Jewish settlers about the same -time. About a dozen families of Bavarian Jews settled in Detroit in -1848. According to an account written by Dr. Leo M. Franklin (b. in -Cambridge City, Ind., 1870; rabbi of Temple Bet El, Detroit, since -1899), it was due to Isaac Cozens, and more especially to his wife, -Sophie, with whom he arrived in Detroit from New York about 1850, -that the Bet El Society was established in that year. In April, 1851, -steps were taken to incorporate the congregation by “the undersigned -Israelites of the City of Detroit for the purpose of forming a society -to provide themselves a place of public worship, teachers of their -religion and a burial ground, and give such society the name of -Congregation ‘Bet El’.” The signatures attached to the petition for -incorporation are those of Jacob Silberman, Solomon Bendit (d. in -St. Clair, Mich., 1902), Joseph Friedman, Max Cohen, Adam Hirsch, -Alex. Hein, Jacob Long, Aaron Joel Friedlander, Louis Bresler and -C. F. Bresler; an exact _minyan_, or the minimum number, required for -the formation of a synagogue. Like most congregations of that period, -Bet El was Orthodox in its ritual, but it was not long before the -Reform spirit began to create divisions in the community. In 1861 a -large number of the members withdrew because of the introduction of -an organ and a mixed choir into the synagogue, and they formed the -Congregation Shaare Zedek, of which Rev. A. M. Hershman is now the -rabbi. The first rabbi of Congregation Bet El was Rev. Samuel Marcus, -and he was followed by a number of well known rabbis, including Liebman -Adler, Isidor Kalish, Kaufman Kohler, Henry Zirndorf and Louis Grossman. - -A large number of Jews crossed the continent or came by boats from -various parts of the world, along with the heavy tide of travel towards -the Pacific Coast, when the discoveries of gold in California in -1849 began to attract great multitudes. There was a _minyan_ in San -Francisco on Yom Kippur of that year in a tent owned by Louis Franklin. -Among those who participated were H. Joseph and Joel Noah, a brother -of Mordecai M. Noah. The organization of the Jewish community was -completed between July and October of the following year, when two -congregations came into existence about the same time. The Shearit -Israel congregation, which comprised the Polish and English elements, -was organized in August, 1850, under the leadership of Israel Solomons. -The Germans and Americans united in the Congregation Emanuel, the name -of whose president, Emanuel M. Berg, is signed on a contract dated -September 1, 1850, for the renting of a room on Bush street, below -Montgomery, as a place of worship. About a dozen “mining congregations” -sprang up in as many different places in California in the following -ten years; Sonora had a Hebrew Benevolent Society as early as 1851; -Stockton, a Congregation Re’im Ahubim in 1853. In Los Angeles the -founding of a benevolent society was brought about by Carvalho, a -Sephardic Jew, who was a member of General Fremont’s expedition. -Religious services were held there in 1852. In Nevada City a Hebrew -Society was organized in 1855, which numbered twenty members about -two years later. In Jackson a congregation was organized for the -autumn holidays in 1856, and it erected the first synagogue in the -mining districts. The building still stands, but it is used for other -purposes, as the Jews have left the place long ago. Fiddletown, Grass -Valley, Shasta, Folsom, Marysville and Jesu Maria all had temporary -congregations which did not long survive the “gold fever.” (See “Jewish -Encyclopedia,” s. v., California.) Sacramento is the only place in -the state outside of San Francisco which has Jewish organizations――a -congregation and two societies, which originated in this period. - -A majority of the Jews from the mining communities who did not -return to the East finally drifted into San Francisco, which from the -beginning had the largest and most important Jewish community of the -Pacific Coast. The foremost among the Jews who attained eminence in -the new state, which was admitted into the Union in 1850, was Solomon -Heydenfeldt (b. in Charleston, S. C., in 1816; d. in San Francisco, -1890). He removed to Alabama at the age of twenty-one, where he -was admitted to the bar and practiced law for a number of years in -Tallapoosa County. He was obliged to leave the state on account of his -views on the slavery question, and came to San Francisco in 1850. He -was elected Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California two -years later and held the office with distinction from 1852 to 1857. -His brother Elkan and Isaac Cardozo were members of the Legislature -of California in 1852, while another Jew, Henry A. Lyons, was also -a member of the Supreme Court of the state about that time. A. C. -Labatt, one of the pioneers, was an alderman of San Francisco in 1851, -when Samuel Marx was United States appraiser of the port and Joseph -Shannon was county treasurer. Many Jews who began their careers in -San Francisco later became eminent merchants and financiers, like the -four brothers Seligman, the three brothers Lazard, the Glaziers and -the Wormsers, all of whom settled later in New York. Michael Reese, one -of the extensive realty brokers; Moritz Friedlander, who later became -one of the largest grain dealers in the country; and Adolph Sutro, the -engineer, were also among those whose modest beginnings belong to that -period. To the same class belong also Louis Sloss and Lewis Gerstle, -who later founded the Alaska Commercial Company. - -What may be considered as an overflow of the Jewish immigration to -California reached Oregon about a decade before it attained statehood -in 1859. Most of the first Jewish settlers, who originally came from -various parts of Southern Germany, arrived in Oregon from New York -and other eastern states by way of Panama and California, and settled -principally in Portland. Its first congregation, Bet Israel, was -organized in 1858, the founders being Leopold Mayer, M. Mansfield, -B. Simon, Abraham Frank, Jacob Mayer, H. F. Bloch, Samuel Levy and -others. Rev. H. Bories was the first Hazan and Rev. Dr. Julius Eckman -the first rabbi and preacher. He was succeeded by Rev. Dr. Isaac -Schwab, who later went to St. Joseph, Mo. A burial society, or cemetery -association, was organized some time before and the first benevolent -society about a year later. The Jewish community of Portland has -practically remained the only one in the state to this day, and though -not large numerically, it has been from the beginning one of the most -influential and important of the Jewish communities of the country. -A proportionately larger number of Portland Jews have been elevated to -high positions in the service of the city, state and nation than those -of any other community. But they mostly belong to a later period which -will be treated in a subsequent part of this work. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - THE JEWS IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF TEXAS. THE MEXICAN WAR. - - - The first settler in 1821――Adolphus Sterne, who fought against - Mexico and later served in the Texan Congress――David S. - Kaufman――Surgeon-General Levy in the army of Sam Houston――A Jew - as the first meat “packer” in America――Major Leon Dyer and his - brother Isadore――Mayor Seeligsohn of Galveston (1853)――One Jew - laid out Waco; Castro County is named after another――Belated - communal and religious activities――The War with Mexico, in - which only a small number of Jews served――David Camden de Leon - and his brother Edwin, U. S. Consul-General in Egypt. - -The history of the Jews of Texas begins at the time when the largest -state of the American Union was still a part of Mexico. The first -Jewish settler of whom any record is preserved was Samuel Isaacs, who -came there from the United States in 1821 with Austin’s first colony -of three hundred. He received a Spanish grant of land as a colonist, -and is later mentioned once more as the recipient of a bounty warrant -for 320 acres of land, located in Polk county, for services in the -army of Texas in 1836–37. When Abraham Cohen Labatt (b. in Charleston, -S. C., in 1802; d. in Texas after 1894), who has been mentioned in the -preceding chapter, visited Velasco, Texas, in 1831, he found there two -Jews――Jacob Henry from England and Jacob Lyons from Charleston――who -had been there for some years engaged in business. When the former of -the two died without issue he left his fortune for the building of a -hospital at that seaport. - -Adolphus Sterne (b. in Cologne, Germany, 1801; d. in New Orleans, 1852) -was one of the first settlers in Nacogdoches, in the eastern portion of -Texas, where he came from New Orleans in 1824. He knew several European -languages and soon mastered various Indian dialects, which made him -very useful to the insurgents against Mexican rule, whose cause he -espoused. He was sentenced to death for his share in the Fredonian -war against Mexico. He was saved by a general amnesty which had been -declared by that time, and took an oath of allegiance to the Mexican -government, which he kept faithfully until Texas became an independent -republic in 1836. After having been Alcalde and official interpreter -under the old order, he served in both the upper and the lower houses -of the Texas Congress. Dr. Joseph Hertz came with his brother Hyman -to Nacogdoches about 1832; Simon Schloss (b. in Frankfort-on-the-Main, -1812) came there in 1836. David S. Kaufman (b. in Cumberland County, -Pa., in 1813; d. in Washington, D. C., 1851), a graduate of Princeton -College, came there from Louisiana in 1837. In 1838 he was elected -a Representative in the Texas Congress; was twice re-elected and was -twice chosen Speaker of the House. In 1843 was elected to the Senate, -where, in 1844, as a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, he -presented a report in favor of annexation to the United States. When -this plan was carried out he was elected one of the first members of -the House of Representatives from Texas, serving from 1846 until his -death five years afterwards. Albert Emanuel (b. 1808) came there from -Germany in 1834, and was one of the first volunteers in the Texas army, -serving in the battle of San Jacinto. He later settled in New Orleans, -where he died in 1851. Samuel Mass (who married a sister of Offenbach, -the composer) and Simon Weiss were two other natives of Germany who -settled in Nacogdoches about that time. Four Jews are known to have -fought at Goliad under Fannin (March 26, 1836), one of whom, Edward J. -Johnson (b. in Cincinnati, O., 1816) was slain, together with his chief, -after the surrender to the Mexicans. - -Moses Albert Levy served as surgeon-general in Sam Houston’s army -throughout the Texas-Mexican war. Dr. Isaac Lyons, of Charleston, -served as surgeon-general under General Tom Green in the war of 1836. -Among other Jews who rendered notable service to the Republic of Texas -were the brothers Leon and Isadore Dyer, natives of Germany, who, at an -early age, came with their parents to Baltimore, where the older Dyer -founded a meat-packing establishment, which is said to have been the -first in America. Leon Dyer (b. 1807; d. in Louisville, Ky., 1883), -who settled in New Orleans, was quartermaster-general of the state -militia of Louisiana in 1836, when Texas called for aid in her struggle -for independence. With several hundred other citizens of New Orleans, -he responded, and, coming to Galveston, he received a commission as -major in the Texas forces, signed by the first President, Burnett. The -Louisiana contingent was assigned to the force of General Green, and -saw much active service. Major Dyer also served on the guard which took -General Santa Anna, the captive President of Mexico, from Galveston to -Washington in the following year. His brother, Isadore Dyer (b. 1813; -d. in Waukesha, Wis., 1888), settled in Galveston as a merchant in 1840, -and was one of its public spirited citizens. He was one of the earliest -grand masters of the Order of Odd Fellows in Texas. The first Jewish -religious services in Galveston were held at his house in 1856. - -Henry Seeligsohn (b. in Philadelphia, 1828; d. 1886) came to Texas -in 1839, and was elected first lieutenant of the Galveston Cadets, an -organization composed of young boys, which rendered efficient service. -His father was Michael Seeligsohn (d. 1868), who was elected Mayor of -Galveston in 1853. Levi Myers (sometimes also called Levi Charles or -Charles Levi) Harby (b. in Georgetown, S. C., 1793; d. in Galveston, -1870), who was a midshipman in the United States Navy in 1812 and -was taken prisoner by the British, also participated in the Texan war -of independence. A. Wolf was killed in the battle of Alamo in 1836, -and his name is inscribed on the Alamo monument at Austin. Jacob de -Cordova (b. in Spanish Town, Jamaica, 1808; d. in Texas, 1868) removed -to Galveston from New Orleans in 1837 and was the founder of several -newspapers, represented Harris county in the Texas Legislature in 1847, -and laid out the city of Waco in 1849. Henry Castro (b. in France, -1786; d. in Monterey, Mexico, 1861), a descendant of a wealthy Marrano -family, entered, in 1842, into a contract with President Sam Houston -of Texas to settle a colony west of the Medina. Houston also appointed -him consul-general in France for the Republic of Texas. Between 1843 -and 1846 Castro sent to Texas about 5,000 emigrants from the Rhenish -provinces, who settled in the towns of Castroville, Quihi, Vandenburgh -and O’Harris. Castro county, in northwest Texas, was named in honor of -this early promoter of immigration to Texas, who sank large sums in the -venture. - -There was little communal and religious activity in the stirring times -of the early development of Texas, and the first communal organizations -appeared a considerable time after Jews settled in some localities. -The first Jewish cemetery in Texas was established in Houston in -1844, where the first synagogue in the state was built exactly ten -years later. The Jews of Galveston acquired their first burial ground -in 1852: religious services were held since Yom Kippur 1856, but no -congregation was organized until twelve years later. In San Antonio -almost twenty years passed between the acquisition of a cemetery (1854) -and the organization of the first congregation. All the other Jewish -communities in the rapidly growing state date their foundation from a -later period.[31] - - * * * * * - -The war with Mexico, which began in 1846, was the least popular of -all the wars in which the United States has engaged, and this probably -accounts for the small number of Jews who volunteered to participate -in what was practically an attack on a weak neighbor. The number -of Jews in the country was now more than ten times as large as in -the time of the wars with England; but there are only about a dozen -more names in the list of the Jewish soldiers of the Mexican war (in -the above-mentioned work of Mr. Simon Wolf) than in the list of the -year 1812. New York now had the largest Jewish community, and was -represented by no less than fifteen in that small band of less than -sixty, in which there was only one from Pennsylvania (Gabriel Dropsie, -Co. E, 1st Regiment), one from New Jersey (Sergeant Alexander B. -Weinberg) and five from Maryland. The others were mostly from the South, -a large proportion of them having participated in the earlier struggle -between Texas and Mexico. - -The most prominent Jewish soldier of the Mexican war was David Camden -de Leon (b. in South Carolina, 1813; d. in Santa Fé, N. M., 1872). He -graduated as a physician from the University of Pennsylvania in 1836 -and two years later entered the United States army as an assistant -surgeon. He served with distinction in the Seminole war of 1835–42, -which was the most bloody and stubborn of all wars against Indian -tribes. For several years afterwards he was stationed on the Western -frontier. He served throughout the Mexican war and was present at -most of the battles. At Chapultepec he earned the sobriquet of “the -Fighting Doctor,” and on two occasions led a charge of cavalry after -the commanding officer had been killed or wounded. He twice received -the thanks of Congress for his distinguished services and for his -gallantry in action. He was afterwards again assigned to frontier -duty, and in 1856 became surgeon, with the rank of major. Like most -Southern officers in the regular army, de Leon resigned his commission -at the outbreak of the Civil war and joined the Confederacy, for whose -government he organized the medical department, becoming its first -surgeon-general. Edwin de Leon (b. in Columbus, S. C., 1818; d. 1891), -the journalist and author, who was appointed by President Pierce -consul-general to Egypt, and was later a confidential agent of the -Confederate States in Europe, was a brother of David C. de Leon. - -Leon Dyer and Henry Seeligsohn, whose participation in the struggles -of Texas was described at the beginning of this chapter, also served -as officers in the war with Mexico. The names of Captain Michael -Styfft, who served on the staff of General Zachary Taylor, and of -Lieutenant-Colonel Israel Moses, who was promoted from the rank of -assistant-surgeon, have also been preserved. Among those who were -killed in action was Sergeant Abraham Adler of the New York Volunteers. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - THE RELIGIOUS REFORM MOVEMENT. - - - Political liberalism and religious radicalism of the German - Jewish immigrant――The struggle with Orthodoxy hardly more than - an animated controversy――No attempt made here by the Temple to - swallow the Synagogue, as was the case in Germany――The first - Reformers of Charleston, S. C.――Isaac Leeser, the conservative - leader, the first to make a serious effort to adjust Judaism to - American surroundings――Dr. Max Lilienthal――Isaac M. Wise, the - energetic organizer of Reform Judaism――Dr. David Einhorn――Dr. - Samuel Adler――Bernhard Felsenthal――Samuel Hirsch. - -The Jewish immigrants, who were penetrating into various parts of -the country in that period, formed only a portion of the new arrivals. -The bulk of them, as in later times, remained in the East, principally -in New York City, where not less than ten new congregations were -established in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. While the -proportion of those unaffiliated with a synagogue was probably smaller -then than it is now, the tendency to establish very small synagogues -was also less, so that the existence of a dozen congregations in New -York about the year 1850 may denote a larger Jewish population at that -time than an equal or even a larger number would imply at the present -time. It would also not be safe to insist that there were not at that -time in existence several congregations whose names were not preserved -on account of their insignificance or for other reasons. - -The German element, which predominated in this second period of -Jewish immigration, was mostly under the influence of the liberalism, -which was then prevalent in Germany. But the political liberal of -central Europe at that time found in the United States all, and in some -respects more than, he was striving for in the Old Country, including -that national unity which was then only a pious dream in Germany. Aside -from the question of slavery, which was not yet acute in the North at -the beginning of that period, the German liberal found here all his -ideals realized: perfect equality for all white men without distinction -of creed or nationality; absolute freedom of speech and of the press; -more individual liberty and better opportunities for work, for trade -and for enterprise than could be thought of in the localities from -which he came. It was natural for most of them to sympathize with the -abolitionist movement, and later they were among the first to join -the newly formed Republican party. But even the political radical or -revolutionary of the other side of the ocean had little to object to in -the democracy which he found here fully developed, and he soon became -a patriotic, and to some extent a conservative, American citizen. - -It was different in regard to the religious liberalism or radicalism -which was then occupying the minds of the Jews of Germany. The -conditions in that country made religious reform one of the burning -questions of the day among them; some saw in its adoption a sure means -of obtaining the much coveted political emancipation, while others -thought it the only protection against the frightfully increasing -number of conversions which were then occurring. Orthodox Judaism was -certainly losing ground in Germany at that time, and it was difficult -to foresee where it would stop or how much of it would remain. Wherever -there was a struggle between the old order of things in religious -matters and the new, the latter was certain to prevail. Within a few -decades the real old style Orthodoxy almost totally disappeared from -most parts of Germany, retaining a foothold only in the province of -Posen and in isolated localities like Mayence and Frankfort-on-the-Main. -Elsewhere even those who did not join the extreme reformers adopted -a conservatism which was far from the old Orthodoxy. The bulwark of -Orthodoxy――the poor Jewish masses――was itself disappearing: the old -style rabbis who survived were in despair, and when they died modern -German preachers were chosen to fill their places. It seemed as if -the temple was swallowing the synagogue, and the religious radical was -victorious decades before the political radical obtained even a part of -what he desired. - -The conditions in this country were entirely different. Emancipation -had been achieved, and there was practically no Jewish question as far -as the outside world was concerned. There were no wholesale desertions -from the camp of Judaism, but that slow drifting away of a part of -the wealthier class, which is not an unusual phenomenon wherever and -whenever there is no legal restriction or stubborn prejudice to prevent -gradual assimilation. There was also a steady replenishment, or rather -an augmentation, of the poorer Orthodox classes, among whom the Polish -and Russian element was steadily increasing, a prejudice which is -almost national keeping them apart from the Germans, who were rapidly -advancing in wealth, social and political position, as well as in -religious radicalism. The old American element which remained true to -traditional Judaism, the considerable part of the Germans who would -not accept reform, and the masses of later arrivals, gave to Orthodox -Judaism in America a strength which it never possessed in Germany after -the close of the eighteenth century. The steady increase in immigration -from the Slavic countries easily filled up the places of those whose -improved material and social condition caused them to drop out of the -ranks of the Orthodox; just as those who rose to wealth and joined the -reformers filled up the places left vacant by those who advanced beyond -Reform Judaism into that complete assimilation into which it must lead -those of its devotees who emphasize its progressive side and neglect -the eternal and historical sides. - -These conditions reduced the struggle between Orthodoxy and Reform to -something hardly above an animated controversy in the denominational -periodicals, and its historical value consists chiefly as an indicator -of material progress. There was no class-struggle between the wealthy -Jews and their poorer brethren who came after them in increasingly -larger numbers, and there was no real conflict between the former’s -and the latter’s religious views for the same reason. Accession to the -ranks of wealth usually meant affiliation with a Reform congregation, -where the poor man could not afford to join and would not be welcome if -he came. While several of the young enthusiasts who came over permeated -with the fighting spirit of the German reformers might have thought at -the beginning of continuing the struggle in the Old-World fashion until -the “enemy” was annihilated, it did not take them long to discover the -futility of such efforts. The task of Reform Judaism in America was -plainly not to conquer the Orthodox synagogue or to win recruits from -the ranks of those who wished to remain faithful to traditional Judaism, -but to enroll under its banner the affluent American or Americanized -Jews who were on the point of drifting away altogether. The view of -the extremely conservative, who considered these reformers as already -lost to Judaism, has been shared by a large majority of the Jews of -the United States for the last sixty or seventy years. But aside from -condemning public declarations which were offensive to the Orthodox -spirit and which were occasionally made by reformed bodies or by -their conspicuous representatives, the Orthodox masses have, as usual, -displayed more fortitude than aggressiveness in religious matters. This -accounts for the presence of numerous leaders, agitators and organizers -in the Reform camp, where newly assumed positions had to be defended -to one’s own satisfaction even if there was no formidable attack; while -Orthodoxy easily held its own by force of increasing numbers, even if -its tenacity was relaxed by the stress of circumstances. - -The autonomy of congregation, which is a characteristic feature of new -Jewish settlements, and which remained permanently in a country where -there are no general laws about religion and no special relations with -the government to force on the Jews official representatives, was also -favorable to the spread of Reform. Still, the first attempt which was -made in Charleston, S. C., in 1824, to imitate the Reform movement -of Germany was a failure. The “Reformed Society of Israelites,” which -was established there in that year by twelve former members of the -Congregation Bet Elohim, who left the latter religious body because a -memorial for the reformation of the ritual was rejected by the vestry -without discussion, had but a brief existence. But Charleston was -losing its comparative importance and was attracting less Jewish -immigration than the northern seaport communities. So there was a -continual drifting away into indifference, and when a new synagogue was -built to replace the one which was destroyed by the great conflagration -of 1838, the petition of thirty-eight members that an organ be placed -in the new structure, was granted. There was again a split in the -congregation, which did not become united until it was greatly reduced -by the ravages of the Civil War. - -It was the rabbi of the Charleston congregation (Gustav Poznanski), a -man imbued with the spirit of the Reform Temple of Hamburg, who decided, -as an authority on Jewish matters, that an organ in the synagogue was -permissible according to religious law. This is typical of numerous -later cases in which an autonomous congregation, subject to no other -religious authority and not connected with any other religious body, -accepted the authority of its own rabbi to modify its ritual and -its religious practices in accordance with his personal views or -inclinations. Several other “Reform Vereine” in the East and the -Middle West had a more lasting success, because they obtained able and -energetic leaders from among the young German scholars who came over -at that time, and who were, so to speak, in duty bound to continue the -spread of Reform in their new home. But curiously enough, and perhaps -emblematic of the ultimate course of American Judaism, the first real -and successful attempt to adjust Judaism to its surroundings in the -United States was not made by an adherent of the Reform movement, but -by its strongest and ablest opponent which this country has developed. -Long before the new leaders of that movement arrived and began to -spread their ideas and ideals in the German language, there arose a -vigorous and diligent pioneer who introduced the English sermon in -the American synagogue, who established the first influential Jewish -periodical, a man whose strong intellect and organizing abilities left -their impress on the Jewish community of the entire country――Rabbi -Isaac Leeser. - - Illustration: Rabbi Isaac Leeser. - -He was born in Neuenkirchen, Prussia, in 1806, and received his secular -education in the gymnasium of Münster. But he was also instructed in -Hebrew and was well versed in several tractates of the Talmud, when -he left for the United States at the age of eighteen. He came to this -country in May, 1824, and settled in Richmond, Va., being employed -in the business of his uncle, Zalma Rehiné, for the following five -years. He went to a school for a short time, but studied much in his -leisure hours, increasing not only his secular knowledge but also his -acquaintance with Jewish lore. He early evinced interest in religious -affairs, and was soon assisting Rev. Isaac B. Seixas (1782–1839), of -the Portuguese Congregation of Richmond, in teaching religious classes. -In 1828 an article in the “London Quarterly” reflecting on the Jews was -answered by Leeser in the columns of the “Richmond Whig” and attracted -considerable attention on account of its excellence. This ultimately -led to his being elected Minister of Congregation Mickweh Israel in -Philadelphia in 1829. - -He came to Philadelphia in that year and resided there for the -remainder of his life. He preached his first English sermon in 1830 -and in the same year appeared his translation of Johlson’s “Instruction -in the Mosaic Religion.” In the following ten years appeared several -volumes of his articles and discourses, a Hebrew Spelling Book, and -a Catechism. In 1843 he established “The Occident and American Jewish -Advocate,” which he edited for twenty-five years, until his death, -when it was continued for one year longer by Mr. (now Judge) Mayer -Sulzberger, who had latterly assisted Rabbi Leeser in its direction. -In 1845 appeared his translation of the Bible, which “became an -authorized version for the Jews of America.” Besides writing, editing -and translating, he visited various parts of the United States, where -he lectured on divers topics relating to Judaism, always advocating and -spreading that enlightened conservatism for which he consistently stood -all his life. - -The Hebrew Education Society, the Board of Hebrew Ministers, and the -Jewish Hospital of Philadelphia owe their foundation to his active -efforts; and he also advocated a union of all the Jewish charities -of that city, which was consummated some years after his decease. The -Board of Delegates of American Israelites, the first American Jewish -Publication Society and the Maimonides College (of which he was the -first president) were also created mostly through his influence. - -After serving twenty-one years at the Mickweh Israel synagogue, Rabbi -Leeser retired in 1850 and held no clerical position until 1857, when -the Bet El Emet Congregation was organized by a number of his friends. -He became its rabbi, continuing until his death, on February 1, 1868. -The opinion that he was “the most distinguished of Hebrew spiritual -guides in this country”[32] is hardly exaggerated. - -The first among the prominent leaders of the Reform movement to arrive -in this country was Dr. Max Lilienthal (b. in Munich, Bavaria, 1815; -d. in Cincinnati, O., 1882). He played an important part in the attempt -of the Russian Government to spread secular knowledge among the Jews of -that country by drastic means; but when he seemed to be at the height -of his career he suddenly left Russia under circumstances which have -never been thoroughly explained, and came to the United States in 1845. -Settling in New York he first became the rabbi of the Congregation -Anshe Chesed on Norfolk street, and later of Sha’ar ha-Shomayyim, -on Attorney street. These were Orthodox congregations, and there was -considerable friction between the religious members and the rabbi, -who was inclined towards Reform. He gave up the ♦rabbinate in 1850 and -established an educational institute, at the same time becoming one -of the most active spirits in the “Verein der Lichtfreunde,” a society -formed in 1849 for the discussion and spreading of the teachings of -Reform. In 1855 he was elected rabbi of the Congregation Bene Israel, -of Cincinnati, O., and held the position until his death. He wrote -many articles and several works of prose and poetry, both in German -and in English, and was an active communal worker, a teacher, and -even participated in the municipal affairs of Cincinnati, serving as a -member of the Board of Education, as a director of the Relief Union and -of the university board. But he was eclipsed and practically reduced to -the position of assistant to the man who surpassed him as a leader and -organizer, and who became the recognized head of the reformed Jews of -the West. - - Illustration: Dr. Isaac M. Wise. - -This man was Isaac Mayer Wise (b. in Bohemia, 1819; d. in Cincinnati, -1900), who came to this country in the summer of 1846 and after a -brief stay in New York became the rabbi of Congregation Bet El of -Albany (organized 1838), the first, and then the only, congregation -of that city. He had received an old-fashioned rabbinical education at -home, but he soon developed here into a radical reformer and introduced -in his synagogue many novel features and practices, often in the face -of strong opposition. A split in the community followed, in 1850, -and his followers organized a new congregation, the Anshe Emet, of -which he remained rabbi for four years. In 1854 he was chosen rabbi -of Congregation Bene Yeshurun in Cincinnati, and held the position -for the remaining forty-six years of his life. He established there -“The Israelite” (now “The American Israelite”) soon after his arrival -in Cincinnati, and through this organ he advocated, with much energy, -his ideas of Reform and the plans of organization which he succeeded -in carrying out, after many failures and setbacks, about twenty years -later, when the time for unification and organization had arrived. He -also established, in 1855, a German weekly, the “Deborah,” by means of -which he reached a part of the Jewish public which did not read English. -He wrote much for his periodicals, and was also the author of numerous -books on theological and historical subjects, and also several novels, -and even two plays (in German). But his chief strength was his ability -as an organizer. The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Hebrew -Union College (opened 1875) and the Central Conference of American -Rabbis (organized 1889) owe their existence to him. - -David Einhorn (b. in Bavaria, 1809; d. in New York, 1879), who came -to America in his mature years, had played a somewhat prominent part -in the Reform movement in Germany, where he held several important -rabbinical positions. His scholarly attainments were of a high order; -but he was even more radical than Wise and Lilienthal, whom he strongly -opposed soon after his arrival to this country in 1855. He became -in that year the rabbi of Har Sinai Congregation in Baltimore, Md. -(organized in 1843), and soon afterward he began to issue there a -monthly magazine in German under the name of “Sinai,” in which he -advocated his views of Reform. In 1861 Einhorn was compelled to leave -Baltimore on account of his anti-slavery views, which he courageously -expressed despite the local sympathy with the South. He went to -Philadelphia, where he became rabbi of Kenesset Israel, removing to New -York in 1866, where he became the rabbi of Congregation Adath Yeshurun, -a position which he held until a short time before his death. In later -years he became reconciled to his former opponents in the Reform camp, -and was the leading spirit in the rabbinical conference which was held -in Philadelphia in 1869. - -Dr. Samuel Adler (b. in Worms, Germany, 1809; d. in New York, 1891) was -a preacher and assistant rabbi in his native city until 1842, when he -became rabbi of Alzey, Rhine Hesse, and remained there about fifteen -years. He also participated in the rabbinical conferences in Germany, -in which the Reform movement was to some extent systematized; and he -was considered one of its representatives there when he was called, -in 1857, to ♦become rabbi of Congregation Emanuel of New York. This -was the first avowedly Reform congregation in the city, and has since -become the wealthiest Jewish congregation in the country. It was -organized in 1845. Its first place of worship was a private house on -the corner of Clinton and Grand streets, and its first rabbi-preacher, -L. Merzbacher (d. 1856) began his duties at a salary of $200 per annum. -Dr. Adler was brought as his successor, and held the position until he -was retired as rabbi emeritus in 1874, being succeeded by Dr. Gustav -Gottheil (b. in Pinne, Prussian-Poland, 1827; d. in New York, 1903). -Adler was in his time practically the only Reform rabbi in New York, -and neither his disposition, which was that of a scholarly retired man, -nor the local circumstances, which were influenced by the fact that the -Poles and Russians had a large majority even in the supposedly German -period, were favorable to the spread of Reform. He was the possessor -of a large library of rabbinica, which was after his death presented by -his family to the Hebrew Union College. Dr. Felix Adler (b. in Alzey, -1851), the founder of the Society for Ethical Culture, is his second -son. - -The last of the American pioneer Reform rabbis whose activities date -back to the time before the outbreak of the Civil War was Bernhard -Felsenthal (b. in Germany, 1822; d. in Chicago, 1908). While originally -intended for a secular career, he was a thorough Talmudical scholar, -and for a decade before he came to this country (in 1854) he was a -teacher in a Jewish congregational school. After three years spent -in Madison, Ind., as rabbi and teacher, he removed to Chicago, where -he became an employee of a Jewish banking firm. In 1858 the Jüdische -Reformverein of Chicago was formed, with Felsenthal as its secretary -and guiding spirit. In the following year he published a pamphlet in -favor of Reform which attracted much attention; and two years later, -after the Reformverein developed into Sinai Congregation, he became -its first rabbi. In 1864 he took charge of Zion Congregation, the -second Reform congregation of Chicago, and held the position until -he was retired as rabbi emeritus, in 1887. While he was theoretically -an extreme radical in religious matters, his extensive knowledge of -rabbinical literature and his love for Jewish learning, added to his -generous disposition and real affection for Jewish scholars of the old -type, helped to make his relations with the Orthodox Jews more pleasant -than in the case of other representative rabbis of his class. He was -probably the only Reform rabbi in this country who was really beloved -among the masses of the immigrants from the Slavic countries, and he -thus exemplified a possibility of a better understanding between the -different wings of American Judaism, which was then, and partly still -is, by many considered difficult of accomplishment. - -Samuel Hirsch (b. in Rhenish Prussia, 1815; d. in Chicago, 1889) -belonged to this group, although he did not arrive in America until -1866, after having served as chief rabbi of Luxembourg for nearly -a quarter of a century. He succeeded David Einhorn in Philadelphia, -where he remained for twenty-two years. After retiring from the -ministry he removed to Chicago, where he spent his last days with his -son, Dr. Emil G. Hirsch (b. in Luxembourg, 1852), the eminent preacher -and professor of rabbinical literature at the University of Chicago. -Samuel Hirsch belonged to the extreme wing of radical reformers, and -was one of the first to advocate the holding of special services in -the Temple on Sunday. His chief work was written in Germany, “Die -Religionsphilosophie der Juden” (Leipsic, 1842), of which only one part -appeared. It is an effort to explain Judaism from the Hegelian point -of view, but as it was written long before he arrived in this country, -it has no interest for American Jewish history except, perhaps, as an -instance of the influence of the German method of abstract theorizing -on the uncompromising radical pioneers of the American Reform movement. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM AND ITS STAND AGAINST REFORM. - - - “The poor Jews of Elm street and the rich Jews of Crosby - street”――Rabbis Samuel M. Isaacs, Morris J. Raphall and Jacques - J. Lyons――Sabato Morais――Kalish and Hübsch, the moderate - reformers――Benjamin Szold――Dr. Marcus Jastrow’s career in three - countries――Alexander Kohut――Russian Orthodoxy asserts itself in - New York, and the Bet ha-Midrash ha-Godol is founded in 1852―― - Rabbi Abraham Joseph Ash and his various activities――Charity - work which remains subordinate to religious work in the - synagogue. - -In New York, too, it was not a radical appealing to a wealthy -congregation, but a conservative in a neighborhood where the poorer -Jews dwelt, who first introduced the English sermon in the synagogue. -Reference is made by a correspondent from New York (see “Orient,” 1840, -p. 371) to “the poor Jews of Elm street and the rich Jews of Crosby -street” in that period; and it was, characteristically enough, in the -synagogue of the Bene Yeshurun, then situated at Elm street, that the -innovation was made. Samuel Mayer Isaacs (b. in Leeuwarden, Holland, -1804; d. in New York, 1878), the son of a Dutch banker who removed to -England, was called to the rabbinate of that congregation in 1839. When -members who seceded from that synagogue formed the Congregation Sha’are -Tefilah, in 1847, Rabbi Isaacs went with them and remained with his -new charge until his death. He was an able exponent of conservative -Judaism and was the founder of the “Jewish Messenger” (1857), which was -continued after his demise by his son, Professor Abraham Samuel Isaacs -(b. in New York, 1852), until 1902, when it was merged with another -Jewish periodical. Like Leeser, Rabbi Isaacs was a good organizer, and -influenced the foundation of various Jewish institutions. - -His successor as rabbi of the Elm street congregation was Rabbi Morris -Jacob Raphall (b. in Stockholm, Sweden, 1798; d. in New York, 1868), -who was, like Isaacs, also the son of a banker. Raphall was a linguist -and a good rabbinical scholar, and while in England he delivered -lectures on Hebrew poetry, and also began there the publication of -the “Hebrew Review and Magazine of Rabbinical Literature,” which was -discontinued in 1836. For some time he acted as secretary to Solomon -Herschell (1762–1842); he also made translations from Maimonides, -Albo and Wessely; he participated in the translation of part of the -Mishna, and began a translation of the ♦Pentateuch, of which one -volume appeared. After being for eight years minister of the Birmingham -Synagogue, he sailed for New York in 1849, and remained with the Bene -Yeshurun until shortly before his death. Raphall was the only prominent -Northern rabbi who defended the institution of slavery in the pulpit, -as well as in one of his works, entitled “Bible View of Slavery.” - -Rev. Jacques Judah Lyons (b. in Surinam, 1814; d. in New York, 1877), -who was a rabbi in his native city for several years, came to the -United States in 1837, went to Richmond, Va., where he was minister of -the Congregation Bene Shalom for two years, came to New York in 1839, -and became rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation, which had -removed from Mill street to Crosby street in 1834. He held the position -thirty-eight years, “successfully combating every movement to change -the form of worship in his congregation.” - - Illustration: Rabbi Sabato Morais. - Photo by Gutekunst, Phila. - -Leeser’s successor in the pulpit of Mickweh Israel in Philadelphia -was also a prominent conservative, Sabato Morais (b. in Leghorn, -Italy, 1823; d. in Philadelphia, 1897). After having spent five -years in London as the master of a Jewish Orphans’ School, he arrived -in Philadelphia in 1851, and “until his death his influence was a -continually growing power for conservative Judaism.... Though his -ministry covered the period of greatest activity in the adaptation -of Judaism in America to changed conditions, he, as the advocate -of Orthodox Judaism withstood every appeal in behalf of ritualistic -innovations and departures from traditional practice,” proving thereby -how much the personality of the rabbi counts in this country in -deciding the religious attitude of his congregation. When Maimonides -College was established in Philadelphia, in 1867, Morais was made -professor of the Bible and Biblical literature; and he held the chair -during the six years that the college existed. He was the founder and -the first president of the faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary, -which was established in New York in 1886, which position, as well -as that of Professor of Bible, he held until his death. Henry Samuel -Morais (b. in Philadelphia, 1860), the writer on Jewish historical -subjects and the first editor of the Philadelphia “Jewish Exponent” -(established 1887), is a son of Sabato Morais. - -Isidor Kalisch (b. in Krotoschin, Prussian-Poland, 1816; d. in Newark, -N. J., 1886) was another scholarly rabbi of that period, who came to -the United States in 1849, after having studied at several European -universities. While he was more inclined toward Reform, he is chiefly -known for his literary works and translations, which cover a wide range -of Jewish subjects in Hebrew, German and English. He officiated as -rabbi in various communities, beginning with Cleveland, O., and ending -in Newark, N. J., to which city he removed from Nashville, Tenn., after -he retired from the ministry in 1875. Supreme Court Justice Samuel -Kalisch (b. in Cleveland, O., 1851) of Newark is his son. - -Rev. Adolph Hübsch (b. in Hungary, 1830; d. in New York, 1884) was also -a moderate Reformer with a good Rabbinical education. He came to New -York in 1866 and became rabbi and preacher of the Congregation Ahabat -Chesed, which grew considerably under him. He was one of those who -yielded to the temptation of the time to tamper with the Siddur, and -his edition of it, which was adopted by several other congregations for -a certain time, was an addition to the curiosities of American Jewish -liturgical literature. - -Henry S. Jacobs (b. in Kingston, Jamaica, 1827; d. in New York, -1893), who came to Richmond, Va., as rabbi of Congregation Bet Shalom -in 1854 and later held similar positions in Charleston, S. C., New -Orleans and New York (Shearit Israel, 1873–74; Bene Yeshurun, 1874–93), -also belongs to the group of conservative rabbis of that period, -who did much to uphold traditional Judaism as a living faith without -treating it as a movement or considering themselves as agitators. His -conciliatory attitude enabled him to act as president of the Board of -Jewish Ministers of New York from its organization until his death. - -Benjamin Szold (b. in Hungary, 1829; d. at Berkely Springs, -W. Va., 1902), who came to Baltimore in 1859 as rabbi of Oheb -Shalom congregation and remained with it as rabbi until 1892 and as -rabbi-emeritus until his death, was an opponent of radicalism who -influenced his congregation to adopt a more ♦conservative course -relating to prayers. The changes in the contents of the Siddur, -or traditional Prayer Book, are a characteristic of the extremely -individualistic period in the Reform movement, when almost every leader -of prominence tried his hand at it, and when the aim seemed to be to -make the services in each temple or Reform-synagogue as unlike that of -the other as possible. Most of those special “siddurim” have neither -literary nor historical value, and deserve to be mentioned only as -the curiosities or vagaries of an epoch of transition in American -Judaism. Szold used the prevailing method for the purpose of inducing -his congregation to retrace its steps; and his “Abodat Israel,” which -closely followed traditional lines, soon displaced the more radical -“Minhag America,” not only in his own synagogue but in a number of -others. It was re-published several times, once with an English -translation. His commentary on Job (Baltimore, 1886), written in Hebrew, -is one of the best works of that nature produced in the United States. -Miss Henrietta Szold, the translator and writer on Jewish subjects, is -his daughter. - -Of the same age, and to some extent imbued with the same views as Szold, -was Mordecai or Marcus Jastrow (b. in Ragosen, Prussian-Poland, 1829; -d. in Germantown. Pa., 1903), who had a remarkable career as rabbi -in two countries before he came to America. Jastrow had a thorough -rabbinical education, and also a degree of Ph.D. from the University -of Halle. In 1858 he became the preacher of the modern or “German” -congregation at Warsaw, Russian-Poland, and threw himself into the -study of the Polish language and of the condition of the Jews of Poland. -His work “Die Lage der Juden in Polen”, which ♦appeared anonymously -(Hamburg, 1859), proves him to have possessed much valuable information -and clear views on the condition of the Jews of Poland; while a -collection of Polish sermons which was published in Posen (1863) attest -to his mastery of the language. He took the part of the Poles against -their Russian oppressors, and participated in the demonstrations -against the killing of five Poles in a suburb of Warsaw in February, -1861, which led to the beginning of the second Polish insurrection. -Jastrow was imprisoned, together with the great Rabbi Berush Meisels, -and after being held more than three months, was expelled from Russia. -His widely circulated patriotic Polish sermons, his efforts to bring -the Jews and Christians together in protest against the Muscovite -tyranny, and his imprisonment, made him one of the most popular men -in the old Polish capital at that time. He occupied the position of -rabbi at Mannheim, Germany, for a short time in 1862, but his sympathy -with Poland was too strong to permit him to remain there when, on -the supposed pacification of that unhappy country, the order for his -expulsion was revoked in November of that year. He soon returned to -Warsaw, but a few months later the actual insurrection broke out, and, -his passport being cancelled while he was visiting Germany, he could -not return to Russia. He then (1864) accepted a position as rabbi at -Worms, Hesse, where he remained until 1866, when he was chosen rabbi -of the Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia. - -In the first years of his American rabbinate, Jastrow ably seconded the -efforts of Leeser to preserve conservative Judaism in the East against -the advance of radical Reform, and continued to oppose that tendency -after Leeser’s death. Jastrow was one of the professors of Maimonides -College, and later collaborated with Szold in the revision of the -“Siddur Abodat Israel” and in its translation into English. Besides -his activity in local Jewish affairs and in other Jewish matters of -a more general nature, he contributed to many European and American -Jewish periodicals and was for several years the chief editor of a -new translation of the Bible into English, which was undertaken under -the auspices of the Jewish Publication Society of America. He also -found time to compile his great work, “A Dictionary of the Targumim, -the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature” (London -and New York, 1886–1903), and in his last years was editor of the -department of the Talmud in the “Jewish Encyclopedia.” Two of his -sons are renowned American scholars. The older, Prof. Morris Jastrow -(b. in Warsaw, 1861), has occupied the chair of Semitic languages at -the University of Pennsylvania since 1892, and is one of the foremost -Orientalists in the country. The younger, Joseph Jastrow (b. in Warsaw, -1863), has been prof. of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin -since 1888, and a recognized authority on his special subject. He -was in charge of the psychological section of the World’s Columbian -Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and served as president of the American -Psychological Association for the year 1900. - - Illustration: Dr. Marcus Jastrow. - Photo by Gutekunst, Phila. - -The last of the important rabbis to come here from a Western European -country was Alexander Kohut (b. in Hungary, 1842; d. in New York, -1894), the lexicographer and Orientalist, whose “Aruch Completum” -(Vienna, 1878–92), to which he devoted twenty-five years of his life, -is still the standard work on the subject. The first four volumes -were printed during his residence in Hungary, where he was rabbi first -at Stuhlweissenburg, then at Fünfkirchen, and lastly at Grosswardein -(1880–84). The last four appeared during his sojourn in America, -whither he came in 1885, when he was chosen rabbi of Congregation -Ahabat Chesed in New York. He was at once recognized as an eminent -conservative leader, and was associated with Morais in founding the -Jewish Theological Seminary, in which he became professor of Talmudic -methodology. In March, 1894, while delivering a eulogy on Kossuth, -he was stricken in the pulpit, and died after lingering several -weeks. A volume containing memorial addresses and tributes to his -memory was published by his congregation in 1894. Another volume, -containing essays by forty-four noted scholars in Europe and America, -entitled “Semitic Studies in Memory of Rev. Dr. Alexander Kohut,” was -published in Berlin in 1897 by his son, George Alexander Kohut (born -in Stuhlweissenburg, 1874), the bibliographer and writer on Jewish -subjects. - -Extreme Russian Orthodoxy asserted itself in New York about the middle -of the nineteenth century. There were numerous Jews from Russia in -the country long before that, and the immigration from Russian-Poland -increased heavily after 1845, when Jews in the Kingdom of Poland were -first conscripted in the army, in violation of a promise made by the -Government that this was to be postponed until they were granted equal -rights with non-Jewish subjects. The first Russian congregation in -America was founded June 4, 1852, with twelve members, which soon -increased to about twenty-three, several of whom, however, were natives -of Germany who were dissatisfied with the Reform tendencies of the -congregations to which most of their countrymen belonged.[33] The first -place of worship was in a garret of the house, No. 83 Bayard street, -for which a monthly rental of eight dollars was paid. B. Lichtenstein -was the first Parnass or president, I. Cohen the secretary, H. S. -Isaacs the reader and Abraham Joseph Ash (Eisenstadt? b. in Semyatich, -Russia, 1813; d. in New York, 1888), who came to America in that year -and was a Talmudical scholar, acted as rabbi without compensation. - -The place on Bayard street was soon too small for the rapidly -increasing congregation, and it removed in November of the same year -to larger quarters on the first floor of a house on the corner of -Canal and Elm streets, for which a monthly rental of twenty-five -dollars was paid, although there was a carpenter-shop on the floor -above. In another six months the continual increase necessitated -another removal, this time to the top floor of a former court house at -the corner of Pearl and Centre streets. There was a German congregation, -“Bet Abraham,” on the first floor of the same building; but it soon -moved out and, changing its name to “Sha’are Zedek,” located in Henry -street and was known as the Henry Street Synagogue, until it moved -uptown several years ago. - -During the three years which the first Russian congregation, which -called itself simply the Bet ha-Midrash, remained on Pearl street, -Mr. Ash became the regularly appointed rabbi at a salary of two -dollars a week, and Joshua Falk ha-Kohen, author of “Abne Joshua” -(a commentary on Pirke Abot, New York, 1860), delivered occasional -sermons without compensation. About this time a quarrel between Rabbi -Ash and Judah Middleman, who was also a Talmudical scholar, about the -recognition of a shochet, in which the rabbi would not submit to the -decision of European rabbinical authorities, led to the first split -in the congregation. Middleman and his followers withdrew and formed a -separate _minyan_ on Bayard street, which later became the congregation -Bene Israel (Kalwarier, organized 1862), which now has its synagogue on -Pike street. - -A Portuguese Jew by the name of John Hart, who visited the Pearl -street synagogue to say kaddish on his Jahrzeit, or anniversary of -his parents’ death, influenced his friend, Samson Simpson, the founder -of Mount Sinai Hospital (b. in Danbury, Conn., 1780; d. in New York, -1857), to donate three thousand dollars, which formed the largest -part of the fund with which the Welsh Chapel, No. 78 Allen street, -was purchased and turned into a synagogue. It was dedicated June 8, -1856. New quarrels between the rabbi’s adherents and the officers of -the congregation led to a lawsuit, and later to another split; this -time Rabbi Ash and twenty-three of his followers left the synagogue, -and they formed a new congregation which they named “Bet ha-Midrash -ha-Godol,” which was dedicated August 13, 1859, the first location -being the top floor of the house on Forsyth street, on the southwest -corner of Grand street. Henry Chuck was the first president of the new -congregation; Mayer Salwen, secretary; Israel Cohen, reader, and Nathan -Mayer, beadle and collector. - -About the time of the beginning of the Civil War, Rabbi Ash left the -rabbinate and engaged in business, in which he was successful for a -time. During these years he became one of the largest contributing -members and acted for a time as the highest officer of the congregation. -But reverses came and he again became a rabbi, which, with a short -interruption in 1876, when he became a dealer in “Kosher” wine, -he remained until his death. The congregation removed from Forsyth -street to the corner of Clinton and Grand streets in 1865, and from -there moved into its own new building at 69 Ludlow street, which was -dedicated September 27, 1872. This building was sold in 1885 when -the congregation purchased the Methodist church at Nos. 52–60 Norfolk -street, which has been known as the Bet ha-Midrash ha-Godol for the -last quarter of a century. - -This synagogue, which was increasing in wealth and membership, made -progress in true Orthodox fashion. A system of baking strictly kosher -matzoth for Passover was introduced in 1870. An extra shochet, Asher -Lemil Harris, was engaged for the special meat market which supplied -the members. A “Hebra Mishnayot” for the daily study of the Mishna was -organized in the same year and a “Hebrah Shas,” for the study of the -Talmud every evening after the services, was organized in 1874 by Rabbi -Ash and Judah David Eisenstein (b. in Mesericz, government of Siedlce, -Russian-Poland, 1855; a. 1872), who is now the editor and publisher and -practically the author of the Hebrew Encyclopedia “Ozar Israel.” - -The congregation also did a considerable amount of direct and -unorganized charity work, the money often being contributed by members -or visitors who were called to the reading of the Torah on Saturdays or -other formal occasions. Poor transients and immigrants were assisted, -some were taken into the houses of the more wealthy members for -Sabbaths and festivals. Many of them were assisted to become peddlers, -and were even instructed in the rudiments of the occupation. The poor -of the Holy Land were also remembered by special donations once a year. -But charity work never overshadowed the religious work. The affairs of -the synagogue remained paramount, which is one of the principal reasons -why congregations of this kind retain their truly Orthodox character. -The increase of wealth brought the employment of the first professional -cantor, Judah Oberman (1877), who was succeeded by Simha Samuelson in -1880. Other large congregations were now growing up on the East Side, -where the Jewish population was increasing very fast; but the further -development of its religious and communal life belongs to a later -period. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - INTERVENTION IN DAMASCUS. THE STRUGGLE AGAINST - SWISS DISCRIMINATION. - - - The Damascus Affair; the first occasion on which the Jews of - the United States requested the government to intercede in - behalf of persecuted Jews in another country――John Forsyth’s - instructions to American representatives in Turkey, in - which those requests were anticipated――A discrimination - in a treaty with Switzerland to which President Fillmore - objected, and which Clay and Webster disapproved――The case of - a Jewish-American citizen in Neufchatel――Newspaper agitation, - meetings and memorials against the Swiss treaty――President - Buchanan’s emphatic declaration, and Minister Fay’s “Israelite - Note” about the Jews of Alsace――Question is settled by the - emancipation of the Swiss Jews. - -The Jewish community of the United States as a whole had no -difficulties with the outside world and no serious internal problems -in the period of expansion which is treated in this part. The results -of the treaty between our Government and that of Russia, which was -concluded in 1832, in which the rights of American Jews to enter -Russia on the same conditions as other American citizens were not -safeguarded as explicitly as ought to have been done in dealing with -a power so unfriendly to the Jews, had not become apparent until nearly -a half century afterwards, and must be ascribed more to oversight -and ignorance of Russia’s treatment of Jews than to wilful neglect. -Several unfavorable local decisions against Jews as such, mostly in -cases of violation of Sunday laws, or of exemption claimed by Jews from -attending court on Saturday,[34] were of an immediately more painful -nature: but this question also did not become acute until a much -later period, when there grew up communities containing large poor -Orthodox masses, for whom the observance of two day’s rest was a great -economic hardship. An occasional objection to a public functionary’s -forgetfulness about there being other citizens than Christians, -which was sometimes noticed in Thanksgiving Day Proclamations (see Dr. -Lilienthal’s correspondence about a case of that nature with Governor -Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, in “Publications,” XIII, pp. 30–36) would soon -itself be forgotten by Jew and gentile alike. The Jews were occasioning -and experiencing very little difficulties, contributing to the work of -developing the country, and thus unconsciously assisting in preparing -themselves and the general population for the larger influx of -immigrants which were to come later. - -The Jews of America were therefore prepared to participate with -the Jews of Western Europe in arousing public sympathy and causing -diplomatic intervention in the case of the thirteen unfortunate Jews of -Damascus who were imprisoned and tortured under the Blood Accusation of -1840. While the distance and the absence of the present means of quick -communication delayed the action taken by the Jews of America until -after the necessary assistance was rendered by European governments at -the instance of the most influential Jews of England and France, the -steps taken by the Jews here and the noble response of the Government -under President Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) is of real historical -value, and has been so regarded by Jost.[35] It was for the first -time that the Jews of the United States interested themselves and -enlisted the interest of the government in the cause of suffering -Jews in another part of the world, and thus participated in that -consolidation of the Jewish public spirit which resulted from this -memorable occurrence, and which justifies the statement made by -Mr. Jacobs that “in a measure, modern Jewish history may be said to -date from the Damascus affair of 1840.” There were now emancipated -Jews in some countries who not only dared to come out in open protest -against anti-Jewish outrages in other countries, but could also -interest civilized governments to take official notice of such -outrages――something unknown in former times. The American government, -on its part, did not even wait for the request of the Jews to intercede -in behalf of the victims of barbarous cruelty; but of its own accord it -sent instructions to its representatives in Turkey and in Egypt to do -all in their power for the unfortunate Jews. - -The first meeting of Jews “for the purpose of uniting in an expression -of sympathy for their brethren at Damascus, and of taking such steps -as may be necessary to procure for them equal and impartial justice” -was held in New York on August 19, 1840; and a letter containing the -Resolution which was adopted there was sent to President Van Buren -under the date of August 24, to which the following reply was received: - - Washington, August 26, 1840. - - Messrs. J. B. Kursheedt, Chairman, and Theodore J. Seixas, - Secretary. - - _Gentlemen_:――The President has referred to this Department your - letter of the 24th inst., communicating a resolution unanimously - adopted at a meeting of the Israelites in the City of New York, - held for the purpose of uniting in an expression of sentiment - on the subject of the persecution of their brethren in Damascus. - By his direction I have the honor to inform you, that the - heart-rending scenes which took place at Damascus, had previously - been brought to the notice of the President by a communication - from our Consul at that place, in consequence thereof, a - letter of instruction was immediately written to our Consul at - Alexandria, a copy of which is herewith transmitted for your - satisfaction. - - About the same time our Charge d’Affairs at Constantinople - was instructed to interpose his good offices in behalf of - the oppressed and persecuted race of the Jews in the Ottoman - Dominions, among whose kindred are found some of the most worthy - and patriotic of our own citizens, and the whole subject which - appeals so strongly to the universal sentiment of justice and - humanity was earnestly recommended to his zeal and discretion. - I have the honor to be, gentlemen, - - Very respectfully, - Your obedient servant, - JOHN FORSYTH. - -The letter by Mr. John Forsyth (1780–1841) to the Consul, which is -mentioned in the above communication, was as follows: - - Washington, August, 14, 1840. - - JOHN GLIDDON, ESQ., United States Consul at Alexandria, Egypt. - - Sir:――In common with all civilized nations, the people of the - United States have learned with horror the atrocious crimes - imputed to the Jews of Damascus, and the cruelties of which - they have been the victims. The President fully participates in - the public feeling, and he cannot refrain from expressing equal - surprise and pain, that in this advanced age, such unnatural - practices could be ascribed to any portion of the religious - world, and such barbarous measures be resorted to, in order to - compel the confession of imputed guilt; the offences with which - these unfortunate people are charged, resemble too much those - which, in less enlightened times, were made the pretexts of - fanatical persecution or mercenary extortion, to permit a doubt - that they are equally unfounded. - - The President has witnessed, with the most lively satisfaction, - the effort of several of the Christian Governments of Europe, - to suppress or mitigate these horrors, and he has learned with - no common gratification their partial success. He is moreover - anxious that the active sympathy and generous interposition of - the Government of the United States should not be withheld from - so benevolent an object, and he has accordingly directed me to - instruct you to employ, should the occasion arise, all those - good offices and efforts which are compatible with discretion - and your official character, to the end that justice and - humanity may be extended to these persecuted people, whose cry - of distress has reached our shores. I am, sir, - - Your obedient servant, - - JOHN FORSYTH. - -The following letter was addressed to David Porter (1780–1843; the -father of Admiral David D. Porter), who was then United States Minister -to Turkey: - - DEPARTMENT OF STATE. - - Washington, August 17, 1840. - DAVID PORTER, ESQ. - - Sir:――In common with the people of the United States, the - President has learned with profound feelings of surprise and - pain the atrocious cruelties which have been practiced upon - the Jews of Damascus and Rhodes, in consequence of charges - extravagant and strikingly similar to those, which, in less - enlightened ages, were made pretexts for the persecution and - spoliation of these unfortunate people. As the scene of these - barbarities are in the Mahomedan dominions, and, as such inhuman - practices are not of an infrequent occurrence in the East, the - President has directed me to instruct you to do everything in - your power with the government of his Imperial Highness, the - Sultan, to whom you are accredited, consistent with discretion - and your diplomatic character, to prevent or mitigate these - horrors,――the bare recital of which has caused a shudder - throughout the civilized world; and in an especial manner, - to direct your philanthropic efforts against the employment - of torture in order to compel the confession of imputed - guilt. The President is of the opinion that from no one can - such generous endeavors proceed with so much propriety and - effect, as from the representative of a friendly power, whose - institutions, political and civil, place upon the same footing, - the worshippers of God, of every faith and form, acknowledging - no distinction between the Mahomedan, the Jew, and the Christian. - Should you, in carrying out these instructions, find it - necessary or proper to address yourself to any of the Turkish - authorities, you will refer to _this distinctive characteristic_ - of our government, as investing with a peculiar propriety and - right, the interposition of your good offices in behalf of an - oppressed and persecuted race, among whose kindred are found - some of the most worthy and patriotic of our citizens. In - communicating to you the wishes of the President, I do not think - it advisable to give you more explicit and minute instructions, - but earnestly commend to your zeal and discretion, a subject - which appeals so strongly to the universal sentiments of justice - and humanity. - - I am, sir, your obedient servant, - - JOHN FORSYTH. - -The Jews of Philadelphia held, on August 27, a meeting for the same -purpose in the vestry of the Mickweh Israel Synagogue, at which were -present, besides the prominent Jews of the city, several representative -Christian clergymen――Dr. Ducachet, Rector of St. Stephens, Dr. Ramsay, -a Presbyterian minister, and the Rev. Mr. Kennedy――all of whom spoke. -Isaac Leeser was the principal orator, and he argued that as both -Christianity and Islam are derived from Judaism, if the last advocated -ritual murder, the daughter-religions would equally be guilty of the -same practice. He contrasted the position of the Eastern Jews with that -of their brethren in this happy land, and declared that while the Jews -everywhere felt themselves true citizens of the lands in which they -dwelt, they still retained full sympathy with their co-religionists -throughout the world, especially when charges were brought against them -which affected the honor and good fame of their religion. A series of -resolutions were adopted and sent to Washington, whence Mr. Forsyth -replied in similar terms to those he had used in his letter to the -Jews of New York, and likewise enclosed a copy of his letter to Consul -Gliddon at Alexandria. Another meeting was held in Richmond, Va., where -a resolution was adopted thanking the President “for the prompt and -handsome manner in which he has acted in reference to the persecution -practiced upon our brethren in Damascus.” - -The Jews of the United States were also in open sympathy with the -liberal movements in Central Europe, especially in Germany, which -culminated in the revolutions of the year 1848. While there was -no active co-operation or direct assistance in those times of slow -communication, those who wrote from America described the conditions -prevailing here as well-nigh ideal from the liberal point of view. A -poem by Sigmund Herzl, entitled “Auf! Nach Amerika!” which appeared -in the “Central Organ,” published in Vienna in 1848 by Isidor Bush -(b. in Prague, Bohemia, 1822; a. in New York, 1849; d. in St. Louis, -Mo., 1898), in which America is described as a place where true -brotherly love reigns supreme, where ignorance and base prejudice -are entirely unknown, may be taken as an example of the expression of -that sentiment. When the great Jewish champion of the liberal movement -in Germany, Gabriel Riesser (b. in Hamburg, Germany, 1806; d. there -1863), visited America in 1856, he was greeted by many former German -revolutionary soldiers――both Jewish and Christian――and in New York they -gave a public dinner in his honor. German Jews in Philadelphia formed -a Riesser Club, which existed for a number of years. (See Albert M. -Friedenberg in “Publications,” XVII, pp. 204–5.) - - * * * * * - -The first diplomatic difficulties which the Government of the United -States experienced on account of discrimination against its Jewish -citizens occurred about this time, and――strangely enough――it was not -with Russia, but with the Swiss Confederation. A general convention -between the two republics was drawn and signed at Berne, November 25, -1850, by Mr. A. Dudley Mann, American Minister to Switzerland, on the -part of the United States, and by Messrs. Druey and Frey-Hérosée on -the part of the Swiss Confederation. This treaty and a copy of the -instructions under which Mr. Mann acted, together with his dispatch -of November 30, 1850, explanatory of the Articles of Convention, -were transmitted to the United States Senate on February 13, 1851, by -President Millard Fillmore (1800–74). Neither the treaty nor the papers -accompanying it were ever made public, the ban of secrecy imposed by -the Senate having never been removed. But President Fillmore himself, -in the message transmitting the treaty, objected to it in the form -in which it was presented. He said: “There is a decisive objection -arising from the last clause in the First Article. That clause is in -these words: _On account of the tenor of the Federal Constitution of -Switzerland, Christians alone are entitled to the enjoyment of the -privileges guaranteed by the present Article in the Swiss Cantons. But -said cantons are not prohibited from extending the same privileges to -citizens of the United States of other religious persuasions._ - - “It is quite certain [continues the President] that neither by - law, nor by treaty, nor by any other official proceeding is it - competent for the Government of the United States to establish - any distinction between its citizens founded on differences in - religious beliefs. Any benefit or privilege conferred by law or - treaty on one must be common to all, and we are not at liberty, - on a question of such vital interest and plain constitutional - duty, to consider whether the particular case is one in which - substantial inconvenience or injustice might ensue. It is - enough that an inequality would be sanctioned, hostile to - the institutions of the United States and inconsistent with - the Constitution and the laws. Nor can the Government of the - United States rely on the individual Cantons of Switzerland - for extending the same privileges to other citizens of the - United States as this article extends to Christians. It is - indispensable not only that every privilege granted to any - of the citizens of the United States should be granted to all, - but also that the grant of such privileges should stand upon the - same stipulation and assurance by the whole Swiss Confederation, - as those of other articles of the convention.”[36] - -The two most prominent men in American public life at that time, -Senator Henry Clay (1777–1852) and Secretary of State Daniel Webster -(1782–1852), strongly disapproved the discrimination which the -proposed treaty provided. The former wrote: “I disapprove entirely -the restrictions limiting certain provisions of the treaty, under the -operation of which a respectable portion of our fellow-citizens would -be excluded from their benefits. This is not the country nor the age -in which unjust prejudices should receive any countenance.” Webster -wrote about the same time to a Jew who addressed him on the subject -(presumably J. M. Cordozo): “The objections against certain specialties -of the Swiss Convention concerning the Israelites which you urge in -your letter to me have not escaped the attention of the Department, and -I hasten to inform you that they will be laid before the Senate with -the convention.” (The letter is dated February 11, 1851.) - -In the meantime, although it was asserted on behalf of Switzerland that -the discriminations which it insisted upon were only “a precautionary -measure ... a safeguard against the immense itinerant (Jewish) -population of Alsace,” the two Cantons of Basle vigorously executed a -decree of banishment against the Jews which was promulgated November -17, 1851. The law was suspended for a few months because of a note sent -by Emperor Napoleon III. to the Council of the Federation, in which he -said “That France will expel all Swiss citizens established in France -in case the two Cantons should insist on carrying out this law against -the Jews.” But while the negotiations were pending, the two Cantons -carried out the law of expulsion, and no further steps were taken -by France. About this time there was set on foot in this country a -movement to procure religious toleration abroad for American citizens -generally. It appears to have been aimed at the persecution of American -Protestants in Catholic countries, and the movement to secure redress -in this direction culminated in a resolution introduced in the House of -Representatives, December 13, 1852, by John A. Wilcox, of Mississippi, -which declared “that the representatives of this Government at foreign -courts be instructed to urge such amendments of all existing treaties -between the United States and the other powers of the world as will -secure the same liberty of religious worship to all American citizens -residing under foreign flags which is guaranteed to all citizens of -every nation of the whole world who reside under the flag of our Union.” - -Objection was made to this resolution as an encroachment upon the -powers of the Executive, and action was delayed for a long time. A -resolution of a similar nature, which was reported to the Senate from -the Committee on Foreign Relations, February 17, 1853, met the same -fate. But all these discussions had the effect of the Senate refusing -to ratify the treaty with Switzerland in the form in which it was sent -to it. Mr. Mann thereupon proceeded to negotiate another treaty which, -while striking from it the clause objected to by the President and -the other notable men mentioned above, yet in another form inserted a -clause, the effect of which was the same as that of the clause which -had been stricken out. Article I of this new treaty read as follows: - - The citizens of the United States of America and the citizens - of Switzerland shall be admitted and treated upon a footing of - reciprocal equality in the two countries, where such admission - and treatment shall not conflict with the constitutional or - legal provisions, as well Federal as State and Cantonal of the - contracting parties. - -Despite the previous and many subsequent protests from numerous Jews, -and also despite the attention of the government, which was attracted -to the case of A. H. Gootman, an American-Jewish citizen, who was -ordered expelled from the Canton of Neufchatel in 1853, the treaty -containing the above article was ratified by the Senate November 6, -1855. Ratifications were exchanged two days afterward, and the treaty -was proclaimed November 9, 1855, by President Franklin Pierce (1804–69), -when William Learned Marcy (1786–1857) was Secretary of State. - -In 1856 the above mentioned Mr. Gootman, who had remained in Neufchatel -by special permission, again requested, through the American minister -to Switzerland, Mr. Theo. S. Fay, the intervention of the United States -Government against his expulsion. In his letter to the State Department -Mr. Fay states it as a matter of fact that the treaty between the -two republics “does not grant to Israelites the right of domicile -in Switzerland,” and in a second letter he says “that it may be -superfluous to repeat that the obnoxious clause in the treaty -was unavoidable without a revision of the federal constitution of -Switzerland.” He also repeats “that the admission of American Jews -would necessitate that of Jews of other nations, and particular -inconvenience is apprehended from the usurious Israelitish population -of the French province of Alsace.” This second Gootman case became -generally known, and public sentiment was aroused against the treaty. -The result of the agitation was apparent even in the general press of -the country, and many protest meetings were held, memorials drawn and -forwarded to Washington and committees appointed to consider the matter. -A delegation of prominent Jews went to the Capital in October, 1857, -and presented a memorial to President James Buchanan (1791–1868), -who gave an explicit promise to remedy the wrong of which the Jews -complained. - -The declaration of the President on the subject was so emphatic that -most of the leaders and promoters of the agitation were completely -satisfied that the question was already settled in their favor. Dr. -Einhorn wrote in his “Sinai”: “We feel satisfied that the Israelites -of the United States may feel implicit confidence in the Executive, and -that their rights as citizens of the United States will be zealously -maintained.” Dr. Wise, in the “Israelite,” wrote: “No doubt was left -in the minds of the delegates, but that this matter is settled as far -as we are concerned.” Rabbi Leeser, however, was not so well satisfied, -and he did not agree that all agitation ought now to cease, but thought -it “advisable for all the congregations that have not yet acted to -draw up memorials and send them to the President, to show at least -that the interest in the question was not confined to the four States -represented at Washington on the 31st of October.” - -Another long diplomatic correspondence followed, with reciprocal -requests for information about the condition of the Jews in both -countries, with urgent requests from Washington that something be -done, and with explanations from Mr. Fay that the Cantonal laws or -constitutions would have to be changed before favorable action could -be expected. In November of the same year Mr. Fay wrote: “I would wish -carefully to avoid offering encouragement to the Hebrews.” But he was -now working diligently to carry out the desire of the President, and -was even collecting material to disprove the charges made by the Swiss -against the Alsatian Jews. In November, 1858, he wrote to Secretary -of State Lewis Cass (1782–1866): “That the mouths of all foreign -governments and preceding treaty makers have been until now closed by -a plea about the Alsatian Jews. I think that after the renseignements -which I am now collecting no Swiss authority will ever dare to advance -that objection against us as an argument, and I am more and more of -the opinion that it may become expedient to denounce our treaty until -the expunction of the offensive clause.” The results of Mr. Fay’s -investigations were incorporated in his “Israelite Note,” which was -transmitted to the Secretary of State on June 3, 1859, and to the -Federal Council of Switzerland on the same day. It had a salutary -effect on Switzerland, where the Federal Council assisted in its -circulation. A German edition of it was printed in St. Gall in 1860. -The cause of the Jews in Switzerland gained much from this intervention -of the representative of a foreign government in their behalf; and the -consequences were felt in other countries where the struggle for Jewish -emancipation was then going on. According to a letter written by Mr. -Fay in October, 1859, the Bavarian Minister told him that should he -succeed in Switzerland, the Israelites of Bavaria would also be -emancipated. - -The case of the Jews was making considerable progress, and other -enlightened governments also made representations to Switzerland -in favor of the Jews; still nothing definite was accomplished under -Buchanan’s administration, either. In March, 1861, Rabbi Leeser -expressed, in the “Occident,” his regret, that nothing was done, and -wrote that he expected that nothing would be done until “Switzerland -herself will render the laws harmless by repealing through her Cantonal -Councils all inequality laws existing against us.” This prediction -proved correct; for while the succeeding Secretary of State, William -H. Seward (1801–72) took up the matter with Mr. George G. Fogg, who -was then minister to Switzerland, several years passed before another -favorable report reached the State Department on the subject. The -appointment by the Government of the United States of a Jewish citizen, -Mr. Bernays, as its Consul to Zürich created a stir in both countries, -and clearly indicated the favorable disposition of the administration -of President Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) towards the Jews. - -In 1864 Mr. Fogg wrote to Mr. Seward that the President of the -Confederation, Mr. Dubs, had informed him that the Federal Council were -then disposed to so amend the treaty that no discrimination founded -on religious belief should thereafter be made or endured by citizens -of the United States within the limits of the Swiss Confederation. -The remaining Cantons were removing the Jewish disabilities one after -another; but in some of them, as in Basle, the hotbed of opposition and -prejudice against the Jews, full civil rights were not granted until -1872, although the right of residence was freely accorded ten years -earlier. The new Swiss Constitution, which was adopted in 1874, at -last established full religious liberty, and also made the question -of treatments of aliens a Federal, as distinguished from a Cantonal, -matter. It was not until then that the question was solved, so to speak, -automatically; but it is conceded that the efforts of the Government -of the United States contributed to the result, although it could not -attain its object by direct diplomatic negotiations. - - - - - PART V. - - THE CIVIL WAR AND THE FORMATIVE PERIOD. - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - THE DISCUSSION ABOUT SLAVERY. LINCOLN AND THE JEWS. - - - Pro-slavery tendencies of the aristocratic Spaniards and - Portuguese――David Yulee (Levy)――Michael Heilprin and his reply - to Rabbi Raphall’s _Bible View on Slavery_――Immigrants of the - second period as opponents of slavery――Two Jewish delegates in - the Convention which nominated Abraham Lincoln, and one member - of the Electoral College in 1860――Two other Jews officially - participate in Lincoln’s renomination and re-election in - 1864――Abraham Jonas――Encouragement from the Scripture in - original Hebrew. - -As almost all the early Jewish settlers in America belonged to the -wealthy classes, and most of them were in everything, except as to -their faith, aristocratic Spaniards or Portuguese, it was natural -for them to accept the institution of slavery as they found it, and -to derive as much benefit from it as other affluent men. There were -numerous Jewish slave holders in various parts of the New World, -including the West Indies, New York and New England, long before and -down to the American Revolution. There are several early references -even to American-Jewish slave dealers. The growth of democracy and -changed economic conditions had gradually put an end to slavery in -the north soon after the beginning of the nineteenth century; but in -the South slavery remained common, among Jews as well as among others. -Public opinion in the South not only sanctioned slavery, but considered -it the basis of its prosperity and predominance; and the prominent -Jew of that part of the country was simply acting and feeling like -his non-Jewish neighbors and fellow-citizens when he owned slaves or -defended the institution at every possible opportunity. And those Jews -who attained high political or social position in the South were by -force of circumstances pro-slavery men. There was no lack of individual -instances of Jews who evinced special tenderness for the black man, -and even went so far as to liberate the negroes of whom they were the -owners. It is thus related of the philanthropist Judah Touro “that -the negroes who waited upon him in the house of the Shepards――with -whom he lived for forty years――were all emancipated by his aid and -supplied with the means of establishing themselves; and the only slave -he personally possessed he trained to business, then emancipated, -furnishing him with money and valuable advice.” The American and -Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, in its report in 1853, noted that some -Jews in the Southern States “have refused to have any right of property -in man, or even to have any slaves about them” and that the cruel -persecutions they themselves were subjected to tended to make them -friends of universal freedom.[37] But these were exceptional, not -typical cases, and not more common among Jews than among gentiles. - -It was therefore natural to find in a man like David Yulee (originally -David Levy, b. in St. Thomas, W. I., 1811; d. in New York City, 1886), -who after studying at Richmond, Va., became a planter in Florida, a -stanch supporter and defender of slavery. He was a Delegate to Congress -from the Territory of Florida from 1841 to 1845, bearing the name of -Levy. When Florida was admitted as a state in 1845, Levy, who had then -assumed the name of Yulee, was elected a United States Senator from -that state, being the first Jew who was elected to the upper house of -the American Congress. He served a full term and later he was elected -for another term, beginning in 1855 which he did not finish, because he -retired in January, 1861, to join the Confederacy, later serving as a -member of the Confederate Congress. We find even a resident of the far -West, Judge Samuel Heydenfeldt, of California――mentioned in a former -part――who, as a native of the South, was a strong partisan of the -Confederacy, going so far as to withdraw from a lucrative practice -in the courts, because he felt that he could not subscribe to the -“iron clad” oath of loyalty required by law as a condition precedent -to argument in every case (see _Friedenberg_, in “Publications,” X, -p. 138). - -In the religious controversies which went on at the time when the -question of slavery began to absorb the attention of the American -people, the Jews also took part on both sides. It has already been -mentioned that Dr. Einhorn was forced to quit Baltimore on account of -the strong stand against slavery which he took in his sermons and in -his German monthly “Sinai.” Rabbi Sabato Morais found in Philadelphia, -and so did Rabbis Bernhard Felsenthal and Liebman Adler in Chicago, -more congenial surroundings for their work against slavery. Rabbi -Morris J. Raphall, of New York, came out in 1860 with a strong sermon, -which later appeared in a pamphlet, entitled “_Bible View on Slavery_,” -in which he attempted to prove that since the Bible, which is the -highest law, sanctioned slavery, it was futile to invoke an alleged -“higher law” against it. There was, of course, no lack of replies -and refutations to this argument, but none was so strong or attracted -so much attention as one that came from the pen of a scholar who -represented the very latest class of Jewish immigrants to the United -States. - - Illustration: Michael Heilprin. - -This man was Michael Heilprin (b. in Piotrkow, Russian-Poland, -1823; d. in Summit, N. J., 1888), the son of Pinhas Mendel Heilprin -(b. in Lublin, Russian-Poland, 1801; d. in Washington, D. C., 1863). -His father, who was a scholarly merchant of the old Polish-Jewish type -and the author of several works in Hebrew, was his only teacher, and -brought him up in that spirit of enlightened Orthodoxy which was not -antagonistic to the acquisition of secular learning. Michael’s almost -phenomenal memory and diligence helped him to master many languages -and to become proficient in numerous sciences, which enabled him later -to become one of the associate editors and an important contributor -to _Appleton’s New American Cyclopaedia_. The Heilprins removed to -Northern Hungary about 1843, where Michael established himself as a -bookseller in Miskolcz. He soon mastered the Hungarian language, and -his articles and poems in the cause of liberty attracted much attention -during the stormy days of 1848 and 1849. He became the friend and -confidant of Louis Kossuth (1802–94) and other leaders, and when the -short-lived independent Hungarian government was established, he became -secretary of the literary bureau which was attached to its ministry -of the interior. After the suppression of the Revolution he spent some -time in Cracow and in France, but returned to Hungary in 1850, and -settled as a teacher in Satoralja-Ujhely, where his second son, the -well-known American naturalist, Angelo Heilprin, was born in 1853 (d. -in New York, 1907); the elder son, Louis, the encyclopedist (b. in -Miskolcz, 1851), died in New York in 1912. - -Michael Heilprin came to the United States in 1856 and settled in -Philadelphia, where for two years he taught in the schools of the -Hebrew Education Society. He “saw but one struggle here and in Hungary,” -and his sympathies were actively engaged in the anti-slavery movement. -In 1858 he settled in Brooklyn, where he resided until 1863, when he -removed to Washington, returning to New York in 1865. On January 16, -1861, he contributed a fiery denunciation and an exhaustive scholarly -refutation of Raphall’s views to the _New York Tribune_ which commanded -wide attention; and owing to this vehement but convincing repudiation -of alleged Jewish pro-slavery views, Heilprin succeeded in arousing -the public in a more marked degree than any other Jewish anti-slavery -champion. - -The bulk of the Jewish immigrants who came from Germany in the -forty years preceding the Civil War were almost unanimous against -slavery, because they were under the influence of the liberal movements -of the Old World. These immigrants were intensely interested in -the anti-slavery movement and were among the first and the most -enthusiastic members of the newly formed Republican party. The two -Jews who were chosen delegates to the National Convention of that party -in 1860, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency, and the -Jewish member of the Electoral College which ratified the choice of the -people in that year, were all natives of Germany. The oldest among them -was Sigismund Kaufman (b. in Darmstadt, 1824; d. in Berlin, 1889), who -participated in the German Revolution of 1848–49, and coming to America, -became a representative of the German Republican element in the United -States. He took an active part in the leadership of German social -and fraternal organizations in New York, was a director of the Hebrew -Orphan Asylum, and held the position of Commissioner of Immigration. He -addressed anti-slavery meetings in English, German and French, and was -considered one of the influential politicians of New York in his time. -He was chosen a Presidential Elector for the State of New York in 1860. - -Moritz Pinner (b. in Germany about 1828), one of the members of the -Republican State Convention which was held in St. Louis on February 12, -1860, was elected a delegate to the National Republican Convention -to be held in Chicago the following May. He was opposed to the -Presidential candidate who was put forward by that convention, and -when it adopted the unit rule, thereby forcing him to vote against his -own favorite candidate (Seward), he offered his resignation; but the -convention adjourned without taking action on it. He was at the Chicago -Convention as a delegate, but abstained from voting, on account of his -declination to be bound by the decree of the State Convention, which -is one of the reasons why his name does not appear on the official -roll of the Missouri delegates. Pinner, who later removed to Elizabeth, -N. J., was actively engaged for a number of years before the outbreak -of the war in circulating anti-slavery literature in Missouri, and was -for some time the editor of a German periodical devoted to the same -cause.[38] - - Illustration: Lewis N. Dembitz. - Photo by Klauber, Louisville. - -The third and youngest of the three Jews who directly participated -in the official part of the work of nominating and electing Abraham -Lincoln to the Presidency in 1860, was Lewis Naphtali Dembitz (b. in -Zirke, Province of Posen, Prussian-Poland in 1833; d. in Louisville, -Ky., 1907), who had been a practicing attorney at Louisville since -1853. He was previously occupied as a journalist and had at a later -time written several works on legal and general, as well as on Jewish, -subjects. Dembitz took an active interest in Jewish affairs and -held various communal positions in local and national bodies. He was -considered one of the leaders of Conservative Judaism in America, and -is best known as the author of _Jewish Services in the Synagogue and -Home_ (1898). At the Convention of 1860 he was a delegate from the city -of Louisville, where he resided for more than a half century, and where -he held the position of Assistant City Attorney from 1884 to 1888. - -The one Jewish delegate to the Convention which re-nominated Mr. -Lincoln in 1864 was likewise a native of Germany, while the one -Jewish member of the Electoral College which re-elected him was of -German parentage. The former was Maier Hirsch (1829–76), a merchant of -Salem, Oregon, who was one of the six delegates from that state to the -Republican National Convention of 1864. He settled in Oregon in 1852, -when he came to the United States from Würtemberg. He settled in New -York in 1874, where he died two years later. Maier Hirsch was a brother -of Solomon Hirsch, who was United States Minister to Turkey from 1889 -to 1892, and of Edward Hirsch, at one time State Treasurer and later a -State Senator of Oregon. - -The Presidential elector of 1864 was A. J. Dittenhoefer (b. in South -Carolina, 1836), who came with his parents to New York when he was -four years old, and has resided there continually since. He served as -Justice of the Marine (now City) Court, and held several positions of -trust and honor in the Republican Party, of which he was one of the -earliest members in New York. - -Among the personal friends of Lincoln was Abraham Jonas (b. in Exeter, -England, 1801; d. in Quincy, Ill., 1864), whose four sons, strangely -enough, fought in the Confederate Army. Jonas, who first lived in -Kentucky, was a member of the Legislature of that State in 1828–30 and -in 1833; and in the last named year he was also chosen Grand Master -of Masons of the State of Kentucky. He removed to Illinois in 1838, -and there also became Grand Master of the newly organized Masonic -Grand Lodge, which was founded in 1839. He was elected a member of the -Illinois Legislature in 1842, retiring from his mercantile pursuits on -being admitted to the bar in 1843. He served as Postmaster of Quincy -from 1849 to 1852. Jonas, with Lincoln, was chosen by the Illinois -State Republican Convention, held at Bloomington on May 29, 1856, a -Presidential elector on the Fremont ticket. A confidential letter which -Lincoln, after his first nomination in 1860 wrote to Jonas, denying -that he was affiliated with the American or “Know Nothing” party, is -preserved in the authoritative Lincoln biography by Nicolay and Hay. -During his last illness, when he knew that the doctors had no hope -for his recovery, Jonas’s only wish was to see his son, Charles H., -a member of the Twelfth Arkansas Regiment, who was at that time -a prisoner of war on Johnson’s Island, Lake Erie. This wish was -communicated by telegraph to Lincoln, who issued an order, dated -June 2d, 1864, to “Allow Charles H. Jonas, now a prisoner of war at -Johnson’s Island, a parole of three weeks to visit his dying father, -Abraham Jonas, at Quincy, Ill.” Benjamin F. Jonas (b. in Williamstown, -Ky., 1834; d. in New Orleans, 1911), who served in the artillery of -Hood’s Corps in the Army of Tennessee, and who, after serving several -terms in the Legislature of Louisiana, was elected a United States -Senator from that state, serving from 1879 until 1885, was one of -the above mentioned four sons of Abraham Jonas who served in the -Confederate Army. - -The admiration which Jews felt for Lincoln was probably best expressed -by the silk flag which City Clerk Abraham Kohn of Chicago sent to the -President-elect before his departure for Washington in February, 1861. -It was painted in colors, its folds bearing Hebrew characters lettered -in black with the third to ninth verses of the first chapter in Joshua, -the last verse being: “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good -courage; be not afraid neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God -is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - - PARTICIPATION OF JEWS IN THE CIVIL WAR. - JUDAH P. BENJAMIN. - - - Probable number of Jews in the United States at the time of the - outbreak of the Civil War――Seddon’s estimate of “from ten to - twelve thousand Jews in the Southern Army”――Judah P. Benjamin, - the greatest Jew in American public life――His early life and - his marriage――Whig politician, planter and slave owner――Elected - to the United States Senate and re-elected as a Democrat――Quits - Washington when Louisiana seceded and enters the cabinet of the - Confederacy――Attorney-General, Secretary of War and Secretary - of State――His foreign policy――His capacity for work――When - all is lost he goes to England and becomes one of its great - lawyers――His last days are spent in France. - -The highest estimate of the number of Jews in the United States about -the time of the outbreak of the Civil War was about four hundred -thousand (Jonas P. Levy in 1858; see “Publications,” XI, p. 39), while -the lowest, given by Mr. Simon Wolf in his work, which is the standard -authority on the participation of the Jews in the war,[39] thinks it -“altogether doubtful whether there were more than 150,000, if that -many, when hostilities commenced.” But it is certain that even if the -higher estimate is nearer the truth, the Jews took their full share -in the struggle and “that the enlistment of Jewish soldiers, North and -South, reached proportions considerably in excess of their ratio to -the general population.” Mr. Wolf has collected data to the effect -that over seven thousand Jews took part in the conflict on both sides, -but he has by no means been able to come near completeness. Neither -the Government of the United States nor that of the Confederacy took -notice of the religion of its soldiers; a large number of the young -German-Jewish volunteers were far from being strict adherents of -religion, while many among the native Jews had American names and could -not be easily recognized as Jews. Mr. Seddon, the Secretary of War -of the Confederacy, when requested, in the fall of 1864, to grant a -furlough to Jewish soldiers who would like to keep Rosh ha-Shanah and -Yom Kippur, is quoted as replying that he believed that there were from -ten to twelve thousand Jews in the Southern Army, and that it would -perhaps disintegrate certain commands if the request was granted. While -this number is probably an exaggeration, it cannot be very far from the -truth, and considering the comparatively small number of Jews in the -South at that time, this is a really remarkable showing. - -The number of Jews who distinguished themselves by their bravery -and who attained high rank and other forms of recognition, was also -correspondingly large, especially if we consider their inexperience -in war. But before treating of the men who gained eminence on the -field of battle, and of the others whose creditable record in the -war helped them to attain positions of prominence in other walks of -life afterwards, we shall speak of the one man who occupied a really -commanding position in this gigantic struggle, the greatest Jew in -American public life――Judah P. Benjamin. - - Illustration: Judah P. Benjamin. - From Pierce Butler’s “Judah P. Benjamin.” - -He was the son of Philip (b. about 1782) and Rebecca de Mendes -Benjamin, who emigrated from London, England, to St. Thomas, W. I., -in 1808, shortly after their marriage, where the son was born August 6, -1811. The Benjamins removed to the United States, where they originally -intended to go, about 1818, and settled in Charleston, S. C. Judah -Philip entered Yale University in 1825, and left in 1827, without -taking a degree. A year later he came to New Orleans, where he -taught English, learned French and studied law as a notary’s clerk. -He was admitted to the bar in 1832 and a year later married his former -pupil, Natalie St. Martin, who remained all her life a devout Roman -Catholic. The marriage was not a happy one, and when their only child -which survived infancy was about five years old, Mrs. Benjamin moved -permanently to France to educate her, and Mr. Benjamin saw them only -on his visits to Paris, which he made almost annually. - -Benjamin was associated with Thomas Slidell, who later became Chief -Justice of Louisiana, in the preparation of the _Digest of the Reported -Decisions of the Superior Courts in the Territory of Orleans and State -of Louisiana_, which was published in 1834. He soon afterward became -interested in politics, and was elected to the lower house of the -General Assembly of Louisiana on the Whig ticket in 1842. When he was -forced by weakened eyesight to relinquish his law practice for a time, -he took up sugar planting, in which he likewise succeeded very well. -The plantation, however, was ruined by a flood, and Benjamin removed to -New Orleans, together with the members of his family, whom he brought -over from South Carolina. They were his mother (d. 1847), his oldest -sister, the widow of Abraham Levy (whom she married in 1826), and his -younger sister, who later became the mother of Julius Kruttschnitt -(b. in New Orleans, 1854), the railroad manager. As a planter Benjamin -became a slave owner, and some of his slaves, who were still living at -the beginning of the present century, “would tell visitors all sorts of -tales of the master of long ago――none but kindly memories and romantic -legends of the glory of the old place.”[40] - -He soon became one of the recognized leaders of the Whig party in his -state, and “no small share of the flashes of success that came to it -in the last decade of its existence in Louisiana is attributable to his -energy and political sagacity.” He was, according to the journalistic -custom of that time, savagely assailed by the newspapers which opposed -him, and he was even charged, in 1844, with belonging to the “Know -Nothing” party, despite the fact that he was himself foreign born. But -he agreed with that party in his opposition to the granting of suffrage -to immigrants into the state, even to natives of Northern States, in -whom he saw a source of danger to the South. - -His seat in the Constitutional Convention of 1844 being contested, he -resigned and was re-elected by a much larger majority. When he again -took his seat at the convention which re-assembled in New Orleans, -Benjamin was the recognized leader of the delegates of that city in its -disputes with the representatives of the country districts. One of his -speeches at that convention proved that he clearly foresaw the war in -1845, though he was then considered an alarmist. He was elected a State -Senator in 1852, and soon became a leading candidate for the United -States Senate. He received the nomination by an unexpectedly large -majority and was elected in the same year, as a Whig. When that party -was split by the antagonism between the North and the South, he came -out openly in 1855 with the declaration that it did not exist any more -as a national party. He urged the necessity of uniting in one great -Southern party, on a platform “on which we can all stand together -to meet with firmness the coming shock.” When the formation of such -a party proved impracticable, he turned to the Democratic party and -became more friendly to the administration. His first really powerful -speech in the Senate was delivered May 2d, 1856, on the Kansas bill, in -which he distinctly and calmly enunciated the right of secession. - -In 1859 Benjamin was re-elected to the United States Senate by a -majority of one vote (that of the last “Know Nothing” in the Louisiana -Legislature). He was now one of the prominent Senators, and chairman -of the Judiciary Committee. He was in favor of secession only as a -last resort; but he thought that this last resort was reached after -Lincoln’s election in 1860. He delivered two powerful orations in -the Senate in the following winter, and a memorable farewell speech, -February 4, 1861, on the right of Louisiana to secede. His last -speech in the capital was delivered before the Washington Artillery on -Washington’s birthday, and soon after, in New Orleans, he took leave -from his family, whom he was never to see again. - -Louisiana had already seceded from the Union on January 26, 1861, and -one month later, February 25, Benjamin was named by the President of -the new Confederacy, Jefferson Davis (1808–89) as his Attorney-General. -Benjamin assumed his new office at the new capital, Montgomery, Ala.; -but there was hardly any work for him to do as an Attorney-General to a -government that practically had no courts. But he was often called upon -by President Davis to perform other services which required tact and -delicacy, and he soon gained the latter’s confidence to a marked degree. -On September 17, 1861, Benjamin was named Secretary of War ad interim, -to succeed Secretary Walker, acting also as Attorney-General until -November 15 of that year. He proved unpopular in his new office, and -was blamed by a Congressional committee for not sending ammunition -to General Wise, who lost an important battle about that time. But -as a matter of fact there was nothing to send, and the President and -his Secretary of War preferred to accept official blame to disclosing -the dearth and scarcity of powder to a committee of the Confederate -Congress, fearing that it might become known to the Yankees. Benjamin -shouldered the odium, as usual; but he rose in the estimation of -Davis and the other leaders who were conversant with the true state -of affairs. Thus it happened that while almost everybody in the South -expected Benjamin to be dismissed in disgrace, the surprising news -was published on March 27, 1862, that he was promoted to the office -of Secretary of State. - -His new Department was the one for which he was pre-eminently fit; and -while he could not, in the nature of things, accomplish all that was -expected of him, he earned the undying fame which was best expressed -in the description of him as the “Brains of the Confederacy.” The -great problem was to obtain assistance from a maritime power, the -only one who could help the blockaded Confederacy, which was prevented -by the blockade from selling its chief staple article――cotton. Spain, -though a slave power herself at that time, was unfriendly to the -former persistent filibusters, and her distrust could not be overcome. -France was too friendly with England and would not interfere without -the latter’s consent or co-operation, so that even if the South -could send out a new Benjamin Franklin to Paris he could accomplish -little. Benjamin, like almost all Southern statesmen, believed that -England will be unable to get along without cotton, and ignoring -or misunderstanding the moral forces which the cause of the North -awakened in Europe, he displayed more independence at the beginning -than was justifiable. Later, when he was in England, Benjamin declared: -“I did not believe that your government would allow such misery to -your operatives, such loss to your manufacturers, or that the people -themselves would have borne it.” Benjamin believed that recognition (by -England and France) even without intervention would end the war, and he -might have been right if recognition came early. - -Mason, the Southern representative in England, made little headway, -and even had his cause been stronger, he was no match for Adams, the -minister of the North. Slidell, Benjamin’s friend, was apparently -more successful in France. Benjamin authorized him to offer France a -cotton subsidy valued at over sixty million francs for breaking the -blockade or even for simple recognition of the Confederacy. Emperor -Louis Napoleon (1808–73) seemed to have been favorably inclined, and -Mercier, the French minister at Washington, who visited Richmond with -Lincoln’s permission, was so influenced by Benjamin that he became -almost enthusiastic. But communications were unsteady and unsafe, and -some dispatches came seven months after they were sent from Paris. As -an instance: Benjamin received from Slidell on February 27, 1863, a -message written December 27, 1862, stating that the envoy to France was -“without any dispatch from you later than April 15th.” The fall of New -Orleans, May 1, 1862, blasted the hopes of early intervention. - -Benjamin worked very hard as Secretary of State, although there were -no ambassadors to be received and no social functions to be attended -in Richmond. It has been stated on good authority that President Davis -consulted with his Secretary of State more freely than with any other -member of his cabinet, and finding him always willing and able, got in -the habit of referring to the State Department anything that did not -beyond any hope belong to some other department. Benjamin’s assistant -secretary, L. O. Washington, writes of him: “He was ever calm, -self-poised, and master of all his resources. His grasp of a subject -seemed instantaneous. His mind appeared to move without friction. -His thought was clear.” Mrs. Jefferson Davis wrote; “Mr. Benjamin was -always ready for work; sometimes with half an hour recess, he remained -with the Executive from ten in the morning until night.... Both the -President and the Secretary of State worked like galley slaves, early -and late. Mr. Davis came home fasting, a mere mass of throbbing nerves, -and perfectly exhausted; but Mr. Benjamin was always fresh and buoyant.” - -When New Orleans fell, his little family, after privations and -misadventures, moved to La Grange, Ga., where he could again supply -them with money. When the fortune of the Confederacy began to wane, -his unpopularity increased, and attacks upon the score of his religion -and race, which were never neglected by his opponents during his entire -career, were now redoubled. He was especially blamed for the desperate -plan, which was carried out through the desire and influence of General -Robert E. Lee (1807–70) of enlisting negroes in the Confederate army. -On February 9, 1865, Benjamin made, at a mass meeting in Richmond, -the last public speech of his life. His power over his audience was -still great, but all was lost. Richmond fell in less than two months. -After an anxious week at Danville, he accompanied President Davis to -Greensboro, where the fugitive government halted for a few days. Taking -leave from Mr. Davis, to whom he could no longer be of any assistance, -he escaped to the West Indies, where he visited his native place for -the last time, and after many dangers and adventures he arrived in -England, July 22, 1865. - - * * * * * - -Although England did not recognize the Confederacy, many sympathized -with it, and Benjamin, whose fame preceded him, was received in London -with great friendliness, despite the order which he gave as Secretary -of State, expelling from the Confederate States all British Consuls, -because they persisted in acting under orders from their superiors -in Washington. He was befriended by many of the important men of the -time in London, including both Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield, -1804–81) and William E. Gladstone (1809–98). Having been born in an -English colony, the son of an Englishman, he simply returned to his -original allegiance, seemingly trying to forget his experience of more -than forty years as an American. He never made a political address or -a public declaration after leaving America. - -His subsequent career as an English barrister, as one of the greatest -of barristers in his time, was wonderful, especially when we remember -that it was begun when he was over fifty-five years of age; with a past -history which was so crowded with activity and exciting experience to -wear out any man. He wrote there his _Treatise on the Law of Sale of -Personal Property, with References to the American Decisions, to the -French Code and Civil Law_ which became a legal classic on both sides -of the Atlantic. His income from his law practice was for some years -as high as £15,000 annually, which was much rarer then than it is now. -In 1872 he received a “patent of precedence,” which gave him rank above -all other Queen’s Counsels. About 1877 he began to build a new house on -Avenue d’Jena (No. 41), in Paris, in which city his wife and only child -continued to reside, even after he settled in England. A bad accident -caused by an attempt to jump off a tram-car, in 1880, left him a sick -man for the rest of his life. Diabetes developed, and in February, 1883, -he was forced to announce his retirement from the English Bar. After a -notable banquet given in his honor by the Bench and Bar――the first of -its kind in England――he retired to his mansion in Paris, where he died -May 6, 1884, about seventy-three years old. He was buried according to -the rites of the Catholic Church, although it is not believed that he -was converted to Christianity. His wife survived him seven years. His -only daughter, Ninette, who married Captain Henri de Bousignac, of the -French army, died without issue in 1898. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - DISTINGUISHED SERVICES OF JEWS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STRUGGLE. - - - More “brothers in arms” and a larger proportion of officers in - the Confederate Army than in that of the North, because most - Southern Jews were natives of the country――Some distinguished - officers――A gallant private who later became a rabbi――Paucity - of Southern records――Generals Knefler, Solomon, Blumenberg, - Joachimsen and other officers of high rank in the Union - Army――New York ranks first, Ohio second and Illinois third - in the number of Jews who went to the front――Two Pennsylvania - regiments which started with Jewish colonels――Commodore Uriah - P. Levy, the ranking officer of the United States navy at - the time of the outbreak of the war, is prevented by age from - taking part in it. - -The disproportionately large number of Jews who served in the -Confederate army was already alluded to in the former chapter. -Another proof of it is the preponderance among the Jews in that army -of instances of “brothers in arms” (as Mr. Wolf calls them), i. e., of -groups of several brothers who went to the front with their neighbors -to fight the battles of the state and the section of the country in -which they lived. Six brothers Cohen――Aaron, Jacob H., Julius, Edward, -Gustavus A. and Henry M.――came from North Carolina. South Carolina -contributed the five brothers Moses――Percy, Joshua L., Horace, J. Harby -and A. Jackson. The four brothers Jonas have been mentioned in a former -chapter, but they also had a fifth brother who, like their father, -embraced the Union cause. Raphael Moses and his three sons were four -Southern soldiers from Georgia, while Alabama sent also three Moses -brothers: Mordecai, Henry C. and Alfred. Three brothers Cohen came from -Arkansas. Virginia and Louisiana each sent three brothers surnamed Levy, -while of the three brothers Goldsmith two came from Georgia and one -from South Carolina. The reason for the presence of so many brothers -in arms in the Confederate army is given by the above named authority -as due to the fact that the Jews of the Southern States were, in a -much larger proportion than those of the North, natives of the soil or -residents of long standing. While the Jews of the North were much more -numerous, they were, for the most part, immigrants of a comparatively -recent date, and therefore less intensely imbued with the spirit of the -conflict. - - Illustration: Hon. Simon Wolf. - Photo by Harris & Ewing, Wash., D. C. - -There were about twenty-three Jewish staff officers in the Confederate -army, which is likewise a larger number than those who held similar -positions in the Union army, and probably for the same reason given -above. The most distinguished of them were: Surgeon-General David de -Leon, who participated in the Mexican war (see page 162); Assistant -Adjutant-General J. Randolph Mordecai, and Colonel Raphael J. Moses, -who served on the staff of General Longstreet and was chief commissary -for the State of Georgia. Adolph Meyer (b. in New Orleans, 1842; d. -there 1908), who later served nine terms as a member of the House of -Representatives in Washington from the First District of Louisiana (52d -to 60th Congresses, inclusive), entered the Confederate army in 1862, -and served until the close of the war on the staff of Brigadier-General -John S. Williams of Kentucky. There were also about a dozen Jewish -officers in the Confederate navy, one of whom, Captain Levy Myers -Harby (b. in Georgetown, S. C., 1793; d. in Galveston, Tex., 1870), -who had previously served in the war of 1812, in the Mexican war and -in the Bolivian war, and, after resigning from the service of the -United States and joining the Confederacy, distinguished himself in -the defence of Galveston, and was in command of its harbor at the close -of the Civil War. - -Lionel Levy, a nephew of Judah P. Benjamin, served as Judge-Advocate of -the Military Court of the Confederate Army. Among those who served as -privates in the ranks who deserve to be mentioned was Samuel Ullman of -the 16th Infantry Regiment of Mississippi, who served gallantly through -the war, being twice wounded, and later (1891–94) was rabbi of Emanuel -Congregation of Birmingham, Ala. There have also been preserved the -names of twenty-five Jews among the Confederate prisoners who died in -Elmira, N. Y., during the time which they were detained there. A list -of seventeen soldiers interred at the Jewish burying ground of Richmond, -Va., contains the names of one captain, three lieutenants, and one -corporal, which is an exceptionally large ratio of officers for the -Civil War on either side. Even in the South the Jews could at that time -be numbered by tens of thousands, with a much larger proportion of poor -men, or immigrants, than in former times, and the relative number of -officers was perforce much smaller than at the time of the Revolution -or of the War of 1812. Still the Jews of the South were then, as it was -stated above, much more assimilated or Americanized than those of the -North, and the records of the Confederate army were less carefully kept -or preserved. Thus it happens that, while judging from inference and -some general statements, it may appear that the number of Jews in the -armies of the Confederacy was almost as large as, if not larger than, -their number in the Union Army, the actual records compiled by Mr. Wolf -tell an entirely different story. His lists contain about six thousand -names of Jews who supported the Union cause, while among those who -defended secession and slavery there were only about a fifth of that -number whose names and identity he ascertained. - -It is also to the Union army that we have to go to find Jewish officers -who commanded regiments on the battlefields. Brevet Major General -Frederick Knefler, a native of Hungary, who rose to the colonelcy of -the 79th Indiana Regiment and subsequently became a Brigadier-General, -and was made Brevet Major-General for meritorious conduct at -Chickamauga, is classed as a Jew. Edward S. Solomon (known also as -Salomon; b. in Sleswick-Holstein, 1826; d. 1909) emigrated to the -United States after receiving a high school education in his native -town, and settled in Chicago, where he was elected alderman in 1860. -At the outbreak of the war he joined the 24th Illinois Infantry as -second-lieutenant, participating in the battles of Frederickton and -Mainfordsville, Kentucky, and was promoted to the rank of major in 1862. -He then resigned and assisted in the organization of the Eighty-second -Illinois Infantry, in which regiment he became lieutenant-colonel, and -afterwards became its colonel. He took part, under General Howe, in the -battles of Chancellorville, Gettysburg, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain -and Missionary Ridge. In 1865 he was brevetted brigadier-general. When -peace was restored he returned to Chicago and became clerk of Cook -County, Ill. In 1870 he was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant -(1822–85) governor of Washington Territory, and held the position about -four years. After resigning, in 1874, he settled in San Francisco, -where he was twice elected to the Legislature of California, and also -held the office of District Attorney of San Francisco. - -Leopold Blumenberg (b. in Prussia, 1827; d. in Baltimore, 1876) served -with distinction in the Prussian-Danish war of 1848–49 and was promoted -to the rank of first lieutenant. He came to the United States in 1854 -and settled in Baltimore, where he engaged in a profitable business, -which he abandoned at the outbreak of the war. He helped to organize -the Fifth Maryland Regiment, in which he became a major. His work -for the Union cause excited the animosity of local secessionists, who -attempted to hang him, and he was forced to have his house barricaded -and guarded for several nights. Blumenberg was acting colonel of his -regiment near Hampton Roads. He was later attached to Mansfield’s corps -at the Peninsular campaign, and commanded his regiment as colonel at -Antietam, where he was severely wounded. When he had partly recovered -he was appointed by President Lincoln provost-marshal of the third -Maryland district, which position he held for two years. President -Andrew Johnson (1808–75) gave him a position in the revenue department -and commissioned him brigadier-general, United States Volunteers, by -brevet. General Blumenberg was a member of the Har-Sinai Congregation -and of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of Baltimore. - -Philip J. Joachimsen (b. in Breslau, Germany, 1817; a. 1831; d. in New -York, 1890) was appointed Assistant Corporation Attorney of the City -of New York soon after his admission to the bar, in 1840, and fifteen -years later he became Assistant United States District Attorney, being -afterward appointed Substitute United States Attorney under a special -provision of an act of Congress. (_Markens_ 223.) During his term of -office he secured the first capital conviction for slave trading, and -also the conviction of some Nicaraguan filibusterers. He organized -and commanded the 59th New York Volunteer Regiment and was injured -at New Orleans. He was made brigadier-general by brevet. In 1870 he -was elected a Judge of the Marine Court of the City of New York and -served a full term of six years. Judge Joachimsen was active in Jewish -communal affairs, and was the first president of the Hebrew Orphan -Asylum (1859). Twenty years later he organized the Hebrew Sheltering -Guardian Society. - -General William Mayer rendered valuable service during the Draft Riots -in New York City, for which he received an autograph letter of thanks -from President Lincoln. Subsequently General Mayer devoted himself to -journalism and was the editor of several German newspapers. - -Marcus M. Spiegel, the son of a rabbi of Oppenheim-on-the-Rhine, -enlisted in the 67th Ohio Infantry Regiment and was promoted step by -step until he became lieutenant-colonel, and for bravery manifested -on the battle field, was appointed Colonel of the 120th Ohio Infantry. -He was wounded at Vicksburg, and after joining his regiment again, -fell at Snaggy Point, on the Red River, Louisiana. But for his -untimely death, Colonel Spiegel would have been promoted to the rank -of Brigadier-General, to which he was recommended by his superior -officers. - -Max Einstein (b. in ♦Würtemberg, 1822; a. 1844) had considerable -military experience prior to the outbreak of the war. He was a silk -merchant, and became First Lieutenant of the Washington Guards in 1852. -In the following year he joined the Philadelphia (Flying) Artillery -Company and was chosen its Captain. He became Aide-de-Camp (with the -rank of Lieutenant-Colonel) to Governor James Pollock of Pennsylvania -in 1856. In 1860 he was elected Brigadier-General of the Second Brigade -of Pennsylvania Militia. In the succeeding year he organized the 27th -Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, which was mustered into service May 31, -1861, for a three years’ term. This regiment, under Colonel Einstein’s -command, succeeded in covering the retreat of the Union Army in the -first battle of Bull Run and won credit by its conduct. Einstein was -subsequently appointed by President Lincoln United States Consul at -Nüremberg, Germany, and later served as United States Revenue Agent at -Philadelphia. - -It is worth noting as an example that this one regiment had nearly -thirty Jewish officers, most of them in minor positions, and about -sixty privates in the ranks. This was, of course, an exceptional case, -but Jews were represented in most of the regiments, especially those -of Philadelphia, almost if not quite as much as in the regiments of -those states which sent a larger contingent of Jewish soldiers to -the front than Pennsylvania. The first of those states was New York, -with nearly two thousand, which had already at that time achieved -the distinction of having the largest Jewish community in the New -World. Ohio, which came second, with 1,134, and Illinois, with 1,076, -clearly indicated the growing importance of the Middle West for the -new immigration. Indiana contributed over five hundred――almost as -many as Pennsylvania――while Michigan had more than two hundred of its -Jewish inhabitants in the Union Army. New England had the smallest -representation, for the number of Jews there was very small at that -time. - -There was still another Pennsylvania regiment, the 65th (Fifth -Cavalry), known as the “Cameron Dragoons” (on account of its being -recruited under the authority of an order issued by Secretary of War -Simon Cameron (1799–1889) July 6, 1861), which first went to the front -under the command of a Jewish colonel. His name was Max Friedman (b. in -Mühlhausen, Germany, 1825), and he came to the United States in 1848, -settling in Philadelphia. He served as Major of a Regiment in the State -Militia prior to the Civil War. Colonel Friedman remained with his -regiment in the field until a severe wound received at the battle of -Vienna, Virginia, forced him to resign in the following month. He later -(1869) settled in New York as the cashier of the Union Square National -Bank, of which he was one of the organizers. - -Abraham Hart (b. in Hesse-Darmstadt, 1832), who arrived in this -country at the age of eighteen, was a captain in the 73d Pennsylvania -Infantry Regiment, and when Colonel Kolter, under whom he served, was -elevated to the command of a brigade in General Blenker’s Division of -the Army of the Potomac, Captain Hart was detailed as Adjutant-General -of the brigade. Moses Isaac of New York attained the same rank, -that of adjutant-general in the Third Army Corps of the Army of the -Potomac, and participated in the battles of the Peninsular campaign, -subsequently serving under General Banks. Another New York Jew, of whom -little else is known besides a brief notice by Mr. Wolf (p. 285), was -Lieutenant-♦Colonel Leopold C. Newman, of the 31st Infantry Regiment of -that state, whose foot was shattered by a cannon ball in the battle of -Chancellorville (May 2, 1863), and he was taken to Washington, where he -died. President Lincoln visited him at his bedside, and brought along -his commission promoting him to the rank of Brigadier-General. - -While the number of Jewish soldiers was proportionally large, and -many of them became distinguished for bravery and were promoted to -responsible positions, it was in the other branch of the service, the -Navy, in which a member of the Jewish community attained the highest -rank up to that time. Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy (b. in Philadelphia, -1792; d. in New York, 1862) held the highest rank in the United States -Navy prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, though his age prevented -him from participating in that struggle. Levy sailed as a cabin boy -before he was eleven years old, and at the age of fourteen he was -apprenticed as a sailor, and also attended a naval school for one year, -becoming a second mate four years later. He soon rose to be first mate, -and was master of a schooner at twenty. While he was on a cruise on -the “George Washington,” of which he was part owner as well as master, -a mutiny took place, his vessel was seized and he was left penniless; -but he managed to return to the United States, and after obtaining the -necessary means, he secured the mutineers, brought them to the United -States and had them convicted. - -Levy received his commission from the United States Navy as sailing -master in October, 1812, when the war with England had already begun. -Until June 13 he served on the ship “Alert,” doing shore duty; then -he went on the brig “Argus,” bound for France. The “Argus” captured -several prizes, and Levy was placed in command of one, but the prize -was recaptured by the English, and Levy and the crew were kept as -prisoners for sixteen months in England. In 1816 he was assigned as -sailing master to the “Franklin,” and in March, 1817, he was appointed -lieutenant in the Navy, which appointment was confirmed by the Senate. - - Illustration: Commodore Uriah P. Levy. - -Levy had many difficulties in the Navy, partly due to his promotion -from the line, which is never popular among officers who receive their -training at the Naval Academy, and partly, as he himself and many -others thought, on account of his faith and descent. He fought a duel, -in which he killed his opponent, was court-martialed six times, and -finally dropped from the list as captain, to which rank he had been -promoted. He defended his conduct before a court of inquiry in 1855, -which restored him to the navy as captain. Subsequently he rose to the -rank of commodore. - -Levy was the descendant of an old Philadelphia family, always -acknowledged his Jewish allegiance, and was one of the charter members -of the Washington Hebrew Congregation. He purchased Monticello, the -home of Thomas Jefferson, whom he greatly admired, and it is still -owned by the family, the present owner being Congressman Jefferson M. -Levy, a nephew of the commodore. A statue of Jefferson, presented to -the government by Uriah P. Levy, is still standing in the Statuary Hall -of the Capitol in Washington. Levy is buried in the portion of Cypress -Hills Cemetery in New York which belongs to Congregation Shearit -Israel (of which another nephew, Louis Napoleon Levy, a brother of the -Congressman, is president), and on his imposing tombstone is recorded -that “he was the father of the law for the abolition of the barbarous -practice of corporal punishment in the United States Navy.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - THE FORMATIVE PERIOD AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. - - - Ebb and flow of immigration between 1850 and 1880――Decrease and - practical stoppage of Jewish immigration from Germany――The - breathing spell between two periods of immigration, and the - preparation for the vast influx which was to follow――The - period of great charitable institutions――Organization and - consolidation――The Hebrew Union College and the Union of - American Hebrew Congregations――The Independent Order B’nai - B’rith――Other large fraternal organizations and their - usefulness――Important local institutions in New York, - Philadelphia, Chicago, etc. - -The number of immigrants arriving in the United States increased in -the middle of the last century, and reached its highest point of that -period in 1854, when the new arrivals numbered 427,833. It then began -to diminish, and fell to about 150,000 in 1860, and to less than 90,000 -in each of the two first years of the Civil War, 1861 and 1862. In -the following year it began to rise again, and in the two last years -of the war, when the final outcome was already easily foreseen in the -Old World, it was considerably above the three years preceding the -beginning of the conflict. In 1865 there came 247,453; in 1867 (when -the present system of figuring by the fiscal year, ending June 30, was -adopted) they numbered 298,967, and only a little less in 1868. In 1869 -it rose to 352,569; in 1870 to 387,203. After a slight relapse in 1871 -to 321,350, it rose in 1872 to 404,806 and in 1873 to 459,803, when -the current receded again on account of the slackening of all business -activity which followed the panic of that year. It sank to as low as -138,469 in 1878, rose again to 177,826 in 1879, and to 457,257 in 1880, -when the country had fully recovered from the effects of the panic, as -well as from the ravages of the great struggle. - -But while Germans formed a large part of those who arrived in the -two or three decades after the war, the number of Jews who left that -country was now very small, and sank to almost nothing about 1880. -What was described by a Jewish traveler[41] as the second German-Jewish -migration to America, which began about 1836, and to which “Bavaria -contributed the largest quota of (Jewish) immigrants, because of -her peculiarly harsh (anti-Jewish) marriage laws and commercial -restrictions,” practically ended in the decade of the Civil War, -when the Jews were emancipated in most of the German states. The -progress made by these immigrants in less than one generation can be -best illustrated by quoting two passages from the same article by Mr. -Kohler: “The early German settlers commonly arrived here without means, -frequently without any education other than of the most rudimentary -character.” Subsequently (p. 102) he quotes a German-American -politician, who wrote in 1869: “The German Jews in America gain -in influence daily, being rich, intelligent and educated, or at -least seeking education. They read better books than the rest of the -Germans....” - -This progress was largely accelerated by the great business activity -which followed the war. A large number of the German-Jewish immigrants -amassed wealth, and the stoppage of the arrival of new poor immigrants, -or rather of poor relatives, reduced the number of the needy and -helpless among them to an insignificant fraction. It may be said that -it was during these fifteen years (1865–80), between the preceding -large German-Jewish immigration and the following incomparably larger -Russian-Jewish influx, that the Jews of the United States succeeded -in bringing their communal house to order, and in preparing for -their historic mission of receiving the great masses which were soon -to be driven thither from the Slavic countries by the iron hand of -persecution. Most of the large charitable institutions, which are the -pride of American Judaism, and have served to relieve want and pain in -various forms, actually date from that period. The date of organization -or original foundation is in most cases much earlier. But at the -beginning these institutions were more like the small charities which -are now founded by poor immigrants. There were very few great Jewish -institutions in the United States prior to the Civil War, although most -of the magnificent organizations in the older communities justly claim -a continued existence from ante-bellum days. The largest number and the -most important of them grew to their imposing size and vast usefulness -in “the seventies,” i. e., in that breathing spell which the Jews of -America had between two periods of immigration. - -The tendency to organize, to consolidate and take up the work -of American Judaism in earnest, which characterized that period, -manifested itself in the conferences of the Reform Rabbis, although -as occasions for squabbles about destructive innovations and for -extremely radical declarations, they deserve to be classed as ephemeral -sensationalism rather than events of historical importance. It was at -the third of these conventions, held in Cincinnati in June, 1871, that -it was decided to establish the Hebrew Union College and to organize -the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The last named organization, -which was founded in July, 1873, with thirty-four congregations, -numbering about 1,800 members,[42] now comprises about two hundred -congregations, with a total membership of nearly twenty thousand, -and includes practically the entire American and Americanized German -elements which are affiliated with Jewish religious institutions. The -College, which was established two years later, has educated nearly one -hundred and fifty American Rabbis, some of whom have attained eminence -as preachers and communal workers. - - Illustration: Julius Bien. - Principal organizer of the Ind. Order B’nai B’rith. - -The Independent Order B’nai B’rith (Sons of the Covenant), which seems -destined to be the great Jewish international organization of the -future, though founded in 1843, did not assume its commanding position -until about a quarter of a century afterward. It had less than 3,000 -members in 1857. Three years after the close of the Civil War its -membership rose to 20,000, which was probably a larger proportion of -the Jewish population of the country at that time than it ever had -before or after. It now has about 34,000 members, distributed in the -seven districts into which it has divided the United States, and in -Germany, Austria and Roumania, where there are flourishing lodges. -A lodge has also recently been established in England. The guiding -spirit of the order was Julius Bien (b. in Hesse-Nassau, Germany, 1826; -d. in New York, 1909), who was its president in the years 1854–57 and -1868–1900. His successor was Leo N. Levi (b. in Victoria, Tex., 1856; d. -in New York, 1904), who was in turn succeeded by the present incumbent, -Adolf Kraus (b. in Bohemia, 1850; a. 1865), an eminent attorney, who -has resided in Chicago since 1871, where he has served as President of -the Board of Education, Corporation Counsel of the city and President -of the Civil Service Commission. - -While no other Jewish fraternal organization succeeded in accomplishing -as much as the B’nai B’rith in communal or charitable work and in -representing general Jewish interests for a number of years, other -organizations of the same kind, which kept more strictly to the -activities for the benefits of their own members, also originated in -that period. They are the Order Brith Abraham (organized 1859) and its -offshoots, the Kesher shel Barzel (founded 1860), the Independent Order -Brith Abraham (1887), the Free Sons of Israel (1849), and the Free -Sons of Benjamin (1879). The two Brith Abraham Orders, the second of -which was formed by a secession from the first, have grown very fast -of late years, the former having about 70,000 members of both sexes -and the latter about twice that number. Like most of the other Jewish -orders which originated later, the bulk of their membership consists of -immigrants of the last period from the Slavic countries. Aside from the -pecuniary benefits which members and their families derive from these -organizations at lower rates than they could have obtained elsewhere, -the educational value of these bodies is also great, for many obtain -there the first glimpse of the systematic working of an organization -which is amenable to its own rules. - -As much, if not more, progress was made in that time with the founding -of institutions which are considered as local in their character, -but which in large communities like New York, Philadelphia or Chicago -ultimately helped more people at a larger cost than many of the -national organizations. The United Hebrew Charities of New York was -organized in 1874, two years after the incorporation of the Home for -Aged and Infirm Hebrews. The Mount Sinai Hospital was originally the -Jews’ Hospital (organized 1857), but it was then a small institution, -and its large structure (which was abandoned for a still larger one -in 1901) which first bore the name of Mount Sinai was erected in -1870. The Hebrew Benevolent Orphan Asylum, which was organized in its -original form in the first quarter of the last century, had only thirty -children, in a rented house, in 1860. Its first building, on the corner -of Third avenue and Seventy-seventh street, was erected in 1862, and -its magnificent structure on Amsterdam avenue more than twenty years -afterwards. The Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Orphan Asylum Society was -organized in 1879. The Hebrew Free School Association, which gave the -impetus to the organization in later years of important educational -institutions, like the Hebrew Technical Institute, the Technical School -for Girls, and ultimately also to the Educational Alliance (originally -The Hebrew Institute, organized 1891), originated in that period -and existed until about 1899. The Young Men’s Hebrew Association was -organized in 1874. - -Philadelphia likewise enjoyed much communal activity in that formative -period of American-Jewish history. The first Jewish theological -seminary in America, Maimonides College, was opened there in 1867 -and existed for six years. The Hebrew Education Society, which was -organized in 1848 and opened its school with twenty-two pupils in 1851, -opened a second school in the vestry room of the Bene Israel Synagogue -on Fifth street in 1878, and a third school on the northwest corner of -Marshall street and Girard avenue in 1879. The first Jewish Hospital -Association of that city was incorporated in 1865. The Jewish Maternity -Association was founded in 1873. The Jewish Foster Home, which erected -its first small building in 1855, was organized in its present form in -1874, since which time it has become one of the most important communal -institutions there. The Young Men’s Hebrew Association was organized in -1875, a year later than the one in New York. - -The first Jewish Hospital in Chicago was erected on Lasalle avenue -in 1868. It was destroyed by the great fire of 1871, and eight years -later the funds which made possible the erection of the Michael Reese -Hospital were donated for that purpose. The United Hebrew Charities of -Chicago, originally the United Hebrew Relief Association, was organized -in 1859, and changed its name later. The United Hebrew Charities of -St. Louis was organized in 1875. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - - NEW SYNAGOGUES AND TEMPLES. - IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA PRIOR TO 1880. - - - Continued increase in the wealth and importance of the - German-Jewish congregations――New and spacious synagogues and - temples erected in various parts of the country in the “sixties” - and the “seventies”――Problems of Russian-Jewish immigration - prior to 1880――Economic condition of the Jewish masses in - Russia worse in the “golden era” than under Nicholas I.―― - Emigration from Russia after the famine of 1867–68 and after - the pogrom of Odessa in 1871――Presumption of the existence of - a Hebrew reading public in New York in 1868――The first Hebrew - and Yiddish periodicals. - -The charitable institutions which were founded or enlarged in this -period were not the only indication of the improved and settled -condition of the Jews who came here in the preceding half century. -These institutions were later to be even more enlarged, and numerous -others were to be established to meet the demands made upon them in -the following quarter century. It is to the synagogues or temples which -date from these times that we have to turn in order to gain a true -conception of the general condition of the Jews. In this respect there -is a striking similarity between the condition of the Sephardim at the -beginning of the nineteenth century and the German Jews at the end of -its third quarter. In both cases the numerical growth almost stopped -with the cessation of immigration from the home country. The small -number of arrivals and the natural increase were barely enough to -replace the losses through death and through estrangements which -were caused by outright defections or by the slower process of mixed -marriages. And just as the Spanish and Portuguese element in American -Judaism, which had barely held its own after the suspension of the -Inquisition, permitted the surviving Marranos to remain where they -were, and improved conditions in Western Europe obviated the necessity -of the Sephardim of Holland, France or England looking for new homes, -so did the much larger and more active German element practically stop -growing numerically after the emancipation of the Jews in the German -States. The number of Jews who arrived here from Germany after 1880 -is insignificant, and the same may be said of the relative number of -German-Jewish synagogues which were established after that time. - -As a matter of fact the formation of German congregations stopped -several years earlier. The better cohesiveness and discipline among -the Americanized Jews made splits a very rare occurrence. Only in large -cities the removal of many members of a congregation too far from the -location of its synagogue caused the formation of new congregations, -consisting mostly of members of older bodies, with some accessions of -immigrants from the Slavic countries. In the smaller cities there is -even now only one German-American congregation, usually dating from -before the Civil War or from the decade following it. In the larger -cities there may be several of them of about the same age, except in -some communities, like Charleston. S. C., where the Spanish and the -Germans are fused in the one Reform congregation, or in New York, where -each section of the community is sufficiently large to have several -congregations of its own. - -It is therefore not to the increase in the number of German-Jewish -congregations, but to their increase in wealth and importance, as -demonstrated by the increase in the size and splendor of the synagogues -and temples, that we have to look for proof of the great progress -which was made in that period. The most representative congregations -of New York have been described in the preceding parts of this work. -In Philadelphia a new, spacious synagogue of its oldest congregation, -Mickweh Israel, was dedicated in 1860, and the new beautiful temple -of the Congregation Rodef Shalom, “one of the earliest German-Jewish -congregations in America,” was built in 1870. ♦Kehillah Anshe Maarab of -Chicago had its first large synagogue ready (converted from a church) -in 1868. The second oldest congregation, Bene Shalom, erected its first -temple, on the corner of Harrison street and Fourth avenue, in 1864, -“at that time the handsomest Jewish house of worship in Chicago.” The -third eldest, Sinai Congregation, purchased the site of its temple in -1872 (after the fire of 1871 had destroyed its former house of worship), -and the structure was finished four years later. In distant California, -Temple Emanuel, of San Francisco, was dedicated in 1866. In the -District of Columbia (Washington) the first synagogue was dedicated -in 1863 and the second in 1873. The old congregation of Savannah, Ga., -erected a new and much larger synagogue in 1876. - -Temple Achdut we-Shalom of Evansville, Ind., which was erected in -1856, was replaced by a more costly one in 1874. In Indianapolis, the -capital and largest city of that state, a new temple was dedicated -in 1868, about three years after the cornerstone was laid. The first -temple of the Congregation Adath Israel of Louisville, Ky., was -finished in 1868; about three years later congregations were organized -in Owensboro and Paducah, in the same state. Temple Sinai of New -Orleans, La., of which Dr. Maximilian Heller (b. in Prague, Bohemia, -1860), has been rabbi since 1887, dates from 1870. In Monroe, in -the same state, a congregation was organized in that year, and in -Shreveport, La., several years before. The synagogue of the Baltimore -Hebrew Congregation, which was erected in 1845, was enlarged in 1860, -while the “Chizzuk Amoonah,” which seceded from it in 1871, erected its -synagogue on Lloyd street five years later. - -The older synagogues of both Boston, Mass., and Detroit, Mich., date -from the same period. Mount Zion Congregation of St. Paul, Minn., -was founded in 1871. Meridian, Natchez, Port Gibson and Vicksburg, in -the State of Mississippi, have synagogues which originated within the -decade of the war. The same is true of Kansas City, St. Joseph and -St. Louis, in Missouri, and of Temple Israel of Omaha, Neb. The first -houses of worship of Hoboken and Jersey City, N. J., were established -about 1870, while in the largest city of that state, Newark, the -synagogue (built 1858) of the Congregation B’nai Jeshurun (organized -1848) was replaced by an imposing temple which was dedicated in 1868. - -In the State of New York, outside of its chief city, the same can be -seen. The first considerable synagogue of Albany, that of Congregation -Beth El, was erected in 1865. The first congregation of Buffalo, -organized in 1847, built its own synagogue in 1874. In both of these -cities, like in many others, larger and more costly temples were -erected later; but there was much less wealth in the country in general -after the Civil War, and a building costing fifty thousand dollars -which was erected in the “sixties” or the “seventies” represented -perhaps a further advance from preceding times than one three times -as costly indicated in the “nineties.” In some instances, like that -of Rochester, where the first Jewish community was organized in 1848, -the purchase of a spacious church building early in its career (1856) -postponed the necessity of a large edifice until later. It was not -until Rabbi Max Landsberg (b. in Berlin, 1845; a. 1871) had been with -the Congregation “Berith Kodesh” of Rochester for nearly a quarter -century that the present fine temple was erected (1894). In other -communities divisions or splits made it impracticable to build large -houses of worship until a later time; so we find that in Syracuse, -where the first religious organization was formed in 1841, and the -first synagogue was opened in 1846, a building erected in 1850 sufficed -for the needs of the congregation more than half a century afterwards. -This was because a new congregation was formed in 1854; another -secession took place in 1864 and one more congregation was founded in -1870. Brooklyn, on account of its proximity to New York City, could not -develop a really independent communal life until it had a very large -Jewish population, and in some respects has not done so even yet. The -Keap Street Synagogue, which dates from the period which we deal with -in this chapter, was the largest of its kind in the city for many years. - - * * * * * - -The marked diminution or practical cessation of Jewish immigration from -Germany by no means meant a stoppage of Jewish immigration. There was -a steady flow of immigration from Russia, which, beginning with the -exodus from Russian-Poland of 1845 (see above, page 189), has actually -never ceased until this day, although it did not assume the immense -proportions of the last thirty years. The “Aufruf” on behalf of the -Russian-Jewish refugees, which Rabbi S. M. Schiller (Schiller-Szinessy, -b. in Alt-Ofen, Hungary, 1820; d. in Cambridge, England, 1890) -published in the _Orient_ for 1846 (pp. 67–68), is a sufficient -indication of the comparative antiquity of a problem which many suppose -never arose until after the anti-Jewish riots in 1881. What is even -less known in Western countries is that the economic condition of the -Jews in Russia was much worse in the so-called “golden period” under -Czar Alexander II. (1818–81) than under his more despotic predecessor. -There was a popular saying among the Russian-Jews at that time――when it -could not have occurred to anybody that these years of starvation would -later be considered a golden age――that Czar Nicholas I. (1796–1855) -wanted the persons of the Jews but left them their goods, while his -son was less concerned about the persons, but despoiled them of their -goods. This allusion to the passage in the Pentateuch (Gen. 14.21), -in which the king of Sodom says to Abraham “Give me the persons and -take the goods to thyself,” meant that Nicholas, who first began -to enroll Jews in the Russian army and attempted to convert as many -Jews to Christianity as possible, afforded the Jews in general better -opportunities to earn a living than the more liberal Alexander. -The fact that no proper provision was made for the Jews in the -re-adjustment which followed the emancipation of the serfs, and that -even the slight concessions, like the permission to skilled artizans -to live outside of the “Pale of Settlement,” were never carried out -honestly, is at the bottom of much of the Jews’ trouble there. - -In less than five years after the emancipation of the Russian serfs -there came a crisis, occasioned by the hard times which followed the -crop failure of 1867, which caused “a state of distress in East Prussia -and a famine on the other side of the border.”[43] The Jews of Germany -did much to alleviate the distress of the large number of Russian Jews -who lived at that time in East Prussia, and also to send relief to -the needy co-religionists of Western Russia. But then, as now, the -suffering was too widespread and the general condition too hopeless to -be relieved by almsgiving, and the result was an exodus of considerable -magnitude. This new exodus was treated in a series of articles in the -_Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums_ of 1869 entitled “Auswanderung der -Juden aus den Westrussischen Prowinzen” (Emigration of Jews from the -provinces of Western Russia). M. Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu (in his _Les -Immigrants juifs et le Judaisme aux Etats-Unis_, Paris, 1905, p. 5) -tells of 500 Jewish emigrants from Russian-♦Poland which the Alliance -Israelite Universelle sent to the United States in 1869 from the famine -stricken districts. The great anti-Jewish riot in Odessa on Passover, -1871, which shattered the hope of the Jews for emancipation in the then -near future, and marked the beginning of the reaction which culminated -in the reign of the following Czar, was also followed by ♦considerable -emigration of Jews. Many remained in Prussia, which was yet open for -Russian subjects; but a large number proceeded to the United States, or -went there after remaining for some time in England. - -The Jewish population of the United States, and especially of the City -of New York, was therefore constantly increasing, though neither the -number of Jews nor the relative proportion as to country of origin is -possible to ascertain for that time. Judge Daly (p. 56) quotes Joseph -A. Scovil, author of “Old Merchants of New York” as saying (in 1868), -“There are now 80,000 Israelites in this city, and it is the high -standard of excellence of the old Israelite merchant of 1800 that has -made the race occupy the proud position it now holds in this city and -in the nation.” Daly himself thought the number to be somewhat smaller. -He says (p. 58), “The Jews have now (1872) in New York twenty-nine -synagogues, and as a proportional part of the population they are now -estimated at about 70,000.” - -Whether the lower estimate or the higher is nearer the truth, it is -clear that there were already in New York a large number of Jews, and -that a considerable portion of them were from Russia. A rare little -volume in rabbinical Hebrew, entitled _Emek Rephaim_, against the -heresy of the Reform Jews, which was published by the author, Elijah -Holzman, a shochet from Courland, in New York, in 1868, is a good -indication that there were already here at that time a sufficient -number of readers of that language to warrant the publication of a -work of that nature. As only the intellectual aristocracy among the -Jews of the Slavic countries reads Hebrew and a large majority of the -Russian-Jewish immigrants of that period belonged to the poorest and -most ignorant classes, the belief in the existence of a Hebrew reading -public, even if it proved to be a mistaken one, implies the presence of -a large number of Russians. - -The first attempts to establish periodicals for this public soon -followed. Hirsch Bernstein (b. in Wladislavov or Neustadt-Schirwint, -government of Suwalki, 1846; d. in Tannersville, New York, 1907) -arrived in New York in 1870, and in the same year established the -first Judaeo-German or Yiddish paper, and also the first periodical -publication in the Neo-Hebraic language in the United States. The -Yiddish publication, called “The Post,” had a brief existence; but the -second, _ha-Zofeh be’ Erez ha-Hadashah_, of which Mordecai ben David -Jalomstein (b. in Suwalki, 1835; a. 1871; d. in New York, 1897) was -editor for most of the time, appeared weekly for more than five years. -His brother-in-law, Kasriel H. ♦Sarasohn (b. in Paiser, Russian-Poland, -1835; d. in New York, 1905), who arrived in the United States in 1866, -and settled in New York, founded there, in 1874, the weekly “Jewish -Gazette,” which, with its daily edition, the _Jewish Daily News_ -(established 1886), later became the most prosperous Jewish periodical -publications in any country. Jalomstein was the principal contributor -to these publications for about twenty years. Another Yiddish weekly, -the _Israelitische Presse_, was founded in Chicago in 1879, by Nachman -Baer Ettelson and S. L. Marcus. It had a Hebrew supplement, and existed -for several years. The Jewish press in general will be treated in a -later chapter; but it deserves to be mentioned here that some of the -best representative Jewish papers of the country, like the _American -Hebrew_ of New York and the _Jewish Exponent_ of Philadelphia (both -founded in 1879) and the _Jewish Advance_ of Chicago (founded 1878; -existed about four years) contributed to place the Jews of the country -in the proper condition for the reception of the large number of -persecuted Jews which were soon to arrive. - - Illustration: Kasriel H. Sarasohn. - - - - - PART VI. - - THE THIRD OR RUSSIAN PERIOD OF IMMIGRATION. - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - - THE INFLUX AFTER THE ANTI-JEWISH RIOTS IN RUSSIA IN 1881. - - - The country itself is well prepared for the reception of a larger - number of Jewish immigrants――Absence of organized or political - Antisemitism――Increase in general immigration in 1880 and - 1881――Arrival of the “Am Olam”――Imposing protest meetings - against the riots in Russia――Welcome and assistance――Emma - Lazarus――Heilprin and the attempts to found agricultural - colonies――Herman Rosenthal――Failures in many States――Some - success in Connecticut and more in New Jersey――Woodbine―― - Distribution――Industrial workers and the new radicalism. - -The favorable economical and political conditions of the country itself -were, however, the best preparation for the reception of a larger -number of Jewish immigrants from Russia, who came as the result of -the greatest Jewish migration since the exodus from Egypt. The strong -congregations, the well-organized charities and the considerable number -of wealthy Jews who were able and willing to assist the refugees, as -well as the numerous able, energetic and tireless workers who did their -best to alleviate the sufferings of the new arrivals and to help them -to find their way in the new surroundings――all these were necessary -and to some degree indispensable to solve as much of the problem as -circumstances would permit. But all would have been useless if there -was not room for new immigrants to settle here, and work for them to -do. It would also have been well nigh impossible to take full advantage -of the opportunities which this country offers to willing workers, -were it not for the absence of that organized or official anti-Semitism -which is found in one form or another in almost all civilized countries -outside of the English-speaking world. Individual instances of social -antipathy and personal dislike, or even hatred, of Jews, were not -rare in the United States, at that period or at any other. But the -Jew baiter was never encouraged, or even approved, by the all-powerful -public opinion of the country at large; sympathy for the suffering Jew -was easily aroused, and those who pleaded the cause of the victim of -persecution were not hampered by open opposition or by covert political -influences. - -There was a sudden increase in immigration in the two years preceding -the Russian influx. The country was recovering from the panic of -1873 and from the effect of the contraction of the currency which was -incident to the resumption of specie payment by the government at the -beginning of 1879. The number of immigrants who came here in 1876 was -169,986; in 1877 it fell to 141,857; in 1878 to 138,469. There was a -slight rise in 1879 to 177,826; but in 1880 it jumped to 457,257 and -in 1881 (in the fiscal year ending June 30, when there was as yet no -increased immigration from Russia on account of the riots) to 669,431. -The people who came were needed, as is the case with the million or -more who had come here in the three years preceding the panic of 1907 -and again in the last two or three years, which is proven by the fact -that they are easily absorbed. Not only the general conditions, but -even the times, were favorable for an increased Jewish immigration. -There was neither economic nor national or racial cause for abstaining -from giving those who fled from the _pogroms_ the best public and -open-hearted welcome that Jewish refugees ever received when coming in -masses from one country to another. - -The first of the anti-Jewish riots of that period took place in -Yelisavetgrad, on April 27, 1881. Another outbreak in Kiev followed on -May 8, and there were “over 160 towns and villages in which cases of -riot, rapine, murder and spoliation have been known to occur during the -last nine months of 1881” (Joseph Jacobs, “Persecution of the Jews in -Russia, 1881,” p. 13). These riots, and the relief which was afforded -to its victims, and especially to those who left Russia by way of -Germany and Austria, have created a small literature of their own; -but the subject in general belongs rather to the history of the Jews -in Russia than to the present work, which can only be concerned with -the emigrants after their arrival here. The first to arrive as a -direct result of the riots, and among whom the new tendencies which -were called forth by the calamities were prevalent to an appreciable -degree, were included in a group of about 250 members of the “Am Olam” -(“Eternal People”) Society which came to New York July 29, 1881. - -Unlike the time of the Damascus affair in 1840 (see above, p. 193), -the Jews of America not only took the leading part in arousing public -opinion against the outrages, but they could do much more than enlist -the sympathies of their non-Jewish fellow-citizens: they collected -money to aid the sufferers and bade them welcome to these shores. A -call for “A meeting of the citizens of New York without distinction of -creed, to be held on Wednesday evening, February 1st, 1882, ... for the -purpose of expressing their sympathy with the persecuted Hebrews in the -Russian Empire,” was signed by about seventy-five of the most prominent -non-Jewish citizens of New York, headed by ex-President U. S. Grant. -The memorable meeting was held in Chickering Hall, and was presided -over by Mayor William R. Grace; it was addressed by distinguished men -in various walks of life, including three Christian clergymen, and -had a marked effect on public opinion. It was on the same day that a -similar meeting, at which the Lord Mayor presided, was held in London, -at the Mansion House. Two weeks later (February 15) a meeting of -the same nature with the same excellent moral result was held in -Philadelphia, where four clergymen, two of them Protestant Bishops -and one representing the Roman Catholic Archbishop, were among the -speakers. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society collected over $300,000 for -the new arrivals, and nearly two-thirds of that sum was contributed -by residents of this country, the balance coming from Germany, England -and France. Some groups of immigrants were given a public welcome; -temporary quarters were built for their accommodation on Ward’s Island -and at Greenpoint, L. I., where several thousand were housed and -maintained until they found employment. - - Illustration: Emma Lazarus. - -There was one other voice raised at that time in behalf of the Jew -and of Judaism, only to be prematurely silenced forever a few years -afterwards. The most gifted poet which American Jewry has produced, -Emma Lazarus (b. in New York 1849; d. there 1887) was aroused, and -her noble spirit reached its full height, by the stirring events of -the martyrdom of the Russian Jew. Like so many other intelligent Jews -in various countries, Emma Lazarus, the daughter of an old Sephardic -family of social position, the friend of Emerson and other noted -literary men, was up to that time mainly interested in general and -classic subjects, and devoted to them her poetical and literary talents. -“She needed a great theme to bring her genius to full flower, and she -found that theme in the Russian persecution of 1881.... Her poetry -took on a warmer, more human glow; it thrilled with the suffering, -the passion, the exaltation of a nation of the Maccabees.”[44] Her -family, though nominally Orthodox, had hitherto not participated in the -activities of the synagogue or of the Jewish community. But contact -with the unfortunates from Russia led her to study the Bible, the -Hebrew language, Judaism and Jewish history. She suggested, and in part -saw executed, plans for the welfare of the immigrants. The fruit of -her latter literary activity include “_Songs of the Semite_” (1882); -“_An Epistle to the Hebrews_”; poems like “_The Banner of the Jew_,” -“_The New Ezekiel_,” and “_By the Waters of Babylon: Little Poems in -Prose_” (1887), her last published work. A collection of her works, -in two volumes, appeared after her death (1889), and in 1903 a bronze -tablet commemorative of her was placed inside the pedestal of the -Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. (See _Jewish Encyclopedia_, -s.v. Lazarus, Emma, by Miss ♦Henrietta Szold.) - -The number of those who received direct assistance was only a small -fraction of the arrivals from Russia at that time. According to the -opinion of the author of the article _United States_ in the “Jewish -Encyclopedia,” “The various committees and societies assisted about -five per cent. of the total Jewish immigrants.” One of the most active -and self-sacrificing of the workers for the refugees, Michael Heilprin, -who was himself brought up under the influence of the _Haskalah_ -movement, was, like all Maskilim of the old school, a strong believer -in the theory that the Jewish problem was to be solved by inducing or -helping the Jews to become agriculturists. Many of the immigrants who -belonged to the class described as _Intellectuals_ or _Intelligents_, -whose dreams of political liberty and assimilation in Russia were -shattered by the pogroms, also entertained fantastic notions about the -virtue of agriculture. They fell in with all colonization plans, for -which they had more enthusiasm than natural aptitude, and this gave -rise to a series of experiments in the colonizing of Russian immigrants, -none of which were immediately successful, though it contributed to the -inception of a small class of Jewish farmers which is slowly growing in -the United States, and in which many see considerable promise for the -future. - - Illustration: Herman Rosenthal. - Photo by Schill, Newark, N. J. - -The first Jewish agricultural colony of that period was founded on -Sicily Island, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. The settlers, including -thirty-five families from Kiev and twenty-five from Yelisavetgrad, -had been partly organized in Russia. Its leading spirit was Herman -Rosenthal (b. in Friedrichstadt, Courland, 1843; a. 1881), who is -now chief of the Slavonic department of the New York Public Library. -Before the colony was fairly started it was literally swept away by an -overflow of the Mississippi in the spring of 1882, and the colonists -scattered; a few of them, however, settling as independent farmers in -Kansas and ♦Missouri. In July, 1882, Rosenthal headed another group of -twenty families which formed the colony Cremieux, in Davison county, -in the present State of South Dakota. It led a precarious existence -for about three years and was finally abandoned. Another attempt, which -was made by the Alliance Israelite Universelle, with the formation of -a colony surnamed “Betlehem Yehudah,” in the same region, was no more -successful. Colonies founded in the same year in Colorado and Oregon -met with no better fate. The colonies founded in North Dakota (one), -in Kansas (five), in Michigan (one), and in Virginia (two) remain but -memories. Those founded later in Connecticut were more successful, -and some of them are still in existence and even growing. The most -successful were those established in New Jersey, where four of the -nine which were founded there since 1882 are still in existence and, -considering the drawbacks of such enterprises, are in a flourishing -condition. They are: Alliance, Salem county, founded by the Alliance -Israelite in 1882; Carmel, Cumberland county, founded by the aid of -Michael Heilprin in the same year; Rosenhayn, in the same county, which -owes its origin to six families which were settled there by the Hebrew -Emigrant Aid Society of New York in 1883; and Woodbine, Cape May county, -which was founded by the trustees of the Baron de Hirsch Fund in 1891, -and is the largest as well as the most thriving of all Jewish colonies -in America. Woodbine now has over two thousand inhabitants, and is an -incorporated borough with a government of its own, which was instituted -in 1903, with Professor Hirsch Loeb Sabsovich (b. in Berdyansk, Russia, -1860; a. 1888), the former superintendent of The Baron de Hirsch -Agricultural and Industrial School of that place, as the first Mayor. -He was succeeded by M. L. Bayard, who is likewise a native of Russia. - -While the assistance rendered to the needy immigrants, and the large -sums expended in the formation of colonies and in supporting them, -attracted the most attention, a larger number were effectively helped -by being distributed over various parts of the country where they -could engage in trade or find work for which they were much better -fitted than for farming. The largest number received little, if -any, assistance, except such as was rendered by their relatives or -countrymen whom they found here. The least successful and those who -became helpless or dependent from various causes were assisted by the -old charitable institutions, which were enlarged or strengthened by the -new demands made upon them, and by new ones which sprang up everywhere -as the occasion required. But the bulk of the new comers succeeded -remarkably well, and many of them were soon in a position to assist -those who came after them, and to contribute to charities from which -they received assistance but a short time before, or to found new -charitable institutions which were conducted in a manner more suitable -to the character of the immigrants. - -The number of applicants to Jewish charitable institutions was -increasing, and so was the number of people who crowded the districts -in the larger cities where Jews live together. But in both cases -there was going on a continual change, due to the steady inflow of new -immigrants, on the one hand, and on the other to the steady rising in -the social and economic scale, and the continued departure to other and -better neighborhoods or to other cities. The same people did not apply -for charity or dwell in tenement houses long. They soon made room for -those who came after them, and what seemed to the superficial observer -a solid, unmovable mass of poverty and helplessness which presented -a very difficult problem, was in reality in a state of constant flux. -This transient, fleeting mass slowly spread over the country, until we -find communities of Jewish immigrants practically in every city in the -Union, and hardly a place without some individuals of that class. Most -of those Jewish immigrants living in smaller places, as well as almost -all of them who live in more comfortable quarters in the large cities -or their suburbs, passed through the tenement house districts or the -so-called “Ghetti”; which proves that the distribution considered by -some as a desirable process which must be artificially accelerated, is -actually being accomplished by the free movement of individuals and is -hardly noticed. - -The number of those who remained, though temporarily, in the congested -centers of population, especially in New York, was very large, and -was constantly becoming larger, because more immigrants came in each -year than the number of those who left those centers. This mass was -hardly affected by the small withdrawals from it for the purpose of -colonization. It was too large and was replenished too fast to be able -to disperse as small traders over the country or to go in business even -on a small scale in the cities, as did the smaller number of Jewish -immigrants who came in the former periods. And so, after all deductions -are made, including those who went to become farmers and those who -went to become peddlers, of those whose intelligence and the learning -which they brought with them enabled them, sometimes with a little aid, -to pursue their studies; and those whose business acumen or the small -capital which they brought, enabled them to engage in trade and to -prosper in a short time――after all these deductions, there remained a -very large class, steadily increasing by the excess of arrivals over -departures, which could do the only thing which poor people can do in a -country where capital is abundant and industries flourish――go to work. -The Jewish immigrants soon began to fill the factories and the shops, -especially those of the clothing trade, which was then to a certain -extent already in Jewish hands. The trades to which they flocked began -to extend fast; immigrant workers themselves soon ventured to open -small shops, where they employed those who came after them. While wages -were comparatively small and “sweating” was common, the earnings were -so much above what the poor man can make in Russia, and the standard of -living so much higher than the one to which the laborer is accustomed -over there, that even those who worked under what an American would -consider the worst circumstances, soon saved enough money to begin -sending for their families, their relatives, and even their friends. -The great mass was solving its own problem by hard work and by thrift; -it built up and multiplied the industries in which it was occupied, and -thus made it easy to absorb the newcomers year by year and to become -a part of the great industrial army which is doing the work of the -country. - -Thus there arose a third and new class of Jewish immigrants, unlike -the first or Sephardic small groups who came here usually with large -means and took their position among the higher classes as soon as they -arrived; also unlike the second and larger groups of German, Polish -and Hungarian Jews who came in the second period, most of whom began as -peddlers and artizans, but ultimately became merchants or professional -men. Among the immigrants of the third period, which began in 1881, -there were many men of means and skilled men who at once joined the -better situated classes. There were also among them a large number -who took up peddling or petty trade with various degrees of success. -But the agriculturists and the industrial workers, or proletariat, -are distinctive features of the new period. The colonist was mostly -assisted and usually failed; then he joined the trading or the working -classes in the cities. The industrial classes took care of themselves -and fared much better. Even their new problems presented difficulties -which were more apparent than real. The seeming persistence in errors -which are characteristic of those who are here only a short time is -easily explained when it is considered that in cities like Philadelphia -or Chicago there are always thousands, and in New York there are always -tens of thousands, of Jewish immigrants from Slavic countries who came -to this country within the last year. So there is always at hand a -mass which is not aware of what a similar mass――which to the outsider -seems the same――did a year before; and what seem to be repetitions year -after year of the same actions which lead to the same results or to the -same lack of results, are actually experiments made but once by each -successive wave of immigration and soon abandoned, only to be taken up -later as a novel experience by those who come later. - -As the worker succeeded the trader, so the political extremist comes to -the fore in this period, as the radical in religious matters did in the -former. Many of the “intellectuals” sympathized with the revolutionary -movement in Russia, and were infected by the Socialistic virus which -is the bane of that movement and has made its success well nigh -impossible. While the German or Austrian revolutionary of the “forties” -or “fifties” wanted nothing for his fatherland which the people of the -United States did not already enjoy, the Russian theorist was dreaming -of a social revolution and of fantastic victories for the peasantry -and the proletariat which should put Russia far in advance of the -civilization of the “rotten West.” There was plenty of opportunity -under the freedom of speech and of the press prevailing in this -country “to continue the struggle against capital” among the sweat-shop -workers. For a while the Socialist agitator became the most active -leader among the immigrant masses; the “maskilim,” or half-Germanized, -Hebrew scholars were forced into the background, and the large Orthodox -majority confined itself to the ever-increasing number of synagogues -and kept quiet, as usual. But as the years went by and the immigrants -of the beginning of the period became more Americanized and more -conservative, it became clear that radicalism was a passing phase -in the development of the Russian-Jewish immigrant, that the largest -number outgrow it in several years at the utmost, and that the extreme -movements depend almost entirely on the new arrivals who are attracted -by its novelty, and on those who cater to them. Excepting what may -be described as a pronounced tendency to Socialism in the Yiddish -sensational press――differing in degree more than in kind from the -general press of that type――the Socialist movement has not held its -own proportionally among the Russian immigrants, and the fears of some -of their friends that the neighborhoods where the noisy agitation was -carried on would develop into politically Socialistic strongholds, -were dispelled almost before the first decade of this period was over. - - - - - CHAPTER XXX. - - COMMUNAL AND RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES AMONG THE NEW COMERS. - - - Congregational and social activities among the new comers―― - Ephemeral organizations――The striving after professional - education――Synagogues as the most stable of the new - establishments――“Landsleut” congregations――The first efforts to - consolidate the Orthodox community of New York――The Federation - of Synagogues――Chief Rabbi Jacob Joseph――Other “chief rabbis” - in Chicago and Boston――Prominent Orthodox rabbis in many - cities――Dr. Philip Klein――The short period in which the cantor - was the most important functionary in the Orthodox synagogue―― - Synagogues change hands, but are rarely abandoned. - -A large majority of the Russian immigrants, like the overwhelming -majority of the Jews in Russia, were Orthodox Jews, and the younger -men who were temporarily attracted by the radical movements which were, -in Russian fashion, mostly anti-religious, began drifting back into -the synagogues as soon as they grew older and became more settled and -more Americanized. The older and the middle-aged needed congregational -life from the moment of their arrival, and this gave rise to the -establishment of a surprisingly large number of new synagogues in all -places where the new arrivals settled. The situation in New York is -again typical; the twenty-nine congregations in 1872 increased more -than tenfold in about sixteen years, which far exceeds the growth of -charitable institutions, of labor-organizations and of fraternal or -self-education societies, all of which were springing up at that time -in large numbers. The legal restrictions which make the organization -of any form of societies a difficult matter in Russia, were to some -extent responsible for the formation of numerous organizations here -for the most variegated number of purposes. The ease with which a -charter or papers of incorporation could be obtained, tempted many -to form themselves into organizations to enjoy that privilege; while -the equally novel experience of being permitted to form organizations -without obtaining charters, to hold meetings and elect officers without -fear of interference by the authorities, was another strong inducement -to overdo things in the matter of organizations. But that same lack of -experience was also the cause of unfamiliarity with voluntary corporate -existence and of inability to hold the organization together after it -was formed. A large percentage of the societies formed existed only a -short time: the same was true of all forms of organizations, especially -of labor unions. Only those which were subject to the discipline of a -central body――notably lodges which form part of the larger and better -conducted orders――showed a better proportion of survivals. - -The conditions prevailing in Russia were also largely the cause of the -disproportionately large number of young people who attempted, by their -own efforts or assisted by their often hard pressed parents, to study -for the professions. Under the educational restrictions in Russia only -the highly gifted or the children of the wealthy could hope to enter -the higher institutions of learning; here the same opportunities were -open to all alike, with free education up to the universities. It was -natural for the poor to strive to make use of those opportunities, and -to spare no efforts to enter the ranks of the college graduates, who -are looked upon by the Russian populace as superior beings. - -But in the course of years, as the proportion of those who are more -Americanized became larger, and the newer arrivals, though they kept on -coming in increasing numbers, were in a constantly diminishing minority -as compared with the entire mass of immigrants, there was a decrease -in the number of hastily conceived and immature organizations, and a -larger proportion of those which were formed had sufficient strength -to survive. Of late years there has been even a slackening of the rush -for higher or professional education among the children of the poorer -classes; which is also partly due to the more exacting requirements for -entrance into the better class of colleges and universities. - -All these economic, fraternal and educational activities――the last, of -course, only as far as it concerns adults who could not benefit by the -public school system――and the agitation about political and economic -questions, and, to some extent, even the occupation of the immigrants, -were novel experiences and largely temporary. The only activity which -might be considered as normal, and to which there was a constant -reversion even among those who abandoned it abruptly――one may almost -say, violently――was that relating to the synagogue. As compared with -other institutions, a surprisingly small number of congregations formed -by the immigrants succumbed; and the steady increase in the number and -solidity of these religious establishments, as well as of the Talmud -Torahs, or religious schools, and later of the Yeshibot or strictly -Orthodox Talmudical academies, are the best proof of Israel’s taking -root in the United States. Most of the work of a public or semi-public -character in the new Jewish settlements or communities, including -even the work of numerous charitable institutions ministering to wants -which are due to the exigencies of immigration, cannot in the nature -of things be otherwise than temporary, even if they last for decades. -It is only the building of synagogues which represents that continuity -of Jewish existence throughout the centuries, which unites us with the -Jews of other countries and other times, and demonstrates the ability -and the willingness of the Jewish masses to support the old faith under -all circumstances. - -These thousands of small synagogues all over the country, of which -there are now about eight hundred in New York, bear also strong marks -of Slavic, especially Russian, influence. The only place where it was -safe for Jews to gather and have intercourse in that country was the -synagogue, which for that reason served not only as a house of worship, -but also as a meeting room, and, to some degree, as a club house. Here -it served all these purposes for the old-fashioned Jew, to whom the -new social organizations which grew up here remained strange or became -repugnant after a short contact. In addition to this, the――exceedingly -unchurchlike――small synagogue is usually composed of members who come -from the same town in the Old Country, or from the same district. The -“♦landsleut” meet there, receive the newest arrivals and the latest -news from home; it is not unfrequently made the headquarters for -extraordinary charitable activity when the home town is visited by a -conflagration or a “Pogrom.” - -The tendency is to break away from those little synagogues and to -join larger ones in the more comfortable neighborhoods, as well as to -enlarge them by admitting members who hail from other towns and even -from other countries. But the changes are mainly accomplished by slow -transition, the gaps which are left by departures are easily filled up -by new arrivals; so that the transformation is much nearer to a slow -process of evolution than to the “decay of Judaism in this country” -of which many are complaining. The earliest manifestation of this new -development was the first effort which was made, less than a decade -after the beginning of the new immigration, to consolidate the Orthodox -Jewish community of New York under the leadership of a great rabbinical -authority, and to raise the expense of the new institution by the same -method by which the Jewish communities of Russia are financed――by an -income from the Kosher-meat business. - -In Russian-Poland, as in Germany or Austria, members of the Jewish -community pay a direct tax for the support of the rabbinate and -the communal institutions, and while the Jewish taxpayers elect the -officers who assess them, the tax or “etat” is collectible by force, -i. e., with the aid of the police authorities, if it is not paid -voluntarily. Only those members of the community who pay comparatively -larger sums are entitled to vote for communal officers, so that the -poorer classes are taxed without being represented in the governing -body of the community, and the very poor are not taxed at all. In -Russia proper, including Lithuania and the balance of the “pale of -settlement,” where the masses of the Jews dwell, the “Korobka” or tax -on Kosher meat (more correctly a tax on the slaughtering of animals -for Kosher food) takes the place of the “etat” of Poland and the -“Kultussteuer” of some western countries. This indirect tax, which -rests more heavily on the poor, is less felt and therefore considered -less burdensome, though it is and always has been hated by the Jewish -masses in Russia. The absolute separation of Church and State in this -country made any form of enforced taxation out of the question. And -when the want of a recognized religious authority for the large mass of -Orthodox Jews of New York began to be seriously felt, and the question -of providing for his salary and for other communal needs of a general -nature, for which the individual synagogues did not feel themselves -bound to provide, became a subject for discussion among the public -spirited Jews in the community, the plan of a control over the business -of Kosher meat, over which the new rabbi should have complete religious -supervision, suggested itself as the only practicable solution of the -problem. - - Illustration: Chief Rabbi Jacob Joseph. - -A Federation of Congregations, comprising about fifteen of the more -important Orthodox synagogues, was consequently formed in 1888, and one -of the greatest rabbinical authorities of Russia, Rabbi Jacob Joseph -(b. in Krozh, government of Kovno, Russia, 1840; a. 1888; d. in New -York, July 28, 1902), who was at that time the preacher of the old -Jewish community of Wilna, was brought over as Chief Rabbi of the -Federation. He was received with great honor by the Orthodox masses, -and was recognized by them as the greatest rabbi that ever came to -this country. But the federation of synagogues soon fell to pieces; the -scheme of controlling the supervision of the Kosher meat supply failed -almost from the beginning. There was too much prejudice against a form -of “Korobka” even among the Orthodox masses, despite the fact that they -continued to pay, as they still do, a higher price for Kosher meat, -and a systematization of the business could produce a large revenue -for communal purposes without a further increase in the price. Many -independent Orthodox rabbis did not submit to the authority of the -great rabbi; his influence was weakened, and several years afterward he -fell the victim of a severe illness, which incapacitated him for hard -work or for leadership. But the failure of the system was due to the -impossibility of conducting Jewish affairs in America after patterns -designed in and for Russia. The chief rabbi personally was revered by -the multitudes of religious Jews, and when he died after a lingering -illness, his funeral (July 30, 1902), though it was marred by a -disturbance in which a number of persons were injured, was one of the -most imposing ever seen in New York. - -Several other attempts to choose chief rabbis, with the hope of uniting -or solidifying under them the Orthodox congregations of a large city, -were not more successful. The most notable of them was the selection, -by a union of congregations which was formed for that purpose in -Chicago, of another great Talmudical scholar, Rabbi Jacob David -Wilowski (Ridbaz, b. in Kobrin, government of Kovno, 1845), as its -chief rabbi in 1903. Rabbi Wilowski, who was Rabbi Joseph’s predecessor -in Wilna, first came to the United States in 1900 in the interest of -his great work on the Talmud Yerushalmi. It was during his second visit -to this country that the effort to detain him as the spiritual head of -a united Orthodox community in the second largest city of the New World -was made. But a strong opposition, which centered around Rabbi Zebi -Simon Album, made his position untenable, and he resigned after holding -it for ten months. After travelling for more than a year over the -United States, he left (1905) for the Holy Land and settled in Safed, -where he still resides. It was again seen in his case, and confirmed -because it occurred fifteen years after the importation of the first -and greatest chief rabbi in the greatest Jewish community, that -both the rabbis and the religious laymen are too independent here to -submit to a chief rabbi, regardless of his importance as a Talmudical -authority. The last to assume the title was Rabbi Gabriel Zeeh -Margolioth (b. in Wilna, 1848; a. 1906), who is considered the greatest -rabbinical scholar among the Orthodox rabbis of the United States. -Rabbi Margolioth held the office of Chief Rabbi in Boston about four -years, until his removal (1911) to New York to become rabbi of the -“Adat Israel.” - -In most of the other large cities there are prominent Orthodox rabbis -who are held in high esteem and recognized as spiritual leaders of -the religious masses, although their actual jurisdiction extends only -over the one or several congregations of which they are the appointed -rabbis. The best known of that class in New York was the “Moscower Rab” -Chayyim Jacob Vidrevitz (b. in Dobromysl, government of Mohilev, 1836; -a. 1891; d. in New York, 1911). Among the living, Rabbi Moses Zebullon -Margolioth (b. in Krozh, 1851; a. 1889), formerly of Boston; Rabbi -Abraham Eliezer Alperstein (b. in Kobrin about 1854; a. 1881), formerly -of Chicago; and Rabbi Shalom Elhanan Jaffe (b. in Wobolnik; government -of Wilna, 1858; a. 1889), formerly of St. Louis, are among the better -known of the numerous Orthodox rabbis of New York. - -Outside of New York Rabbi Abraham Jacob Gerson Lesser (b. in Mir, -government of Minsk, 1835; a. about 1880), formerly of Chicago, and for -about the last ten years in Cincinnati, is considered the dean of the -Orthodox rabbis in this country. He is the author of several rabbinical -works, one of which was translated into English by Mr. H. Eliassof. -Of about the same age is the nestor of the Chicago rabbinate, Rabbi -Eliezer Anixter, who occupied the rabbinical position there for about -forty years. In Philadelphia Rabbi Bernhard Louis Levinthal (b. in -Kovno, 1864; a. 1891) occupies a leading position and is perhaps the -most Americanized of the strictly Orthodox rabbis in the country. Rabbi -Moses Simon Sivitz (b. in Zittawan, government of Kovno, 1853; a. 1886), -formerly of Baltimore (1886–89), and Rabbi Aaron Mordecai Ashinsky -(b. in Reygrod, Russian-Poland, 1866), formerly of Detroit, Mich., -and Montreal, Canada, are the foremost representatives of the Orthodox -element in Pittsburg, Pa. Rabbi Asher Lipman Zarehy (b. in Kovno, 1862; -a. 1892), formerly of Brooklyn, N. Y. (1892), and of Des Moines, Ia. -(1893–1903), is at the head of the United Orthodox Hebrew Congregations -of Louisville, Ky. - -The number of prominent Orthodox rabbis among the immigrants who came -from other countries than Russia is comparatively very small. The -Hungarians, who belong to an earlier period, slowly draw nearer to -the German and American element in religious matters. The Austrians or -Galicians, who began to arrive in larger numbers somewhat later than -the Russians, took a longer time to settle down to local conditions, -and being at liberty to return to their old home whenever they liked, -the large number who went back, only to return again in a few years, -retarded the gradual development of their communal life. They are, -on the other hand, much more successful, relatively, in their social -organizations, such as lodges and “landsleut” societies, on account of -the larger liberty of organization which they enjoyed at home. Their -leading rabbi in New York was Rabbi Naftali Reiter (born in Hungary, -1844; a. 1887; d. in New York, 1911), who officiated as rabbi of -the Congregation Magen Abraham Dukler (Attorney street), the leading -Galician synagogue of New York from 1893 until his death. The leading -Hungarian rabbi of New York is Dr. Hillel ha-Kohen or Philip Klein (b. -in Baraeska, Hungary, 1849; a. 1891), who occupies a unique position -in the Jewry of New York and of the country, being recognized as a -Talmudical authority, and at the same time possessing the secular -learning obtained by studying at the University of Berlin. Dr. Klein -was rabbi of Libau, Russia, for ten years before he came to this -country to officiate as rabbi of the Hungarian Congregation Oheb Zedek -of New York, which position he still holds. - - * * * * * - -At the beginning of the period of development among the Jewish -immigrants from Slavic countries it was, however, not the rabbi, -but the hazzan or cantor who was considered the most important -functionary of the Orthodox congregation, especially of the larger ones. -The number of wealthy members was insignificant, and while the smaller -congregations holding services in rented rooms could subsist on the -modest contributions and donations from regular attendants and from -those who came occasionally for the high holidays or on account of -marriages, the naming of newborn children, “jahrzeiten,” etc., the -large synagogue with a building of its own, which was usually heavily -mortgaged, often had a hard struggle for existence. The rabbi, unless -he was a popular preacher, was considered as a somewhat superfluous -burden; he received only a small salary, or none at all, having to -rely for a living on the emoluments of the rabbinical office. But a -popular cantor attracted new members and also large audiences on the -special occasions when a charge for admission was made. His salary -was therefore considered a profitable investment, and some of the best -known cantors of Russia were induced to come to America, especially to -New York. - -The most renowned among the synagogue singers who were brought over -in that period were Israel Michalovsky (b. in Suwalki, Russian-Poland, -1831; a. 1886; d. in New York, 1911), Israel Cooper (b. in Alusenitz, -government of Kamenetz-Podolsk, 1840; a. 1885; d. in New York, 1909), -and Pinhas Minkovsky (b. in Byelaya Tzerkov, 1859), who, after spending -a short time in New York, returned, in 1892, to Odessa, whence he -came. But the circumstances under which the influence of the cantor -was predominant were abnormal and could not last long. The improvement -in the general material conditions, the increase in the number and -proportion of wealthy members, and the growing sense of duty and -responsibility in religious matters, helped to bring the rabbi nearer -to the front, where he belongs. There are even now many excellent and -well paid hazzanim in the large cities, and the Orthodox rabbis are -yet far from the security of tenure and of income which is enjoyed by -the rabbis in the Old World. But some sort of an equilibrium has been -restored, and the rabbinate has gained, morally as well as materially. - -In the last few years many of the larger synagogues in the older Jewish -neighborhoods of the great cities have been again in a precarious -financial condition, which is due to the removal of its older and -♦wealthier members to the more fashionable quarters or to the suburbs. -But no one would think now, as it was thought a quarter century -before, of attempting to strengthen the position of a ♦synagogue -by the importation of a famous hazzan. In many cases the well-to-do -older members feel it to be their religious duty to keep up the large -synagogues which they built in districts which are now inhabited -mostly by the poorer and later arrivals, though they themselves now -live too far to reach it, and have built new synagogues in their new -neighborhoods and have even engaged English-speaking rabbis to deliver -sermons. In other instances the immigrants of latter years are ready -and willing to take over the synagogues, sometimes by the simple method -of joining as members and obtaining control by becoming the majority. -It also happens that the synagogue itself is removed to a location to -which most of the members have moved, and the old building is sold to a -smaller or to a newly formed congregation. But, as it was stated above, -the number of congregations which disbanded, and of synagogue buildings -which are abandoned for other purposes, is small. The continuance of -immigration and the steady increase among the earlier comers of the -number who affiliate themselves with the religious community obviates -the necessity of giving up old religious organizations at the time when -new ones are being established all over the country. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI. - - NEW COMMUNAL AND INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITIES. - - - The Jewish Alliance of 1891 as the first attempt to form a - general organization in which the immigrants of the latest - period should be officially recognized――Some of the prominent - participators――The new Exodus of 1891――The Baron de Hirsch - Fund――Various activities――Decrease in the numbers and proportion - of the helpless and the needy――The American Jewish Historical - Society――The Jewish Publication Society of America――The Jewish - Chautauqua――Participation in the World’s Columbian Exposition - in 1893――The Council of Jewish Women. - -In less than a decade after the first influx from Russia, an attempt -was made to establish some form of co-operation between the immigrants -of the new period and the American or Americanized Jews who belonged -to the former periods. The latter were complaining that the burden of -charities was becoming too heavy, while from the former, especially -from the more intelligent immigrants who were interested in Jewish -matters, there arose even at that early date a demand for recognition -and a share of responsibility in communal work. The theory that the two -elements, described respectively as the German and the Russian, must be -brought nearer together, and that the latter element must be prepared -to take over the hegemony of the Jewish community from the former, -just as the German took it over from the Sephardim, was already then, -as it is to some extent still now, a favorite with those who consider -themselves representatives of the immigrants. And it was the effort to -apply part of this theory to practice, and perhaps, according to some, -to put it to the test, that a call was issued for a convention of the -Jewish Alliance of America, which met in Philadelphia on February 15, -1891. - -Nineteen cities were represented, some of them as far as San Francisco, -Cal. (by Bernhard Marks), and Portland, Ore. (David Solis-Cohen). -Boston was represented by David Blaustein (b. in Lida, Russia, 1866; a. -1886), who later became eminent as an educator and communal worker. The -Hon. Simon Wolf (b. in Rhenish Bavaria, 1836; a. 1848), a recognized -representative in Washington of the Jews of the country, came from the -capital. There were twenty delegates from Baltimore, including Samuel -Dorf and B. H. Hartogensis. Chicago sent six men, including Dr. A. P. -Kadison and Leon Zolotkoff (b. in Wilna, 1865(?); a. 1887). Among the -seven delegates from New York were the Russian immigrants Nicholas -Aleinikoff and P. Caplan, and the native American, Ferdinand Levy (b. -in Milwaukee, Wis., 1843), who served in the Union army with his father -and two brothers during the Civil War, and held various offices in New -York City and in Jewish fraternal organizations. The largest contingent -was, of course, from Philadelphia, its fifty-four delegates including -many well-known men from both elements, like the inventor, Louis E. -Levy (b. in Bohemia, 1846), Dr. Solomon Solis-Cohen, a native of -Philadelphia; Bernhard Harris, who was chosen secretary, and Dr. -Charles D. Spivak (b. in Krementshug, Russia, 1861; a. 1882), who was -president of the temporary organization. - -A constitution was adopted and a permanent organization formed, of -which a well known local Jewish philanthropist, Simon Muhr (b. in -Bavaria, 1845; d. in Philadelphia, 1895), was elected president; -Simon Wolf, treasurer, and Bernhard Harris, secretary. The board of -trustees which was elected included, as representatives of New York, -the communal leader, Daniel P. Hays (b. in Pleasantville, N. Y., 1854), -and the educator, Henry M. Leipziger (b. in Manchester, England, 1854). -There was some enthusiasm in numerous communities for the plan which -was “to unite Israelites in a common bond for the purpose of more -effectually coping with the grave problems presented by enforced -emigration ...” and thirty-one branches were formed throughout the -country.[45] But the entire plan came to nothing. In February, 1892, -the Jewish Alliance was consolidated with “The American Committee -for Ameliorating the Condition of the Russian Refugees,” which was -organized in New York apparently for the purpose of heading off the -activity of the Alliance. Both organizations were soon forgotten, and -the historical value of the Alliance consists chiefly in its having -been the first formal manifestation of a desire which was partly -satisfied in an entirely different manner fifteen years later by the -formation of the American Jewish Committee. - -There was another recurrence of persecutions in Russia in the same year, -which did not take the sensational form of massacre and pillage, but -had as much or even more effect in forcing Jews to leave the country. -Relentless expulsions from Moscow and from villages in which the Jews -have dwelt peacefully and on good terms with their neighbors forced -tens of thousands to leave the country, and as many of them now had -relatives or friends in the United States, it was natural for them to -turn their faces towards the New World. Conditions were again favorable, -for several reasons. The tide of general immigration, which fell from -788,992 in 1882 to 334,203 in 1886, rose after some vaccillations in -the following three years to 455,302 in 1890, to 560,319 in 1891 and to -623,084 in 1892. In the year ending June 30, 1893, which includes a few -months of the hard times which began in the spring of that year, the -number of immigrants was still as high as 502,917, and it is only in -the following twelvemonth, when only 314,467 arrived, and in 1895, when -immigration fell to 279,948, which was the lowest number since 1879, -that the deterrent effects of the panic of 1893 were visible. - -Not only had the Jews in general made progress in the decade after -1881, and were better able to cope with the new situation because -they discovered their own strength in the work of helping their -less fortunate brethren, and had also learned by experience that -the new element adjusted itself to the new surroundings with -remarkable rapidity, but there was also a new agency to assist in the -work of helping some of the newcomers to find their way to work and -independence. The great Jewish philanthropist, Baron Maurice de Hirsch -(b. in Munich, Bavaria, 1831; d. in Hungary, 1896), some time before -the new increase of immigration from Russia, created and endowed the -Baron de Hirsch Fund for the ameliorating of the condition of certain -Jewish immigrants in the United States. The fund, which he originally -endowed with the sum of $2,400,000 (and which had grown later to -nearly a million more), was incorporated under the laws of the State -of New York, February 12, 1891, the trustees being: M. S. Isaacs, -president; Jacob H. Schiff (b. in Frankfort o. t. Main, 1847; a. 1865), -vice-president; Jesse Seligman (b. in Bavaria, 1827; d. in California, -1894), treasurer; Dr. Julius Goldman (who later became president), -honorary secretary. The other trustees were Henry Rice (b. in Bavaria, -1835; a. 1850), who for many years was president of the United Hebrew -Charities of New York; James H. Hoffman and Oscar S. Straus (b. in -Germany, 1850; a. 1854), of New York, and Mayer Sulzberger (b. in -Hildesheim, Baden, 1843; a. 1848) and William B. Hackenburg (b. in -Philadelphia, 1837), of Philadelphia. Adolphus S. Solomons (b. in -New York, 1826; d. in Washington, 1910) was the first general agent. -The present trustees are: Eugene S. Benjamin, president; Jacob H. -Schiff, vice-president; Murry Guggenheim, treasurer; Max J. Kohler, -honorary secretary; Nathan Bijur, Abram I. Elkus, Henry Rice, Louis -Siegbert, S. G. Rosenbaum, all of New York City; Mayer Sulzberger, -W. B. Hackenburg and S. S. Fleischer, of Philadelphia. H. L. Sabsovich -succeeded A. S. Solomons as general agent. - -The trustees of this fund, which has an annual income of about $125,000, -at first used the amount at their disposal in relieving the immediate -necessities of the refugees, and in order to make the immigrants -self-supporting, a number of them were given instruction in the work -which is required in the manufacture of clothing, white goods, etc. The -United Hebrew Charities of New York was made the agent through which -the material necessities were relieved, and certain sums are still -granted by the fund to institutions which make a specialty of assisting -immigrants. On the other hand, the fund itself is receiving assistance -from the Jewish Colonization Association (I. C. A., to which Baron -de Hirsch left a large share of his fortune) in the activities which -it carries on through the Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Aid -Society for the encouragement of farming, and the Industrial Removal -Office, for the distribution of workingmen from the crowded centers -of population to places further inland (both of these institutions -were organized in 1900). When the great pressure due to the rapid -immigration had ♦somewhat relaxed, the trustees carefully matured their -plans of education and of colonization, doing a large amount of good -with the various forms of instruction, including technical as well as -elementary knowledge; while the colonization plans, which resulted in -the establishment of the colonies which have been mentioned in a former -chapter, meet with so many difficulties that progress is made at a less -rapid pace. - -The Jews of America were thus even better prepared to receive a large -number of Jewish immigrants at the beginning of the last decade of the -nineteenth century than they were ten years before. There was also at -this time a smaller number and a much smaller proportion of helpless -people among the Russian refugees, for those who lived in the interior -of Russia, outside of the “pale of settlement”, and would have remained -there had it not been for the expulsions, were as a rule active and -fairly successful men, and therefore better able to take care of -themselves than those whom poverty or lack of employment forced to -emigrate. Many more found relatives and friends here than in 1881–82, -and among those who were here there were also many more who could be -of assistance to new arrivals than in former times. As a matter of -fact, Jewish immigration from the Slavic countries had then assumed -its natural form, which it has retained ever since, except in the -years following the massacres in the present century. Most men come to -kinsmen or personal friends, who are willing and able to assist them in -finding their way. A large majority consists of wives and children, of -parents and other near relatives, who come because they were sent for -and because the breadwinner or the most energetic member of the family -has previously established himself here and demands their ♦presence, -or feels certain that they will soon be able to provide for themselves. -The helpless Jewish immigrant who has nowhere to go and nothing to do -when he arrives, is now very rare, and has been rare for the last two -decades. - -The number of the new immigrants needing assistance immediately after -their arrival had been reduced to such a small fraction that those -having the interest of the Jewish masses at heart began to express -their opinion that it would perhaps be better if organized charity -would leave them alone altogether. At first this opinion was uttered -mostly in the Yiddish press or at meetings of immigrants. But in -time there came not only a still further improvement in the general -condition of the Jews, and also a further diminution in the number -of helpless immigrants, but the voice of the immigrant-citizen became -more potent in communal affairs. The folly of appeals, in which the -wants of that class were exaggerated, became apparent; a large number -of the employees of charitable institutions, and even some of the -directors, were now Russian or Galician or Roumanian Jews, with a -closer acquaintance with the needs, and also with the lack of needs, -of the new arrivals. Much of the friction due to the resentment against -help, which was rendered sometimes with more ostentation than the -circumstances required, was obviated under the altered conditions, and -the ground was prepared for a new co-operation of all elements of the -community. - -The foundation about this time of the American-Jewish Historical -Society, whose objects are the collection and preservation of material -bearing upon the history of the Jews in America, may be taken as an -indication that the times were now again considered normal in the -Jewish community. It was organized in June, 1892, with Oscar S. Straus -as president, and Dr. Cyrus Adler (b. in Van Buren, Ark., 1863) as -secretary. The latter is now (since 1899) its president, and Albert -M. Friedenberg and Dr. Herbert Friedenwald, secretaries. It has thus -far issued twenty annual volumes of its “Publications,” which form -an invaluable collection of material on the subject, much of which -has been used in the preparation of this work. The president and both -secretaries, as well as its curator, Leon Hühner, and some of its -officers and members of its Executive Council, like Professor Richard -J. H. Gottheil (b. in Manchester, England, 1862; who came here with his -father, Rabbi Gustave Gottheil (1827–1903) of Temple Emanuel, New York, -in 1873), of Columbia University; Professor Jacob H. Hollander (b. in -Baltimore, 1871), of Johns Hopkins University, and Max J. Kohler (b. -in Detroit, Mich., 1871), are among the most important contributors of -papers and monograms on various historical subjects to the publications -of the society. - -Another society of a kindred nature, but appealing to a wider circle, -The Jewish Publication Society of America (organized in Philadelphia, -1888; incorporated there 1896), began to attain prominence about that -time. It has published for distribution among its members and also for -sale to the general public about sixty books on a large variety of -subjects, some of them, like the English edition of Graetz’s History -of the Jews, Schechter’s “Studies in Judaism” and the earliest works -of fiction by Israel Zangwill, are highly valuable. Morris Newburger -(b. in Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, 1834; a. 1854) was its first president -and held the office for fourteen years, until he was succeeded by -the present incumbent, Edwin Wolf, in 1902. The leading spirit of the -society is the chairman of its Publication Committee, Mayer Sulzberger, -the eminent communal leader and Jewish bibliophile, who has been a -Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia since 1895. The -secretary of that committee, Henrietta Szold, has done much useful work -in translating or preparing for publication a considerable part of the -works which the society has published. - -This society is the third of its kind in the United States. The first, -which was called the “American Jewish Publication Society,” was founded -by Isaac Leeser in 1845, and in the same year an auxiliary society was -established at Richmond, Va. It published fourteen works between that -year and 1849; but went out of existence after its plates and books -were destroyed by fire, in 1851. The second, The Jewish Publication -Society, was established in New York in 1873, by Leopold Bamberger, -Benjamin I. Hart, Myer Stern, Edward Morrison and several others of New -York, William B. Hackenburg (b. in Philadelphia, 1837) of Philadelphia -and Simon Wolf of Washington. Rabbis Gustave Gottheil, Moses Mielziner -(b. in Schubin, Posen, 1828; d. in Cincinnati, 1903, where he had been -Professor of Talmud in the Hebrew Union College since 1879, and Wise’s -successor as president) and Frederick de Sola Mendes (b. in Jamaica, -W. I., 1850; since 1874 rabbi of Congregation Shaarey Tefilla); Marcus -Jastrow of Philadelphia, and ♦Moritz Ellinger (b. in Germany, 1830; -a. 1854; d. 1907), editor of the “Menorah” and of the “Jewish Times,” -constituted its publication committee. It existed only for two years. - -The Jewish Chautauqua Society, “for the dissemination of knowledge -of the Jewish religion by fostering the study of its history and -literature, giving popular courses of instruction, issuing publications, -establishing reading circles, holding general assemblies, and by such -other means as may from time to time be found necessary and proper,” -is also a product of this new period of spiritual and literary activity -in the American-Jewish world. It was founded in 1893 by Dr. Henry -Berkowitz (b. in Pittsburg, Pa., 1857; since 1892 rabbi of the -Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia), who is still its chancellor. -It now has about three thousand members. - - Illustration: Miss Sadie American. - -The World’s Columbian Exposition, which was held in Chicago in the -year 1893, offered the Jews ♦an opportunity to participate in the great -event in diversified ways. What they did and what they exhibited as -artists, scientists, manufacturers and merchants does not belong to the -subject of this work, which is mostly concerned with Jewish matters. -But the Jews participated, as such, in the World’s Parliament of -Religions which was held in Chicago at that time. Among the separate -denominational congresses which constituted that Parliament was also -a Congress of Jewish Women, the first of its kind ever held. This -congress resulted in the organization of the National Council of Jewish -Women, “to further united efforts in behalf of Judaism by supplying -means of study; by an organic union to bring about closer relations -among Jewish women; to furnish a medium of interchange of thought and -a means of communication and of prosecuting work of common interest; -to further united efforts in the work of social betterment through -religion, philanthropy and education.” Hannah G. Solomon and Sadie -American, respectively chairman and secretary of the congress, were -elected president and secretary of the council. In 1896 the word -“National” was eliminated from the name, on account of the entrance -of sections from Canada. The council now consists of more than sixty -sections and is doing noble work in pursuance of its program. Miss -American still retains the office of secretary, while Mrs. Solomon was -succeeded as president by Mrs. Marion L. Misch, of Providence, R. I. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXII. - - THE LABOR MOVEMENT AND NEW LITERARY ACTIVITIES. - - - Difficulty of securing data for the history of the Labor Movement - among Jewish immigrants――John R. Commons’ characterization of - a Jewish labor union――A constantly changing army of followers - under the same leaders――The movement under the control of the - radical press――The leaders as journalists and literary men―― - They popularize the press and teach the rudiments of politics―― - The voter――The “Heften”――Neo-Hebrew periodicals――The Yiddish - stylists――The plight of the Hebraists. - -Any attempt to give even the merest outline of the history of the labor -movement among the immigrant Jews in the United States would lead into -a maze of unreliable figures, exaggerations, and conflicting statements, -not only between opponents, but also among those most friendly to their -cause. The Russian Jew, in America, like the Russian himself at home, -has not yet learned to divorce trade unionism from politics; his labor -organizations are either organized and managed by Socialistic agitators -and politicians, and in the end split from within on account of the -continuous wars among the adherents of various schools of Socialistic -principles and tactics; or, if it is not Socialistic, and would not -permit the machinery of its organization to be used for the benefit of -the party――or, rather, of one of the Socialistic parties――it is opposed, -and sometimes ruined, by open attacks or by neglect. And so it comes -that as long as a labor union is typically Jewish, i. e., as long as it -differs from the American trade union in its being much more political -and being more interested in a general struggle against capital or -against the present order of society, it leads a precarious existence. -The small number of labor unions whose members are exclusively Jewish -immigrants, which are strictly trade unions and permit their members to -have their own political views or preferences, are usually affiliated -with American central labor bodies, and belong to the history of the -labor movement of the country rather than to one which deals with the -Jews as a separate entity. - -But the radicalism of the laborer as such, and the radicalism of -the union which he enters and upholds, is like the radicalism of -the immigrant in general and like his dwelling in tenement houses: -a passing phase which seems permanent because new arrivals take up -the place of those who are continually dropping out from the ranks -on account of their improved material and educational condition. -Isaac A. Hourwich (b. in Wilna, 1860; a. 1892), the economist and -statistician, in his attempt to review the labor movement among the -Jews in this country, could do no better than to quote the following -characterization from the pen of a recognized specialist on the -subject: - - The Jew’s conception of a labor organization is that of a - tradesman rather than that of a workman. In the clothing - manufacture, whenever any real abuse arises among the Jewish - workmen, they all come together and form a giant union, and at - once engage in a strike. They bring in 95 per cent. of the trade. - They are energetic and determined. They demand the entire and - complete elimination of the abuse. The demand is almost always - unanimous, and is made with enthusiasm and bitterness. They stay - out a long time, even under the greatest of suffering. During a - strike large numbers of them are to be found with almost nothing - to live upon and their families suffering, still insisting, on - the streets and in their halls, that the great cause must be - won. But when once the strike is settled, either in favor of - or against the cause, they are contented, and that usually ends - the union, since they do not see any practical use for a union - when there is no cause to fight for. Consequently the membership - of a Jewish union is wholly uncertain. The secretary’s books - will show 60,000 members in one month and not 5,000 within - three months later. If, perchance, a local branch has a steady - thousand members, and if they are indeed paying members, it - is likely that they are not the same members as in the year - before.[46] - -This is, with the modifications pertaining to time and place, the -history of practically every trades-union organization among the Jewish -immigrants from the Slavic countries. From the first union of Jewish -tailors, which was organized in New York in 1877, through the time of -the first comprehensive strike of workers in the clothing trade in that -city in 1890, the still larger one in 1894; down to the great waist -makers’ strike in 1909 and the great strikes in New York, Chicago and -Cleveland in 1910 and 1911, the leadership has remained almost the -same for about a quarter century. Abraham Cahan (b. in Podberezhye, -near Wilna, 1860; a. 1882), who was the first to deliver Socialist -speeches in Yiddish in the United States, is still practically at the -head of that movement among his countrymen. Morris Hillquit (b. in -Riga, Russia, 1870; a. 1887) began his activity as a Socialist leader -among the immigrants before he was of age, and is now a recognized -leader of the Socialists of the country, being also the author of -a History of Socialism in the United States. Joseph Barondess (b. -in Kamenetz-Podolsk, 1867; a. 1885), the leader of the second great -cloak makers’ strike, who is now a communal worker and a leader among -the Zionists, is still looked upon as a representative of the Jewish -working classes in New York. The same conditions prevail in other -large cities; only there the movement began somewhat later, and the -local leaders seldom attained lasting prominence even locally; for the -movement is more than anything else a newspaper movement, and those -who control the Yiddish Socialist press in New York are masters of -the situation in every center of population where there is a Socialist -movement among the Jewish immigrants. - -As the radical press is the means by which the unstable and mostly -temporary labor organizations are held in control, it has played a -much more important part in the entire Jewish labor movement than the -general labor press has played in the much stronger and more lasting -American labor movement. This is again on account of its political -radicalism, which appeals to a wide circle of readers, who may be -neither trade union laborers nor even Socialists. In its latest phase -of development the Jewish radical press becomes a sensational afternoon -paper, only with a stronger tinge of “red” than the journal of the same -type printed in the vernacular. This preponderance of the literary side -of the movement had the results which were to be expected: it produced -better writers than labor leaders, more talented literary artists -than organizers or disciplinarians. And while most of the radical -periodicals also succumbed sooner or later, they had a more lasting -effect on the development of the immigrant than the extremist labor -organizations. This is also a reflex of Russian conditions, where -the labor movement is entirely in the hands of the “intelligencia” or -learned classes, though for an entirely different reason, the laborers -themselves being mostly illiterate. Here every Jewish labor leader is -a journalist or an author, often both; and they belong more properly to -the chapters treating of Jewish literature in America. - -The agitator among the immigrants has also rendered other highly useful -service, besides the impetus which he gave to the development and -popularization of the Yiddish press. The average laborer immigrant -from Russia knew very little of newspapers, although practically every -one of them could read his mother tongue――Judeo-German or Yiddish. But -the Russian government did not permit at that time the publication of -popular newspapers, and we find, for instance, in the year 1886, three -daily papers in Russia in the old Hebrew language, which is understood -by the more educated classes, and not one in Yiddish. But little as the -immigrant knew about newspapers, he knew less, or actually nothing at -all, about politics. The explanation of the aims of the one party for -which the agitator wanted to win him had to be preceded by introductory -explanations of the nature and functions of parties generally, of their -utility as a means of inaugurating reforms, and their power to carry -them out when a successful campaign places the government in their -hands. The Socialist agitator was thus the first teacher of civics, -and he was a very active worker for the cause of naturalization. He was -anxious that the immigrant workingman should become a citizen and build -up with his vote the Socialist party which the native laborer was so -slow to recognize. - -But the large majority of the Jewish laborers had enough of Socialism -by the time they were entitled to citizenship; the number of voters of -that party increased very slowly, and, like the above-mentioned case of -the unions, they were not the same from year to year. While the Jewish -population was increasing rapidly in some parts of New York and other -large cities, and the number of non-Jewish, or rather non-immigrant, -voters in some districts became very small or practically disappeared, -the number of Socialist votes was fluctuating, and never became a -majority or even a plurality in a district. While the leaders were -preaching that all opportunities were now gone and all avenues of -advancement were closed for the poor man, every individual among their -followers was struggling to raise himself above his surroundings. -Americanization meant the abandonment of extreme views on all subjects, -and the naturalized immigrant, even when he remained a manual worker, -was soon voting for one of the two great American parties. He still -retained a leaning towards radical reform, for the Russian mind is much -inclined to theorizing; but he would now seldom go further than support -an American reformer or join one of the movements instituted by the -better elements for the purpose of purifying city governments. But -as the reform element usually signalizes its accession to power by a -severe enforcement of Sunday-closing laws and other interferences with -personal liberty which smack of persecution, the immigrant Jew usually -joins the other disappointed classes to turn the reformers out of -office at the next election. - -There was a slow and steady turning away from the dry and monotonous -radical literature of that period, which was a counterpart of the -turning away from extreme politics. In one respect the change in -literary tastes or requirements amounted to a revulsion――one might -almost say, to a revolution. The first attempt to publish in Yiddish -a sensational novel in weekly or semi-weekly installments, popularly -known as “Heften,” which was made in New York about 1890, met with -extraordinary success. The number of such ventures soon multiplied, -and the sales were large in other cities as well as in the place -of publication. The Yiddish periodical press became endangered, but -it saved――and revenged――itself by beginning to publish one, two and -sometimes as much as three serial stories in daily installments, a -practice which in a short time ruined the business of the “Heften.” - -It was also about this time that the “Maskilim” or half-Germanized -Hebrew scholars, who were forced to the background by the domination of -the radicals at the beginning of the “Russian period,” began to forge -to the front again. The number of Jews who could read Hebrew was fast -increasing, the proportion of intelligent and well-educated men being -much larger among those who were forced to emigrate than among the -earlier immigrants. Well known Hebrew scholars who arrived in that -period began the publication of Hebrew periodicals, and while none -of the publications survived, some of them existed for a number of -years and exerted a certain influence; besides contributing to develop -the talents of new writers and to lay the foundation for a Neo-Hebrew -literature in America, which is progressing slowly but surely. - -One of the first of the Hebrew editors of the new period was Ephraim -Deinard (b. in Courland, 1846; a. 1888), the author and traveler. He -established the weekly “Ha-Leomi” (Nationalist) in New York in 1889, -and it existed for about two years. Another traveler and author, Wolf -(or William) Schur (b. in Utian, Russia, 1844; d. in Chicago, 1910), -established his weekly “Ha-Pisgah” (The Summit), which appeared in New -York and Baltimore in the years 1890–94 and in Chicago in 1897–1900. -The “ha-Ibri” (The Hebrew), also a weekly, was founded by K. H. -Sarasohn and edited by Gerson Rosenzweig (b. in Karatchin, in the -government of Grodno, Russia, 1861; a. 1888) during the time of its -existence, from 1892 to 1898. Of the Hebrew monthlies of that period -only the “Ner he-Maarabi” (Western Light), which appeared in 1895–97, -edited first by Abraham H. Rosenberg (b. in Pinsk, 1838; a. 1891) and -afterwards by Samuel B. Schwarzberg, deserves to be mentioned. - -In one respect the Hebrew and the Yiddish writers were struggling -with the same difficulty――that of making themselves understood to the -largest possible number of readers. The method prevailing in Russia, -of writing as hard or using as high a language as possible so that -the highly intelligent reader――the title to which every reader of a -newspaper there at that time laid claim――should take pride in being -able to understand the contents, would not attract readers here as -it does where scarcity of printed matter makes the public accept with -eagerness whatever is offered. But the Hebrew writer came here with -a style that may be termed aristocratic, and the Yiddish writer, who -had to begin everything anew, had hardly any style. It was all easy -as far as the work of the agitator was concerned; denunciations and -accusations are always easily understood, and this alone is one of the -reasons of their popularity. But when it came to the parts where the -writer wanted to describe or to explain, especially in the scientific -or semi-scientific articles which a public that had no systematic -schooling so eagerly devoured, the language of most of the writers was -inadequate and not easily understood. - -Thus it comes that, although most of the Yiddish periodicals of that -time were advocating, some of them with great vehemence, certain -principles, or leading certain movements, the earliest reputations were -made by stylists who were not identified with particular movements. -The highest popularity among the reading masses was attained by Abner -Tannenbaum (b. in Shirwint, Russia, 1848; a. 1887), whose perspicuous -writing, whether as the author of the “Heften,” which he inaugurated, -or on his favorite subject, popular science, simply could not be -misunderstood. George Selikovich (b. in Retovo, government of Kovno, -Russia, in 1863; a. 1887), a linguist and a good Hebrew stylist, is -another writer whom everybody could easily understand, and who acquired -popularity with the public to whom Yiddish periodical literature -was brought down here, for the first time in its history. Nahum Meir -Schaikewitz (Shomer, b. in Nesvizh, government of Minsk, Russia, 1849; -a. 1888; d. in New York, 1905), the novelist and playwright, also -appealed to the masses with his easy flowing style, and was a favorite -here with the same classes which used to read his works and see his -plays in the old country. - -The recognition accorded to these writers, none of whom were agitators -or even party men, proves that even in the time when it seemed that the -“ghetti” or neighborhoods of the Jewish immigrants were seething with -movements and agitations, the great masses were not much interested in -them; though the curious crowded the largest meeting rooms, and many -who were not yet sure of their newly found freedom were inclined to -test it by participating in a march or some other form of demonstration -which was forbidden in their old home. Some writers, on the other -hand, who followed the Russian usage of subordinating their art to the -cause which they were advocating, were extolled by their partisans as -great geniuses, but had a much smaller public than the above-mentioned -literati. - -The writers of Hebrew, who by reason of their training and inclination -held more aloof even from their own public, have not yet solved the -great question of style; which partly accounts for the remarkable -fact that their periodical literature has actually vanished in the two -decades in which the possible number of their readers has increased -almost tenfold. Some of the best known Hebrew literati from the Old -World came here since the establishment of the Neo-Hebrew periodicals -which were mentioned above: men like the poet Menahem Mendel Dolitzki -(b. in Byelostok, 1856; a. 1892); the exegete Abraham Baer Dobsevage -(b. in Pinsk, 1843; a. 1891; d. in New York, 1900); the philosopher -Joseph Loeb ♦Sossnitz (b. in Birz, 1837; a. 1891; d. in New York, -1910); the grammarian Moses Reicherson (b. in Wilna, 1827; a. 1890; -d. in New York, 1903), and the knight-errant of Hebrew literature, -Naphtali Hirz Imber (b. in Zloczow, Galicia, 1856; a. 1892(?); d. in -New York, 1909). But neither they nor others less known, who could -perhaps be more productive under more favorable circumstances, could -accomplish much even in those branches of literary journalism where -Yiddish has not penetrated. They were not entirely idle, and some -of the results of their literary labor will be mentioned in the -proper place in a following part of this work. But they have not -influenced the Jewish spirit and have contributed little to the general -intellectual development of the community. The traditional war for -progress which they waged in their old homes, where they were often -the only learned or enlightened men in the community, had no place in -a world where general education is so easily accessible; and they could -not feel at home in the ranks of the conservatives, where they belong -in this country. Most of them floundered until the rise of the Zionist -movement, which they joined half-heartedly. Many took to teaching of -Hebrew, and are still waiting for the expected revival of interest in -Hebrew literature which the new nationalism is supposed to produce. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIII. - - RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA. THE PASSPORT QUESTION. - - - The normal rate of Jewish immigration is but slightly affected by - the panic of 1893――Oppressiveness of the Sunday Laws are felt - by the new immigrants――The Extradition Treaty with Russia―― - Beginning of the struggle about the Passport Question――The - first Resolution against Russia’s discrimination, introduced - in Congress by Mr. Cox in 1879――Diplomacy and diplomatic - correspondence――More resolutions――Rayner, Fitzgerald, Perkins―― - Henry M. Goldfogle――John Hay’s letter to the House――More - letters, speeches and discussions――The Sulzer Resolution and - the last step to abrogate the Treaty of 1832. - -The large increase in Jewish immigration from Russia after the renewed -persecutions of 1891, like the general increase in the beginning of the -last decade of the nineteenth century, lasted only till the effects of -the hard times, which began in the spring of 1893, began to be felt. -But the increase in Jewish immigration was more than ordinarily -large, or what might be considered for those times as abnormal, -only in one year――1892. If this year, in which there arrived 76,417 -Jews from Russia,[47] should be eliminated, it is seen that Jewish -immigration fell off much less in proportion than general immigration. -The general figures are: 560,319 for 1891; 502,917 for 1893; 314,467 -for 1894; and 279,948 for 1895. The number of Jewish immigrants from -Russia for those years was: 42,145 for 1891; 35,626 for 1893; 36,725 -for 1894, and 33,332 for 1895. The cause of it was mentioned in a -former chapter――that the largest part of the Jewish immigration now -consisted of families or near relatives brought over by those who have -established themselves here. The condition of those remaining there -was becoming continually worse, while those who were here could, with -a little exertion and self-denial, save enough, even in slack times, to -save their immediate relatives from the conditions which were becoming -unendurable in Russia. - -For this large and increasing mass of Russians, the relations between -the United States and Russia were a matter of grave concern. And to -them, in conjunction with the Galician Jews and the Roumanian Jews, -who were, roughly estimated, nearly half as strong numerically as the -Russians, the question of the restriction of immigration, which was -then being discussed in Congress and in the country generally, was of -most vital interest. The fear that the oppressed Jews who were left -home could not come in now, and that there might be difficulty even -in bringing over members of the family, sufficed to make this question -overshadow all others in the mind of the Jewish immigrant; to make it -not only the most important, but with many, the sole Jewish problem. - -A minor problem which had also become more acute under the changed -conditions was the Sunday Laws of the various states. While the laws -themselves date further back, some of them from the eighteenth century, -and they were not enforced with any more severity than before, the -opportunities for conflict with them were now much more frequent. The -Jewish immigrants of the former periods, who were mostly traders doing -business with their Gentile neighbors, and were also inclined toward -Reform Judaism, usually rested Sunday, for economic reasons as well as -on account of their religious views. But now there were in many large -cities, and especially in New York, large Jewish neighborhoods where -brisk trading was done among Jews themselves. There were Jewish shops -and factories in which the owners, the managers and foremen, as well -as the workers, were Jews. And not only was the proportion of Orthodox -Jews among them very large, but even the unbelievers and the radicals -among them thought the Sunday laws oppressive and incongruous. It -was certainly not what most of them expected to find in the Land of -Liberty: to be hampered and interfered with for practices which were -then practically permissible in countries like Russia and Austria, -where the Churches rule supreme and where Jews are harassed on every -imaginable pretext. - -Two incidents in the relations with Russia aroused the interest of the -Russian Jews in America at that time. The first related to the Treaty -of Extradition which was negotiated between the two governments during -the first administration of President Cleveland, but was not pressed -for ratification, owing to protests which were made against it by -Russian Jews and which were seconded by many liberal Americans and by -a considerable portion of the press. But the document itself, signed by -the representatives of the two governments seven or eight years before, -remained in the State Department, and was again presented to the Senate -by John W. Foster, a former American Minister to Russia, who held the -office of Secretary of State in the last months of the administration -of President Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901). It was ratified by the -Senate in February, 1893, and the report of its ratification and -exchange with Russia was a painful surprise for the Jews of the country, -especially for the natives of Russia. Happily the fears about the -possible effects of the treaty proved absolutely groundless. Every -extradition case under this treaty which was fought in the United -States courts was won, and, as far as it is known, not one Russian -refugee who made the plea against extradition, claiming that he was -wanted for political offences, was ever delivered to Russia. - -The second occurrence pertained to a difficulty of long standing: -to the general treaty between the United States and Russia which was -concluded in 1832. The number of Jews in the United States at that time -was comparatively small, and very few of them came from Russia. The -intercourse between the two countries was insignificant, and probably -no Jew of that time thought of going from America to Russia for any -purpose. It could therefore not have occurred to the representatives of -our Government in negotiating the treaty that Russia would discriminate -against American Jews who might come there. As a matter of fact, -the language of the treaty implied equal treatment for all American -citizens alike, and is much less objectionable than was the treaty -with Switzerland, which was concluded later (see above Chapter XXIII), -in which discrimination against Jews was knowingly accepted. And -while a case of discrimination against an American-Jewish citizen -in Switzerland was under consideration by the State Department in -Washington at the very time when the treaty of 1855, with the highly -objectionable clause, was adopted, more than forty years passed after -the adoption of the Russian treaty of 1832 before the question of -Russia’s disloyalty to the terms of the treaty attracted the attention -of the American Government, although there seems to have been some -correspondence about it as early as 1866.[48] The name of a naturalized -Jewish citizen, Theodore Rosenstrauss, appears frequently in the -diplomatic correspondence of the State Department from 1873 to 1879, -and his case was the cause of the following Joint Resolution being -introduced in the House of Representatives of the 46th Congress in -June, 1879, by Mr. Samuel S. Cox of New York, a member of the Committee -on Foreign Affairs: - - JOINT RESOLUTION IN RELATION TO TREATY NEGOTIATIONS - WITH RUSSIA AS TO AMERICAN CITIZENS. - - _Whereas_, It is alleged that by the laws of the Russian - Government, no Hebrew can hold real estate, which unjust - discrimination is enforced against Hebrew citizens of the - United States resident in Russia; and - - _Whereas_, The Russian Government has discriminated against one - T. Rosenstrauss, a naturalized citizen of the United States, by - prohibiting him from holding real estate after his purchasing - and paying for the same, because of his being an Israelite; and - - _Whereas_, Such disabilities are antagonistic to the enlightened - spirit of our institutions and age, which demand free exercise - of religious belief, and no disabilities therefrom; and - - _Whereas_, The Secretary of State, under date of April 29, 1879, - expresses doubt of his ability to grant the relief required - under existing treaty stipulations; therefore - - _Resolved_, By the Senate and the House of Representatives of - the United States of America in Congress Assembled, that the - rights of the citizens of the United States should not be - impaired at home or abroad because of religious belief; and - that if existing treaties between the United States and Russia - be found, as is alleged, to discriminate in this or any other - particular, as to any other classes of our citizens, the - President is requested to take immediate action, to have the - treaties so amended as to remedy this grievance. - -After a debate, in which the fact that English Jews were permitted to -own land in Russia, was brought out, this Resolution passed the House -of Representatives June 10, 1879, and as far as known was not heard of -again. - -In the diplomatic correspondence which followed, the American -Government insisted on its rights under the treaty and urged its -minister to claim absolutely equal treatment for all American citizens -alike, Jews as well as others. The arguments and the mode of procedure -which are now familiar to every one who is interested in the question, -were all used thirty years ago, though the only effective remedy, -suggested by the first resolution, “to take immediate steps to have -the treaties amended,” had not been resorted to. But the question of -former Russian subjects who return to Russia as American citizens, -in which the principle of expatriation and right of naturalization is -involved, is not touched upon in these early disputes. There is even -a clear intimation that the Russian Government’s chief objection was -against naturalized Jews from Germany. Mr. Foster, who was then our -representative in St. Petersburg, in a dispatch dated December 30, -1880, reports an interview which he had with M. de Giers, the Russian -Minister of Foreign Affairs, and says: - - So far as concerned Jews who are bona fide American citizens - (not disguised German Jews), he would assure me of the most - liberal treatment, as he knew it was the desire of the Emperor - to show all possible consideration to American citizens. If such - came to St. Petersburg and encountered any trouble, if I would - merely send him an unofficial note, he would give them all the - time I might ask for them to remain here to attend to their - business.... - -The same dispatch reports also a conversation with the Minister of -Worship, who “listened with much interest to my presentation of the -subject. He said that a commission was now engaged in studying the -question of reform in these laws,” and “frankly recognized that the -laws were not fully in accordance with the spirit of the age.” But in -the end of this document Mr. Foster acknowledges his failure to obtain -what he wanted and says that “the Russian Government was disposed to -grant what we desired only as a favor when my government asked it as -a right” (quoting Loris Melikov). - -In a dispatch sent by Secretary of State James G. Blaine to Mr. Foster, -dated July 29, 1881, the entire subject is historically reviewed and -the principles involved are restated in strong and lucid terms. Two -passages from this dispatch are worth quoting. One reads: “From the -time when the treaty of 1832 was signed down to within a very recent -period, there had been nothing in our relations with Russia to lead to -the supposition that our flag did not carry with it equal protection -to every American within the dominions of the empire.” The second is -the last sentence of the dispatch and reads: “I cannot but feel assured -that this earnest presentation of the views of this government will -accord with the sense of justice and equity of that of Russia, and that -the questions at issue will soon find their natural solution in harmony -with the spirit of tolerance which pervaded the ukase of the Empress -Catherine a century ago, and with the statesman-like declaration -of the principle of reciprocity found in the later decree of the -Czar Alexander II. in 1860.” Actual dealings with Russia were a novel -experience for American diplomatists, and even so eminent a statesman -as Mr. Blaine could believe――after the pogroms of the spring of that -year――that the question would be solved in the same manner as in -Switzerland――by the final emancipation of the Jews of that country. - -In the meantime new cases had arisen, and the question was again -brought before Congress. Representative Samuel S. Cox of New York -introduced a second resolution in the House of Representatives on -January 26, 1882, which was passed four days later, requesting the -President, if it was not incompatible with the public service, to -communicate to the House all correspondence between the Department of -State and the United States minister at St. Petersburg, relative to the -expulsion of American Israelites from Russia, and the persecution of -the Jews in the Russian Empire. Another resolution, asking for further -correspondence on the subject, was introduced by Mr. Cox on July 31 -of the same year and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. -He submitted the same resolution again in February, 1883, when it was -passed. There was another resolution in 1884, and more correspondence -in 1886 between Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard and the American -representative in Russia, with no better results than before. - -The subject was taken up more earnestly than before in the following -decade. Congressman S. Logan Chipman of Michigan introduced in the -House, in February, 1892, a resolution “To inquire into the operation -of the Anti-Jewish Laws of Russia on American Citizens.” It was -referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and reported on April 6, -1892, in a much amplified form, but its passage is not recorded. -Mr. Irvine Dungan, of Ohio, introduced, on June 10, 1892, a joint -resolution “directing the severance of diplomatic relations with -Russia,” which seems not to have gone any further than the Committee -on Foreign Affairs. There was new correspondence, too, as the result of -new cases, and probably also as an indirect result of the resolutions -which were introduced in the House. A letter written from the State -Department in 1893 to Mr. Andrew D. White (b. 1832), the educator and -historian, the greatest man who ever represented the United States in -Russia, contained the “surmise that some strange misapprehension exists -in this regard in the mind of His Majesty’s Government, which your -accustomed ability and tact may explain and perhaps remove.” The events -proved that he could do neither. - -In 1894 the subject was again brought before the House, for the -first time by a representative of Jewish extraction. Isidor Rayner -(b. in Baltimore, 1850), who was successively a member of the Maryland -Legislature, a State Senator, a representative in Congress for three -terms, the Attorney-General of the State of Maryland, and is now -serving his second term as United States Senator from that State -(beginning March 4, 1911), was then serving his third term in the -House and was recognized as one of the ablest orators and leaders of -his party (the Democratic) in the popular branch of Congress. But his -resolution, which was introduced May 28, 1894, in which the President -was “directed to call the attention of the Government of Russia to its -continued violation of the treaty rights,” met with no better fate than -the preceding ones which were introduced by non-Jews. The disposition -of the resolutions made, however, little difference, for the Government -was urging a settlement of the difficulties as strongly as if it was -commanded by Congress to do so. - -Minister Breckinridge, who was in St. Petersburg in 1895, writing to -the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs in that year, states “that it -has long been a matter of deep regret and concern to the United States -that any of its citizens should be discriminated against for religious -reasons while peacefully sojourning in this country.” The subject -was apparently taken up more seriously now than before, and there was -justification for the belief that it would have to be settled soon. -Mr. H. H. D. Peirce, Secretary of Legation, writing in June, 1895, of -an interview which he had with a high Russian official, declares that -the latter admitted the force of the argument and “expressed himself -as hopeful that it would be possible to bring about a satisfactory -revision of Russian practice as regards the admission of American Jews -into the Empire.” In the following month Assistant Secretary of State -A. A. Adee wrote to the Legation at St. Petersburg: - - Your conclusion that it is inexpedient to press the complaint - to a formal answer at present appears to be discreet, but - the Department must express its deep regret that you have - encountered in the foreign office a reluctance to consider - the matter in the light in which this Government has presented - it. The Russian Government can not expect that its course in - asserting inquisitorial authority in the United States over - citizens of the United States as to their religious or civil - status can ever be acceptable or even tolerable to such a - Government as ours, and continuance in such a course after our - views have been clearly but considerately made known may trench - upon the just limits of consideration. - -There were three more dispatches of considerable length sent about this -subject in the same year, 1895; one from Mr. Breckinridge to Secretary -of State Richard Olney, dated July 4; the second from Mr. Adee to -Mr. Breckinridge, dated August 22, and a third, dated October 23, from -Washington to the Russian capital, beginning with the acknowledgment -of the receipt of a set of regulations relating to the Jews in Russia -and commenting on it that: “If anything, it presents the subject -in a still more unfavorable light, for it seems that those Russian -agents in a foreign territory may in their discretion inquire into the -business standing of the principal of the commercial house employing -a Hebrew agent, and act favorably or unfavorably, according to their -own judgment of its importance.” It continues that even “assuming for -the ♦argument’s sake but not by way of admission, that such a right -may technically exist, the question remains whether the assumption -to exercise it in face of the temperate but earnest remonstrances of -this Government against foreign interference with the private concerns -of its citizens, is in accordance with those courteous principles of -comity which this Government is so anxious to observe in its relations -with all foreign states.” - -All this was of no avail, and the question was again brought before -Congress. Representative John F. Fitzgerald (b. in Boston, 1863; now -Mayor of Boston) of Massachusetts introduced the following resolution -in the House of Representatives, March 31, 1897, which was referred to -the Committee on Foreign Affairs: - - _Resolved_, That the Secretary of State be requested to demand - from the Russian Government that the same rights be given to - Hebrew-American citizens in the matter of passports as now - are accorded to all other classes of American citizens, and - also inform the House of Representatives whether any American - citizens have been ordered to be expelled from Russia or - forbidden the exercise of the ordinary privileges enjoyed by the - inhabitants, because of their religion. - -The same resolution was re-introduced by Mr. Fitzgerald in December, -1899, with no better results. In the meantime, a Jewish banker from -California, Mr. Adolf Kutner, was refused admission to Russia in 1897, -and this caused Senator J. C. Perkins of that State to introduce a -lengthy resolution about this question in the United States Senate -(May 25, 1897), which was followed by a shorter one presented in the -House by Representative Curtice H. Castle of the same State in December -of that year. - -In 1902 the question was again brought to the attention of the House -by a Representative who not only is himself a Jew, but represents -a district most of whose inhabitants are immigrant Jews who are -interested in the passport question. Henry Mayer Goldfogle (b. in New -York City, 1856), who was twice elected Judge of the Municipal Court in -an East Side district, was in 1900 elected, as a Democrat, to represent -the Ninth Congress District of New York, which includes the most -thickly populated part of the East Side, and has been re-elected at -every Congressional election since, serving now (1911) his sixth term. -It was during his first term that he introduced what became well known -as the “Goldfogle Resolution” and has been before Congress in one form -or another for nearly a decade. Its original form as it was introduced, -March 28, 1902, was as follows: - - _Resolved_, By the House of Representatives of the United States, - that the Secretary of State be, and he is hereby, respectfully - requested to inform the House whether American citizens of - the Jewish religious faith, holding passports issued by this - Government, are barred or excluded from entering the territory - of the Empire of Russia, and whether the Russian Government - has made, or is making, any discrimination between citizens of - the United States of different religious faiths or persuasions, - visiting or attempting to visit Russia, provided with American - passports; and whether the Russian Government has made - regulations restricting or specially applying to American - citizens, whether native or naturalized, of the Jewish religious - denomination, holding United States passports, and if so, to - report the facts in relation thereto, and what action concerning - such exclusion, discrimination or restriction, if any, has been - taken by any department of the Government of the United States. - -This resolution was amended by adding the words “if not incompatible -with the public interest” after the word “House” in the third line. It -was passed by the House April 30, 1902. Shortly afterwards (June 27) -Senator E. W. Pettus of Alabama introduced a resolution in the Senate -requesting the President, “if not incompatible with the public interest, -to inform the Senate as to the attitude of the Russian Government -toward American citizens attempting to enter its territory with -American passports.” This was also passed by the Senate, but the reply -was given to the House before the Senate Resolution was introduced. The -essence of the letter to the House, written by Secretary of State John -Hay (1838–1905), dated May 2, 1902, that American Jews are not at a -greater disadvantage before that Government than are the Jews of other -countries; that the exclusion of naturalized citizens of Russian origin -was explained by Secretary Olney in his report to the President in 1896 -as due to circumstances under which a “conflict between national laws, -each absolute within its domestic sphere and inoperative beyond it, -is hardly to be averted”; that the effort to secure uniform treatment -for American citizens in Russia, begun many years ago, had continued, -although it had not been attended with encouraging success; and -that the Department of State send to all persons of Russian birth -who received passports an unofficial notice showing what were the -provisions of Russian law liable to affect them, in order that they -might not incur danger through ignorance. - -The subject has been treated officially and semi-officially in -various manners since that time, but practically without results. It -came up several times in Congress, and was ably discussed by Jewish -representatives and their friendly colleagues, hardly a voice ever -being raised in defence of the Russian Government. There were new -resolutions by Judge Goldfogle, who was now recognized as the Jewish -Representative in Congress; new correspondence between the State -Department and the American Ambassador in St. Petersburg; a personal -letter from President Theodore Roosevelt to Count Witte (who came to -the United States to negotiate a treaty of peace with Japan in 1905), -in which that Muscovite statesman was begged “to consider the question -of granting passports to reputable American citizens of the Jewish -faith,” and a letter from Secretary of State Elihu Root (b. 1845; now a -Senator from New York) to Mr. Jacob H. Schiff in October, 1908, telling -him that the Administration “has urged the making of a new treaty for -the purpose of regulating the subject.” It was the subject of a notable -address delivered by the well known attorney and communal worker, Louis -Marshall (b. in Syracuse, N. Y., 1856), at the convention of the Union -of American Hebrew Congregations which was held in New York in January, -1911, and was afterward brought before President William H. Taft (b. -1857) by a delegation which was appointed by that convention. Public -men in various parts of the country became interested in the question. -They were encouraged by an almost unanimous public press to stand up -for the rights of American Citizenship, regardless of creed, and the -movement became well-nigh irresistible. Numerous State Legislatures -adopted resolutions favoring the abrogation of the treaty unless -the American passport be fully recognized as conferring the right of -domicile in all parts of the Russian Empire. Congress was flooded with -resolutions which were adopted by Jewish organizations all over the -country, and many meetings were held to express the public indignation, -as well as the dissatisfaction with the Government’s dilatoriness in -obtaining justice for its Jewish citizens. The most imposing meetings -were held under the auspices of the National Citizens’ League, a newly -formed organization, composed mostly of prominent non-Jews, of which -Andrew D. White became the chairman. - -In December, 1911, the resolution for the abrogating of the treaty, -which was introduced in the House of Representatives by William Sulzer, -of New York, was adopted with practical unanimity. But President Taft -had anticipated this action by the instructions which he gave several -days before to the American Ambassador in St. Petersburg, to serve -formal notice on Russia that the Treaty of 1832 would be abrogated -on December 31, 1912, i. e., after one full year shall have elapsed -after the notice of abrogation, as it is provided by the terms of the -agreement itself. Both houses of Congress soon afterwards approved -the President’s act without a dissenting vote, and the battle was -won, as far as the American side of it was concerned. But the work of -negotiating and concluding a new treaty was perforce left to the slow -procedure of diplomacy, which is doubly slow when a government, like -the Russian, which is so unwilling to recognize the rights of Jews, is -one of the contracting parties. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIV. - - LEGISLATION ABOUT IMMIGRATION. - SUNDAY LAWS AND THEIR ENFORCEMENT. - - - Jewish interest in immigration――The first legislation on the - subject――The Nativists or “Know Nothings”――A Congressional - investigation in 1838――President Taylor’s invitation to - foreigners to come and settle here――A law to encourage - immigration passed on Lincoln’s recommendation in 1864――The - General Immigration Law of 1882――The “Ford Committee”――Permanent - Immigration Committees in Congress――Continued agitation and - legislation on the subject――A bill containing the requirement - of an educational test is vetoed by President Grover Cleveland - in 1897――The last Immigration Law of 1907――The Immigration - Commission of 1907 and its report in 1910――Sunday Laws and - their significance for the Orthodox Jew――Laws of various - States and Territories――Their effect on movements for municipal - reform――Status of the problems. - -The question of immigration, or rather of its restriction, was -always of great interest to the Jews, not only because they are great -wanderers and many of them are looking for a home, but also because -to the many who came from countries where they were persecuted or from -which they were exiled, exclusion meant a much more serious matter than -to those who had a home to go back to. The immigrants of the second -period, from 1815 to 1880, were more fortunate in this respect than -those who came very early and were harrassed by frank discrimination -against them as Jews, as was related in earlier parts of this work; -and also more than the later arrivals, many of whom were excluded as -undesirable, along with the defective and helpless of other races and -nationalities. From the time of the establishment of the Government of -the United States until about 1835, immigration was taken as a matter -of course; the only legislation enacted, and practically all that -was proposed, was the law of 1819 for the regulation of the carriage -of steerage passengers at sea, which law also for the first time -provided that statistics relative to immigration to the United States -be recorded. - -The second period, from 1835 to 1860, is sharply defined by the -so-called “Native American” and “Know Nothing” movements, which, as -is well known, were largely based on the opposition to the immigration -of Catholics.[49] The hostility early took the form of a political -movement, and in 1835 there was a Nativist candidate for Congress -in New York City, where that party nominated a candidate for mayor -in the following year. It spread over various states, and in 1845, -when it held its first national convention in Philadelphia, it -had six Representatives in Congress from New York and two from -Pennsylvania. The chief demands of this convention were a repeal of -the naturalization laws and the appointments of native Americans only -to office. - -While these societies were stronger in local politics than in national, -their few Representatives in Congress attempted to make Nativism a -national question. As a result of their efforts, the United States -Senate in 1836 agreed to a resolution directing the Secretary of State -to collect certain information respecting the immigration of foreign -paupers and criminals. In the House of Representatives on February 19, -1838, a resolution was agreed to which provided that the Committee -on Judiciary be instructed to consider the expediency of revising the -naturalization laws so as to require a longer term of residence in the -United States, and also to consider the propriety and expediency of -providing by law against the introduction into the United States of -vagabonds and paupers deported from foreign countries. This resolution -was referred to a select committee of seven members, and its report -(House Report No. 1040, 25th Congress, 2d session) was the first -resulting from a Congressional investigation of any question bearing -upon immigration. It proposed a system of consular inspection, and -there was even talk of a tax of $20 to be paid by the immigrant upon -his receipt of a passport from the consul. The bill presented on -recommendation of the committee provided heavy penalties for any master -taking on board his vessel with the intention of transporting to the -United States any alien passenger who was an idiot, lunatic, maniac or -one afflicted with any incurable disease, or any one convicted of an -infamous crime; it was further provided that the master should forfeit -$1,000 for any alien brought in who had not the ability to maintain -himself. - -Congress did not even consider this bill, and during the next ten years -little attempt was made to secure legislation against the foreigner. - -In a message to Congress on June 1, 1841, President John Tyler (1813–62) -referred to immigration, in part, as follows: - - We hold out to the people of other countries an invitation - to come and settle among us as members of our rapidly growing - family; and for the blessing which we offer them, we require of - them to look upon our country as their country, and unite with - us in the great task of preserving our institutions and thereby - perpetuating our liberties. - -As a consequence of the increase of immigration about the middle of -the nineteenth century, the old dread of the foreigner was revived, -and in the early fifties the Nativist politicians again became active. -The new, like the earlier movement, was closely associated with the -anti-Catholic propaganda. The new organization assumed the form of a -secret society. It was organized probably, in 1850, in New York City, -and in 1852 it was increased in membership by drawing largely from the -old established Order of United Americans. Its meetings were secret, -its indorsements were never made openly, and even its name and purpose -were said to be known only to those who reached the highest degree. -Consequently the rank and file, when questioned about their party, -were obliged to answer: “I don’t know”; so they came to be called -“Know Nothings.” They participated in local, State and even in national -elections, and claimed as many as forty-three Representatives and five -Senators in the Thirty-fourth Congress. But in the end they disappeared -without having accomplished anything against immigration, adopted -citizens, or Catholics, and, as a matter of fact, some legislation -favorable to foreigners was passed during these periods of agitation. -The passenger law of 1819 was amended in 1847, and again in 1848, in -order to improve the condition of the steerage of immigrant ships. The -act organizing the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas, passed in 1854, -was also favorable to foreigners, it being provided that the right of -suffrage in such Territories should be exercised by those declaring -their intentions to become citizens and taking an oath to support -the Constitution of the United States and the provisions of the act. -During the discussion of the homestead act in 1854, which act, however, -was not finally passed until 1862, there was considerable reference -to immigrants and to whether they should be allowed to enjoy the -advantages of the act. The “Know Nothings” proposed to strike out the -section of the bill permitting the granting of land to foreigners who -had filed their intention of becoming citizens; but the attempt failed. - -Although the National Government did not assume control of immigration -until 1882, Congress in 1864, on the recommendation of President -Lincoln, passed a law to encourage immigration. It provided for -a Commissioner of Immigration, to be under the direction of the -Department of State, and that all contracts that should be made in -foreign countries by emigrants to the United States, whereby emigrants -pledged the wages of their labor for a term not exceeding twelve months -to repay the expense of emigration, should be held to be valid in law -and might be enforced in the courts of the United States or by the -several States and Territories, and that no such contract could in -any way be considered as creating a condition of slavery or servitude. -Following the enactment of the law several companies were established -to deal in contract labor, but they were not satisfied with the law and -wanted its scope enlarged. This indirectly led to the abolition of the -entire law in 1868, and the brief period of national encouragement of -immigration was over. A campaign against contracting for foreign labor -began soon afterward, though no legislation to forbid it was enacted -until many years later. A law, enacted in 1875, which provided for the -exclusion of prostitutes, was chiefly designated to regulate Chinese -immigration, and thus early touched two subjects with reference to -which the most stringent exclusion laws were to be enacted in the -period of national control over immigration, which was now approaching. - -In 1876 the Supreme Court of the United States declared laws enacted by -several States to regulate and tax immigration to be unconstitutional, -and expressly recommended that Congress should exercise full authority -over immigration. This ultimately led to the enactment of the first -general immigration law, which was approved by President Chester A. -Arthur (1830–86) August 3, 1882. It provided for a head tax of 50 cents -on all aliens landed at United States ports, the money thus collected -to be used to defray the expenses of regulating immigration and for -the care of immigrants after landing. It also provided that foreign -convicts, except those convicted for political offences, lunatics, -idiots and persons likely to become public charges, should not be -permitted to land. Aside from a law forbidding the importation of -contract laborers, adopted in 1885 and strengthened by supplementary -laws in 1887 and 1888, and aside from the laws about Chinese -immigration which do not concern us here, there was no legislation -affecting general immigration for nearly a decade, though the question -was now widely discussed in the press and there was considerable -agitation for further restriction. - -In 1888 the House of Representatives authorized, by resolution, the -appointment of a select committee to investigate the charges which -were made that the immigration laws were being extensively evaded. -The committee, known as the “Ford Committee,” in its report more -than sustained the charges; it praised the immigrants of the past and -deprecated those who were then coming; and proposed a new bill which -added polygamists, anarchists and persons afflicted with a loathsome or -dangerous contagious disease to the excluded classes. Congress, however, -did not act upon the recommendations of that committee. - -In 1889 a Standing Committee on Immigration in the Senate and a -Select Committee on Immigration and Naturalization in the House were -established. In 1890 these committees were authorized jointly to make -an inquiry relative to immigration. Various reports were submitted, and -the conclusion was that a radical change was not advisable, although -it had been found that throughout the country there existed a demand -for a stricter enforcement of the immigration laws. During 1890 one or -more political parties in twenty-three States had demanded additional -regulation of immigration. Consequently a law strengthening the -existing law in several important details, but making no radical -departure from the former policy, was adopted in 1891. - -But the question continued to receive the attention of Congress. There -was another investigation by a joint committee in 1892, which reported -in July of that year, and still another investigation ordered by -the Senate. Two new bills were proposed――one establishing additional -regulations, the other entirely prohibiting immigration for one year, -on account of the epidemic of cholera then prevailing in Europe. But -neither this measure, nor the educational test which was then for the -first time recommended by a Congressional committee, was adopted, and -the revised immigration law, which was approved by President Harrison -March 3, 1893, was by no means radical. The head tax on immigrants was -raised from fifty cents to one dollar by an amendment to an -appropriation act in 1894. - -The agitation of the subject in Congress continued, however, and -finally both houses adopted a bill for an educational test, excluding -persons physically capable and over sixteen years of age who could not -read and write the English language or some other language, parents, -grandparents, wives and minor children of admissible immigrants being -excepted. President Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) returned the bill with -his veto on March 2, 1897. He objected to the radical departure from -the previous national policy relating to immigration, which welcomed -all who came, the success of which policy was attested by the last -century’s great growth. In referring to the claim that the quality -of recent immigration was undesirable, he said: “The time is quite -within recent memory when the same thing was said of immigrants who, -with their descendants, are now numbered among our best citizens.” -In referring to “the best reason that could be given for this radical -restriction,” the “protecting of our population against degeneration -and saving our national peace and quiet from imported turbulence and -disorder,” President Cleveland said that he did not think that the -nation would be protected against these evils by limiting immigration -to those who could read and write, for, in his mind, it was safer “to -admit a hundred thousand immigrants, who, though unable to read and -write, seek among us only a home and an opportunity to work, than to -admit one of those unruly agitators who can not only read and write, -but delight in arousing by inflammatory speech the illiterate and -peacefully inclined to discontent.” Those classes which we ought -to exclude, he claimed, should be legislated against directly. Some -sections of the bill against aliens who come regularly into the United -States from neighboring countries for the purpose of obtaining work, he -declared to be “illiberal, narrow and un-American.” - -On March 3, 1897, the House passed the bill over the President’s veto -by a vote of 193 to 37, but no action was taken in the Senate, and the -veto was thus sustained. The same bill was introduced in the following -Congress (fifty-fifth) and passed by the Senate, but the House, by a -vote of 103 to 101 refused to consider it. - -By an act of June 18, 1898, Congress created an Industrial Commission -“to investigate questions pertaining to immigration, and to report -to Congress and to suggest such legislation as it may deem best upon -these subjects.” The final report of this commission was submitted -to Congress in February, 1902, and shortly afterwards a bill was -introduced in the House which was substantially in accord with the -recommendations made. The House added a literary test to this bill, -but it was eliminated by the Senate, which raised the head tax from -one dollar to two. This was accepted by the House, and the bill, as it -was approved by the President March 3, 1903, made no radical change in -the existing laws. The same may be said of the present immigration law, -which was approved February 20, 1907, which, besides raising the head -tax from two to four dollars and somewhat strengthening the provisions -against the defective or undesirable classes, made no innovation or -departure from the policy of admitting all who may be expected to be -able to provide for themselves and to become good citizens. The number -as well as the percentage of those excluded is now considerably larger -than in former years; but the tide of immigration is not stemmed, and -after the quick recovery from the hard times which began with the panic -of 1907, there is now again a very large influx of immigrants, among -whom the proportion of Jews is by no means smaller than in former years. - -The act of 1907 also created an Immigration Commission to “make full -inquiry, examination, and investigation, by sub-committee or otherwise, -into the subject of immigration.” This commission submitted its report, -in forty volumes, in 1910, and recommended some strong restrictions, -with the view that “a sufficient number may be debarred to produce -a marked effect upon the present supply of unskilled labor.” It also -advised that “as far as possible the aliens excluded should be those -who come to this country with no intention to become American citizens -or even to maintain a permanent residence here; but merely to save -enough, by the adoption, if necessary, of low standards of living, -to return permanently to their home country.... A majority of the -Commission favor the reading and writing test as the most feasible -single method of restricting undesirable immigration.” Congress has -not acted on these recommendations at the time of this writing (1911). - - * * * * * - -The question of enforced rest on Sunday is much older than the question -of regulating immigration. Several States have Sunday laws which -were in their original form enacted in the eighteenth century. In the -Carolinas these laws have been but little changed since Colonial times. -But the reviews of these laws in the various States and Territories, -their effect on the Jews, and the leading cases under them in various -times and places, give no adequate idea of their significance for the -Orthodox immigrant of the later period. What our best authority on the -subject, Albert M. Friedenberg,[50] could collect and collate, contains -only a record of such cases which originated in, or were carried up to, -higher courts of record. These are usually lawsuits which affected men -of means, who could hire attorneys and fight the question as a matter -of principle. But these recorded cases give no indication of the tens -of thousands of arrests which were made in the large cities, especially -in New York City, in the last years, where the cases never went higher -than the first instance, because the poor man, if he was not discharged -in the Police Court, had to pay his fine or be imprisoned. Appeals to -higher courts and insistence upon constitutional or statutory rights -are out of the question, not only on account of poverty or ignorance, -but also because of familiarity with such procedure in the Old World. -The Sunday laws are not constantly enforced in the same manner, there -being periods of severity and periods of lenience even under the same -local administration, and often a complete change of policy under a new -administration, though the statute or State law remains the same. The -Jew of Russia or Roumania has been too well accustomed to intermittent -police tyranny for the purpose of extortion at home, to be able to -interpret the frequent changes in administrative policy or in police -regulations here in any other way, and this also tends to discourage -appeals to higher courts. The question ought to be investigated not -juristically but statistically; the number of arrests made, the loss -of time and money sustained by those who are charged with transgressing -these laws, and the contrast in the enforcement of them at various -periods: if such facts and figures were placed before the American -people and before legislators, the attitude of many in regard to Sunday -laws would probably be changed. But the figures are not available in -a form to be used in a work like the present, and only the hope can be -expressed here that they will be collected in the near future by one of -the agencies which gather data of that kind relating to Jewish subjects. - -There is no Federal Sunday Law, although the distillation of spirituous -liquors on the first day of the week is prohibited. California only -prohibits labor by any employee on more than six days out of every -seven, but not specifying any compulsory day of rest. In Colorado only -trafficking in liquors and barbering are prohibited on Sunday and in -Montana there is a law against barbering only. - -In most of the other States, as well as in the Territories and in the -District of Columbia (which is also counted as a Territory), there are -more or less stringent laws, most of them forbidding not only manual -labor but also the carrying on of trade or business. There are eleven -States――Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, -New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia――where servile -or manual labor is permitted on Sunday to those who observe Saturday -as their day of rest. In thirteen more――Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, -Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, -Rhode Island, West Virginia and Wisconsin――the exceptions in favor -of Seventh-Day Sabbatarians affect both manual labor and trade or -business. But the statute is not always a criterion of the observance -or enforcement of Sunday laws in a certain locality. Some of the laws, -like that of New York, decree that “it is a sufficient defense to a -prosecution for work on the first day of the week, that the defendant -uniformly keeps another day of the week as holy time, and does not -labor on that day, and that the labor complained of was done in such -manner as not to interrupt or disturb other persons in observing the -first day of the week as holy time.” In many localities, especially -in large cities, the Sunday laws are simply obsolete, and are usually -revived in the name of Reform after the success of a Reform Party -at the polls, only to become obsolete again when that party is voted -out of office at the succeeding election. The defeat usually comes -for no other reason than the dissatisfaction of a large number of -citizens with the strict enforcement of the Sunday laws. Jews are by -no means the only element of the population which resents stringency -in these matters. It may be said that the coupling together of strict -enforcement of the Sunday laws with the good government movements in -the large cities has been a greater drawback to municipal reform in the -United States than any other single cause. - -Of all these three problems which are of special interest to the Jews -of the United States, the first, or the passport question, seems at the -present moment to be nearest to solution. The immigration question is -certain to remain open for many years to come, as neither side of the -conflicting interests who work against each other is likely to yield in -the near future. The trade unions, which see in the immigrant a menace -to the highly-paid laborer, and the so-called patriotic societies, -which fear a deterioration of the American race or stock by the -admixture of people from nationalities and races which they consider -to be inferior, keep up a constant agitation for more restrictive -measures against the influx of strangers. On the other hand, there is -a constantly increasing demand for workmen in the expanding industries, -for farm laborers and for domestic servants, and the million or more -immigrants who now arrive in a year of ordinary business activity are -so easily absorbed that their usefulness cannot be denied. While the -adoption of some restrictive legislation may be forced on Congress by -the pressure of those who agitate for it, real restriction seems to be -out of the question before the country is filled up and built up; and -this will take so long a time that all speculations as to what may -happen afterwards are at present premature. - -There is hardly any agitation for or against the Sunday laws, as -such. New and mostly restrictive measures are adopted, either against -the liquor business as a concession to the Prohibition element, which -is backed by the churches; or against single trades, like those of -butchers or barbers, as a concession to the sentiment in favor of -overworked laborers. The time for abolishing the Sunday laws or for -adopting explicit exemptions in favor of Jews, making the observance -of Saturday not a defense against prosecution but a security against -molestation, has not yet arrived; but the sense of justice and -righteousness is unmistakably growing, and there is no doubt of the -ultimate triumph of liberal tendencies over this heritage of intolerant -ages, when nobody considered himself bound to respect the rights, -especially the religious rights, of helpless minorities. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXV. - - END OF THE CENTURY. THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. - THE DREYFUS AFFAIR. ZIONISM. - - - Jews in the Spanish-American war――Commissioned and - non-commissioned officers, privates and “Rough Riders”――Jews in - the Navy: Simon Cook, Joseph Strauss and Edward David Taussig―― - The career of Rear-Admiral Adolph Marix――His part in the - Inquiry about the “Maine” and in the war――The significance of - the Dreyfus Affair――Its influence on the spread of Zionism――The - American press almost as pro-Dreyfus as the Jewish――The Zionist - movement in America――The rank and file consists of immigrants - from Slavic countries, under the leadership of Americans. - -In the short war between the United States and Spain in 1898, in which -the most progressive and liberal of modern nations was pitted against -a nation whose greatness began to wane soon after it expelled the -Jews in the year of the discovery of America, a large number of Jews -enlisted as volunteers, besides the number who were in the regular -service of the Army and the Navy. It is roughly estimated that about -four thousand Jews were found in the military and naval forces which -operated against Spain[51] most of them immigrants of the last period, -of whom a considerable proportion had served in the armies of Russia, -Austria and Roumania before their arrival here. The Jewish army -officers of the highest rank were four Majors, who were officers in the -army before the outbreak of the war. They were: Major Surgeon Daniel -M. Appel (b. in Pennsylvania, 1854) and Major Surgeon Aaron H. Appel -(b. 1856), both of whom are now colonels in the Medical Corps of the -regular army; the third was Major (of volunteers) George W. Moses, a -native of Ohio, who graduated from the Military Academy of West Point -in 1892, and was a Lieutenant in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment when he was -assigned to duty as a major of volunteers and returned to the regular -service in 1899; the fourth was Major Felix Rosenberg of Cleveland, O., -who was stationed at Fort Thomas. There were also in the army about -a half dozen Captains, one of whom, Moses G. Zalinski (b. in New -York, 1863), a graduate of the Artillery School (1894), is now a -Lieutenant-Colonel in the regular army. There were also about a dozen -Lieutenants, most of whom graduated from the Military Academy of West -Point. - -Several hundred Jews served as non-commissioned officers and privates -in the regular army, or enlisted as United States Volunteers. The -bulk of the Jewish soldiers, however, served in the regiments of State -Volunteers, and were represented among the soldiers of every State of -the Union, having among them a goodly proportion of non-commissioned -officers, and also a number who held commissions from the State -organizations. They were naturally represented in largest numbers in -the regiments or companies which were organized in the large cities; -some companies in New York regiments containing between twenty-five and -thirty Jewish recruits. At least a half dozen Jews are known to have -served in the First United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (known -as the regiment of “Rough Riders”), which was organized by Theodore -Roosevelt (b. in New York City, 1858), who later served as President -of the United States, from September 14, 1901, to March 4, 1905, as the -successor of President William McKinley (1843–1901), and then served a -full term (March 4, 1905, to March 4, 1909), until he was succeeded by -the present incumbent, William Howard Taft (b. in Cincinnati, O., 1857). - -There were about twenty Jewish officers of various ranks in the Navy -during this war, and almost all of them were graduates from the United -States Naval Academy of Annapolis, Md. One of them, Simon Cook (b. -in Illinois, 1856; d. in St. Louis, Mo., 1907), who was appointed to -Annapolis from the old Third Congressional District of Missouri in -1873 and graduated in 1877, served with distinction in the Philippines; -and a disease which he contracted there forced his retirement, with -the rank of Commander, before he reached the age limit of retirement. -Another Jewish officer of the Navy during the war, Lieutenant Joseph -Strauss, is still in the active service with the rank of Commander -(which is equivalent to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army). A -third officer of Jewish descent attained to a higher rank. Edward David -Taussig (b. in St. Louis, 1847) entered the Naval Academy in 1863 and -graduated in 1867, and was a Lieutenant-Commander (since 1892) at the -time of the outbreak of the war. He served on the Pacific and European -Stations and in the coast survey until 1893, when he was made commander -of the “Bennington.” He took possession of Wake Island (Oceanica) for -the United States, and was placed in charge of Guam when that island -was ceded by Spain on February 1, 1899. In 1902 he became a Captain -(which is equal to the rank of Colonel in the Army); in 1903 he was -appointed commander of the Navy Yard at Pensacola, Fla. He was retired -with the rank of Rear-Admiral (the equivalent of Brigadier-General) in -1909. - -The most conspicuous part played by a Jew in the events which led -to the war with Spain, if not in the war itself, fell to the lot of -Lieutenant-Commander (now Rear-Admiral, retired) Adolph Marix (b. in -Germany, probably of Russian parents, 1848), who came to America in -his boyhood, and entered the Naval Academy in 1864, graduating four -years later. He advanced step by step, becoming an ensign in 1869, a -master in 1870, a lieutenant in 1872, after which he was assigned to -special service in the Judge Advocate-General’s office, where he gained -valuable experience and became an expert in naval and maritime law. -In 1893 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander, and in -September, 1895, he was transferred from the command of the receiving -ship “Minnesota” to be the first commander of the ill-fated battleship -“Maine,” which was then put in commission. He was transferred to the -“Scorpion” in January, 1898, several weeks before the “Maine” arrived -in the harbor of Havana, where she was destroyed by an explosion on -February 15 of the same year. - -Lieutenant-Commander Marix was chosen secretary or recorder of the -Court of Inquiry which investigated the blowing up of the “Maine,” and -he prepared the report, which was one of the contributing causes of -the war. He himself laid the ominous document before President McKinley -on March 26, 1898, and soon returned to engage in the war which was to -terminate Spanish dominion in the New World. In the same month he was -advanced to the rank of Commander and was later advanced, by act of -Congress, two numbers for “eminent and conspicuous conduct in battle -in two engagements at Manzanillo (Cuba), July 1 and July 18, 1898.” -When President Taft was Governor-General of the Philippines, Commander -Marix was a naval attaché in the islands. He later rose to the rank of -Rear-Admiral, and having attained the age-limit (62), he was retired -in April, 1910, after forty-six years of service. He now resides in New -York City. - - * * * * * - -By the time the Spanish War was over and Spain was stripped of the -last vestige of advantage which she gained by the discovery of America, -the attention of the civilized world was concentrated on the celebrated -Dreyfus Case. The last desperate effort of the forces of reaction -to foist an anti-Jewish policy on a great progressive nation served -only to prove in the end that the world has advanced beyond such -tactics, and that the voice of Justice cannot be stifled in a civilized -community, where the people ultimately decide all-important questions. -Not only was France shaken to its foundations and the existence of the -Government itself endangered on account of the grievous wrong which -was done to the Jewish army officer, but the entire civilized world was -aroused by the incident as it probably never was before by the fate of -one insignificant individual. It was the first and only attempt of a -real “Judenhetze” in a modern free country, and so much depended on the -outcome, that not only the Jews everywhere were intensely interested, -but also their friends and their enemies felt the full importance -of the “affaire” and the bearing which the issue must have on Jewish -conditions everywhere. Had anti-Semitism triumphed in France, it would -mean that even political liberty, universal suffrage and government -by the people could not solve the Jewish problem; that Western Culture -could not effect the true emancipation which was expected of it, -and that other means than those suggested by the principles of the -great liberal movement of the last century――adjustment to surroundings, -adoption of the speech and mode of life of the nations among whom they -live――must be sought to deliver Israel from his ancient suffering even -in the most highly civilized countries. - -Fortunately for France, for civilization and for the Jews, -anti-Semitism was utterly defeated in the open political combat for -the first time in modern history. The barrier erected by Liberty proved -sufficiently strong to stem the tide of raging injustice; the very -excitement caused by the wrong was the best warning against the danger -which the revival of medieval bigotry brings to an enlightened country. -Persecution and discrimination were again forced back and confined -to the more shady corners of the earth, to the countries where the -masses of the people are still oppressed by tyranny and handicapped -by ignorance. It was in these countries that the Dreyfus agitation was -seized upon by the enemies of the Jews and exploited to the ♦utmost -extent, and it was there that many Jews began to despair. If France -could become anti-Semitic at the end of the nineteenth century, what -hope was there for the Jew in the backward countries, in political -progress and cultural development? The full force of the victory over -the French reactionaries was known and felt only in the free countries; -elsewhere the impression remained that the Jews of France remained in a -lamentable position, and that the future looked as gloomy to them as is -usually the case in Russia after a new outbreak of anti-Jewish riots. - -The result of this new hopeless view of the Jewish situation was -the sudden spread of the new Zionist movement, which was inaugurated -about that time on the Continent by Dr. Theodore Herzl (1860–1904). He -and his first supporters were Austrians, they obtained their largest -following in Russia and Galicia, and in the large cities in other -countries where there were numbers of Jewish Immigrants from slavic -countries. When the movement began to show signs of life in the English -speaking countries, native or assimilated Jews joined it and became -its leaders. And so it came to pass that although the American press, -with few and unimportant exceptions, was as strongly pro-Dreyfus as -the Jewish press itself, and the victory of Justice and liberalism was -as much emphasized here as in Paris, a limited field was prepared here -for the Zionist movement, as well as in Russia, Austria and Roumania. -The old “Chowewe Zion,” or believers in the colonization of Palestine, -joined the new political movement here, as they did abroad, and the -“Maskilim,” or Germanized Hebrew scholars, who were forced to the -background by the advent of the popular radical leaders of the new -period of immigration, were also attracted by the new movement which -helped to restore the equilibrium among the intellectual Jewish classes. -The first Zionist societies of New York consisted almost entirely of -immigrants. But when the “Federation of Zionist Societies of Greater -New York and Vicinity” (organized 1897) expanded by absorbing societies -outside of New York, and became, at a convention held in New York in -July, 1898, the “Federation of American Zionists,” American Jews were -placed at the head of the movement. - -Professor Richard J. H. Gottheil was elected President of the -Federation, and held the position for six years, when he was succeeded, -in 1904, by Dr. Harry Friedenwald (b. in Baltimore, 1864), whose father, -Dr. Aaron Friedenwald (b. in Baltimore, 1836; d. there 1902), was one -of the first Vice-Presidents of the Federation. The first Secretary was -Rev. Stephen S. Wise (b. in Budapest, Hungary, 1872), who was brought -to this country in his childhood, and is now the minister of the Free -Synagogue in New York. His successors were Isidore D. Morrison, Jacob -de Haas, Rev. Dr. Judah L. Magnes (b. in San Francisco, Cal., 1877) and -Miss Henrietta Szold. The Federation consisted of about twenty-five -societies, having a membership of about one thousand when it was first -organized. At the Thirteenth Annual Convention, which was held in -Pittsburg in July, 1910, it was reported that the number of societies -was 215, and of Shekel payers 14,000. - -The Order Knights of Zion, which has its headquarters in Chicago, is -considered as an independent Western Federation of Zionists. - - - - - PART VII. - - THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. PRESENT CONDITIONS. - - - CHAPTER XXXVI. - - SYNAGOGUES AND INSTITUTIONS. THE ENCYCLOPEDIA. - ROUMANIA AND THE ROUMANIAN NOTE. - - - Synagogues and other Jewish Institutions――General improvement - and moderation――The Jewish Encyclopedia――Its editors and - contributors――The Roumanian situation and the American - Government’s interest in it since 1867――Benjamin F. Peixotto, - United States Consul-General in Bucharest――Diplomatic - correspondence between Kasson and Evarts――New negotiations with - Roumania in 1902――The Roumanian Note to the signatories of the - Berlin Treaty――The question still in abeyance. - -More than six hundred thousand Jews arrived in the United States from -the beginning of the new exodus in 1881 until the end of the nineteenth -century, and the total number in the country was now considerably more -than one million. There were Jews in more than five hundred places, and -there were 791 congregations, 415 educational and nearly five hundred -charitable institutions of a distinctly Jewish character, according to -an enumeration made in the beginning of the new century.[52] But the -number of congregations or synagogues was very much larger, probably -more than double than the figures gathered by the enumerators. For -the American, even the American Jew, had then not yet learned to -take seriously those small and exceedingly unchurchlike synagogues -of the small congregations, of which five or six, or even a larger -number, can sometimes be found in one block in a thickly settled -Jewish neighborhood in the great cities. A second and more thorough -enumeration made in 1907 gave to New York City alone a number of -synagogues almost as large as the one given by the statistics of 1900 -to the entire country; but the actual increase was very far from such -proportions. Probably four-fifths of the congregations of New York -and of the other great Jewish centers in the East and the Middle West -were more than ten years old, and they simply escaped the notice of -former enumerators. The organizing of small synagogues is now out of -fashion; the tendency is to consolidate the smaller ones and to erect -more fashionable and spacious buildings in the newest neighborhoods, -to which the immigrants usually move after they leave their earliest -abode in the tenement house districts. In the fields of charity and -education the predilection for new organizations is disappearing, and -there is a desire to build on more solid foundations, and to improve -and strengthen rather than form anew. New synagogues are now built -usually in new communities or in new Jewish neighborhoods, or by old -congregations who need a larger edifice. - -America now had the largest community of free Jews in the world, -_i. e._, of Jews who labored under no special disadvantages and who had -no special difficulties, like those which are making life a burden to -the Jews of Russia or Galicia. The great masses which arrived in the -last twenty years progressed rapidly and were becoming Americanized in -every respect. There arose new intellectual needs; the extremists had -to yield to the influence of those who were more acclimatized, and even -the most radical periodicals began to respect the susceptibilities, -if not the opinions, of the other classes. The number of the educated -and the well-to-do was fast increasing, and the community was now well -prepared for “the capital event in the history of Jewish learning in -America”――the publication of the _Jewish Encyclopedia_. - -This monumental work, the greatest Jewish work of reference in any -language, was projected by Dr. Isidore Singer (b. in Weisskirchen, -Moravia, 1859; a. 1895) and edited by a board of well-known scholars, -of whom Dr. Isaac Funk (b. in Clinton, O., 1839; d. 1912; of the firm -of Funk and Wagnalls, which published the work) was chairman, and Frank -H. Vizitelly (b. in London, Eng., 1864) secretary. The original editors -were: Cyrus Adler, Gotthard Deutsch (b. in Kanitz, Austria, 1859; a. -1891), Professor of History at the Hebrew Union College; Louis Ginzberg -(b. in Kovno, Russia, 1873; a. 1899), now Professor of Talmud at the -Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York; Richard Gottheil; -Joseph Jacobs (b. in Sydney, N. S. W., 1854; a. 1900), the folklorist -and statistician; Marcus Jastrow; Morris Jastrow, Jr.; Kaufman Kohler; -Frederick de Sola Mendes (b. in Jamaica, W. I., 1850; a. 1873), rabbi -of the West End Synagogue of New York; Isidor Singer, and Crawford H. -Toy (b. in Norfolk, Va., 1836), Professor (now “emeritus”) of Hebrew -and Oriental Languages at Harvard University. This editorial board -was given on the title page of the first volume which appeared in -May, 1901; but several changes were made during the five years of its -publication. From the beginning of the second volume Herman Rosenthal -became editor of the new Department of the Jews of Russia and Poland, -and it is due to his efforts that the Jews of the Slavic countries -are more extensively treated in the historical and biographical parts -of the Encyclopedia than was ever the case in works of Jewish science -which appeared outside of Russia. Dr. Emil G. Hirsch of Chicago -succeeded Morris Jastrow as editor of the Department of the Bible, with -the beginning of the third volume. From the fourth till the seventh -volume the name of Solomon Schechter (b. in Fokshan, Roumania, 1847; -a. 1902), the President of the Jewish Theological Seminary, appears -as editor of the Department of the Talmud; and from the eighth volume -to the end the name of Wilhelm Bacher of Budapest (b. in Hungary -1850) appears as editor of the Department of the Talmud and Rabbinical -Literature, succeeding both Schechter and Ginzberg. The editorial board -was assisted by boards of American and foreign consulting editors, -which included many of the best known Jewish scholars and Orientalists, -and many other scholars from various countries were among the four -hundred contributors who participated in the preparation of the work, -in which the vast “Record of the History, Religion, Literature and -Customs of the Jewish People from the earliest times to the present -day” was for the first time systematized, classified and made available -in a modern scientific manner. - - Illustration: Prof. Gotthard Deutsch. - - * * * * * - -The situation of the Jews in Roumania had been growing worse since -the financial crisis of 1899, and in the last year of the century -there was a stampede of Jews from that country, some of them walking -hundreds of miles before they could find a place to rest or until they -reached a port from which they could embark for England or America. -Still, neither the Jewish immigration in general nor the immigration -from Roumania could give the slightest cause for uneasiness to the -government of the United States, the tide of immigration was now -again rising from the lowest ebb it had reached since 1879――229,295 -in 1898――and neither the 5,613 Roumanian Jews who arrived at the port -of New York in 1901 nor the 6,395 who came in 1902, when the general -immigration was 487,918 and 648,743, respectively, could be taken -seriously as a cause for interference or protest. There would have been -much more cause for protests of that nature after the great massacres -in Russia several years later, when the number of Jews who arrived in -one year (1906) exceeded 150,000. The interest that the Government of -the United States took in the Roumanian situation is therefore believed -to have been due principally to the friendly attitude of President -Theodore Roosevelt and Secretary of State John Hay towards Jews in -general. - -It was, however, nothing new for the American Government to use its -good offices in behalf of the persecuted Jews of Roumania. As early -as 1867, Secretary of State Seward corresponded with Mr. Morris, the -American Minister to Constantinople, about the persecutions of that -year; and the latter reported having told Mr. Golesco, the agent of -the Danubian principalities, that the sufferings of the Jews there “has -all the appearance of religious persecution, and that the confidence of -the Government of the United States would be impaired in the Government -of Bucharest, unless the proscriptive measures against the Jews -discontinued.”[53] - -In 1870 official――or it would perhaps be more correct to call it -semi-official――relations with Roumania were established temporarily, by -the appointment of a consul-general of the United States in Roumania. -The man chosen by President Grant for this position was a prominent -Jewish attorney-at-law, Benjamin Franklin Peixotto (b. in New York, -1834; d. there 1890), who later served as United States Consul at -Lyons, France (1877–85), and when he returned to New York founded -(1886) the “Menorah,” a monthly Jewish magazine which existed for more -than two decades. The Jewish official became an intimate friend of -Prince (now King) Charles, but Roumania continued on its old way, and -the riots of Ismail and Bessarabia occurred during Peixotto’s stay -in Bucharest. “His reports to the United States Government resulted -in that government addressing letters to its ministers at the various -European courts inviting co-operation in the humane endeavor to stop -Jewish persecution in Roumania. Peixotto’s reports were also the cause -of a great meeting at the Mansion House in London, which called forth -Lord Shaftesbury’s message of sympathy. Peixotto was instrumental, -too, in founding the Society of Zion in Roumania, an organization with -similar aims to the B’nai B’rith; and it was his influence as a United -States official, his intimacy with the European philanthropists and -the force of his own personal magnetism that finally caused the calling -of the conference of Brussels, to which he was a delegate, and which -culminated in the action taken by the Berlin Congress of 1878, when -Roumania acquired the status of a sovereign kingdom only upon the -express condition that the civil and political rights of the Jews -should be recognized.” (E. A. Cardozo, in _Encyclopedia_ IX, p. 582, -s. v. Peixotto.) - -Peixotto remained in Roumania six years, and about two years after he -left Bucharest, Mr. John A. Kasson, the American Minister to Austria, -wrote to Secretary of State Evarts (under date of June 5, 1878) that -in anticipation of Roumanian independence, which was soon to be granted -by the Congress of Berlin, Germany, had begun negotiations with the -Roumanian Government for a commercial treaty. But Germany finally -dropped the negotiations because, “according to information received -here, the hostility of Roumania to the recognition of equal rights -for Jews of a foreign nationality with other citizens or subjects of -the same nationality would have practically proscribed a portion of -the German subjects.” Yet Mr. Kasson proposes in the same letter that: -“It would be to the honor of the United States Government if it could -initiate a plan by which at once the condition of American Hebrews -resident or travelling in Roumania and the condition of natives of -the same race could be ameliorated and their equality before the law -at least partially assured.” In the following year Mr. Kasson reports -about the attempt to enter into diplomatic relations with Roumania, and -about a conversation he had with Mr. Balatshano, the envoy and minister -of Roumania to Austria, in the course of which allusion was made to the -preliminary requirements of the Berlin treaty in respect to the Jews. -According to the letter (dated February 16, 1879), the representative -of Roumania replied “that the necessary changes would be made in their -laws to give satisfaction on this point, and to establish for the Jews -the basis of absolute equality with other races.” On November 28, 1879, -Secretary Evarts writes to Mr. Kasson: - - “In connection with the subject of Roumanian recognition, I - inclose for your consideration the copy of a letter under date - of the 30th ultimo from Mr. Myer S. Isaacs, president, and other - officers of the board of delegates on civil and religious rights - of the Hebrews, asking that the Government of the United States - may exert its influence towards securing for its Hebrew subjects - and residents in Roumania the equality of civil and religious - rights stipulated in Article XLIV of the treaty of Berlin. - - “As you are aware, this government has ever felt a deep interest - in the welfare of the Hebrew race in foreign countries, and has - viewed with abhorrence the wrongs to which they have at various - periods been subjected by the followers of other creeds in the - East. This Department is therefore disposed to give favorable - consideration to the appeal made by the representatives of a - prominent Hebrew organization in this country in behalf of their - brethren in Roumania, and while I should not be warranted in - making a compliance with their wishes a _sine qua non_ in the - establishment of official relations with that country, yet any - terms favorable to the interest of this much-injured people - which you may be able to secure in the negotiations now pending - with the Government of Roumania would be agreeable and gratifying - to this Department. - - “I am, etc., - - “WM. M. EVARTS.” - -It was therefore only a continuance of its old policy when the -Government of the United States, which has――as Mr. Evarts expressed -it in 1879――“ever felt a deep interest in the welfare of the Hebrew -race in foreign countries,” again began, in 1902, to pay attention to -the pitiable condition of the Roumanian Jews. There still existed no -treaty or diplomatic relations between the United States and Roumania, -and a new attempt was made by our Department of State to negotiate a -naturalization convention, and perhaps by these means influence that -country to treat its Jews more favorably. The negotiations were carried -on through the American legation at Athens, Greece, and Secretary Hay -sent, on July 17, 1902, a long confidential dispatch to Mr. Charles L. -Wilson, the _Charge d’Affaires ad interim_ in Athens, which contained -the largest part of the famous “Roumanian Note” to the signatories of -the Treaty of Berlin, which was issued in the following month. Wilson’s -reply, dated August 8, states that “since the draft of the treaty -approved by the Department was submitted to the Roumanian minister for -foreign affairs nothing further has been accomplished, as the Roumanian -Government refused to consider the project favorably.” The Roumanian -Minister to Greece frankly admitted to the American representative -that the King was against the proposed treaty, because, “according to -His Majesty’s opinion, a naturalization treaty would be most injurious -to Roumania, for the reason that it would complicate the already -troublesome Jewish question in that country.” - -Three days after the date of that dispatch, John Hay issued, on August -11, 1902, the Roumanian Note, which was sent to the representatives -of the United States to France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Russia -and Turkey. The full text of this unique circular note, which made a -profound impression in the entire civilized world, is as follows: - - “Department of State. - “Washington, August 11, 1902. - - “EXCELLENCY:――In the course of an instruction recently sent to - the Minister accredited to the Government of Roumania in regard - to the base of negotiations begun with that government looking - to a convention of naturalization between the United States - and Roumania, certain considerations were set forth for the - Minister’s guidance concerning the character of the immigration - from that country, the causes which constrain it, and the - consequences so far as they adversely affect the United States. - - “It has seemed to the President appropriate that these - considerations, relating as they do to the obligations entered - into by the signatories of the Treaty of Berlin of July 13, 1878, - should be brought to the attention of the Governments concerned, - and commended to their consideration in the hope that, if they - are so fortunate as to meet the approval of the several Powers, - such measures as to them may seem wise may be taken to persuade - the Government of Roumania to reconsider the subject of the - grievances in question. - - “The United States welcomes now, as it has welcomed from the - foundation of its Government, the voluntary immigration of all - aliens coming hither under conditions fitting them to become - merged in the body politic of this land. Our laws provide the - means for them to become incorporated indistinguishably in the - mass of citizens, and prescribe their absolute equality with - the native born, guaranteeing to them equal civil rights at home - and equal protection abroad. The conditions are few, looking - to their coming as free agents, so circumstanced physically and - morally as to supply the healthful and intelligent material for - free citizenhood. The pauper, the criminal, the contagiously or - incurably diseased are excluded from the benefit of immigration - only when they are likely to become a source of danger or a - burden upon the community. The voluntary character of their - coming is essential; hence we shut out all immigration assisted - or constrained by foreign agencies. The purpose of our generous - treatment of the alien immigrant is to benefit us and him - alike――not to afford to another state a field upon which to - cast its own objectionable elements. The alien, coming hither - voluntarily and prepared to take upon himself the preparatory - and in due course the definite obligations of citizenship, - retains hereafter, in domestic and international relations, the - initial character of free agency, in the full enjoyment of which - it is incumbent upon his adoptive State to protect him. - - “The foregoing considerations, whilst pertinent to the - examination of the purpose and scope of a naturalization treaty, - have a larger aim. It behooves the State to scrutinize most - jealously the character of the immigration from a foreign land, - and, if it be obnoxious to objection, to examine the causes - which render it so. Should those causes originate in the act of - another sovereign State, to the detriment of its neighbors, it - is the prerogative of an injured State to point out the evil and - to make remonstrance; for with nations, as with individuals, the - social law holds good that the right of each is bounded by the - right of the neighbor. - - “The condition of a large class of the inhabitants of Roumania - has for many years been a source of grave concern to the United - States. I refer to the Roumanian Jews, numbering some 400,000. - Long ago, while the Danubian principalities labored under - oppressive conditions which only war and a general action of - the European powers sufficed to end, the persecution of the - indigenous Jews under Turkish rule called forth in 1872 the - strong remonstrance of the United States. The Treaty of Berlin - was hailed as a cure for the wrong, in view of the express - provisions of its forty-fourth article, prescribing that in - Roumania the difference of religious creed and confessions shall - not be alleged against any person as a ground for exclusion or - incapacity in matters relating to the enjoyment of civil and - political rights, admission to public employments, functions, - and honors, or the exercise of the various professions and - industries in any locality whatsoever, and stipulating freedom - in the exercise of all forms of worship to Roumanian dependents - and foreigners alike, as well as guaranteeing that all - foreigners in Roumania shall be treated without distinction of - creed, on a footing of perfect equality. - - “With the lapse of time these just prescriptions have been - rendered nugatory in great part, as regards the native Jews, by - the legislation and municipal regulations of Roumania. Starting - from the arbitrary and controvertible premises that the native - Jews of Roumania domiciled there for centuries are ‘aliens not - subject to foreign protection,’ the ability of the Jew to earn - even the scanty means of existence that suffice for a frugal - race has been constricted by degrees, until every opportunity - to win a livelihood is denied; and until the helpless poverty - of the Jew has constrained an exodus of such proportions as to - cause general concern. - - “The political disabilities of the Jews of Roumania, their - exclusion from the public service and the learned professions, - the limitation of their civil rights and the imposition - upon them of exceptional taxes, involving as they do, wrongs - repugnant to the moral sense of liberal modern peoples, are - not so directly in point for my present purpose as the public - acts which attack the inherent right of man as a breadwinner - in the ways of agriculture and trade. The Jews are prohibited - from owning land, or even from cultivating it as common laborers. - They are debarred from residing in the rural districts. Many - branches of petty trade and manual production are closed to - them in the over-crowded cities where they are forced to dwell - and engage, against fearful odds, in the desperate struggle - for existence. Even as ordinary artizans or hired laborers they - may only find employment in the proportion of one ‘unprotected - alien’ to two ‘Roumanians’ under any one employer. In short, - in the cumulative effects of successive restrictions, the Jews - of Roumania have become reduced to a state of wretched misery. - Shut out from nearly every avenue of self-support which is - open to the poor of other lands, and ground down by poverty - as the natural result of their discriminatory treatment, they - are rendered incapable of lifting themselves from the enforced - degradation they endure. Even were the fields of education, of - civil employment and of commerce open to them as to ‘Roumanian - citizens,’ their penury would prevent their rising by individual - effort. Human beings so circumstanced have virtually no - alternative but submissive suffering or flight to some land - less unfavorable to them. Removal under such conditions is not - and cannot be the healthy, intelligent emigration of a free - and self-reliant being. It must be, in most cases, the mere - transplantation of an artificially produced diseased growth to - a new place. - - “Granting that, in better and more healthful surroundings, - the morbid condition will eventually change for good, such - emigration is necessarily for a time a burden to the community - upon which the fugitives may be cast. Self-reliance and the - knowledge and ability that evolve the power of self-support - must be developed, and, at the same time, avenues of employment - must be opened in quarters where competition is already keen - and opportunities scarce. The teachings of history and the - experience of our own nation show that the Jews possess in a - high degree the mental and moral qualifications of conscientious - citizenhood. No class of immigrants is more welcome to our shore, - when coming equipped in mind and body for entrance upon the - struggle for bread, and inspired with the high purpose to give - the best service of heart and brain to the land they adopt of - their own free will. But when they come as outcasts, made doubly - paupers by physical and moral oppression in their native land, - and thrown upon the long suffering generosity of a more favored - community, their immigration lacks the essential conditions - which make alien immigration either acceptable or beneficial. - So well is this appreciated on the Continent that, even in the - countries where anti-Semitism has no foothold, it is difficult - for these fleeing Jews to obtain any lodgment. America is their - only goal. - - “The United States offers asylum to the oppressed of all lands. - But its sympathy with them in no wise impairs its just liberty - and right to weigh the acts of the oppressor in the light of - their effects upon this country and to judge accordingly. - - “Putting together the facts now painfully brought home to - this Government during the past few years, that many of the - inhabitants of Roumania are being forced, by artificially - adverse discriminations, to quit their native country; that - the hospitable asylum offered by this country is almost the - only refuge left to them; that they come hither unfitted, by - the conditions of their exile, to take part in the new life of - this land under circumstances either profitable to themselves - or beneficial to the community; and that they are objects - of charity from the outset and for a long time――the right - of remonstrance against the acts of the Roumanian Government - is clearly established in favor of this Government. Whether - consciously and of purpose or not, these helpless people, - burdened and spurned by their native land, are forced by the - sovereign power of Roumania upon the charity of the United - States. This Government cannot be a tacit party to such an - international wrong. It is constrained to protest against the - treatment to which the Jews of Roumania are subjected, not - alone because it has unimpeachable right to remonstrate against - the resultant injury to itself, but in the name of humanity. - The United States may not authoritatively appeal to the - stipulations of the Treaty of Berlin, to which it was not and - cannot become a signatory, but it does earnestly appeal to the - principles consigned therein, because they are the principles - of international law and eternal justice, advocating the broad - toleration which that solemn compact enjoins and standing ready - to lend its moral support to the fulfilment thereof by its - co-signatories, for the act of Roumania itself has effectively - joined the United States to them as an interested party in this - regard. - - “You will take an early occasion to read this instruction to the - Minister for Foreign Affairs and, should he request it, leave - with him a copy. - - “I have the honor to be - - “Your obedient servant, - - “JOHN HAY.” - -The note made a great impression on the entire civilized world, but was -followed by no practical results. The only government which took any -notice of it was――as could have been expected――the British. Mr. John B. -Jackson, who had in the meantime been appointed minister of the United -States to Greece and was also accredited to Roumania, wrote from Athens -(March 31, 1903) that, having been in charge of the American embassy -at Berlin at the time when the note was received, he “understood -that immediately after the same instruction has been communicated -to the foreign office at London, the British Government, without in -any way making known its own views contained therein, had addressed -a communication to the other Governments which were parties to the -Berlin treaty of 1878, inquiring what they proposed doing in the -matter. So far as I am aware, however, no action was taken by any of -these Governments, and the contents of the circular was never formally -brought to the attention of the Roumanian Government....” - -This letter, and another dated Athens, April 18, and still another -dated September 7, 1903, contain statements made by Roumanian statesmen -explaining the situation from their point of view, and observations -made by Mr. Jackson himself during his travels through Roumania. The -last letter, which closes the correspondence, ends with the remark -that “the general feeling (in Roumania) is that the naturalization -of Jews must be a gradual matter, as they become educated up to being -Roumanians”――a feeling much more likely to be found in America than in -Roumania. - -There is still no treaty with Roumania, but there is an American Envoy -Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (the usual designation of -an ordinary minister) sent to Roumania and accredited also to Servia -and Bulgaria, who resides at the Roumanian capital, Bucharest, where -there is also an American consul-general. The representation is, as was -the case in the time of Peixotto, one-sided, the Roumanian Government -having no representative in the United States. The Roumanian question -may therefore be considered neither as solved nor as abandoned, but to -be in abeyance until a favorable opportunity shall present itself for -further negotiations, which may ultimately lead to the only adjustment -which can be acceptable to the United States as well as to the Jews. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVII. - - HELP FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE RUSSIAN MASSACRES IN 1903 AND 1905. - OTHER PROOFS OF SYMPATHY. - - - The Kishinev massacre――Official solicitude and general sympathy―― - Protest meetings and collections――The “Kishinev Petition” and - its fate――Less publicity given to the later pogroms, whose - victims were helped by “landsleut” from this country――The - influence of pogroms on immigration――The frightful massacres - in Russia in the fall of 1905, and the assistance rendered by - this country――A Resolution of sympathy adopted in Congress――The - 250th Anniversary of the Settlement of the Jews in the United - States――Relief for Moroccan Jews proposed by the United - States――Oscar S. Straus in the Cabinet. - -While the correspondence about the Jews of Roumania was still carried -on by our State Department, the civilized world was shocked by the -reports of the brutal massacre of Jews in Kishinev in the three -days of April 19–21, 1903. This massacre which is still within every -one’s memory, aroused the press and the people of the United States -more than the riots of 1881. “Almost from the first, the world’s -indignation centered in the United States. Served by a vigorous press, -whose liberal spirit voices the prevailing attitude; animated by -a humanitarianism which lies at the foundation of all our public -institutions; realizing also that America was the chief refuge of all -victims of persecution; the people of the United States became, again, -the world’s logical leaders in a campaign of humanity.”[54] President -Roosevelt’s opening remark in his speech to the Executive Committee -of the Independent Order of B’nai B’rith on June 15, 1903, when he -said: “I have never in my experience in this country known of a more -immediate or a deeper expression of sympathy for the victims and of -horror over the appalling calamity that has occurred,” was fully -justified. - -The news filtered very slowly through the usual channels, and more than -a week passed before the enormity of the Russian crime became fully -known. On the 29th of April the following dispatch was sent by our -Department of State: - - McCormick, Ambassador, St. Petersburg: - - It is persistently reported upon what appears to be adequate - authority that there is great want and suffering among Jews - in Kishinev. Friends in this country would like to know if - financial aid and supplies would be permitted to reach the - sufferers. - - Please ascertain this without discussing political phase of the - action. - - HAY. - -Ambassador McCormick replied, ten days later, that it is -“authoritatively denied that there is any want or suffering among Jews -in Southwestern Russia and aid of any kind is unnecessary.” But the -people here understood that the Ambassador reflected the official view -of the Russian Government, and efforts to raise money for the thousands -of families which were left destitute by pillage, and for the hundreds -of widows and orphans of the martyrs, were soon made, and large sums -were collected in New York, as well as in many other places. More than -seventy-five meetings of protest and indignation were held in fifty -localities in twenty-seven States (and the District of Columbia) during -the months of May and June, the most notable of which was the one held -in New York, May 27, where Mayor Seth Low presided and ex-President -Grover Cleveland was the principal orator. Among the largest meetings -of the other places were those of Baltimore (May 17), of Philadelphia -(June 3) and of New Orleans (June 13). In the most cases the prominent -non-Jewish citizens, including high officials and ministers of religion, -delivered addresses or expressed their sentiments in letters. Numerous -sermons against Russia were preached in various churches and hundreds -of editorial articles appeared in all sorts of periodicals. Public -opinion was again, as it was twenty-two years before, practically -unanimous in condemning Russia, and in encouraging every enterprise -for the assistance of the sufferers from its barbarity. - -The response to the appeals for material help was quick and generous. -The contributions were sent either directly to the central office -of the “Alliance Israelite Universelle” at Paris or to one of three -agencies in New York――to the Relief Committee of which Emanuel Lehman -was chairman and Daniel Guggenheim, treasurer, and which was in -communication with the “Alliance”; to the Relief Committee of which -K. H. Sarasohn was chairman and Arnold Kohn, treasurer, and which was -in communication with the Central Relief Committee at Kishinev; or to -Mr. William Randolph Hearst, whose newspapers, in New York, Chicago -and San Francisco, did much to arouse the public to the gravity of the -situation, and who forwarded the money collected by them to Treasurer -Arnold Kohn. The sum sent to Kishinev from the United States through -all these agencies was set down in a report made on June 7, 1903, -by the Central Relief Committee at Kishinev to the “Hilfsverein der -deutschen Juden” at Berlin, at 192,443 roubles (somewhat less than -$100,000). It is about half of the sum which was collected in Russia -itself, and a fourth of what was contributed by all the countries of -the world. - -It was generally understood that little could be accomplished by -representations or remonstrances to Russia, but the desire to do -something more than collect alms was very strong, and the sentiment -naturally crystallized itself in an effort to ask the Government of the -United States to use its good offices in behalf of the Jews of Russia. -A petition was framed by the Executive Committee of the Independent -Order of B’nai B’rith and submitted to the President of the United -States with the request that it be transmitted to the Emperor of -Russia. The President received the Committee cordially, and said at -the conclusion of his remarks: “I will consider most carefully the -suggestion that you have submitted to me, and whether the now existing -conditions are such that any further official expression would be of -advantage to the unfortunate survivors, with whom we sympathize so -deeply.” - -The petition was couched in courteous terms, extolling the Czar -personally and pleading that “he who led his own people and all others -to the shrine of peace, will add new luster to his reign and fame by -leading a new movement that shall commit the whole world in opposition -to religious persecution.” The petition was circulated in thirty-six -States and Territories, and 12,544 signatures were obtained. Among -the signers were Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, -Governors (22), high judicial officers, State Legislators, Mayors -of cities (150), clergymen of all denominations, including three -Archbishops and seven Bishops, a large number of other officials, -and many prominent men in the professional and the business world. -President Roosevelt consented to transmit the petition, but the Russian -Government declined to receive it, and the matter was thus ended. -By permission of the President, the separate sheets of the petition -bearing all the signatures, suitably bound and enclosed in a case -provided for the purpose, have been placed in the archives of the -Department of State.[55] - -It was impossible to arouse the general public and even the general -Jewish public at the recurrent pogroms and massacres at near intervals -after Kishinev. But as is always the case with Russian or Galician or -Roumanian cities when they suffer from fires, it became now the custom -for all natives of an afflicted city to form some sort of organization -in the rather rare occasion when there existed no synagogue or -benevolent society of the “landsleut,” and to collect funds for the -succor of the unfortunate families of the victims at home. Each of -the riots and massacres between Kishinev and the terrible October -days, the largest of which occurred at Homel (September 10–14, 1903) -when eight Jews were killed and nearly one hundred injured; at Bender -(May 1, 1904), and at Zhitomir (May 6, 1905), where twenty-nine were -killed――each of these riots was a miniature Kishinev among the natives -of the stricken place or its vicinity in this country. America became -for the suffering Jews of Russia the Egypt of the time of the Patriarch -Jacob, and the Russian immigrant who settled here before was the -prosperous brother Joseph whom God sent to the New World before them -to preserve life. To the emissaries from Palestine and from religious -institutions in Russia, especially the Talmudical Academies or Yeshibot, -who were coming regularly to the United States for many years to make -collections among the conservative immigrants who prospered here, were -now added emissaries from the radical or revolutionary parties from -Russia, who were enthusiastically received by the working classes and -the radical element in general, and their appeals for funds were seldom -in vain. - -The most substantial and most beneficial form of assistance sent from -here to Russia was, however, not in response to appeals through Jewish -newspapers or through personal representatives of causes, of parties -or of institutions, but to requests made by members of families, by -relatives or by friends to be taken out of Russia as soon as possible. -While public appeals were made for charity of various kinds and for -defense funds and similar objects, private correspondents solicited -only one thing――steamship tickets. And the private responses, while -they attracted less attention, were more generous, and in many -instances verged on self-sacrifice. This can be deduced from the -results, i. e., from the increased Jewish immigration, which was easily -absorbed and little burdensome to the general Jewish public or to the -larger charities, because most of the new arrivals had near relatives -or friends who took care of them in the short time which elapsed until -they could find employment. The increase of Jewish immigration on -account of the pogroms can best be seen by a comparison of the number -of Jewish arrivals at the Port of New York, where nearly nine-tenths -of them arrive, with the general immigration for the five years 1903–07 -(each ending June 30). The figures for 1903 are: Jews 58,079, total -immigration, 857,046; for 1904: Jews 80,885, total 812,870; for 1905: -Jews 103,941, total 1,027,421; for 1906: Jews 133,764, total 1,100,735; -for 1907: Jews 117,486, total 1,285,349. It is seen that while -general immigration in 1904 was about 45,000 less than in 1903, Jewish -immigration was about 22,000 more. On the other hand, while general -immigration rose to an unprecedented height in 1907, and was larger -than the preceding year by 185,000, the number of Jews arriving in -New York was about 16,000 less. The Jewish immigrant is not the man -who fails at home or the adventurer who cares for no home; he could -get along very well where he is if he were not molested, and Jewish -immigration from Russia would become as insignificant as Jewish -immigration from Germany if the former country could rise to the -political and social conditions of the latter. - - * * * * * - -The small pogroms which were designated above as miniature Kishinevs, -and even Kishinev itself, were soon forgotten or began to look very -small in comparison with the frightful massacres of the last day of -October and the first days of November, 1905, with which the Russians -inaugurated their quasi-constitutional regime. This time there were -about a thousand Jews killed, the wounded numbered many thousands, the -losses by destruction of property amounted to hundreds of millions. -America again responded nobly, and a committee, of which Oscar -S. Straus was chairman and Jacob H. Schiff, treasurer, collected -considerably more than a million dollars, from Jews and non-Jews, -mainly through the same agencies and by the same methods as the funds -for the sufferers from Kishinev were collected. There were again -mass-meetings at which prominent non-Jews spoke words of sympathy -for the martyrs and their families and condemned the government -which permitted such carnage. The general press was as friendly and -sympathetic to the Jews as on former occasions. When the great march of -Jewish mourners after the martyrs took place through the streets of New -York, in which nearly one hundred thousand participated (December 4, -1905), several Christian churches tolled their bells in expression of -sympathy with the weeping masses which passed by. - - Illustration: Hon. Jacob H. Schiff. - Photo by Dupont, N. Y. - -There was also an official expression of sympathy from Congress. -Representatives Henry M. Goldfogle and William Sulzer introduced into -the House resolutions to that effect, and a third one as a substitute -was introduced by Representative Charles A. Towne, who, like the -former two, represented a New York City District. The House Committee -on Foreign Affairs granted a hearing, on February 8, 1906, to those -interested in the passage of the resolutions. In its final form the -joint resolution was introduced into the Senate by the late Anselm J. -McLaurin of Mississippi, and in the House by Robert G. Cousins of Iowa, -and read as follows: - - _Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the - United States of America in Congress assembled._ That the - people of the United States are horrified by the reports of - the massacre of Hebrews in Russia, on account of their race - and religion, and that those bereaved thereby have the hearty - sympathy of the people of this country. - -This resolution was adopted without debate, and unanimously, by both -houses on June 22, and approved by the President on June 26, 1906. - -On two other occasions about the same time the friendly disposition -of the people and the Government of the United States towards the Jews -was manifested to the world. The first occasion was only semi-official, -when the Jews of the country celebrated the Two Hundred and Fiftieth -Anniversary of the Settlement of the Jews in the United States, on -Thanksgiving Day (November 30), 1905. Meetings and special services -were held in more than seventy localities between November 24 and -December 10, but the principal celebration was in New York on the -above mentioned date, in Carnegie Hall, where notable addresses were -delivered by former President Grover Cleveland, Governor Francis W. -Higgins of the State of New York, Mayor George B. McClellan of New -York City, and Bishop David Greer. Cordial letters were received -from President Roosevelt and Vice-President Charles W. Fairbanks. -The principal oration at that memorable meeting was delivered by -Judge Mayer Sulzberger of Philadelphia. Our present Ambassador to -Russia, Curtis Guild, Jr., who was at that time Lieutenant-Governor -of Massachusetts, was one of the speakers at the celebration meeting -which was held in Boston, a day before the New York meeting.[56] - -The second occasion attracted less attention, but was strictly -official. The International Conference about Morocco, which was held in -Algeciras, Spain, from January 6 to April 7, 1906, was participated in -by the United States, and its first delegate, Henry White (Ambassador -to Italy), received instruction by a special letter from Secretary of -State (now Senator) Elihu Root to work for the protection of the Jews -of Morocco. These instructions were accompanied by a letter received -by Secretary Root from Mr. Jacob H. Schiff, setting forth the pitiable -condition of the Jews of that country and enumerating the legal -restrictions to which they were subject. Through the exertion of Mr. -White, a provision was inserted, on April 2, in the treaty, with which -the Conference was concluded, according to which the signatory nations -guarantee the security and equal privileges of the Jews in Morocco, -both those living in the ports and those living in the interior. (See -“American-Jewish Year Book” for 5667, pp. 92–98.) The chief value of -this provision, however, consists only in its indication of the good -will of the Government of the United States. Its practical value for -the Jews of Morocco, as far as protection from riots and massacres -are concerned, is hardly more than that of the well known “Article 44” -of the Treaty of Berlin regarding the Jews of Roumania. The Jews of -Morocco probably never heard of that provision, and the credit of -ameliorating their condition rightfully belongs to France, which has, -according to the latest agreement among European Powers, become the -protector, or ruler of the Shereefian Empire. - - Illustration: Hon. Oscar S. Straus. - -Near the end of the same year (1906) President Roosevelt appointed -Oscar S. Straus, the author and diplomatist, Secretary of Commerce and -Labor. The first Jew to be thus honored with a seat in the Cabinet has -served twice as minister plenipotentiary (and since he left the Cabinet, -again as Ambassador) to Turkey, and also succeeded the late Benjamin -Harrison, former president of the United States, as a member of the -Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. His oldest brother, -Isidor Straus (b. in Bavaria, 1845; a. 1854; drowned with the “Titanic” -April 15, 1912), was a well known merchant and philanthropist in New -York, who was a member of the Fifty-third Congress, and has been for -many years President of the Educational Alliance. Another brother, -Nathan Straus (b. in Bavaria, 1848: a. 1854), who is also known as a -philanthropist and served as Park Commissioner, and, for several months, -as President of the Board of Health of New York, is two years older -than the former Cabinet Minister. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVIII. - - THE AMERICAN-JEWISH COMMITTEE. - EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND FEDERATIONS. - - - Formation of the American Jewish Committee――Its first fifteen - members and its membership in 1911――The experimental Kehillah - organizations――The re-organized Jewish Theological Seminary―― - Faculty of the Hebrew Union College――The Dropsie College of - Hebrew and Cognate Learning――The Rabbi Joseph Jacob School―― - Other Orthodox “Yeshibot”――Talmud Torahs and “Chedarim”――Hebrew - Institutes――They become more Jewish because other agencies now - do the work of Americanizing the immigrant――Technical Schools―― - Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Associations――Federations - of various kinds. - -The massacres of 1905 aroused and united the Jews of the civilized -world, and the necessity of an organization to cope with the situation -and with similar situations in the future began to be generally -felt. The time when the Alliance Israelite Universelle, with its -preponderance of French Jews and French methods, could act for the -Jewry of all countries was now past, and only a new organization in -which each country was independently represented could answer the -purpose. The same was also true, in a more restricted sense, in the -United States itself. None of the national Jewish bodies, not even the -Order B’nai B’rith, with its Board of Delegates, could now assume to -speak with undisputed authority in the name of American Jewry as it -is now constituted. An attempt to form a representative international -Committee of Jews was made at the General Jewish Conference which was -convened at Brussels, Belgium, in the last days of January, 1906, where -a resolution to that effect was adopted. But the plan was not carried -out. - - Illustration: Judge Mayer Sulzberger. - Photo by Gutekunst, Phila. - -Within a week after the Brussels Conference (February 3–4), a -conference was held in New York City “to consider the formation of a -General Jewish Committee or other representative body of the Jews in -the United States.”[57] A committee which was appointed by the chairman, -Judge Mayer Sulzberger of Philadelphia, submitted its report to the -conference at a subsequent meeting (May 19), which was referred to a -Committee of Five, with instructions to select another Committee of -Fifteen, representative of all Jewish societies of the United States, -to be increased to fifty members, if considered desirable. About -a month later, the chairman announced the following Committee as -the nucleus of the American Jewish Committee, which was ultimately -increased to sixty: Cyrus Adler, Washington, D. C.; Nathan Bijur, -New York; Joseph H. Cohen, New York; Emil G. Hirsch, Chicago, Ill.; -D. H. Lieberman, New York; Julian W. Mack, Chicago, Ill.; J. L. Magnes, -New York; Louis Marshall, New York; Isidor Newman, New Orleans, La.; -Simon W. Rosendale, Albany, N. Y.; Max Senior, Cincinnati, O.; Jacob H. -Schiff, New York; Oscar S. Straus, New York; M. C. Sloss, San Francisco, -Cal., and Simon Wolf, Washington, D. C. - -The American-Jewish Committee was organized with sixty members, and -adopted a constitution (November 11, 1906), which begins: “The purpose -of this committee is to prevent infringement of the civil and religious -rights of the Jews, and to alleviate the consequences of persecution. -In the event of a threatened or actual denial or invasion of such -rights, or when conditions calling for relief from calamities affecting -Jews exist anywhere, correspondence may be entered into with those -familiar with the situation, and if the persons on the spot feel -themselves able to cope with the situation, no action need be taken; -if, on the other hand, they request aid, steps shall be taken to -furnish it.” The Committee was later again increased on account of -the enlargement of the representation from New York City, owing to -the organization of the “Kehillah,” and last year consisted of the -following, representing the thirteen districts into which the country -was divided for that purpose: - -Dist. I: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 2 members: -Ceasar Cone, Greensboro, N. C.; Montague Triest, Charleston, S. C. - -Dist. II: Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, 2 members: Jacques Loeb, -Montgomery, Ala.; Nathan Cohn, Nashville, Tenn. - -Dist. III: Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, 2 members: Maurice -Stern, New Orleans, La.; Isaac H. Kempner, Galveston, Tex. - -Dist. IV: Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, 3 members: Morris M. -Cohen, Little Rock, Ark.; David S. Lehman, Denver, Col.; Elias Michael, -St. Louis, Mo. - -Dist. V: California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, 3 members: -Max C. Sloss, San Francisco, Cal.; Harris Weinstock, Sacramento, Cal.; -Ben. Selling, Portland, Ore. - - Illustration: Hon. Benjamin Selling. - Photo by Trover-Weigel, Salem, Oregon. - -Dist. VI: Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, -South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, 4 members: Henry M. Butzel, Detroit, -Mich.; Emanuel Cohen, Minneapolis, Minn.; Victor Rosewater, Omaha, Neb.; -Max Landauer, Milwaukee, Wis. - -Dist. VII: Illinois, 7 members: Edwin G. Foreman, M. E. Greenebaum, -B. Horwich, Julian W. Mack, Julius Rosenwald, Joseph Stolz, all of -Chicago, Ill.; Samuel Woolner (deceased), Peoria, Ill. - -Dist. VIII: Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, 5 members: Louis -Newberger, Indianapolis, Ind.; Isaac W. Bernheim, Louisville, Ky.; -David Philipson, Cincinnati, O.; J. Walter Freiberg, Cincinnati, O.; -E. M. Baker, Cleveland, O. - -Dist. IX: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 9 members: Cyrus Adler, -Philadelphia, Pa.; Isaac W. Frank, Pittsburg, Pa.; Wm. B. Hackenburg, -B. L. Levinthal, M. Rosenbaum, all of Philadelphia, Pa.; Isadore Sobel, -Erie, Pa.; Mayer Sulzberger, Philadelphia, Pa.; A. Leo Weil, Pittsburg, -Pa.; Benjamin Wolf, Philadelphia, Pa. - -Dist. X: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, 2 members: -Harry Friedenwald, Baltimore, Md.; Jacob H. Hollander, Baltimore, Md. - -Dist. XI: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode -Island, Vermont, 3 members: Isaac M. Ullman, New Haven, Conn.; Lee M. -Friedman, Boston, Mass.; Harry Cutler, Providence, R. I. - -Dist. XII: New York: Joseph Barondess, Samuel Dorf, Bernard Drachman, -Harry Fischel, William Fishman, Israel Friedlaender, Samuel B. -Hamburger, Maurice H. Harris, Samuel I. Hyman, S. Jarmulowsky, Leon -Kamaiky, Philip Klein, Nathan Lamport, Adolph Lewisohn, J. L. Magnes, -M. Z. Margolies, Louis Marshall, H. Pereire Mendes, Solomon Neumann, -Jacob H. Schiff, Bernard Semel, P. A. Siegelstein, Joseph Silverman, -Cyrus L. Sulzberger, Felix M. Warburg: 25 members. - -Dist. XIII: New York (exclusive of the city), 2 members: Abram J. Katz, -Rochester; Simon W. Rosendale, Albany. - -Members-at-large: Nathan Bijur, New York City; Isidor Straus, New York -City. - -The officers are: Mayer Sulzberger, President; Julian W. Mack and Jacob -H. Hollander, Vice-Presidents; Isaac W. Bernheim, Treasurer; Herbert -Friedenwald, Secretary. The Executive Committee consists of Cyrus -Adler, Harry Cutler, Samuel Dorf, J. L. Magnes, Louis Marshall, Julius -Rosenwald, Jacob H. Schiff, Isadore Sobel, Cyrus L. Sulzberger and -A. Leo Weil. - -The strength of the committee consists mainly in its personnel, as -it comprises the most influential as well as the most active Jewish -communal leaders of the country. The membership from the large centers -of population, like New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, includes also -representatives of the immigrants of the last period, and the plan -of the Jewish Alliance of twenty years ago[58] to bring together the -older and the younger portions of the community is, to some extent, -consummated in this Committee. It has made some valuable efforts -on behalf of the suffering Jews in other countries, and also in the -interest of a speedy solution of the vexed Russian passport question, -and it is becoming recognized as the representative Jewish body in the -United States. - -When the Jewish community or “Kehillah” was formed in New York in -1909, consisting of the representatives of congregations, fraternal -and educational organizations, the plans of those who wanted to have -the American Jewish Committee re-organized on a more democratic basis, -and to make it the elected and authorized representative of the Jewish -masses, was partially carried out. The twenty-five members of the -Executive Committee of the New York “Kehillah” are the New York members -of the American-Jewish Committee. The Jews of Philadelphia have now -also formed a “Kehillah” on the same basis of representation. But -these new forms of amalgamating the large communities and forming -authoritative Jewish central bodies is yet in the experimental stage, -and several years, perhaps several decades, will have to pass before -their permanent existence will be assured and justified. The great -difference between the Committee and the “Kehillahs” is, that in the -first men of power and authority who worked effectively for Jewish -interests before, individually or as leaders of communal bodies, have -united to work together in the same direction. The “Kehillahs” on the -other hand, have yet to create the forces which are to sustain them -and make them formidable. Their chief value consists of their being -symptoms of the times, indicating the approach of the end of the period -of chaos in general Jewish affairs, and an inclination to submit to -representative authority in communal matters. The most conspicuous act -of the New York “Kehillah” was its foundation of a Bureau of Education -under the direction of the well-known Jewish educator, Dr. Samson -Benderly (b. in Safed, Palestine, 1876), who conducted Jewish schools -in Baltimore with marked success and is now working out his original -plans in educating Jewish teachers who should be capable of suitably -performing their duties to the coming generation. But the soundness -and the practicability of his plans are as problematical as that of -the “Kehillah” itself. - - Illustration: Prof. Solomon Schechter. - -Much other valuable work was done in the cause of Jewish education -in the last ten years. The Jewish Theological Seminary, which was -reorganized in 1902, when the presidency was assumed by the famous -Roumanian Jewish scholar, Solomon Schechter, now has on its faculty -as professors: President and Professor of Jewish Theology, Solomon -Schechter; Biblical Literature and Exegesis, Israel Friedlaender; -Talmud, Louis Ginzberg; History, Alexander Marx; Homiletics, Mordecai -M. Kaplan; Instructor in the Talmud, Joshua A. Joffe; Instructor in -Hebrew and Rabbinics, Israel Davidson; English Literature and Rhetoric, -Joseph Jacobs. There is also now a Teachers’ Institute connected with -the Seminary, of which Prof. Mordecai M. Kaplan is the principal. - -The Hebrew Union College of Cincinnati, which is maintained by the -Union of American Hebrew Congregations, has also been considerably -strengthened in the last few years. Its faculty consists of the -following professors: Homiletics, Theology and Hellenistic Literature -(President), Kaufman Kohler; Jewish History and Literature, Gotthard -Deutsch; Ethics and Pedagogy, Louis Grossman; Jewish Philosophy, David -Neumark; Biblical Exegesis (Associate), Moses Buttenwieser; Biblical -Literature, Henry Englander; Instructor in Bible and Semitic Languages, -Julian Morgenstern. - -The youngest of the Jewish higher institutions of learning in the -United States is The Dropsie College of Hebrew and Cognate Learning of -Philadelphia, which was incorporated in 1907. Moses Aaron Dropsie (b. -in Philadelphia, 1821; d. there 1905), an attorney and street railway -owner of Dutch descent, bequeathed the bulk of his fortune, amounting -to nearly one million dollars, to the foundation of that college, which -was opened in 1909. The faculty consists of: President, Cyrus Adler; -Max L. Margolis, in charge of the Biblical Department; Henry Malter, -in charge of the Rabbinical Department; Jacob Hoschander, Instructor -Department of Cognate Languages; Hon. Mayer Sulzberger, Resident -Lecturer in Jewish Jurisprudence and Institutes of Government. - -An institution of an entirely different kind is the Rabbi Joseph Jacob -School, or Yeshibah, of New York, which was organized in 1901, whose -founder, Samuel S. Andron, still retains the presidency. It is the -only considerable Jewish school on the denominational or parochial -plan, where English and general studies according to the curriculum -of the public schools are pursued together with the study of the -Hebrew language, Bible, Talmud and Rabbinical literature. It is the -first attempt to combine a strictly Orthodox and a thorough American -education, and, if possible, to educate American rabbis who should -be acceptable to the old style pious immigrant as well as to the -generation which is growing up here. There are other Yeshibot in all -of the large cities in the United States, but most of them simply -follow their prototype, the Talmudical Academy of the Slavic countries, -where there is no other official subject of study except the Talmud and -Rabbinical literature, and secular studies are pursued clandestinely -or not at all. In some of the Yeshibot here, like in the Rabbi Isaac -Elchanan Theological Seminary of New York, some concessions were made -to secular studies, but there was no attempt, and perhaps no desire, -to harmonize the systems and to supply a good American education. - -The original forms of the elementary Jewish school, the private -“Cheder” and the public or semi-public Talmud Torah, is represented -among the Jews of the Slavic countries in all its varieties, from -the old-fashioned Russian school, where the Hebrew text is translated -in a traditional Yiddish, which the pupil who is born or brought up -here understands but imperfectly, to the Americanized place, where -the translations are made in the English, and the modernized Russian -school, in which Hebrew is used in interpreting the Scripture and the -text books prepared for the purpose. Naturally the oldest and largest -Talmud Torah of New York, the “Machzike Talmud Torah” of East Broadway -(organized 1882), of which Moses H. Phillips is president and I. A. -Kaplan superintendent, is looked upon as a model institution of its -kind. There are nearly two score Talmud Torahs in New York City, some -of them attached to synagogues, but most of them separate institutions -with buildings of their own, several of which, like the Up-Town -Talmud Torah and the one in Brownsville (Brooklyn), are magnificent -establishments, with incomes which prove the material well-being of -the immigrant classes, as well as their willingness to pay for Jewish -education. - -There are large Talmud Torahs in every city where there is a -considerable Jewish population, and, as in many other respects, New -York conditions are duplicated in Chicago, Philadelphia and other great -centers. In the smaller towns a Talmud Torah is now established soon -after the foundation of a synagogue, and the private teacher, who is -often also the Shochet and Chazzan or Mohel, usually antedates them -both. There is one important difference, however, between the Talmud -Torah of the Old World, especially Russia, and the same institutions -here. There the Talmud Torah is mainly for the children of the very -poor, for destitute orphans, foundlings and the like. Here the scarcity -of good private teachers, the high compensation which they require, -and the limited time which could be given to Jewish studies, makes -the organized school preferable also for the children of parents who -are willing and able to pay for tuition. Some Talmud Torahs which are -maintained by single synagogues for their members, especially in small -communities, partake of the nature, and even of the exclusiveness, of -the Sabbath School which is an adjunct to almost every well conducted -Reform Temple. _Volks-Schulen_, or Hebrew schools for girls, have -lately been established in several sections of New York, and also in -other cities. - -There are also in every large community and in some sections of large -cities educational institutions whose chief object is to facilitate -the Americanization of the immigrants. The model institution of that -sort is the Educational Alliance (formerly the Hebrew Institute) of -New York. Some of them bear the name Educational Society, and a large -number, among which the Chicago institution, of which Julius Rosenwald -(b. in Springfield, Ill., 1862) is the chief patron, prefer the -old name of Hebrew Institute. This class of institutions have been -undergoing material changes for the last ten or fifteen years, and -those founded lately are entirely unlike those which belonged to -the earlier period. All fear that the newcomers will not become -Americanized sufficiently fast has now disappeared; and, besides, the -work of Americanization which was formerly done by private charity, -like the maintenance of evening classes and even of day classes for -adult immigrants, to instruct them in English and elementary knowledge, -is now done by the cities themselves. Private efforts are now made more -in the direction of Jewish education and religious or semi-religious -activities, and some of the Hebrew Institutes, notably the youngest and -those established and maintained by immigrants themselves, are almost -Talmud Torahs, often combined with synagogues, in which the religious -element predominates, and in some of them rabbis occupy the leading -positions. - -Lastly, there is a class of splendid educational establishments, -founded and endowed by Jewish philanthropists, for the technical -development of the young Jewish immigrants. The most important of -these in New York are the Baron de Hirsch Trade School, the Hebrew -Technical Institute (organized 1883), and the Hebrew Technical School -for Girls. Chicago has the Jewish (formerly the Manual) Training School -(incorporated 1887); Baltimore its Maccabean House (incorporated 1900); -Boston its Hebrew Industrial School (organized 1889), and the Jewish -Educational Alliance of St. Louis, Mo., has a large industrial school; -Cincinnati has a Boys’ Industrial School; while Philadelphia has the -B’nai B’rith Manual Training School and the Industrial Home for Jewish -Girls. The Young Men’s Hebrew Associations, the Young Women’s Hebrew -Associations and other Jewish organizations of a like character in -numerous places, maintain various classes――religious, technical, -etc.――offering educational opportunities to new arrivals and to young -working people who ♦cannot utilize the regular institutions of public -education. - -The efforts to organize and to federate, which resulted in the -formation of the American-Jewish Committee, produced several other -communal federations of variegated character. The oldest and most -substantial of these is the Federation of Galician and Bukowinian -Jews in America (organized 1904), which founded and maintains the Har -Moriah Hospital in New York. There have also lately been organized -a Federation of Roumanian Jews and one of Russian-Polish Jews. There -is also in New York a Federation of Contributors to Jewish Communal -Institutions and a Federation of Jewish Organizations, both of which -were organized in 1906. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIX. - - THE JEWS IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA. - - - The legend about the Jewish origin of Chevalier de Levis――Aaron - Hart, the English Commissary, and Abraham Gradis, the French - banker――Early settlers in Montreal――Its first Congregation―― - Troubles of Ezekiel Hart, the first Jew to be elected to the - Legislature――Final Emancipation in 1832――Jews fight on the - Loyalist side against ♦Papineau’s rebellion――Prominent Jews in - various fields of activity――Congregation “Shaar ha-Shomaim”―― - Toronto――First synagogue in Victoria, B. C., in 1862――Hamilton - and Winnipeg――Other communities――Agricultural Colonies――Jewish - Newspapers. - -The beginning of the history of the Jews in Canada goes back to legend. -There is a tradition that the founder of the house of Levis, from whom -descended Henri de Levis, Duke de Vontadur, Viceroy of Canada for some -time after 1626, and his more distinguished relative, Chevalier de -Levis, who was Montcalm’s successor as commander of the French forces -in Canada (1759) and later became a marshal of France, were descendants -of the patriarch Levi Ben Jacob, and a cousin of Mary of Nazareth.[59] - -The earliest authentic records of the Jews of Canada go back to the -period when England and France were engaged in their final contest for -the mastery of the northern part of the continent. Aaron Hart (b. in -London, 1724) was Commissary in General Amherst’s army, which invaded -Canada from the south, and there were in the same army three more -Jewish officers: Emanuel de Cordova, Hananiel Garcia and Isaac Miranda. -Hart was later attached to General Haldimond’s command at Three Rivers, -and at the close of the war settled in that city and became seignior of -Bécancour. - -There were, of course, no Jews on the other side of the struggle, for -France at that time suffered no Jewish inhabitants in her colonies, -nor Jewish soldiers in her armies. But it was a Jew, Abraham Gradis -(d. 1780), the head of the great French banking house founded by -his father, David Gradis (naturalized in Bordeaux, 1731; d. 1751), -who furnished money and supplies to the French King to carry on the -unsuccessful war with England. Abraham Gradis had founded (in 1748) -the Society of Canada, a commercial organization, under the auspices -of the French government, and erected magazines in Quebec. Exceptional -privileges were later granted to him and his family in the French -colonies, and full civil rights were accorded him in Martinique in 1779. -But the house of “the Rothschilds of the 18th century” was finally -ruined by the insurrections in Santo Domingo and Martinique, combined -with the losses which were occasioned at home by the French Revolution. -(See Wolf, “_The American Jew ..._” pp. 476–82.) - -About the time of the Canadian conquest by England (_circa_ 1760) -a number of Jewish settlers took up their residence in Montreal, -including Lazarus David (b. 1734), Uriel Moresco, Samuel Jacobs, Simon -Levy, Fernandez da Fonseca, Abraham Franks, Andrew Hays, Jacob de -Maurera, Joseph Bindona, Levy Solomons and Uriah Judah. Lazarus David -was a large land owner and was noted as a public spirited citizen. -Several of the others held offices in the English army; there were also -among them some extensive traders, who did much for the development -of the newly acquired colony. After they had been reinforced by other -settlers, a congregation, called “Shearit Israel,” was organized in -1768, which for nearly a century remained the only Jewish congregation -in Canada. Most of the members were Sephardim, and they stood in close -communion with the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of London, who presented -them with two scrolls of the Law for the newly founded congregation. At -first the congregation met for worship in a hall on St. James Street; -but in 1777 the members built the first synagogue, at the junction of -Notre Dame and St. James Streets, close to the present court house, on -a lot belonging to the David family, whose founder, the above mentioned -Lazarus David, died one year previously, and was the first to be -interred in the cemetery which the congregation acquired in 1775. His -son, David David (1764–1824), was one of the founders of the Bank of -Montreal in 1808. - -The Rev. Jacob Raphael Cohen was the first regular minister of the -Montreal congregation of whom there remains any record. He came there -in 1778 and remained until 1782, when he went to Philadelphia, where he -became rabbi of Congregation ♦Mickweh Israel. The president or parnas -of the Montreal congregation in 1775 was Jacob Salesby (or Salisbury) -Franks, a member of the family whose other branch played an important -part in Philadelphia in the period of the Revolution. Abraham Franks -(1721–97) supported the British in repelling the American invasion, -while his son-in-law, Levy Solomons, who later became parnas of the -Montreal congregation, was commanded by the invading American general, -Montgomery, to act as purveyor to the hospitals for the American -troops. But after the death of General Montgomery and the retreat of -the American forces from Canada, Solomons, who was never paid for the -services he rendered to the invaders, was exposed to the resentment of -the British, as one suspected of sympathy for the revolting colonists. -He and his family were expelled from Montreal by General Burgoyne, but -eventually was permitted to return. - -In 1807 Ezekiel Hart, one of the four sons of Commissary Aaron Hart, -was elected to represent Three Rivers in the Legislature. He declined -to be sworn in according to the usual form, “on the true faith of a -Christian,” but took the oath according to the Jewish custom, on the -Pentateuch, and with his head covered. At once a storm of opposition -arose, due, it is said, not to religious prejudice or intolerance, but -to the fact that his political opponents saw in this an opportunity -of making a party gain by depriving an antagonist of his seat. After -heated discussions and the formality of a trial, he was expelled, and -when his constituents re-elected him, the House proposed passing a bill -to put his disqualification as a Jew beyond doubt. But the governor, -Sir John Craig, dissolved the Chamber before the bill could pass. After -a bill, in conformity with a petition by the Jews, was passed in 1829, -and sanctioned by royal proclamation in January 1831, authorizing the -Jews to keep a register of births, marriages and deaths, they felt -encouraged and made another attempt to secure recognition of their -civil rights. When a new bill extending the same political rights to -Jews as to Christians was introduced in the Legislative Assembly in -March, 1831, it met with no opposition. It rapidly passed both the -Assembly and the Council, and received the royal assent June 5, 1832. -The Jews of Canada were thus emancipated about a quarter century before -their co-religionists in the mother country. Mr. Nathan of British -Columbia was the first Jewish member of the Canadian Parliament. - -When Canada was convulsed in 1837–38 by the rebellion led by Papineau -and others, a number of Jews fought on the Loyalist side. Two members -of the David family held cavalry commands under Wetherell at the action -at St. Charles, and took a distinguished part in the battle of St. -Eustache. Aaron Philip Hart, grandson of the commissary, temporarily -abandoned his large law practice to raise a company of militia, which -rendered valuable service. Jacob Henry Joseph and his brother Jesse -were with the troops on the Richelieu and at Chambly. Several Canadian -Jews won distinction in various capacities in the first half of the -last century. Dr. Aaron Hart David (b. in Montreal, 1812; d. there -1882), a grandson of Lazarus David, was dean of the faculty of medicine -of Bishop’s College; Samuel Benjamin was the first Jew elected to the -Montreal City Council; and Jesse Joseph (b. in Berthier, Canada, 1817; -d. in Montreal, 1904), one of a family of merchant princes, established -the first direct line of ships between Antwerp and Montreal, and was -appointed Belgian Consul in the latter city. His brother Jacob was -connected with the promotion of early Canadian railways and telegraph -lines, and another brother, Gershom, was the first Jewish lawyer to be -appointed a queen’s counsel in Canada. All these men were officers of -the synagogue, at the time when its rabbi, Rev. Abraham de Sola (b. in -London, 1825; d. in New York, 1882), was professor of Semitic languages -and literature at the McGill University. - -The Congregation Shearit Israel passed through a crisis when the old -synagogue building had to be demolished, when the land on which it -stood reverted to the heirs of David David, after his death in 1824. -It was again forced to worship in a hall, until the new synagogue on -Chenneville Street was dedicated in 1838. It had no regular minister -after the retirement of Rabbi Cohen, until nearly 60 years later, -when Rabbi David Piza was appointed in 1840 and was, six years later, -succeeded by Rabbi Abraham de Sola, who was in turn succeeded by his -son, Dr. Meldola de Sola (b. 1853), who is still one of the ministers -of the congregation, his associate being Rev. Isaac de la Penyha. - -A second congregation, of Polish and German, or Ashkenazic Jews, was -organized in Montreal in 1846, but existed only for a short time. -Another effort was made about twelve years later with more success, -and the result was the congregation “Shaar ha-Shomaim,” which was -established in 1858. Abraham Hofnung, M. A. Ollendorf and Samuel -Silverman were among the most active of its charter members, and the -Rev. Samuel Hofnung was its earliest minister, who was soon succeeded -by Rev. M. Fass. The first building of this congregation was in St. -Constant Street, and was dedicated in 1860. In 1886 it removed to -its present edifice in McGill College avenue. It has now two rabbis, -Rev. Dr. Herman Abramowitz and S. Goldstein. In 1863 was founded the -Young Men’s Hebrew Benevolent Society (now called the Baron de Hirsch -Institute and Hebrew Benevolent Society), through which Baron de Hirsch -and his executors did much for the education and colonization of the -Russian immigrants who began to come to Canada in considerable numbers -after 1881. The present Jewish population of Montreal is probably about -40,000, and it has ten synagogues, besides the two mentioned above. Of -these, the Bet David Congregation (established 1888) is designated as -Roumanian; the Bet Israel Congregation, of which Rev. Hirschel Cohen is -rabbi, is surnamed “Chevra Shaas”; the B’nai Jacob Synagogue (founded -1885) is mainly Russian. There is also an Austro-Hungarian Congregation, -a Galician (“Chevra Kadisha Jeshurun”) and a Reform Temple (Emanuel, -founded 1882). There is also the usual complement of charitable, -educational, fraternal and social organizations, including Talmud -Torah, a branch of the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York, and -a Jewish Lads’ Brigade. The Jewish community in Montreal and in Canada -generally is in many respects like the communities of the United States -of a similar size. But owing to the dissensions between religious -denominations, and especially the complicated school question, there is -more open partisan hostility to Jews, both on the part of the press and -in public life, than in the United States, where the government is -strictly secular. - -About 1845 a sufficient number of Jews had settled in Toronto, Ont., -to begin to think about the organization of a synagogue; but little -was accomplished until 1852, when a cemetery was purchased and the -Holy Blossom congregation was established. Mark Samuel, Lewis Samuel -and Alexander Miller did much to sustain the congregation in its early -struggles. It grew in strength and numbers under the presidency of -Alfred D. Benjamin during the closing years of the nineteenth century, -and it became necessary to remove from its first building in Richmond -Street to the present commodious edifice in Bon Street (1902). Toronto, -which had 1425 Jews in 1891 and 3,038 in 1901, now has considerably -over 10,000, with about ten congregations and several charitable and -fraternal organizations. - -The discovery of gold in British Columbia in 1857 led to the settlement -there of a number of Jews, who built a synagogue in Victoria in -1862. In 1882 a synagogue was erected in Hamilton, and several years -later the Jews of Winnipeg (who numbered 645 in 1891) organized two -congregations. There are now seven congregations in Winnipeg, with -a Jewish population of about 8,000. It also has among the various -communal organizations a Hebrew Liberal Club and a Hebrew Conservative -Club. North Winnipeg is now represented in the Provincial Parliament -of Manitoba by S. Hart Green (b. ab. 1885), the honorary secretary of -the Congregation Shaare Shomayim and the president of the local B’nai -B’rith Lodge. - -There are now Jewish communities in more than twenty-five separate -localities in Canada, and the total number of Jews is about 70,000 -and growing very fast (it was only 16,060 in 1901). Besides the towns -mentioned, there are Jews in Berlin (Ont.), Belleville, Brandford, -Calgary (Alberta), Chatham, N. B.; Dawson (Yukon Territory), Glace -Bay, C. B.; Halifax, London, Magnetowan, Ont.; ♦Ottawa, Quebec, -Regina (Saskatchewan), St. Catherine’s, St. John, Sydney, Sherbrooke, -Vancouver, Woodstock and Salt River, N. B.; Yarmouth and Yorkton. - -There are in Canada about a dozen Jewish agricultural colonies, most -of which were founded or promoted by the Baron de Hirsch Fund. The most -important of them are Bender, Hirsch, Ox Bow and Qu’appelle. There are -altogether about 700 Jewish farms occupying more than 110,000 acres, -and sustaining a farming population of about 3,000. - -Montreal has a Yiddish daily newspaper, the “Canadian Eagle,” and -an English Jewish weekly, “The Jewish Times,” and there is a Yiddish -weekly in Winnipeg called the “Canadian Jew.” - - - - - CHAPTER XL. - - JEWS IN SOUTH AMERICA, MEXICO AND CUBA. - - - The first “minyan” in Buenos Ayres, Argentine, in 1861――Estimate - of the Jewish population in Argentine――Occupations and economic - condition of the various groups――Kosher meat and temporary - synagogues as indications of the religious conditions―― - Communities in twenty-six other cities――The Agricultural - Colonies――Brazil――The rumor that General Floriano Peixotto, the - second president of the new Republic, was of Jewish origin―― - Communities in several cities――The Colony Philippson――Jews - in Montevido, Uruguay――Other South American Republics――Isidor - Borowski, who fought under Bolivar――Panama――Moroccan Jews are - liked by Peru Indians――About ten thousand Jews in Mexico―― - Slowly increasing number in Cuba, where Jews help to spread - the American influence. - -The immigration statistics of the modern Argentine Republic, which -began to be collected in 1854, did not count the Jews, as such, and -there is practically no records of the first settlement of Jews there, -which took place in the second half of the nineteenth century. It -is related that there was a “minyan” in Buenos Ayres on Yom Kippur, -1861, which was kept up irregularly for ten years, and was composed of -English, French and German Jews. During the yellow fever epidemic of -1871 almost all of them, who were agents or representatives of business -houses, fled the capital, and the “minyan” in that year was held in a -little town where most of them met. This little community organized a -“Congregacion Israelita” and built the first synagogue, before Jews -from Russia began to go there in considerable numbers. A congregation -of Moroccan Jews, “Congregacion Israelita Latina,” was organized in -1891. - -The report of the Jewish Colonization Association for 1909, which -contains a study of the Jewish population of Argentine, estimates -the number of Jews living in Buenos Ayres at 40,000, and that of the -interior towns――outside of the colonies――at 15,000 more. If we add -to it the number of about 20,000 living in the colonies Moiseville -(Santa Fé), Clara, San Antonio, Santa Isabel, Lucienville (Entre Rios), -Mauricio, Baron de Hirsch (Buenos Ayres) and Berriasconi (Pampa), in -addition to the Jewish immigration for the last three years, which -averages about 9,000 or 10,000, it seems certain that there are now -in the Republic of Argentine over 100,000 Jews, which means a larger -number than in any country of the New World outside of the United -States. - -About eight-tenths of the Jewish population of Buenos Ayres are -from Russia. The earliest settlers among them, who are now also -the wealthiest, are former colonists of the I. C. A. (as the Jewish -Colonization Association of Paris is designated). The remainder -is divided into about 3,000 Turkish, Arabian and Greek Jews; 1,000 -Moroccans and Italians; 1,500 French, German, English and Dutch, etc. -The first two groups contain many wealthy merchants, but the great -majority consists of dealers in second-hand goods and of peddlers. The -last group, which is the oldest, consists of merchants of the higher -grades. Among the Russians there are also a large number of business -people, but a very large number are artisans in various trades. As to -their date of arrival, the English, French and German are the oldest, -as stated above. Some Moroccan and Italian families have lived there -about thirty years, but the majority of that group came in the last -decade. The earliest Turkish Jews came there less than fifteen years -ago, but the great majority of them came about 1905. The Russians began -to come in considerable numbers about the time of the establishment of -the first colonies, and they still keep on coming in increasing numbers. - -There are in Buenos Ayres about one hundred Jews engaged in the -liberal professions, two-thirds of whom are natives of Russia. The -communal institutions leave much to be desired, but there has been some -improvement lately, and it is reported that a large Jewish hospital -will be erected there in the near future. The religious conditions are -indicated by the fact that about 7,000 kilograms of “Kosher” meat was -sold there daily in 1909, and that on Yom Kippur of that year services -were held in not less than twenty-four different places, including -the temple. M. Samuel Halphen, a former religious teacher, was lately -chosen rabbi of Buenos Ayres, while Dr. Herbert Ashkenazi, who studied -at Berlin, and was chosen by the I. C. A. as chief rabbi of the -colonies, also resides in that city. - -The Jews are now scattered all over Argentine, and some can be found -in almost any locality, especially in the provinces of Buenos Ayres, -Santa Fé, Entre Rios and Cordoba. The above-mentioned inquiry[60] -deals with the Jewish population of twenty-six cities besides the -capital, beginning with Rosario, Santa Fé. which has among its 173,000 -inhabitants more than 3,000 Jews, 2,500 are Russians, 359 Orientals and -Moroccans and about 100 French and Germans. The cemetery was acquired -in 1905 and the congregation was organized in 1907. In Santa Fé, which -has less than 600 Jews, the Moroccans bought a cemetery as early as -1895. Parona has a small community of less than 300, with a _Sociedad -Israelita Argentina de Beneficencia_, which was founded in 1897. But -most of the communal institutions and the communities themselves are -less than ten years old, which means that Jews are just beginning to -spread over the country. A majority of the Jews in the interior towns -of Argentine are former colonists, and most of them are doing tolerably -well. Their presence in a free and progressive country, where they -can be useful to themselves and to their neighbors, must therefore be -credited to the I. C. A. which has thus accomplished some good, even -for those whom it could not, for various reasons, turn into successful -farmers. - -The largest share of attention was, however, paid in the last two -decades to that part of the Jewish population of Argentine which has -settled in the agricultural colonies established by the I. C. A. As -early as 1889 independent attempts had been made by Jewish immigrants -from Russia to establish colonies in Argentine, but it was not done -on a well-ordered plan, and later these colonies and colonists were -absorbed by the Jewish Colonization Association. The oldest and most -successful colony, Moiseville, founded by Russian immigrants in 1890, -before the establishment of the I. C. A. was re-organized by that -association in 1891. Mauricio, in the province of Buenos Ayres, was -established about the same time, and the large group of colonies in the -province of Entre Rios, which is collectively called Clara (after the -Baroness de Hirsch), was founded in 1894. Despite the friction which -caused many colonists at considerable expense, to leave the places -where they were settled, and despite the prejudice which was aroused -against the entire colonization scheme by these seemingly interminable -quarrels, the agricultural colonies in Argentine, as a whole, are -♦successful and their future is bright. The colonists are fast paying -off their debts to the association which assisted them to settle there, -and many of them are even chafing under the limitations which prevent -them from paying off more rapidly. The centers of Jewish population, -both agricultural and――indirectly――urban, which were thus artificially -created by the munificence of Baron de Hirsch, have become healthy and -natural, and are now attracting independent immigration. There are now, -as stated above, nearly 20,000 souls in the colonies, but more than a -fourth are described as non-colonists. There are 44 schools with more -than 3,000 pupils in the colonies, and the statistical tables from -year to year show a slow and solid progress, which augurs well for the -future of the Jews in Argentine. - - * * * * * - -There were, as far as known, but very few Jews in modern Brazil, even -under the humane and scholarly Emperor Dom Pedro II. (1825–91), who was -well versed in Hebrew, and maintained friendly relations with several -Jewish scholars in Europe. The immense country attracted but few Jews -after the Emperor was deposed and a republican form of government -instituted in 1889. There were some rumors at that time that General -Floriano Peixotto, one of the leaders of the revolution, who was -the first Vice-President and the second President (1891–94) of the -new republic, was of Jewish origin. But like the statements about -the Jewish ancestry of Christopher Columbus and many other notables, -they could never be verified, and there is not available sufficient -genealogical material in either case to prove or disprove assertions -of that nature. - -In 1900 a number of Roumanian Jews went to Brazil, but effected no -permanent settlement. A list of the leading merchants of the various -cities in Brazil, which was published by the Bureau of American -Republics about 1901, discloses a large number of names unmistakably -Jewish, most of them apparently of German origin (_Jewish Encyclopedia_, -s. v. Brazil). The formation of a Jewish community in Rio de Janeiro, -the capital of Brazil, was reported in January, 1905 (in the _South -American Journal_ of London), and a report in the _Jewish Emigrant_ -of St. Petersburg, the Russian organ of the I. C. A., five years later -(1910, No. 20), tells of Jewish merchants in many large cities of -Brazil, including Rio Grande, Pelatas, Sao Gabriel, etc., and of Porto -Alegra, Rio Grande do Sul, where a community was then about to be -organized. The existence of a synagogue in Para, “where they worship -on the festivals,” was reported in 1910. (_Jewish Chronicle_, Oct. 21, -1910.) - -The chief interest of the Jewish world in the Jews of Brazil is, -however, concentrated on the agricultural colony, Philippson, in the -state of Rio Grande, where there are now settled about 400 Russian -Jews, mostly from Bessarabia. It was founded by the I. C. A. about six -years ago, and is now under the direction of M. Leibowitz, one of its -former oldest employees in Argentine. The colony is in a flourishing -condition, and it is being constantly enlarged, while new settlements -are projected in the same part of the country. Here, too, like in -Argentine, the colony attracts some Jewish immigration, and it was -also the cause of the establishment of small Jewish settlements in the -nearby towns of Pinhal, Santa Maria, Cruz Alta, etc. The number of Jews -in Brazil is now estimated at 3,000. - -There are, according to the report mentioned at the beginning of this -chapter, about 150 Jews in Montevido, the capital of Uruguay, South -America, most of whom came there from Buenos Ayres. About half of them -are from Russia, the remainder hail from Greece, France and Alsace, and -Roumania. They are engaged in various occupations and their material -condition is not bad. Ten young Russian Jews joined the army and three -of them attained the rank of sergeant. There is hardly any religious -activity, except for a “minyan” held on Yom Kippur. Matzoth for the -Passover are brought from Buenos Ayres, and a “Mohel” is also usually -brought from there when the occasion arises. - -There are several thousand Jews scattered over the other republics of -South America, but they are mostly recent arrivals and unorganized, and -very little is known about them. It is probable that the Polish-Jewish -military adventurer, Isidor Borowski (b. in Warsaw, 1803; killed at -the siege of Herat, Afghanistan, 1837), who fought under the great -hero of South American independence, Simon Bolivar (1783–1830) in many -battles,[61] was then the only Jew in that part of the world. Even -at present, the number of Jews in the countries liberated by Bolivar -is insignificant. There are about 500 Jews in Venezuela, mostly in -the capital, Caracas, where the first Jewish congregation was founded -in 1899. (American-Jewish Year Book 5660, p. 289). According to the -writers of the American chapter in _Outlines of Jewish History_ by Lady -Magnus, for which――as stated in the preface――“Lady Magnus is in no wise -responsible,” Jewish congregations were formed in Caracas and Coro, -Venezuela, in the middle of the nineteenth century, presumably by -Jews who lived there formerly as ♦Marranos. But if these congregations -existed at all, they must have been short-lived, and it is not certain -that even the latest “first congregation” of 1899 is still in existence. - -Hardly anything is known of Jews in Bolivia or Colombia, but it -is certain that a considerable number are now to be found in the -diminutive Republic of Panama, through which the great isthmian canal -is now being cut by the United States. There were enough Jews in the -city of Panama before that time to acquire a cemetery about 1905. The -Alliance Israelite Universelle of Paris assisted a number of Moroccan -Jews to settle in Peru, where they were reported as doing well and -being better liked by the Indians than either Europeans or Chinese. -But the climate does not agree with them, and many of them leave Peru -as soon as they save a sufficient amount of money. About 100 Jewish -residents, Moroccan, French and English, who own the largest stores -and rubber plantations, are found in Iquitos, Peru, which was at one -time an Indian village. There is a small community of Russian Jews in -Lima. A number of prosperous Jewish merchants are located in Santiago, -Chile, and in other cities of that republic, but there is no record of -religious organization or of communal activities. - -The number of Jews in Mexico is estimated to be not far from 10,000, -mostly Syrians, Moroccans and French Alsatians. But as far as it is -known, there is among them no organization and no religious life except -an occasional “minyan” on the high holidays. - -There is also a slowly increasing number of Jews in Cuba, mostly at -Havana, where Moroccan and Syrian or Turkish Jews came to trade long -ago; but since it was liberated from the Spanish yoke by the United -States, Jewish immigrants from Europe, who formerly lived in the United -States, settle there and help to spread the American influence. - - - - - CHAPTER XLI. - - MEN OF EMINENCE IN THE ARTS, SCIENCES AND THE PROFESSIONS. - - - Jews who attained eminence in the world of art and of science―― - Moses J. Ezekiel――Ephraim Keyser――Isidor Konti――Victor D. - Brenner――Butensky and Davidson――Painters: Henry Mosler, - Constant Mayer, H. N. Hyneman and George D. M. Peixotto――Max - Rosenthal and his son, Albert――Max Weyl, Toby E. Rosenthal, - Louis Loeb and Katherine M. Cohen――Some cartoonists and - caricaturists――Musicians, composers and musical directors――The - Damrosch family, Gabrilowitsch, Hoffman and Ellman――Operatic - and theatrical managers and impressarios――Playwrights and - actors――Scientists: A. A. Michelson, Morris Bloomfield, Jacob - H. Hollander, Charles Waldstein and his family――Charles Gross―― - Edwin R. A. Seligman, Adolph Cohn, Jaques Loeb, Simon Flexner - and Abraham Jacobi――Fabian Franklin――Engineers: Sutro, Gottlieb - and Jacobs――Some eminent physicians and lawyers――Merchants and - financiers. - -While the social and political success of the Jews in a country are -usually taken as an indication of its liberalism and the equality of -its citizens, regardless of their creed, the contribution of Jews to -its intellectual and artistic achievements is the best proof that this -equality brings its own reward for the general good. We have seen in -the preceding chapters how the Jews of the United States assisted in -the material development of the country, how they participated in the -battles for its independence and for its preservation, and how they are -now doing their share of the country’s useful work as working men, as -business men, as professional men, etc., some of them having occupied -before, and others occupying now, prominent positions in various walks -of life. It remains now to cite several instances of Jews who attained -distinction in the noble callings of the artist and the scientist, -reflecting glory on their professions, as well as on the country of -their birth or adoption. - -Moses Jacob Ezekiel (b. in Richmond, Va., 1844), the sculptor, -now residing at Rome, is probably the greatest Jewish artist that -this country has produced. He was educated at the Virginia Military -Institute, from which, after serving as a Confederate soldier in the -Civil War, he graduated in 1866. He then studied anatomy at the Medical -College of Virginia, and in 1868 removed to Cincinnati, going from -there a year later to Berlin, where he studied at the Royal Academy -of Art. He was admitted to membership in the Berlin Society of Artists -for his colossal bust of Washington, which is now in the Cincinnati Art -Museum, and he was the first foreigner to win the Michael Beer prize. -During a visit to America in 1874 he executed in marble the group -representing “Religious Liberty”――the tribute of the Independent Order -of B’nai B’rith to the centennial celebration of American independence. -The statue was unveiled in 1876 in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia (see -the frontispiece). Upon his return to Rome Ezekiel leased a portion -of the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian (Emperor of Rome, 284–305) -and transformed them into one of the most beautiful studios in Europe. -He has been elected a member of various academies and received other -distinctions. Among his best known productions are: busts of Eve, -Homer, David, Judith and Liszt; the Fountain of Neptune, for the -town of Neptune, Italy; the Jefferson Monument, for Louisville, Ky.; -Virginia Mourning Her Dead, at Lexington, Va., and a dozen heroic -statues (of Phidias, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Rembrandt, etc.), -which are placed in the niches of the Corcoran Art Gallery at -Washington. - -Ephraim Keyser (b. in Baltimore, Md., 1850) is another prominent -Jewish-American sculptor. He was educated at the public schools and the -City College of Baltimore, and later studied at the Royal Academies of -Fine Art in Munich and Berlin. He maintained a studio in Rome from 1880 -to 1886, lived in New York from 1887 to 1893, when he settled in his -native city as instructor in modelling at the Maryland Institute Art -School, and also (since 1902) at the Rhinehart School for Sculpture. -Among his best known works are the statue of Major-General Baron De -Kalb, erected by the United States Government at Annapolis, Md., the -tomb of President Chester A. Arthur at the Rural Cemetery, Albany, -N. Y., and portrait busts of well known men. - -Isidore Konti (b. in Vienna, 1862; a. 1890) executed the most important -of his works after he came to the United States. He did much decorative, -monumental and ideal work for the Chicago Exposition in 1893, for the -Dewey Arch, the Buffalo Exposition of 1901 and the St. Louis Exposition -of 1904, having made for the latter more than twenty different groups. -Among his other works are a marble fountain at Yonkers, N. Y., where -he resides, and a group representing South America for the building -of the International Bureau of American Republics in Washington. Konti -received numerous medals for his work here and abroad, and is a member -of various societies of artists, numismatists, etc. - -Victor David Brenner (b. in Shavly, Russia, 1871; a. 1890), the -medallist and sculptor, is now best known to the general public as the -designer of the “Lincoln penny.” He received awards from the Exposition -and the Salon in Paris, 1900; from the Buffalo Exposition of 1901 and -the World’s Fair of St. Louis in 1904. He has works in the Paris Mint, -Munich Glyptothek, Vienna Numismatic Society, Metropolitan Museum of -Art of New York and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. - -Julius Butensky (b. in Novogrudek, Russia; a. 1905) is another sculptor -and medallist of the younger generation who did his best work since -he came to this country, of which the best known is the statue at the -Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York representing “The Beating of -Swords Into Plowshares”; and a medal presented to Henry Rice (b. in -Germany, 1835) on his retiring from the presidency of the United Hebrew -Charities of New York. Joseph Davidson, also a native of Russia, who -came here as a child and developed his talent in New York, is one of -the youngest sculptors whose work has attracted favorable attention. - -Henry Mosler (b. in New York, 1841), the _genre_ painter, occupies a -prominent position among American artists. He was taken to Cincinnati -when a child, and began to study art there at the age of ten. In -1863 he went to Europe, where he continued his study of art, first -in Dueseldorf and later in Paris. He came back to Cincinnati in 1866, -but returned to Europe in 1874, and spent the following twenty years -in Munich and Paris. A picture which he exhibited in the latter city -in 1879 was afterwards purchased by the French government for the -♦Luxembourg gallery, being the first work so purchased from an American -artist. - -Constant Mayer (b. in Besancon, France, 1832), the French painter, -who arrived in the United States in 1857 and lived here more than a -generation before he returned to his native country, was among the -best known artists of his time here. Herman Naphtali Hyneman (b. in -Philadelphia, 1849), who studied for eight years in Germany and France, -and George D. M. Peixotto (b. in Cleveland, O., 1857), eldest son of -Benjamin F. Peixotto, are recognized as masters among American portrait -painters, the latter also having done notable work as a mural decorator. -Other well-known Jewish artists are: Max Rosenthal (b. in Turek, -Russian-Poland, 1833; a. 1849), who was artist for the Government -during the Civil War, making illustrations for reports of the United -States Military Commission, and who afterwards etched many historical -portraits and painted a considerable number of pictures; Albert -Rosenthal (b. in Philadelphia, 1863), widely known as etcher and -painter of portraits of famous Americans, his son and pupil; Max Weyl -(b. in Germany, 1837; a. 1855), best known as a landscape painter, and -Toby Edward Rosenthal (b. in New Haven, Conn., 1848), who won medals -in Europe and America, a _genre_ and portrait painter, who resides -in Munich, Bavaria; Louis Loeb (b. in Cleveland, O., 1866; d. in New -York, 1909), a painter and illustrator; Miss Katherine M. Cohen (b. in -Philadelphia, 1859), a well-known sculptor and painter. - -Among the caricaturists or cartoonists of the day deserve to be -mentioned Frederick Burr Opper (b. in Madison, O., 1857); Henry (Hy) -Mayer (b. in Worms, Germany, 1868; a. 1886) and Reuben Lucius Goldberg -(b. in San Francisco, 1883). - -The number of Jews who achieved distinction as musicians, composers of -music, musical directors, etc., is very large, and only a few of them -can be mentioned here. Dr. Leopold Damrosch (b. in Prussia, 1832; d. -in New York, 1885) came to New York in 1871 as conductor of the Arion -Society, and soon became very successful, both as a violinist and as -conductor of his own compositions. He was successively director of the -Philharmonic Society, of the Symphony Society and of the Metropolitan -Opera House of New York. His older son, Frank H. (b. in Breslau, -Germany, 1859), who was director of music of the New York public -schools for eight years, is (since 1905) at the head of the Institute -of Musical Art in that city, which was founded by a bequest made for -that purpose by the late Solomon Loeb. A second son, Walter Johannes -Damrosch (b. in Breslau), the composer and director, married Margaret -J. Blaine, the daughter of the great American statesman, James G. -Blaine, who was a candidate for the presidency in 1884. A daughter of -Dr. Damrosch is married to David Mannes, the director of the New York -Music School Settlement. - -Among the eminent Jewish musicians who frequently visit the United -States are the pianist, Joseph Gabrilowitsch, a native of Russia, who -married the only surviving daughter of the great American humorist, -Samuel L. Clemens (1835–1910, better known as “Mark Twain”), Joseph -Hoffman, and Mischa Ellman, the violinist, likewise a native of Russia. - -In the operatic and theatrical world Jews are predominant as managers -and impressarios. The best known among them are David Belasco (b. in -San Francisco, Cal., 1859), who is also a dramatic author; Abraham -Lincoln Erlanger (b. in Buffalo, N. Y., 1860), whose brother, Mitchell -Louis, was elected a justice of the Supreme Court of New York County -in 1906; Daniel Frohman (b. in Sandusky, O., 1853), and his brother, -Charles (b. there 1860). - -Charles Klein (b. in London, Eng., 1867) is a well-known playwright, -two of whose most successful plays, “The Auctioneer” and “The Music -Master,” were especially written for David Warfield (b. in San -Francisco, 1866), also a Jew, who is in the front rank of the -theatrical profession in this country. These plays were produced under -the management of David Belasco, and it presents only one of many -such instances on the American stage in which the author, the actor -or actress playing the leading part and the manager, or impressario, -are all Jews. Oscar Hammerstein (b. in Berlin, 1847; a. 1863) is an -inventor, playwright, builder and manager of theatres and opera houses, -who has rendered valuable service in the development of operatic -productions in the United States. Sydney Rosenfeld (b. in Richmond, -Va., 1855) is the author of dramas, operettas and musical plays which -have found much favor with the public. - -In the world of science many Jews have attained eminence as original -investigators and as university professors. Professor Albert Abraham -Michelson (b. in Strelno, Germany, 1852) was brought as a child to -San Francisco, and was from there appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy -at Annapolis, Md., graduating in 1873. He was an instructor in physics -and chemistry at the Naval Academy in 1875–9, and was in the office -of the Nautical Almanac in Washington until 1880, when he resigned -from the United States Navy. After spending several years studying in -Germany and France he became professor of physics at the Case School -of Applied Science in Cleveland, O. (1883–9). For the following three -years he occupied a similar position at Clark University, in Worcester, -Mass. Since 1892 he has been professor and head of the department of -physics in the University of Chicago. He is a member of various learned -societies here and abroad, including a corresponding membership in the -Academy des Sciences of the Institute de France. He won numerous prizes -and medals for his great scientific achievements, some of which, like -the Copley Medal, awarded by the Royal Society of London, and the Nobel -Prize for physics (both in 1907), indicate that he is recognized as -one of the greatest scientists of the age. He is best known as the -discoverer of a new method for determining the velocity of light. His -younger brother, Charles Michelson (b. in Virginia City, Nev., 1869), -editor of the “Chicago American,” and their sister, Miss Miriam (b. -in Calaveras, Cal., 1870), is a dramatic critic and has also written -numerous short stories and several novels. - -Maurice Bloomfield (b. in Bielitz, Austria, 1855), who was brought here -at the age of twelve, is a prominent Sanskrit scholar and is recognized -as the chief living authority on the Atharva Veda. He has written -several important works on his special subjects, and has been professor -of Sanskrit and Comparative philology at Johns Hopkins University -in Baltimore, Md., since 1881. Jacob H. Hollander (b. in Baltimore, -1871), who was appointed by President McKinley special commissioner -to Porto Rico and later treasurer of that island colony, is professor -of political ♦economy at the same university. Professor Hollander -was appointed by President Roosevelt United States special agent on -taxation in Indian Territory (1904), and was in the following year sent -as special commissioner to the Republic of San Domingo to investigate -its public debt, and was the confidential agent of the Department of -State with respect to Dominican affairs. Since 1908 he has been the -financial adviser of the Dominican Republic. Professor Hollander takes -an active interest in Jewish affairs, and has contributed valuable -papers on Jewish history to the publications of the American-Jewish -Historical Society, of which he is an officer. - -Professor Charles Waldstein (b. in New York, 1856), the great authority -on Greek art and archeology of Cambridge University, England, is -another American-Jewish scholar of the highest type, who is interested -in Jewish matters. Among many other books, he wrote _The Jewish -Question and the Mission of the Jews_ (1899). Louis Waldstein, the -pathologist and author (b. in New York, 1853), and Martin Waldstein -(b. 1854), the chemist, are his older brothers. Lewis Einstein (b. -in New York, 1877), formerly secretary of the American Embassy in -Constantinople, and later secretary of legation in Peking, who has -recently been appointed by President Taft as United States Minister to -the Republic of Costa Rico, is a brother-in-law of Professor Waldstein. - -Charles Gross (b. in Troy, N. Y., 1857; d. 1909), professor of history -and political science at Harvard University, who was at the time -of his death considered the chief authority in the world on English -mediæval and economic history, was one of the vice-presidents of the -American-Jewish Historical Society, and contributed to our historical -literature a profound study on _The Exchequer of the Jews in the -Mediaeval Judiciary of England_, and an English translation of Dr. -Kayserling’s notable work on the participation of the Jews in the -discovery of the New World. - -Professor Edwin R. A. Seligman (b. in New York, 1862), a member of -the well known family of financiers and philanthropists, who began to -lecture on economics in Columbia University, New York, in 1885, and has -been professor of political economy there since 1891, is a recognized -authority on the question of taxation and the author of standard works -on the ♦subject. Adolphe Cohn (b. in Paris, France, 1851; a. 1875), -a son of the French-Jewish philanthropist, Albert Cohn (1814–77), -has been professor of romance, languages and literatures at Columbia -since 1891. Jaques Loeb (b. in Germany, 1859), the eminent biologist, -who taught at American universities for about twenty years, is now at -the head of the department of experimental biology in the Rockefeller -Institute for Medical Research in New York. The head of that institute -is likewise a Jew, Dr. Simon Flexner (b. in Louisville, Ky., 1863), -formerly professor of pathology and anatomy at Johns Hopkins University -(1891–99) and at the University of Pennsylvania (1899–1904). His serum -for the cure of cerebro-spinal meningitis is one of the great medical -achievements of the age. - -Dr. Abraham Jacobi (b. in Westphalia, 1830; a. 1853), who came to New -York after his participation in the revolutionary movement in Germany -in 1848, was for more than fifty years professor of the diseases of -children at the University of New York (Columbia, 1870–1902). He was -highly honored on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of his -birth in 1910, and was in the following year elected president of the -American Medical Association. - -Fabian Franklin (b. in Eger, Hungary, 1853), a nephew of Michael -Heilprin, came here as a child and was educated in Washington. He was -a civil engineer and surveyor from 1869 to 1877, and a professor of -mathematics at Johns Hopkins University, 1879–95. For the following -thirteen years he was editor of the “Baltimore News,” and is now (since -Oct., 1909) associate editor of the “New York Evening Post.” - -Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro (b. at Aix-la-Chapelle, Rhenish Prussia, -1830; a. 1850; d. in San Francisco, 1898) was educated at the -polytechnic schools of his native country, and when he came to America -he was soon attracted by the discovery of gold in California, and from -there went to Nevada. He projected and later (1869–79) built the Sutro -tunnel under the Comstock lode, and when it was finished he settled in -San Francisco, of which city he was elected Mayor in 1894. It was said -that he owned about one-tenth of the area of San Francisco, including -Sutro Heights, which he turned into a beautiful public park and which -became the property of the municipality after his death. His library, -which consisted of over 200,000 volumes, contained over 100 rare Hebrew -manuscripts. - -Abraham Gottlieb (b. in Bohemia, 1837; a. 1866; d. in Chicago, 1894) -graduated from the University of Prague, and was engaged as an engineer -in the construction of an Austrian railroad when he went to America -and settled in Chicago. When he was elected president of the Keystone -Bridge Company, he removed to Pittsburg (1877). In that capacity he -constructed many bridges in various parts of the country, including -the Madison Avenue bridge in New York City. He returned to Chicago in -1884 and was for a time connected (as consulting engineer and as chief -engineer of the construction department) with the World’s Columbian -Exposition. He also took an active interest in Jewish affairs, and was -for a time president of the Rodeph Shalom congregation in Pittsburg, -and later of Zion congregation, Chicago. - -Charles M. Jacobs (b. in Hull, England, 1850), who designed the tunnels -which connect the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Long Island Railroad -with the center of New York, is an English Jew, who is considered to be -the greatest authority on tunnel building, both here and abroad. - -Jews are well represented in the front ranks of the medical and -the legal professions. Among the eminent physicians, besides those -mentioned formerly, are men like Dr. Isaac Adler (b. in Alzey, Germany, -1849; a. 1857), Dr. Max Einhorn (b. in Grodno, Russia, 1862; a. 1884), -both of New York; Dr. Jacob da Silva Solis-Cohen (b. in New York, 1838) -and his brother, Solomon (b. in Philadelphia, 1857), who reside in -Philadelphia, and Dr. Nathan Jacobson (b. in Syracuse, N. Y. 1857) of -the Syracuse University, Samuel Untermyer (b. in Lynchburg, Va., 1858) -of New York, Louis D. Brandeis (b. in Louisville, Ky., 1856) of Boston, -Levy Mayer (b. in Richmond, Va., 1858) of Chicago, and Judge Max C. -Sloss (b. in New York, 1869, recently re-elected Justice of the Supreme -Court of California) of San Francisco, are but a few of the Jewish -lawyers who have attained eminence in their profession. - -While the number of Jews who are prominent in commerce, finance and -industry is considerable, and some families, like the Guggenheims, -Lewisohns, Schiffs or Strauses of New York, and men like Julius -Rosenwald and Edward Morris (b. 1866) of Chicago, stand high in the -world of large affairs, none of them is classed among the small number -of immensely wealthy Americans. It is rather in the diffusion of wealth, -in the large number and large proportion of well-to-do and affluent, -than in the pre-eminence of the Jew as the greatest of capitalists, -that the condition of the Jews in America is seen to the best advantage. - - - - - CHAPTER XLII. - - LITERATURE: HEBREW AND ENGLISH. PERIODICALS. - - - Curiosities of early American Jewish literature which belong - to the domain of bibliography――Rabbinical works: Responses, - commentaries and Homiletics――Hebrew works of a modern - character――Ehrlich’s Mikra Ki-Peshuto and Eisenstein’s Ozar - Israel――Neo-Hebrew Poets and literati――Jewish writers in the - vernacular――“Ghetto Stories”――Writers on non-Jewish subjects―― - Scientific works――Writers on Jewish subjects and contributors - to the “Jewish Encyclopedia”――A. S. Freidus――Non-Jewish writers - about Jews――Daly――Frederic, Davitt and Hapgood――Journalists, - editors and publishers――The Ochs brothers; the Rosewaters―― - Pulitzer and de Young of Jewish descent――The Jewish - denominational press in English――The “Sanatorium.” - -Jewish literature in the New World, as in almost all countries of the -Old World, begins with Hebrew works of a religious nature, and branches -out on one side into the special dialect which is spoken by the Jews -among themselves, and on the other――into the vernacular. The strictly -religious work is not the only one written in Hebrew for any length -of time, for there is always a movement towards secular knowledge, -which usually begins with a tendency to study Hebrew for its scientific -value rather than for its sacredness. In modern times this process -of development can be traced clearly in Germany, Holland, Poland and -Russia, as well as in America, although here we are yet at the very -beginning of our literary activity, and what has been accomplished -until the present time may in the future be of more interest to the -bibliographer than to the historian of literature. All that was written -here by Jews for Jews in Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish and English until -about the middle of the nineteenth century, including the works and -periodicals that have been mentioned in the preceding chapters, while -the authors or editors were under consideration, mostly belongs to the -domain of curiosities.[62] It was only in the second half of the last -century, when the number of Orthodox Jews and of those able to read -modern Hebrew was fast increasing, that a serious attempt to write -books for them was made in this country. - -The strictly rabbinical works, like “responses” on disputed points of -religious law or practice, commentaries on parts of the Talmud, and -homiletic works, represent the continuation of the most ancient form -of Jewish literature, and deserve to be treated first. According to Mr. -Eisenstein, the honor of being the author of the first book of American -“responsa” belongs to Rabbi ♦Joseph Moses Aronson (d. in New York, -1874), author of _Matai Moshe_, a work which, like numerous others -by orthodox rabbis of this country, was printed in Jerusalem. Other -rabbinical works, of which there were written in this country a -larger number than is generally supposed, include _Heker Halakah_ (New -York, 1886), by Rabbi Aaron Spivak, formerly of Omsk, Russia; _Sefer -Har-El_ on tractate Bikkurim of the Jerusalem Talmud by Rabbi Abraham -Eliezer Alperstein (Chicago, 1886); _Shoel Ke-Inyan_ (Jerusalem, -1895), by Rabbi Shalom Elhanan Joffe (b. in Russia, 1845); _ha-poteah, -we-hahotem_, by Rabbi Benjamin Gitelson of Cleveland (New York, -1898); _Torat Meir_ on Rashi’s Talmudical commentary, by Meir Freiman -(New York, 1904); _Yegiot Mordecai_ on the Talmud by Mordecai Garfil -(Piotrkow, 1907); _Bet Abraham_, by Rabbi Abraham Eber Hirshowitz -(Jerusalem, 1908). The venerable Rabbi A. J. G. Lesser is the author of -Bet ha-Midrash (Chicago, 1897), which contains homiletics and halaka, -and Rabbi Moses Simon Sivitz of Pittsburg (b. 1855) is the author of -four books on various rabbinical subjects, all printed in Jerusalem. -The number of works on “derush” or homiletics is still larger, and -includes ha-Emet ha-Ibriah (Chicago, 1877) and _Or Haye Lebabot_ (New -York, 1885), by Jehiel Judah Levinsohn (d. in New York, 1895); _Ateret -Zebi_, by Rabbi Zebi Lass (New York, 1902); _Nehmad le-Mare_, by Zeeb -Dob Wittenstein (Cleveland, 1903); _Shebil ha-Zohab_, by Rabbi Baruch -Kohen (New York, 1903); _Maaseh Hosheb_, by Rabbi H. S. Brodsky of -Newark (New York, 1907). _Teome Zebiah_ (Chicago, 1891), by Baruch -Ettelson (1815–91), on some difficult passages in Agadah, and _Shaare -Deah_ (New York, 1899), by Rabbi Shabbetai Sofer, belong to the same -class, though of a somewhat different nature. - -The first substantial Hebrew book printed in America, _Abne Joshua_ -(New York, 1860), by Joshua Falk ben Mordecai ha-Kohen, though -nominally a rabbinical book, actually belongs to the more secular class -of literature, which borders on _Haskalah_. The same can also be said -of Holzman’s _Emek Rephaim_ (New York, 1865), and perhaps also of _Tub -Taam_ in defense of the Jewish method of slaughtering cattle for Kosher -food, by Aaron Zebi Friedman of Stavisk (1822–66), which is said to -have been translated into English, German and French.[63] _Ha-Mahnaim_ -(New York, 1888), by Mayer Rabinowitz, and Wolf Schur’s _Nezah Israel_ -come nearer to the spirit of modernity or “enlightenment,” while -works like _ha-Dat we-ha-Torah_ (New York, 1887) and _Meziat ha-Shem -we-ha-Olam_ (ibid, 1893), by Shalom Joseph Silberstein (b. in Kovno, -1846; a. 1881), go far in the direction of free thinking. Valuable -contributions to the Science of Judaism were made by Nehemiah Samuel -Libowitz (b. in Kalna, 1862; a. 1881), author of a biography of Leon -Modena (New York, 1901) and other works; by Benzion Eisenstadt, author -of _Hakme Israel be-America_ (ibid, 1903); by Arnold B. Ehrlich (b. in -Wlodowka, Russia, 1848), author of a remarkable commentary on the Bible -which he calls _Mikra Ki-Peshuto_ (Berlin); by Abraham H. Rosenberg -(b. in Pinsk, 1838; a. 1891), of whose _Ozar he-Shemot_, a Cyclopedia -of Biblical literature, four volumes were issued in New York; and by -Judah David Eisenstein, a prolific writer in Hebrew and English, who -is now editing the _Ozar Israel_, a Hebrew Encyclopedia, of which seven -volumes have appeared, and to which the editor is himself the principal -contributor of articles. Rabbi Mordecai Zeeb (Max) Raisin (b. 1879) is -the author of a short “History of the Jews in America” in Hebrew, which -appeared in Warsaw, Poland, in 1902. - -Of literature in the restricted sense, or fiction, hardly anything -worth mentioning was written in Hebrew in America. But the study and -writing of neo-Hebrew cannot be thought of without the production of -poetry, and some collection of Hebrew songs possessing considerable -merit were published in this country, mostly by authors who acquired -their reputation abroad before arriving in this country. The poetical -works of Naphtali Hirz Imber, Menahem Mendel Dolitzki and Isaac -Rabinowitz (“Ish Kovno,” d. in New York, 1900, aged 54) belong to -that class, and the same can be said of the quasi-scientific works of -Joseph Loeb Sossnitz (1837–1910) and Ephraim Deinard (b. 1846), who has -recently compiled a list containing about six hundred names of works in -Hebrew and Yiddish which appeared in the United States. There were also -some earlier writers of Hebrew poetry in America, notably Moses Aaron -Schreiber, who composed the Centennial poem _Minhat Yehudah_ in 1876, -and the hazzan Hayyim Weinshel (1834–1900), author of _Nitei Naamonim_ -(New York, 1891). Gerson Rosenzweig, the epigramatist and author of the -excellent Talmudical parody, _Maseket America_, who has also translated -the American national songs into Hebrew, came here a young man, and his -talent is more distinctively American. - -The Hebrew periodical literature, which begins with Hirsch Bernstein’s -_ha-Zofah be-Erez ha-Hadashah_ (1870–76), which was mentioned in a -former chapter, was never securely established in this country up -to the present time. Most of the Hebrew Journals or magazines, like -Deinard’s weekly _ha-Leomi_ and Rosenzweig’s monthly _Kadimah_, existed -for less than a year. The _Hekal ha-Ibriyah_, edited by N. B. ♦Ettelson -and S. L. Marcus in Chicago, appeared from 1877 to 1879 as a supplement -to their Judeo-German _Israelitische Presse_. Michael Levi Rodkinson -(Frumkin, d. in New York, 1904, aged 59), who later prepared a -translation of parts of the Babylonian Talmud into English, edited his -weekly _ha-Kol_ in New York for about two years (1889–90). Wolf Schur’s -_he-Pisgah_, which was later called _ha-Tehiyah_, appeared irregularly -in New York, later in Baltimore, and still later in Chicago, during -the last decade of the nineteenth century. The monthly _Ner ha-Maarabi_, -edited by Abraham H. Rosenberg and later by Samuel Schwarzberg, -existed less than three years (1895–97), and another monthly, _ha-Modia -la-Hadashim_, edited by Herman Rosenthal and Abraham H. Rosenberg -(1900–1), had a still shorter life. The weekly _ha-Ibri_, which was -founded by K. H. Sarasohn and edited by Gerson Rosenzweig, appeared -regularly from 1892 to 1898. Moses Goldman (b. 1863; a. 1890) began the -publication of his _ha-Leom_ as a monthly in 1901; it later appeared -for several years as a weekly and afterwards for a short time as a -daily. Since its suspension America had no other Hebrew periodical -until the neo-Hebrew litterateur, Reuben Brainin, began to publish -in New York (1911) his weekly _ha-Deror_, of which fifteen numbers -appeared. Rosenzweig’s monthly _ha-Deborah_ and Rabbi T. Isaacson’s -_ha-Rabbani_, also a monthly, are now the Hebrew periodicals appearing -in the United States. - - * * * * * - -The contribution of Jews to American literature consists mostly of -descriptions of Jewish life, and of what has lately became known as -“ghetto stories.” Emma Lazarus, whose work was described in a preceding -chapter, did not confine herself to Jewish themes, and was followed in -this respect by other Jewish writers of her sex, like Mary Moss, the -critic; Martha Morton, the playwright, and Emily Gerson Goldsmith, the -author of Juvenile stories. Annie Nathan Meyer, the founder of Barnard -College (Columbia University, New York), also belongs to this class -of writers; while Martha Wolfenstein (1869–1906) of Cleveland, O., -belongs to the front rank of the other class of writers who attempted -to depict Jewish life in this country or abroad. To the latter class -belong Herman Bernstein (b. 1876; a. 1893), who writes on Russian -as well as on Jewish subjects; Rudolph Block (b. in New York, 1870), -the journalist, who writes of Jewish life under the pen-name “Bruno -Lessing”; Ezra S. Brudno (b. 1877); Abraham Cahan, the labor leader -and Yiddish journalist; Isaac K. Friedman (b. in Chicago, 1870), and -James Oppenheim (b. in St. Paul, Minn., 1882), who has also written on -other than Jewish subjects. To the same class may be added Rabbi Henry -Iliowizi (b. in Russia, 1850; d. in London, Eng., 1911), who has lived -in the United States more than twenty years and has written poetical -and prose works, mostly on Jewish and Oriental subjects. Bret Harte, -the poet and novelist, was of Jewish descent, but he cannot be -considered a Jewish author. - - Illustration: Martha Wolfenstein. - Photo by Elton, Cleveland, O. - -The works written on scientific subjects by Jews who have attained -eminence in various branches of knowledge, some of whom were mentioned -in the preceding chapter, are of a comparatively high standard of -value. To these may be added the works of the art critic, Bernhard -Berenson (b. in Wilna, Russia, 1865), who now resides in Italy; of -the anthropologist, Franz Boas (b. in Germany, 1858), of Columbia -University, and of the statistician, Isaac A. Hourwich (b. in Wilna, -1860; a. 1891), who is also an occasional contributor to the Jewish -press. Morris Hillquit (b. in Riga, Russia, 1869; a. 1886), the -Socialist leader and historian of Socialism in the United States, -has likewise often written for various radical periodicals. Arnold W. -Brunner (b. in New York, 1857), the architect, has written works on -“Cottages” and on “Interior Decorations.” - -A considerable number of works on a variety of Jewish subjects -were written by American-Jewish scholars. David Werner Amram (b. in -Philadelphia, 1866) wrote _The Jewish Law of Divorce_ (1896); Maurice -Fishberg (b. in Russia, 1872; a. 1890) is the author of _The Jews: -a study of Race and Environment_ (1911); Julius H. Greenstone (b. in -Russia, 1873) wrote on _The Messiah Idea in Jewish History_ (1906); -while Max J. Kohler, Geo. A. Kohut, Henry S. Morais and numerous -others wrote on American-Jewish history in separate works, in the -“Publications” and in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_. Isaac Markens (b. -in New York, 1846) is the author of _The Hebrews in America_ (1888), -whose valuable material, like that contained in the works of the others -mentioned here and in the notes, was utilized in the preparation of -the present work. Abraham Solomon Freidus (b. in Riga, Russia, 1867; -a. 1889), the eminent Jewish bibliographer at the head of the Jewish -department in the New York Public Library, which contains one of -the most valuable collections of Hebraica and Judaica in the world -(donated by Mr. Jacob H. Schiff), is the author of bibliographical -lists of Jewish subjects and of “A Scheme of Classification for -Jewish Literature,” which is of great value to Jewish bibliophiles and -librarians. Alois Kaiser (1840–1908) and William Sparger are authors -of _A Collection of the Principal Melodies of the Synagogue_ (Chicago, -1893), and Platon G. Brounoff (b. in Russia, 1863), the composer, has -published, among other works, a volume of Jewish folk-songs. - -The most notable of the books on Jewish subjects written by Gentiles in -the United States is _The Settlement of the Jews in North America_, by -Charles P. Daly (1816–99), which was one of the sources of the present -work. Dr. Madison C. Peters has written several popular and sympathetic -works about the Jews; while Harold Frederic’s _The New Exodus_ (New -York, 1892) gives a vivid description of the conditions in Russia at -the time of the renewed expulsions from Moscow and other places in 1891. -Hutchins Hapgood, author of _The Spirit of the Ghetto_, and Myra Kelly -(Mrs. Allan Macnaughton; d. 1910) are among those who attempted to -describe the Jewish immigrant in his new surroundings in the thickly -settled quarters in the first period after his arrival, when he was in -many respects unintelligible to himself, as well as to others. - -As journalists, editors and publishers of newspapers, a number of Jews -have occupied, and still occupy, prominent positions. Mordecai Manuel -Noah was one of the influential newspaper men of New York in his time -(see above p. 162). Edwin de Leon, who has also been mentioned in a -former chapter, was the editor of the _Southern Press_ of Washington, -which was at that time considered the representative organ of the -southern people at the national capital. Barnet Phillips (b. in -Philadelphia, 1828; d. 1905) was for more than thirty years connected -with the _New York Times_, which is now published by Adolph S. Ochs -(b. in Cincinnati, 1858), who married a daughter of Rabbi Isaac M. -Wise. A younger brother, George Washington Ochs (b. in Cincinnati, -1861), is now at the head of the _Public Ledger_ of Philadelphia, and -still another brother, Milton Barlow Ochs (b. in Cincinnati, 1864) was -managing editor of the _Chattanooga Times_ and is now the publisher -of the _Nashville American_. Morris Phillips (1834–1904) was the chief -editor and proprietor of _The New York Home Journal_ for a generation. -Edward Rosewater (b. in Bohemia, 1841; a. 1854; died in ♦Omaha, Neb., -1906) was for many years the editor of the _Omaha Bee_, which became -under him one of the great newspapers of the Middle West, and is now -edited by his son, Victor Rosewater (b. in Omaha, 1871), who was a -member of the Republican National Committee for the State of Nebraska. -Philip Rapoport (b. in Germany, 1845) was for nearly twenty years -editor of the _Indianapolis Tribune_. Samuel Strauss, of Des Moines, -Ia., owned the _Register and Leader_ there, and was later publisher of -the _New York Globe_. Joseph Pulitzer (b. in Hungary, 1847; a. 1864; d. -1911) of the _New York World_ was of Jewish descent, and so is Michael -Harry de Young (b. in St. Louis, 1848), who owns and edits the _San -Francisco Chronicle_. Solomon Solis Carvalho (b. in Baltimore, 1856), -the son of the artist, Solomon N. Carvalho, is the general manager -of W. R. Hearst’s newspapers. A large number of Jews hold various -positions on the staffs of newspapers and magazines all over the -country, from editors, literary, dramatic and musical critics down to -reporters. Many are also engaged in the business parts of the work, as -publishers, advertising managers, etc. - - Illustration: Mordecai Manuel Noah. - -The most important of the older Jewish periodicals in the vernacular -were mentioned in former chapters. The _Menorah Monthly_, which was -for many years edited by Moritz Ellinger (b. in Bavaria, 1830; d. in -New York, 1907), was the best Jewish magazine in America, as well as -the one which existed for the longest time. _The New Era Illustrated -♦Magazine_, which was published for several years by Isidor Lewi -(b. in Albany, N. Y., 1850), of the editorial staff of the _New York -Tribune_, was an other valuable periodical. The Zionist _Maccabean_ -is now the only Jewish monthly magazine published in America. There is -one semi-monthly, the _B’nai B’rith Messenger_, of Los Angeles, Cal. -(established 1897), and over twenty weeklies, most of which are of only -local interest. The more important are: The _American Hebrew_ of New -York, established 1879, by Philip Cowen (b. in New York, 1853); the -_American Israelite_ and its Chicago edition, founded by Isaac M. Wise -in 1854; The _Emanuel_ of San Francisco, Cal., which was founded in -1895 by Rabbi Jacob Voorsanger (b. in Amsterdam Holland, 1852; d. 1908); -_The Hebrew Standard_ of New York, established 1883 by Jacob P. Solomon -(b. in Manchester, Eng., 1838; d. in New York, 1909); _The Jewish -Comment_ of Baltimore, established 1895, of which Louis H. Levin (b. in -Baltimore, 1866) is the editor; _The Jewish Exponent_ of Philadelphia, -established 1886; _The Jewish Voice_ of St. Louis, established, in -1884, and still edited by Rabbi Moritz Spitz (b. in Hungary, 1848); the -_Reform Advocate_ of Chicago, established, in 1891, and still edited -by Dr. Emil G. Hirsch. One bi-monthly which deserves to be mentioned -is the _Sanatorium_, edited since 1907 by Dr. C. D. Spivak (b. in -Kremenchug, Russia, 1861) and published as the organ of the Jewish -Consumptives’ Relief Society of Denver, Colorado. - - - - - CHAPTER XLIII. - - YIDDISH LITERATURE, DRAMA AND THE PRESS. - - - Yiddish poets of the United States equal, if they do not excell, - the poets of the same tongue in other countries――Morris - Rosenfeld――“Yehoash” and Sharkansky――Bovshoer and other - radicals――Zunser――Old fashioned novelists――The sketch writers - who are under the influence of the Russian realistic writers―― - Abner Tannenbaum――Alexander Harkavy――“Krantz,” Hermalin, - Zevin and others――Abraham Goldfaden and the playwrights who - followed him――Jacob Gordin and the realists――Yiddish actors - and actresses――The Yiddish Press――The high position attained - by the dailies――Weekly and monthly publications. - -Judeo-German or Yiddish literature has attained in this country a -respectable state of development, and some of the better work done -here compares favorably with the same kind of work in Russia. This is -especially true of poetry and of the drama, though the first consists -mostly of ballads or short lyrical songs, and the last rarely goes -beyond adaptation. Morris Rosenfeld (b. in Russian-Poland, 1862; -a. 1886) is considered the best Yiddish poet in the New World, and -some of his works have been translated into English and several other -European languages. Solomon Bloomgarden (“Yehoash,” b. in Wirballen, -Russia, 1870; a. 1892) is hardly less gifted, and the songs of Abraham -M. Sharkansky (1867–1907) rank with the best in the language. The late -David Edelstadt, Morris Winchevsky (b. in Russia, 1856; a. 1893) and -I. Bovshoer (b. in Russia, 1874; incapacitated by sickness 1899) are -the radical poets, in whose songs the tendency often overshadows the -art. The old, popular bard, Eliakim Zunser (b. in Wilna, Russia, about -1840; a. 1889), has written some excellent songs since he came to this -country. The most Jewish, and in some respect the greatest, of all -Yiddish song writers, Abraham Goldfaden (b. in Russia, 1840; d. in New -York, 1908), belongs as a poet, even more than as a playwright, to the -Old World. - -Of the old-fashioned novelists Nahum Meyer Schaikewitz (“Shomer,” b. -in Russia, 1849; d. in New York, 1905); Moses Seifert (b. in Wilkomir, -Russia, about 1850; a. 1887) and the Hebrew poet, Dolitzki, are the -best known representatives. Those who follow new methods are mostly -sketch writers under the influence of the Russian realists, and they -include, among others: Jacob Gordin (b. in Russia, 1853; a. 1890; d. -in New York, 1909), Bernhard Gorin (“Goido,” b. in Lida, Russia, 1868; -a. 1893), Leon Kobrin (b. in Russia, 1872; a. 1892), Z. Libin (b. in -Russia, 1872; a. 1893), and David Pinski, all of whom have also written -for the stage and for various periodicals. Of the numerous writers, -or rather translators and adapters, of long sensational stories which -appeared serially in _Heften_ or in newspapers, and later in bulky -volumes, only one, the originator, deserves to be mentioned. - -This one is Abner Tannenbaum (b. in Shirwint, Russia, 1848; a. 1887), -the most useful Yiddish writer in America. His easy style made his -writings intelligible to people who were not used to read at all, -and he has thus helped to create the large audience whom he has been -instructing for more than twenty years by his translations of stories -containing much information about the physical and technical world, -like those of Jules Verne, and by his innumerable articles on popular -scientific and historical subjects. - -Alexander Harkavy (b. in Novogrudek, Russia, 1863; a. 1882) has -done much useful work for the Jewish immigrant from the Slavic -countries in another direction, by writing a number of manuals of -the English language, Yiddish-English, Russian-English, Hebrew-English, -dictionaries, vocabularies, phrase-books, conversation books, letter -writers, etc. He has also contributed much to Yiddish periodicals and -edited several of them, including _The Hebrew-American Weekly_ (New -York, 1894), in which the Yiddish text was translated into English line -by line. - -“Philip Krantz” (pen-name for Jacob Rombro, b. in Podolia, 1858; a. -1890) is the author of several instructive works, including a _History -of Culture_ and an _English Teacher for Jews_. David M. Hermalin -(b. in Vaslin, Roumania, 1865; a. 1886) has written and translated -a number of works of a variegated character, from treatises on -methaphysical subjects to extremely realistic stories. Israel J. Zevin -(“Tashrak,” b. in Russia, 1872; a. 1889), who has developed a typically -American-Jewish humor, has published a collection of his humorous -stories and descriptions of life among the semi-Americanized Jewish -immigrants. Similar collections by other humorists, like A. D. Ogus -and D. Apotheker (d. 1911), have also appeared in the last few years. -Benjamin Feigenbaum, Dr. Abraham Kaspe and other radical propagandists -have written many books and pamphlets of a quasi-scientific nature, -mostly with the object of expounding their theories to the masses. -B. R. Robbins was the publisher of a “History of the Jews” in Yiddish, -the only work of that nature compiled in America. - -The popular orator, Hirsch Masliansky (b. in Sluzk, Russia, 1856; -a. 1895), is in a class by himself as the author of a book of _Yiddish -Sermons_ (1908). - -The Yiddish drama, which grew less independently than any other part of -its literature, attained its freest and highest development here. The -melodramas and operettas of Abraham Goldfaden, several of which were -written in this country, still remain the best pieces in the entire -Yiddish repertoire, and bid fair to survive the more serious works of -the later period. A large majority of the plays written or translated -or adapted for the Yiddish stage in the United States belong to the -same class as the Goldfaden plays, and in many of them his influence -is clearly discernible. The most productive and successful playwrights -of this class are, in order of their priority in this country: Joseph -Lateiner (b. in Roumania about 1855; a. 1883), Moses Horwitz (b. -in Stanislau, Galicia, 1844; a. 1884; d. in New York, 1910), and -N. M. Schaikewitch and recently his son, Abraham S. Schomer. Rudolph -Marks (Rodkinson), Feinman and Thomashefsky, the actors; Seifert, -Sharkansky, Hermalin, Solaterevsky, Anshel Shor and others have written -occasionally, with more or less success. - -Jacob Gordin was at the head of a more serious school of Jewish -dramatists in America, whose effort to introduce――also by translations -and adaptations――the problem-play, the psychological play and the -realistic play, on the Yiddish stage, began a new epoch, which is now -practically ended. His good style and technique insured for some of -his pieces a considerable popularity for a time, and they are now -much played in the revived Yiddish theater of Russia. Z. Libin and -L. Kobrin were for a time his most consistent followers, and several -other literary men have attempted to follow in his footsteps. But aside -from the temporary popularity of some plays, the school itself, which -was founded on Russian ideals and conceptions, could not take root here. -Bernhard Gorin and David Pinski have also written plays that possess -literary merit, and so have several others who cannot be classed as -followers of the new school. - -The most talented actors and actresses of the original troupes which -the founder of the Yiddish theater, Goldfaden, organized in Roumania, -Russia and later in Austria, came to this country at various periods -during the last three decades. They, together with other able players -and managers who learned much from their American colleagues, have -brought the Yiddish stage here to a higher state of development than -it has reached in other countries. The most prominent among them are -Jacob P. Adler (b. in Odessa, 1855; a. 1886) and his wife, Sarah; -Sigmund Mogulesco (b. in Bessarabia, 1858), who arrived about the -same time; Mrs. K. Lipzin; Mrs. Bertha Kalich, who has left the -Yiddish for the American stage; Boris Thomashefsky (b. in Kiev, 1866; -a. 1881) and his wife, Bessie; David Kessler, Regina Prager Mme. Lobel, -Bernhard Bernstein, Moskovich, Thornberg (d. 1911), Mrs. Epstein, -Mrs. Abramowich, Blank, Glickman, Fishkind, Graf, Gold, Mr. and -Mrs. Tobias, Mr. and Mrs. Tanzman, and others. Moritz Morrison, the -German actor, occasionally appears on the Yiddish stage, and lately -Rudolph Schildkraut, a native of Roumania, who was for some years -prominent on the German stage in Europe, has settled as a Yiddish -actor in New York. - -Almost all the authors of Yiddish works mentioned above, and many of -the playwrights, have written, or are still writing, for the Yiddish -press, which has attained here its highest development, Influenced by -the example of the American newspapers, the Yiddish press has in the -last two decades, by the directness of its appeal, by the attention -it pays to news and questions in which its readers may be interested, -and by keeping in touch with the current of life, reached a height -far above the level of Yiddish newspapers in countries where their -potential audience is much larger. The _Jewish Gazette_ of New -York is now the oldest periodical in the world which is printed in -Hebrew characters, and the younger popular weekly, _Der Amerikaner_ -(established 1904), has probably outdistanced all Jewish magazines of -the past and the present. The Yiddish daily papers occupy the front -rank among the foreign language newspapers in the United States in -regard to circulation, probably because the sufferings of the Jews in -the Slavic countries causes the immigrant Jew to remain interested in -periodicals which bring the news and discuss the questions of his old -home country, longer than is the case with non-Jewish immigrants. The -oldest of the Yiddish dailies is the _Jewish Daily News_, now edited -by Leon Zolotkoff, founder and for many years editor of the _Jewish -Courier_ of Chicago (established as a weekly 1887; daily since 1891). -The next in age is the _Volksadvokat_, which was established as a -weekly in 1887, from which grew the _Daily Jewish Herald_ (1894), which -in 1905 became the _Warheit_, edited by Louis Miller. The socialistic -_Forward_, of which Abraham Cahan is the editor, was established in -1897, and, like the other two, appears in the afternoon. The _Jewish -Morning Journal_, the fourth New York Yiddish daily, was founded in -1901 by Jacob Saphirstein (b. in Byelostok, Russia, 1853; a. 1887), -its present managing editor; and it has also a Philadelphia namesake, -under the direction of Jacob Ginsburg. - -The _Jewish Press_ of Chicago, the _Jewish Daily Press_ of Cleveland, -O., and the _Jewish Daily Eagle_ of Montreal, Canada, of which Reuben -Brainin is the editor, complete the list of Yiddish daily papers in -America. Of the weeklies, the _Freie Arbeiter Stimme_ (est. 1899) is -mildly anarchistic; the Jewish _Labor World_ (est. 1909) is the organ -of the Chicago radicals; _Der Kibetzer_ is the oldest of the humorous -illustrated periodicals appearing in New York. There are also several -trade papers, like the _Neue Post_ of the garment workers and _Der -Yiddishe Backer_ of the bakers’ union, etc. - -The conservative _Volksfreund_, edited by ♦Joseph Selig Glick, has -appeared in Pittsburgh since 1889; _Das Yiddishe Folk_ is the Zionist -organ, established in New York 1909 and now edited by Ab. Goldberg; and -_Der Yiddisher Record_ of Chicago began to appear in 1910. The monthly -_Zukunft_ has had a checkered career since 1892, while Ch. J. Minikes’ -_Yom Tob Blätter_ has appeared several times each year since 1897. - -A class of professional writers and editors, some of them specialists -of marked ability, grew up to supply the needs of the Yiddish -publications, especially of the daily newspapers. Besides those -mentioned above it includes among others: Gedaliah Bublik, J. L. -Dalidansky, William Edlin, L. Elbe, J. Entin, Jacob Fishman, Dr. -Fornberg, Jos. Friedkin, Israel Friedman, J. Gonikman, Dr. B. Hoffman, -S. Janowski, E. and N. Kaplan, Z. Kornblith, A. Liesin (Wald), Jacob -Magidoff, Ch. Malitz, Abraham Reisen, Bernhard Shelvin, Joel Slonim, -Nathan Sovrin, J. M. Wolfson, Dr. Ch. Zhitlovsky and Israel Ziony. Of -those who departed this life, M. Bukansky (1841–1904) and John Paley -(1871–1907) deserve to be mentioned among those who contributed to the -advancement of Yiddish newspaperdom in America. - - - - - CHAPTER XLIV. - - PRESENT CONDITIONS. THE NUMBER AND THE DISPERSION - OF JEWS IN AMERICA. CONCLUSION. - - - Dispersion of the Jews over the country and its colonial - possessions――The number of Jews in the United States about - three millions――The number of communities in various States―― - The number of Jews in the large cities――The number of the - congregations is far in excess of the recorded figures――The - process of disintegration and the counteracting forces――The - building of synagogues――Charity work is not overshadowing other - communal activities as in the former period, and more attention - is paid to affairs of Judaism――The conciliatory spirit and the - tendency to federate――Self-criticism and dissatisfaction which - are an incentive to improvement――Our great opportunity here―― - Our hope in the higher civilization in which the injustices of - the older order of things may never reappear. - -Jews are living at present (1911) in every State and Territory of -the United States, and there are small communities in Hawaii, Porto -Rico and the Philippine Islands. There are some forms of Jewish -organizations, synagogues, lodges or cemetery associations in more than -750 separate localities, from places where there is only a “minyan” -on the High Holidays at the beginning of the Jewish year, to the -immense Jewish community of New York City, which is estimated to -consist of nearly 1,000,000 souls. Wherever actual figures as to -the number of Jewish inhabitants in smaller places and the number -of synagogues in larger cities are obtained, they are usually far in -excess of the published figures and estimates, and there seems to be -justification for placing the number of Jews in the country at not -far below 3,000,000, if not actually at that number. While the largest -communities, as well as the largest number of communities, remain in -the East and the Middle West, the dispersion is much more extensive -than is generally supposed. - -There are, for instance, nearly forty cities and towns in Texas which -have Jewish communities; other Southern States, like Alabama, Louisiana, -Mississippi and Virginia, have each about, or nearly, half that number, -and Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee -about ten each. Each of the new States of Arizona and New Mexico have -three or four Jewish communities, Oklahoma has five; Florida, in the -extreme South, and Maine, the furthest North, each have about a half -dozen; California has more than both of them together; Washington has -three, and Oregon one. Of the other far Western States Utah has two -communities, Montana two, Nevada one, Idaho one, Wyoming one and -Colorado nine. - -Coming to the nearer Western States and toward the border States, we -find four communities in Nebraska, eight in Kansas, twelve in Missouri, -thirteen in Iowa, eight in Kentucky and five in West Virginia. North -Dakota has five, Minnesota eight, while Wisconsin, with nineteen, and -Michigan, with twenty-four, show the result of proximity to the great -Central States where Jews have been settled in considerable numbers for -the last two generations. Among those States Illinois has the largest -number of Jews, owing to the great community of Chicago, while the -number of cities containing Jewish communities――twenty-three――is -somewhat smaller than that of Indiana, which has twenty-six, and of -Ohio, with its twenty-seven. We notice the same in the two greatest -States in the East, where, if we consider Greater New York City as -one community, the number of places containing Jewish organizations -is slightly less than in Pennsylvania, which has sixty-two such -places. New Jersey has more than forty, and of the New England States -Massachusetts leads with thirty-five, and Connecticut is second, having -twenty. Rhode Island has seven; Vermont and New Hampshire four each. -The list is completed with one community in the District of Columbia, -five in Maryland and one in Delaware.[64] - -Philadelphia and Chicago are, besides New York, the only two cities -which contain about 100,000 or more Jews each. Boston has about -three-fourths of that number, Baltimore, Cleveland and St. Louis -about 50,000 each, and after them come in the order named: Newark, San -Francisco, Pittsburg and Cincinnati (with about 30,000 each); Detroit, -Buffalo, Providence and Jersey City, each having about half of that -number, while Rochester, Syracuse, New Haven, Milwaukee, Louisville, -New Orleans and Kansas City belong to the class which have 10,000 or -more. The twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul would belong to that -class if they were considered as one, which they really are. Washington, -the national capital, belong to the class of cities having between -5 and 10,000 Jews, which includes Albany, N. Y.; Columbus, Ohio; -Dallas, Tex.; Denver, Colo.; Pall River, Mass.; Hartford, Conn.; -Indianapolis, Ind.; Los Angeles, Cal.; Memphis, Tenn.; Omaha, Neb.; -Paterson, N. J; Portland, Ore.; Scranton, Pa.; Seattle, Wash., and -Trenton, N. J. There are some old and important settlements containing -less than 5,000, but the number which would have to be included in a -class of communities of that size is too large to be mentioned. - -Congregations are continually being organized and synagogues built in -localities where none existed before, thus showing a gradual dispersion -of Jews to all parts of the country, while new houses of worship in -the large cities usually owe their erection to consolidation or to -the settlement in new neighborhoods. But only the buildings which -are entirely devoted to religious services are apt to be noticed by -those making records or gathering statistical material, while the small -congregation which worships in a private dwelling is usually overlooked. -The statistics about Jewish congregations in the United States are for -this reason more defective than the figures about any other phase of -Jewish activity, and the total given by the above mentioned Year Book -(for 5669, p. 65), _i. e_., 1745, for the entire country, should be -doubled to be nearer the truth, even if the lowest estimate of the -number of Jews in the country is accepted as the most probable one. - -If it must be admitted that a process of disintegration is going on, -in which the pessimist sees something worse than a transformation or -re-adjustment to new conditions in a new world, it is, on the other -hand, obvious that a strong effort is made to counteract the forces of -dissolution. The various elements of the community, representing many -countries and different strata of immigration, are coming together in -a conciliatory spirit, as if instinctively impelled to co-operate. The -widespread activity in the building of synagogues, in which many whose -attitude was formerly indifferent, and even hostile, now participate, -is only one phase of the attempt to preserve Judaism in this country. -Much is done for charity and for Jewish education, the latter receiving -more attention than ever before. The public school systems of most of -the larger cities, following New York’s example, have taken over the -largest part of the work which was done before in Jewish institutions -to Americanize the immigrant. Not only the ♦proportion, but the actual -number, of the dependents on charity is decreasing, and while the needs -of Jewish charitable institutions are still great, more attention can -now be paid to specifically Jewish matters than at the time when the -problem of the material wants of the immigrants was overshadowing every -other communal activity. - -The attempts to organize on a more general scale, and to consolidate -or federate existing organizations, which are frequently made and are -more often successful than in the preceding periods, are the clearest -manifestation of the spirit of the times in American Jewry. In most -of the large cities outside of New York the important local Jewish -charities are now federated, and the plan of federation is continually -gaining in favor. The federations, of which there are now more than a -dozen, and many other benevolent institutions of large and of smaller -communities, are represented in the National Conference of Jewish -Charities of the United States (organized 1899). - -There is also noticeable in our communal life, as in American -public life in general, that tendency to self-criticism which often -degenerates into slander――that eternal dissatisfaction with things -accomplished and with present conditions, which implies a sincere -desire to achieve still better results. While this discontent and the -poor opinion which many of us have of the spiritual condition of the -Jews in America are of immense value as incentives to improvement, it -dims the eye of the foreign observer, especially if he comes from a -country where complacency and self-praise are the rule. It may still be -too early to summarize the communal activities of the Jews in America, -or to attempt to indicate how far we have approached the solution of -the most pressing problems. But signs of throbbing life are visible -everywhere, and the interest of the individual Jew in Jewish affairs -is increasing. There is, therefore, every reason to believe and to -hope that the opportunity which is afforded here to set the ♦Jewish -house in order――the best, and perhaps the first, in the diaspora――will -be utilized to its full extent by the future generations of native -American Jews. - -We are happy to have no Jewish problem here, in the sense in which -the term is understood in the backward countries of the Old World. We -need not waste a part of our best energies in repelling attacks from -an anti-Semitic press or a Judophobe party, and our usefulness to -ourselves as well as to our neighbors is thereby enhanced. Members of -strange and hostile races and nationalities get along together in this -country much better than anywhere else in the past or the present time, -and their native children emerge from the “melting pot” united by a -patriotism and a desire for improved conditions and improved relations -which characterizes the American. The secularity of the Government -and the diversity of religious beliefs preclude the spread of the -denominational bigotry which is the real cause of the persecution -of the Jews in other countries; while the liberty and equality which -are vouchsafed to every citizen must themselves be lost before the -unfavorable conditions which prevail elsewhere can confront us here. -The Jew can become an American and at the same time preserve his -religious distinctiveness, which he can lose only by his own negligence -or disloyalty. Let us hope that those who now earnestly work to -strengthen and build up Judaism in America will be successful, and that -the fate or Divine Providence which has preserved us for thousands of -years brought us here to participate under new circumstances in the -advancement to a higher civilization in which the injustices of the -older one may never reappear. - - - - - INDEX. - - - A - - Aaron, Jonas, 76 - - Aboab, 51 - - Aboab da Fonseca, Isaac, 38, 39, 40 - - Aboab, Raphael, 45 - - Abraham, Noah, 93 - - Abraham, Pinhas, 61 - - ♦Abramowitz, Rev. Herman, 384 - - Abrams family of New Hampshire, 109 - - Abrams, John, 110 - - Abrams, William, 110 - - Abravanel, Don Isaac, 12, 17 - - Adams, Charles Francis, 225 - - Adams, Dr., 117 - - Adee, A. A., 313, 314 - - Adler, Sergt. Abraham, 163 - - Adler, Cyrus, 200 (Note), 292, 340, 344, 356, 369, 370, 371, 375 - - Adler, Dankmar, 151 - - Adler, Elkan N., 22, 24 - - Adler, Dr. Felix, 177 - - Adler, Jacob P., 421 - - Adler, Rev. Liebman, 151, 155, 208 - - Adler, Dr. Samuel, 176–77 - - Adler, Sarah, 421 - - Adrian. See Hadrian - - Agricultural Colonies, 266 ff. (in Canada), 386 - (in Argentine), 390 - - Aguilar, Rabbi Jacob d’, 38, 40 - - Aguilar, Raphael d’, 38 - - Alabama, 370, 425 - - Alamo Monument, 160 - - Alaska Commercial Co., 157 - - Albany, N. Y., 175, 253, 426 - - Album, Rabbi Zebi Simon, 281 - - Albuquerque, Alphonso d’, 18 - - Albuquerque, Francisco d’, 18 - - Alcoran, 23 - - Aleinikoff, Nicholas, 287 - - Aleppo, 30 - - Alexander II., Emperor of Russia, 254 - - Algeciras, Spain, Conference of, 362 - - Algiers, Noah as American Consul there, 129 - - Alliance, N. J., 269 - - Alperstein, Rabbi Abr. Eliezer, 282, 406 - - Ambrosius, Moses, 63 - - American Jewish Committee, 288, 366–72 - - American Jewish Historical Society, 291 - - American, Sadie, 296 - - Amerigo, see Vespucci - - Amesbury, Mass., 110 - - “Am Olam,” 262 - - Amram, David Werner, 413 - - Andrade, ♦Salvatore d’, (Note), 65, 67 - - Andron, S., 376 - - Anixter, Rabbi ♦Eliezer, 282 - - Annapolis, Md., Naval Academy of, 333 - - Anti-Jewish Riots, see “Pogroms” - - Apotheker, David, 420 - - Appel, Major Aaron, 332 - - Appel, Major Daniel M., 332 - - “Ararat,” City of Refuge for the Jews on Grand Island, 132 - - Argentine, 27 - - Argentine, 387 ff. - - Aries, Isaac, 45 - - Arizona, 370, 425 - - Arkansas, 328, 370, 425 - - Aronson, Rabbi Joseph Moses, 406 - - Arthur, President Chester A., 323, 396 - - Aryans, 3 - - Ash, Rabbi Abraham Joseph, 189, 190, 191 - - Ashinsky, Rabbi Aaron Mordecai, 282 - - ♦Ashkenazi, Dr. Herbert, 389 - - Astor, John Jacob, 70 - - Augusta, Ga., 144 - - Austria, 331 - - Autos da fe, 26, 27, 42 - - Avila, Bishop of, 13 - - Avilar, Capitein Jacob, 46 - - - B - - Bacher, Prof. Wilhelm, 340 - - Bahia, 34, 35 - - Baker, E. M., 370 - - Balatshano, Roumanian Minister, 345 - - Baltimore, Md., 125 ff., 176, 184, 234, 252, 282, 287, 354, 372, - 378, 426 - - Bamberger, Herman, 152 - - Bamberger, Leopold, 295 - - Bamberger, Simon, 140 - - Barbadoes, 55–57 - - Baron de Hirsch Fund, 269, 289 - - Baron de Hirsch Institute, 385 - - Barondess, Joseph, 299, 371 - - ♦Barsimson, Jacob, 63 (Note), 66 - - Basle, Switzerland, 201 - - Baum, Abba, 190 - - Bavaria, 243 - - Bayard, M. L., 269 - - Bayard, Thomas F., 312 - - Beaconsfield, Earl of, 227 - - Beeston, Sir William, Governor of Jamaica, 58 - - Belasco, David, 399 - - Belinfante, 60 - - Belisario, Family, 60 - - Belleville, Ont., 386 - - Belmonte, Benvenide, Poetess, 46 - - Bender, 357 - - ♦Bender, Canada, 386 - - Benderly, Dr. S., 372 - - Bendit, Solomon, 154 - - Benedict Brothers, 150 - - Benjamin, Aaron, 93 - - Benjamin, Abraham, 189 - - Benjamin, Alfred D., 385 - - Benjamin, Eugene S., 289 - - Benjamin, Judah P., 148, 221–28 - - Benjamin, M. of Surinam, 76 - - Benjamin, Natalie St. Martin, 222 - - Benjamin, Philip and Rebeccah de Mendez, 221 - - Benjamin, Samuel, 383 - - Benjamin, Rev. Wolf, 107 - - ♦Bennett, James Gordon, 133 - - Berenson, Bernhard, 410 - - Berg, Emanuel M., 155 - - Berkowitz, Dr. Henry, 295 - - Berlin, Ont., 386 - - Bernal, Family, 60 - - ♦Bernal, physician, 14 - - Bernays, Consul to Zürich, 205 - - Bernheim, Isaac W., 370, 371 - - Bernstein, Bernhard, 422 - - Bernstein, Herman, 410 - - Bernstein, Hirsch, 256 - - Bessarabia, riot of, 344 - - Bien, Julius, 247 - - Bijur, Nathan, 289, 369, 371 - - Bindona, Joseph, 381 - - Blaine, James G., 311, 398 - - Blaine, Margaret, 398 - - Blank, actor, 422 - - Blaustein, David, 287 - - Bloch or Block, family of St. Louis, 142 - - Bloch, H. F., 157 - - Bloch, Wolf, 142 - - Block, Eliezer, 142 - - Block, Rudolph, 410 - - Bloomfield, Gen. Joseph, 123 - - Bloomfield, Prof. Maurice, 400 - - Bloomgarden, Solomon, 418 - - Blum, Isidor (quoted), 124 - - Blumenberg, Gen. Leopold, 234, 235 - - B’nai B’rith, Ind. Order, 247 - - Boas, Prof. Franz, 410 - - Bock, Mathias, Governor of Curaçao, 51 - - Bolivar, Simon, 392 - - Bolivia, 392 - - Bories, Rev. H., 157 - - Borowski, Isidor, 392 - - Bosquila, Rabbi, 75 - - Boston, Mass., 252, 282, 287, 362, 378, 426 - - Bousignac, Capt. Henri de, 228 - - Bovshoer, T., 418 - - Brackenridge, Thomas, 125, 126 - - Braganza, family, owners of Jamaica, 57 - - Brainin, Reuben, 409, 423 - - Brandeis, Louis D., 403 - - Brandford, Canada, 386 - - Bravo, 60 - - Bravo, Alexander, 60 - - Brazil, 17, 29, 34, 396 - - Breckenridge, Minister to Russia, 313, 314 - - Brenner, Victor D., 396 - - Bresler, C. F., 154 - - Bresler, Louis, 154 - - Bridgetown, Barbadoes, 57 - - British American Colonies, naturalizations in, 60 - - British Columbia, 383 - - British West Indies, 55 - - Brittannia, 3 - - Brodsky, Rabbi H. S., 407 - - Brooklyn, N. Y., 253 - - Brounoff, Platon G., 413 - - Brudno, Ezra S., 410 - - Brunner, Arnold W., 410 - - Brussels, Belgium, 366 - - Bublik, G., 423 - - Buchanan, President James, 203 - - Bucharest, 352 - - Buckingham, Solomon, 138 - - Buenos Ayres, Argentine, 387 ff. - - Buffalo, N. Y., 253, 426 - - Bukansky, M., 423 - - Burgos, 15 - - Burgoyne, General, 382 - - Burlington, Ia., 153 - - Bush, David, 108 - - Bush, Isidor, 198 - - Bush, Lewis, 90, 108 - - Bush, Mathias, 76 - - Bush, Solomon, 90 - - Butensky, Julius, 396 - - Butler, Pierce (Note), 222 - - Buttenwieser, Dr. M., 375 - - Butzel, Henry M., 370 - - - C - - Caballera, Diego, 21 - - Cahan, Abraham, 299, 410, 422 - - Calgary, Alberta (Can.), 386 - - California, 155, 234, 328, 370, 403, 425 - - Calle, Alphonso de, 14 - - ♦Campanall, Mordecai, 73 - - Canada, 84, 380 ff. - - Canon Law, 4 - - Cantors, their temporary prominence, 284 - - Capelle, Joseph, 109 - - Caplan, P., 287 - - Carabajal (Carvalho?), family, 25 - - Caracas, Venezuela, 392 - - Cardoze, 51 - - Cardozo, family, 60 - - Cardozo, Abraham Nunez, 79 - - Cardozo, E. A. (quoted), 345 - - Cardozo, Isaac, 156 - - Carmel, N. J., 269 - - Caro, Joseph, 15 - - Carregal, Rabbi R. H. I., 75 - - Carrilho, Ishac, 47 - - Carrilon, Rabbi B. C., of Surinam, 49 - - Carvalho of California, 155 - - Carvalho, Isaac, 47 - - Carvalho, S., 414 - - Carvalho, Solomon N., 417 - - ♦Caseras, Henrique de, 45 - - Caseres, Benjamin de, 55 - - Caseres, Henry de, 55 - - Cass, Lewis, 204 - - Cassard, French Commander, 46 - - Cassel, Selig (Dr. Paulus), 6 - - Casthunho, Isaac, 37 - - Castille, 5 - - Castle, Representative Curtis H., 315 - - Castro, Abraham de, 40 - - Castro County, Tex., 161 - - Castro, Henry, 161 - - Castroville, Tex., 161 - - Catholics, 86, 110, 117, 320 - - Cayenne, 40, 43, 53, 56 - - Ceuta, North Africa, 11 - - Chan (Cahn?), S. Joseph, 140 - - Charitable Institutions, 248–9, 270 - - Charities, National Conference of Jewish, 428 - - Charles I., King of Roumania, 344 - - Charles V., Emperor, 21, 22 - - Charleston, S. C., 79, 102, 139, 168, 251 - - Chase, Gov. Salmon P., 194 - - Chatham, N. B., 386 - - Chaviz, 51 - - Chicago, Ill., 150 ff., 177, 249, 252, 272, 281, 282, 287, 372, - 378, 403, 425, 426 - - Chili, 26 - - Chipman, S. Logan, 312 - - Chuck, ♦Jerahmel, 190 - - Church Councils, 4 - - Cid, Israel Calabi, 45 - - Cincinnati, O., 137 ff. 175, 244, 378, 426 - - Cisneros, Cardinal Ximenes de, 21 - - Civil War, 218 ff. - - Claiburn, Ala., 144 - - Clara, group of colonies, Argentine, 389 - - Clay, Henry, 200 - - Clemens, Samuel L. (“Mark Twain”), 398 - - Clement VII., Pope, 29 - - Clement VIII., Pope, 26 - - Cleveland, President Grover, 308, 325, 354, 362 - - Cleveland, O., 141 - - Cobral, Pedro Alvarez, 17 - - Cochin, 18 - - Coen, Abraham, 39 - - Cohen, family of Richmond in Baltimore, 125 - - Cohen, six brothers in the Confederate Army, 229 - - Cohen, three brothers from Arkansas, 230 - - Cohen, Emanuel, 370 - - Cohen, Rev. G. M., 141, 142 - - Cohen, Rev. Henry (quoted), 161 - - Cohen, Rev. Hirschel, 385 - - Cohen, Israel, 190, 191 - - Cohen, Israel I., 117 - - Cohen, Jacob, 65 - - Cohen, Rev. Jacob, 141 - - Cohen, Jacob, 107 - - Cohen, Jacob I., 117 - - Cohen, Jacob I., Jr., 117 - - Cohen, Jacob J., 125, 127 - - Cohen, Rev. Jacob Raphael, 106, 382 - - Cohen, Leib, 190 - - Cohen, Lewis, 138 - - Cohen, Max, 154 - - Cohen, Moses, 79 - - Cohen, Rabbi, 75 - - Cohn, Prof. Adolphe, 401 - - Cohn, Albert, 401 - - Cohn, Joseph H., 369 - - Cohn, Miss Katherine M., 398 - - Cohn, Morris M., 370 - - Cohn, Nathan, 370 - - Colorado, 269, 328, 370 - - Columbia, 392 - - Columbus, Christopher, 12, 13, 15, 16, 57, 391 - - Columbus, O., 426 - - Commons, John R., 299 - - Cone, ♦Ceasar, 370 - - Connecticut, 269, 328, 371, 425 - - Cook, Commander Simon, 333 - - Cooper, Israel, 284 - - Corcos, Rev. J. M., 61 - - Cordoba, Argentine, 389 - - Cordova, de, family, 60 - - Cordova, Emanuel de, 381 - - Cordova, Jacob de, 161 - - Cordova, Pedro de, 21 - - ♦Cordoza, Hakam de, 61 - - Cordozo, J. M., 200 - - Coro, Venezuela, 392 - - Coronel, David, Senior, 37 - - Costa, Abraham da, 79 - - Costa, Bento da, 45 - - Costa, David de, 50 - - Costa, Isaac da, 45, 79 - - Costa, Joseph da, 63 (note), 65 - - Costa Rica, 401 - - Council of Jewish Women, 296 - - Cousins, Robert G., 361 - - Coutinho, ♦Henriques, 51 - - Coutinho, Isaac ♦Jerajo, 56 - - Cowen, Philip, 417 - - Cox, Representative Samuel S., 309, 312 - - Cozens, Isaac, 154 - - Cozens, Sophie, 154 - - Craig, Sir John, 382 - - ♦Cresques, Jafuda (Judah), 11 - - Cromwell, Oliver, 55 - - Cruz Alta, Brazil, 392 - - Cuba, 14, 393 - - ♦Cufo, see Hucefe - - Curaçao, 40, 51, 52–54 - - Cutler, Harry, 371 - - - D - - Dalidansky, J. L., 423 - - Dallas, Tex., 426 - - Daly, Judge Charles P. (quoted), 63, 69, 256, 413 - - Damascus Affair, 194–98 - - Damrosch, Frank H., 398 - - Damrosch, Dr. Leopold, 398 - - Damrosch, Walter J., 398 - - Daniels, Aaron, 148 - - Dark Ages, 1 - - Davenport, Ia., 153 - - David, Dr. Aaron Hart, 383 - - David, David, 382, 383 - - David, Lazarus, 381, 382 - - Davidson, Israel, 375 - - Davidson, Joseph, 397 - - Davidson, Samuel, 142 - - Davilar, Samuel Uz, 47 - - Davis, Jefferson, 224 - - Davis, Mrs. Jefferson, 226 - - Davitt, Michael, 356 - - Dawson, Yukon Territory, 386 - - De Haas, Jacob, 337 - - Deinard, Ephraim, 302, 408 - - Delaware, 108, 371, 426 - - De Leon, David Camden, 162, 230 - - De Leon, Edwin, 162, 414 - - Dembitz, Lewis N., 215 - - Denver, Col., 426 - - Des Moines, Ia., 153 - - Detroit, Mich., 154, 252, 426 - - Deutsch, Prof. Gotthard, 340, 375 - - De Young, Michael H., 414 - - Dias, Lewis, 56 - - Dinkelspiel, Rev. J., 143 - - District of Columbia, 328, 371, 426 - - Dittenhoefer, A. J., 216 - - Dobsevage, A. D., 305 - - Dohm, Christian Wilhelm v., 49 - - Dolitzki, M. M., 305, 408, 421 - - Dongan, Governor, 67 - - ♦Dungan, Irvine, 312 - - Dorf, Samuel, 287, 371 - - Drachman, Dr. Bernard, 371, 407 (note) - - Drago, Isaac, 45 - - Dreyfus Case, 334–5 - - Dropsie College, 375 - - Dropsie, Gabriel, 162 - - Dropsie, Moses A., 375 - - Dubs, President of Switzerland, 205 - - Dubuque, Iowa, 153 - - Ducachet, Dr., 198 - - Duffield, John, 107 - - Dutch, 30, 32, 33 - - Dutch Guiana, see Surinam - - Dutch West India Company, 35, 63 - - Dutch West Indies, 51 - - Dyer, Isidor, 160 - - Dyer, Leon, 160, 163 - - - E - - East Jersey Bill of Rights, 109 - - Easton, Pa., 76 - - Ebron, David, 26 - - Eckman, Rev. Julius, 157 - - Edelstadt, David, 418 - - Edlin, William, 423 - - Educational Institutions, 248–9, 276 - - Ehrlich, Arnold B., 408 - - Einhorn, Dr. David, 175, 178, 203, 208 - - Einhorn, Dr. Max, 403 - - Einstein, Lewis, 401 - - Einstein, Col. Max, 236 - - Eisenstadt, Ben Zion, 407 - - Eisenstein, J. D., 189, 192, 406, 408 - - Elbe, L., 423 - - Eliassof, H. (quoted), 152, 282 - - Elkus, Abr. I., 289 - - Ellinger, Moritz, 295, 417 - - Ellman, Mischa, 398 - - Elmira, N. Y., 233 - - Emanuel, Albert, 159 - - Emanuel, Rev. Baruch M., 143 - - Emanuel, Gov. David, 144 - - England, 137, 139, 227, 381 - - Englander, Dr. Henry, 375 - - Enriques, Jacob Joshua Bueno, 58 - - En-Riquez, Joshua Mordecai, 52 - - Entin, J., 423 - - Ephraim, Rabbi, 15 - - Epstein, Elias, 154 - - Epstein, Mrs., 422 - - Erlanger, Abraham L., 399 - - Erlanger, M. L., 399 - - Entre Rios, Argentine, 389 - - _Ersch und Gruber’s_ Encyclopedia, 6 - - Española, 20 - - Ethiopia, 3 - - Ettelson, Baruch, 407 - - Ettelson, N. B., 259, 409 - - Etting, Reuben, 125 - - Etting, Solomon, 107, 124, 125, 127 - - Evansville, Ind., 152, 252 - - Evarts, William M., 345 - - Expulsion from Portugal, 5 - - Expulsion from Spain, 5, 13 - - Ezekiel, Jacob (quoted), 117, 194 - - Ezekiel, Moses Jacob, 395 - - - F - - Fairbanks, Charles W., Vice-President, 362 - - Falk, Joshua, 190, 407 - - ♦Falmouth, Jamaica, 60 - - Faquin, Juceff, 11 - - Faro, Solomon ♦Gabay, 58 - - Fass, Rev. M., 384 - - Fassbinder, Rev. Wolf, 141 - - Fay, Theo. S., 202, 203, 204 - - Federation of American Zionists, 336 - - Federations, 379 - - Feigenbaum, Benjamin, 420 - - Feinman, Sigmund, 421 - - Felsenthal, Dr. Bernhard, 152, 177–78, 208 - - Ferdinand of Aragon, 5, 12 - - Ferrena, Gaspar Diaz, 37 - - Fiddletown, Cal., 156 - - Field, Dr. Henry M., 83 (note) - - Fillmore, President Millard, 199 - - Financiers, 404 - - Fine, Solomon, 153 - - Fischel, Harry, 371 - - Fishberg, Dr. Maurice, 413 - - Fishkind, 422 - - Fishman, Jacob, 423 - - ♦Fishman, William, 371 - - Fitzgerald, John F., 315 - - Fleischer, S. S., 289 - - Flexner, Dr. Simon, 402 - - Florence, family, 144 - - Florida, 370, 425 - - Fogg, George G., 204, 205 - - Folk, Rev. M., 154 - - Folsom, Cal., 156 - - Fonseca, family, 60 - - Fonseca, Rev. Abraham Lopez de, 53 - - Fonseca, Alaus de, 45 - - Fonseca, Fernandez de, 381 - - Fonseca, Isaac de, 52 - - Fonseca, Joseph Nunez de, 52 - - Ford――Committee on ♦Immigration, 324 - - Foreman, Edwin G., 370 - - Fornberg, Dr., 423 - - Foster, John W., 308, 310 - - Forsyth, John, 196, 197 - - Fort Wayne, 152 - - France, 85, 335, 347, 381 - - Franco, Alexander, 152 - - Franco, Daniel, 152 - - Franco, Solomon, 72 - - Frank, Abraham, 157 - - Frank, Isaac W., 370 - - Franklin, Benjamin, 107 - - Franklin, Prof. Fabian, 402 - - Franklin, Dr. Leo M., 154 - - Franklin, Louis, 155 - - Franks, Abr., 381, 328 - - Franks, David, 76, 90, 109 - - Franks, David S., 88, 89 - - Franks, Isaac, 89 - - Franks, Jacob, 154 - - Franks, Jacob S., 382 - - Fraso, Jacob, 55 - - Fraternal Organizations, 247–8 - - ♦Frazon or Frazier, Joseph, 72 - - Fredric, Harold, 413 - - Freemasonry, see Masonry - - “Free Sons of Benjamin,” 247 - - “Free Sons of Israel,” 242 - - ♦Freiberg, J. Walter, 370 - - Freidus, A. S., 413 - - Freiman, Meir, 406 - - French Revolution, The, 116, 122 - - Frera, David, 63 (note), 65 - - Friedberg, Albert M. (quoted), 109, 193, 199, 208, 292, 327 - - Friedenwald, Dr. Aaron, 337 - - Friedenwald, Dr. Harry, 337, 371 - - Friedenwald, Dr. Herbert, 299 - - Friedkin, Joseph, 423 - - Friedlander, Aaron Joel, 154 - - ♦Friedlaender, Dr. Israel, 371, 375 - - Friedlander, Moritz, 156 - - Friedman, Aaron Zebi, 407 - - Friedman, Isaac K., 410 - - Friedman, Israel, 423 - - Friedman, Joseph, 154 - - Friedman, Lee N., 371 - - Friedman, Col. Max, 237 - - Frohman, Charles, 399 - - Frohman, Daniel, 399 - - Fuld, Rabbi, 142 - - Funk and Wagnalls, 340 - - Funk, Rev. Isaac K., 340 - - - G - - Gabai, David, 59 - - Gabrilowitsch, Joseph, 398 - - Galveston, Tex., 160, 161, 230 - - Gama, see Vasco da Gama - - Garcia, Hananiel, 381 - - Garfil, Mordecai, 406 - - Gaspar da Gama, 17, 18 - - Gaston, William, 119 - - Georgia, 77, 370, 425 - - Gerechter, Rev. Emanuel, 154 - - Germanic Kingdoms, 3 - - German-Jewish Congregations, 251, see also Union of American - Hebrew Congregations - - German Period of Immigration, 135 ff., 243 - - Germany, 347 - - Gerstle, Lewis, 157 - - Giers, M. de, 310 - - Ginsberg, Jacob, 422 - - Ginzberg, Dr. Lewis, 340, 375 - - Gittelson, Rabbi Benjamin, 406 - - Glace Bay, C. B. (Can.), 286 - - Gladstone, William E., 227 - - Glazer, Rev. S. (quoted), 153 - - Glick, Joseph Selig, 423 - - Glickman, Ellis, 422 - - ♦Gliddon, John, 196 - - Goa, 17, 30 - - Goldberg, A., 423 - - Goldberg, R. L., 398 - - Goldfaden, Abraham, 419, 420, 421 - - Goldfogle, Henry Mayer 315, 317, 361 - - Goldman, Dr. Julius, 289 - - Goldman, Moses, 409 - - Goldsmid, Sir Francis H., 60 - - Goldsmith, brothers in the Confederate Army, 230 - - Goldsmith, Emily Gerson, 410 - - Goldsmith, I., 143 - - Goldstein, Rev. S., 384 - - Goldstucker, A., 143 - - Gomez, family, 60 - - Gomez, Louis Moses, 68 - - Gonikman, J., 423 - - Gootman, A. H., 202 - - Gordin, Jacob, 419, 421 - - Gorin, Bernhard, 419, 421 - - Gottheil, Dr. Gustave, 177, 292, 295 - - Gottheil, Prof. Richard (note), 42, 292, 336, 340 - - Gotthelf, B. H., 143 - - Gottlieb, Abraham, 403 - - Gottlieb, J., 150 - - Grace, William R., 262 - - Gradis, Abraham, 381 - - Gradis, David, 381 - - Graf, actor, 422 - - Grant, Pres. U. S., 234, 262, 344 - - Grass Valley, 156 - - Gratz, Bernard, 76, 106, 124 - - Gratz, Michael, 76 - - Gratz, Rebeccah, 107 - - Gratz, Simon, 117 - - Great Britain, 347, 351 - - Greece, 3 - - Green, Abraham, 148 - - Green, S. Hart, 386 - - Green Bay, Wis., 154 - - Greenebaum, Henry, 152 - - Greenebaum, N. E., 370 - - Greensfelder, Isaac, 152 - - Greenstein, Elijah, 190 - - Greenstone, Julius H., 413 - - Greer, Bishop David, 362 - - Gries, Dr. Moses J., 141 - - Gross, Prof. Charles, 11, 401 - - Grossman, Dr. Louis, 155, 375 - - Grotius, Hugo, 37 - - Guam, 333 - - Guggenheim, Daniel, 355 - - Guggenheim, Murry, 289 - - Guggenheims, 404 - - Guild, Curtis, Jr., 362 - - Guinea, 11 - - Gutheim, Rabbi James K., 140 - - Gutterect, family, 60 - - - H - - ♦Hackenburg, Wm. B., 289, 295, 370 - - Hadrian, Pope, 21 - - Hahn, Dr. Aaron, 141 - - Haiti, 20 - - Halifax, N. S.; 286 - - Halphen, Samuel, 389 - - Hamburg, 30 - - Hamburger, Samuel B., 371 - - Hamilton, Ont., 386 - - Hammerstein, Oscar, 399 - - Hapgood, Hutchins, 413 - - Harby, Levi Myers, 160, 230 - - Harkavy, Alexander, 419–20 - - Harris, Asher ♦Lemil, 192 - - Harris, Bernhard, 287 - - Harris, Haym, 148 - - Harris, Henry, 140 - - Harris, Hyman, 190 - - Harris, Rev. Maurice H., 371 - - Harrison, President Benjamin, 308, 324, 365 - - Hart, Aaron, 380, 381 - - Hart, Aaron Philip, 383 - - Hart, Abraham, 237 - - Hart, Benj. I., 295 - - Hart, Ephraim, 105 - - Hart, Ezekiel, 382 - - Hart, John, 191 - - Hart, Myer and his family, 76, 77 - - Hart or Harte, Zachariah, 111 - - Harte, Bret, 410 - - Hartford, Conn., 75, 426 - - Hartogensis, B. H., 287 - - Havana, Cuba, 393 - - Hawaii, 424 - - Hay, John, 316, 343, 346, 347, 351 - - Hayman or Hyman of Louisville, 143 - - Hays, Andrew, 381 - - Hays, Benjamin, 124 - - Hays, Daniel P., 287 - - Hays, David, 109 - - Hays, Jacob, 124 - - Hays, Moses Michael, 147 - - Hays, Solomon, 107 - - Hearst, Wm. R., 355, 356 - - Hebrew Institutes, 378 - - Hebrew Union College, 244 - - Heilprin, Prof. Angelo, 211 - - Heilprin, Louis, 211 - - Heilprin, Michael, 208–12, 266, 269 - - Heilprin, Pinhas Mendel, 208 - - Heiman, Marcus, 154 - - Hein, Alex., 154 - - Heller, Dr. Maximilian, 252, 353 - - Hendricks, Benjamin, ♦70 - - Hendricks, Isaac, 144 - - Henrique, Jacob Cohen, 63 (note) - - Henriques, Abraham, 48 - - Henriques, David Gomez, 58 - - Henriques, Jacob, 59 - - Henry, the Navigator, 11 - - Henry, H. A., 141 - - Henry, Jacob, 119, 126 - - Henry, Jacob, 158 - - Henry, Patrick, 113, 114 - - Herat, Afghanistan, 392 - - Hermalin, D. M., 420, 421 - - Herrera, Abraham Cohen, 39 - - Herschell, Rabbi Solomon of London, 180 - - Hershman, Rev. A. M., 155 - - Hertz, Dr. Joseph, 159 - - Hertzman, Rev. E., 142 - - Herzl, Dr. Sigmund, 198 - - Herzl, Dr. Theodore, 336 - - Heydenfeldt, ♦Elkan, 156 - - Heydenfeldt, Solomon, 156, 208 - - ♦Heister, Gen.,95 - - Higgins, Gov. Francis W. of N. Y., 362 - - Hilfman, Rabbi P. A. (quoted in note), 42 - - Hillquit, Morris, 299, 410 - - Hirsch, Adam, 154 - - Hirsch, Baroness Clara de, 390 - - Hirsch (Colony), Canada, 386 - - Hirsch, Edward, 216 - - Hirsch, Dr. Emil G., 178, 340, 369, 417 - - Hirsch, Maier, 215 - - Hirsch, Baron Maurice de, 289, 290, 385, 390 - - Hirsch, Dr. Samuel, 178 - - Hirsch, Solomon, 215 - - Hirshowitz, Rabbi Abraham Eber, 406 - - Hoboken, N. J., 253 - - Hoffman, Dr. B., 423 - - Hoffman, Isaac, 141 - - Hoffman, James H., 289 - - Hofnung, Abraham, 384 - - Hofnung, Rev. Samuel, 384 - - Holland, see Dutch - - Hollander, Dr. J. H. (quoted), 45, 124, 292, 371, 400 - - Holy Office, see Inquisition - - Holzman, Elijah, 256, 407 - - Homel, 357 - - Horwich, B., 370 - - Horwitz, Moses, 421 - - Hoschander, Jacob, 376 - - Hourwich, Isaac A., 298, 410 - - Houston, Sam, 161 - - Houston, Tex., 161 - - Hübsch, Rev. Adolph, 183 - - Hucefe, 18 - - Hühner, Leon (quoted), 63, 68, 119, 144, 292 - - Hyman, Samuel I., 371 - - Hyneman, Herman Naphtali, 397 - - - I - - Idaho, 370, 425 - - ♦Iliowizi, Rabbi Henry, 410 - - ♦Illan, Jaude, 52 - - Illinois, 216, 230, 328, 370, 425 - - Illowy, Rev. Bernhard, 107, 142 - - Imber, Naftali Herz, 305, 408 - - Immigration, 135–37, 242–3, 254, 261, 288, 306, 319 ff., 338, - 343, 358, 385 - - Immigration Commission of 1907, 326 - - Independent Order Brith Abraham, 247 - - Indiana, 152, 236, 328, 370 - - Indianapolis, Ind., 152, 252, 426 - - Indians, supposed to be the lost Tribes of Israel, 14; - persecuted by the Inquisition, 21 - - Inquisition, 12, 20, 22, 24 - - Iowa, 153, 328, 370, 425 - - Iquitos, Peru, 393 - - Isaac, Abraham, 110, 111 - - Isaac, David, 117 - - Isaac, Isaiah, 117 - - Isaac, Adjutant-General Moses, 237 - - Isaacs, Col., 90 - - Isaacs, Abraham, 111 - - Isaacs, Prof. Abram S., 179 - - Isaacs, Alexander, 148 - - Isaacs, M. S., 289, 345 - - Isaacs, Samuel, 158 - - Isaacs, Samuel Hillel, 190 - - Isaacs, Rev. Samuel Mayer, 179 - - Isaacson, Rabbi I., 409 - - Isaaks, Noah, 48 - - Isabella, Queen, 5, 12, 20, 28 - - Ismail, riot of, 344 - - Israel, David, 63 - - Israel, Isaac, 93 - - Italy, 3, 347 - - Itamarica, Brazil, 38 - - - J - - Jackson, Andrew, 131 - - Jackson, Cal., 155 - - Jackson, John B., 351 - - Jackson, Rebeccah, wife of M. M. Noah, 134 - - Jacob, Moses, 117 - - Jacobi, Dr. Abraham, 402 - - Jacobs, Benjamin, 95 - - Jacobs, Charles M., 403 - - Jacobs, Rev. George, 61 - - Jacobs, Gerrit, 47 - - Jacobs, Hart, 93 - - Jacobs, Rev. Henry S., 184 - - Jacobs, Dr. Joseph, 194, 262 (quoted), 340, 375 - - Jacobs, Morris, 148 - - Jacobs, Samuel, 153 - - Jacobs, Samuel, 381 - - Jacobson, Dr. Nathan, 403 - - ♦Jaffe, Rabbi Shalom Elhanan, 282, 406 - - Jaime, King of Mallorca, 11 - - Jalomstein, Mordecai, 256, 259 - - Jamaica, W. I., 45, 57–61 - - Janowski, S., 423 - - Jarmulowsky, S. (d. 1912), 371 - - Jastrow, Prof. Joseph, 186 - - Jastrow, Dr. Marcus, 185–86, 295, 340 - - Jastrow, Prof. Morris, 186, 340 - - Jefferson, Thomas, 113, 115, 125, 241 - - Jersey City, 253, 426 - - Jeshurun, 51 - - Jesu Maria, Cal., 156 - - “Jew Bill” of Maryland, 125 ff. - - Jewish Alliance of America, 287 - - Jewish Chautauqua Society, 295 - - “Jewish Chronicle” (quoted), 391 - - Jewish Colonization Association (I. C. A.), 290, 388, 389 - - “Jewish Encyclopedia,” 339 - - Jewish Publication Society of America, 292 - - Jewish Theological Seminary, 183 - - Joachimsen, Philip J., 235 - - João, King of Portugal, 16 - - ♦Joffe, Joshua A., 375 - - John III., King of Portugal, 29 - - Johnson, President Andrew, 235 - - Johnson, David Israel, 138, 140 - - Johnson, Edward J., 159 - - Jonas, Abraham, 138 - - Jonas, Abraham, 216–17 - - Jonas, Benj. F., 217 - - Jonas, Charles H., 216 - - Jonas, Edward, 138 - - Jonas, George, 138 - - Jonas, Joseph, 137, 139, 140 - - Jonas, Lyon, 105 - - Jonas, Moses, 139 - - Jonas, Samuel, 138 - - Jones, Israel I., 143 - - Jones, Solomon, 143 - - “Jooden Savane” (Savannah of the Jews), 46 - - Joseph, Gershom, 384 - - Joseph, H., 155 - - Joseph, Chief Rabbi Jacob, 278 - - Joseph, Jacob, 384 - - Joseph, Jacob Henry, 383 - - Joseph, Jesse, 383 - - Joseph, Samuel, 139 - - Josephson, Manuel, 103, 107 - - Jost, historian (quoted), 194 - - Juan I. of Aragon, 11 - - Juana, Queen of Castille, 21 - - Judah, Hart, 140 - - Judah, Uriah, 381 - - - K - - Kadison, Dr. A. P., 287 - - Kaiser, Rev. Alois, 413 - - Kalich, Bertha, 421 - - Kalisch, Rev. Isidor, 141, 154, 155, 183 - - Kalisch, Judge Samuel, 183 - - Kalm, Peter, 70 - - Kamaiky, Leon, 371 - - Kansas, 269, 322, 328, 370, 425 - - Kansas City, Mo., 253, 426 - - Kaplan, E., 423 - - Kaplan, Prof. M. M., 375 - - Kaplan, N., 423 - - Kaspe, Dr.Abraham, 420 - - Kasson, Minister John A., 345 - - Katz, Abr. J., 371 - - Kaufman, David S., 159 - - Kaufman, Sigismund, 212 - - Kayserling, Dr. M., 11, 20, 37, 85, 401 - - “Kehillah” of New York, 370, 372 - - Kelly, Myra, 413 - - Kempner, Isaac H., 370 - - Kennedy, Rev. Mr., 198 - - Kennedy, Thomas, 125 - - Kentucky, 216, 328, 370, 425 - - Keokuk, Ia., 153 - - “Kesher Shel Barzel,” 247 - - Keyser, Ephraim, 395 - - Kiev, Russia, 262 - - Kingston, Jamaica, 60–61 - - Kishinev, 353 ff., 358 - - Kleeberg, Rev. L., 143 - - Klein, Charles, 399 - - Klein, Mayer, 151 - - Klein, Dr. Philip, 283, 371 - - Knefler, family, 152 - - Knefler, Gen. Frederick, 233 - - “Knights of Zion,” 337 - - “Know Nothing” Party, 223, 320, 321–2 - - Kobrin, Leon, 419, 421 - - Kohen, Rabbi Baruch, 407 - - Kohler, Dr. Kaufman, 155, 340, 375 - - Kohler, Max J., 114 (note), ♦207 (note), 243, 289, 292, 380, 413 - - Kohn, Abraham, 150, 151, 217 - - Kohn, Arnold, 355 - - Kohn, Julius, 150 - - Kohn, Moses, 150 - - Kohut, Dr. Alexander, 186 - - Kohut, George A., 72, 189, 406, 413 - - Konti, Isidor, 395 - - Kornblith, Z., 423 - - Kossuth, Louis, 189, 211 - - Krantz, Philip, 420 - - Kraus, Adolph, 247 - - Krauskopf, Rabbi Joseph (note), 244 - - Krouse, Robert, 153 - - Krouse, William, 153 - - Kruttschnitt, Julius, 222 - - Kunreuther, Rev. Ignatz, 151 - - Kursheedt, J. B., 195 - - Kutner, Adolph, 315 - - - L - - Labatt, A. C., 156, 158 - - Labor Movement Among Immigrants, 297 ff. - - Lacovia, Jamaica, 60 - - Lafayette, Ind., 152 - - Lagarto, Rabbi Jacob, 38 - - Laguna, Daniel Israel Lopez, 61 - - Lamport, Nathan, 371 - - Lancaster, Pa., 76 - - Landauer, Max, 370 - - Landis, C. K., 25 - - Landsberg, Rabbi Max, 253 - - Langdon, Rev. Samuel, 82 - - Las, Rabbi Zebi, 407 - - Lasker, Alexander, 154 - - ♦Lasky, David, 190 - - Lateiner, Joseph, 420–1 - - Lateran, Council of, 4 - - Lawrence, Amos, 147 - - Lazard, brothers, 156 - - Lazarus, Aaron, 111 - - Lazarus, Emma, 73, 265–6, 409 - - Lazarus, Michael, 79 - - Lecky, the Historian, 81 - - Lee, Gen. R. E., 226 - - Leeser, Rabbi Isaac, 171–72, 198, 203, 204, 292 - - Leghorn, Italy, 43 - - Lehman, David S., 370 - - Lehman, Emanuel, 355 - - Leibowitz, M., 392 - - Leipziger, Henry M., 287 - - Leon, de, 51 - - Leon, Jacob de, 93 - - Leopold, L. M., 151 - - Lerma, Bernardino de, 15 - - Leroy-Beaulieu, Anatole (quoted), 255 - - Lesser, Rabbi Abr. J. G., 282, 406 - - Lessing, Bruno, see Block, Rudolph - - Leventrite, Aaron, 141 - - Levi, Alexander, 153 - - Levi, Barnard, 77 - - Levi, Barnet, 138 - - Levi, Leo N., 247 - - Levi, William, 110 - - Levie, Solomon Joseph, 47 - - Levin, Elias, 48 - - Levin, Louis II., 417 - - Levinsohn, Jehiel Judah, 407 - - Levinthal, Rabbi B. L., 282, 370 - - Levis, family, 380 - - Levy, brothers in the Confederate Army, 230 - - Levy, Aaron, 95 (note) - - Levy, Aaron, 117 - - Levy, Abraham, 190 - - Levy, Abraham, 222 - - Levy, Asser, 63 (note), 66, 67, 100 - - Levy, Benjamin, 76, 95 - - Levy, Daniel, 108 - - Levy, Ferdinand, 287 - - Levy, Hayman, 70, 95, 105 - - Levy, Hyman, Jr., 76 - - Levy, Isaac, 144 - - Levy, Jacob, 190 - - Levy, Congressman Jefferson M., 241 - - Levy, Jonas P., 218 - - Levy, Joseph, 110 - - Levy, Joseph, 138 - - Levy, Lionel, 233 - - Levy, Louis Edward, 88 (note), 287 - - Levy, Louis N., 241 - - Levy, Moses, 108 - - Levy, Moses Albert, 160 - - Levy, Myers, 109 - - Levy, Nathan, 76 - - Levy, Nathan, 109 - - Levy, Nathaniel, 93 - - Levy, Sampson, 76, 108 - - Levy, Samuel, 144 - - Levy, Samuel, 157 - - Levy, Simon, 381 - - Levy, Commodore Uriah Philips, 238–41 - - Levy, Zeporah, 70 - - Lewenstein, Rabbi M. J., of Surinam, 49 - - Lewi, Isidor, 417 - - Lewisohn, Adolph, 371 (see also 404) - - Libin, Z., 419, 421 - - Libowitz, N. S., 407 - - Lichtenstein, Benjamin, 189, 190 - - Lieberman, D. M., 369 - - Liesin, A., 423 - - Lilienthal, Dr. Max, 141, 172–75, 194 - - Lima, Peru, 22, 26, 393 - - Lincoln, Abraham, 205, 212, 215, 216, 217, 322 - - Lindo, Moses, 79 - - Lipman, Rev. Jacob, 107 - - Lipzin, Mrs. K., 421 - - Lisbon, 18, 74 - - Literature, 405 ff., 418 - - Lobel, Mme., 422 - - Locke, John, 78 - - Loeb, Jacques (deceased), 370 - - Loeb, Prof. Jacques, 401 - - Loeb, Louis, 398 - - Loeb, Solomon, 398 - - London, Ont., 386 - - Long, Jacob, 154 - - Longfellow, H. W., 73 - - Lopez, Aaron, 73, 98, 99 - - Lopez, Moses, 101 - - Loris-Melikov, Russian Minister, 311 - - Los Angeles, Cal., 155, 426 - - Louis, Nathan, 153 - - Louisiana, 147, 370, 425 - - Louisville, Ky., 143, 252, 283, 426 - - Louzada, David Baruch, 56 - - Low, Seth, Mayor of New York, 354 - - Lucena, Abraham d’, 63, 65, 66, 68 - - Lumbrozo, Jacob, 77 - - Luna, Gonzolo de, 26 - - Luther, Martin, 23 - - Lutherans, persecuted by the Inquisition, 23 - - Lynch, Sir Thomas, Governor of Jamaica, 57 - - Lyon, Abraham de, 78 - - Lyon, Solomon, 107 - - Lyons, Henry A., 156 - - Lyons, Dr. Isaac, 160 - - Lyons, Jacob, 158 - - Lyons, Rev. Jacques Judah, 180 - - Lyons, S., 143 - - Lyons, Samuel, 95 - - - M - - Macedonia, 3 - - Machado, M., 46 - - Machol, Rabbi M., 142 - - Mack, Julian W., 369, 370, 371 - - MacMahon, John V. L., 125 - - Madison, Ind., 177 - - Madison, James, 96, 113, 114 - - Magidoff, Jacob, 423 - - Magnes, Dr. J. L., 337, 369, 371 - - Magnetowan, Canada, 386 - - Magnus, Lady, 392 - - Maimonides College, 183, 249 - - Maine, 328, 371, 425 - - “Maine” (Battleship), 334 - - Malaga, 12 - - Malitz, Ch., 423 - - Mallorca, King Jaime of, 11 - - Malter, Prof. Henry, 376 - - Manasseh ♦ben Israel, 14, 37 - - Manitoba, 386 - - Mankato, Minn., 153 - - Mann, A. Dudley, 199, 202 - - Mannes, David, 398 - - Mansfield, M., 157 - - ♦Manso, Bishop Alphonso, 21 - - Manuel, Dom, King of Portugal, 16, 28 - - Marache, Solomon, 76 - - Marchena, 51 - - Marco, Surgeon, 14 - - Marcus, Rev. Samuel, 155 - - Marcus, S. L., 259, 409 - - Marcy, William L., 202 - - Margolioth, Rabbi Gabriel Z., 281 - - Margolis, Prof. Max L., 375 - - ♦Margolies, Rabbi M. Z., 282, 371 - - Marix, Rear-Admiral Adolph, 333–4 - - Markens, Isaac (quoted), 138, 142, 215, 235, 413 - - Marks, Bernhard, 287 - - Marks, Isaac, 153 - - Marks, Joseph, 76 - - Marks, Rudolph, 421 - - Markstein, D., 143 - - Marranos, 8, 12, 19, 26, 29, 30, 41 - - Marshall, Louis, 317, 369, 371 - - Martinique, 123, 381 - - Marx, Prof. Alex., 375 - - Marx, Samuel, 156 - - Maryland, 77, 124 ff., 371, 425, 426 - - Marysville, Cal., 156 - - Masliansky, Hirsch, 420 - - Mason, James Murray, 225 - - Masonry, 73, 94, 110, 128, 132, 216 - - Mass, Samuel, 159 - - Massachusetts, 328, 371, 425 - - Massacres of 1391, 7. See also “Pogroms” - - Maurera, Jacob de, 381 - - Maurice of Nassau, 37 - - Mauricio Colony, Argentine, 390 - - Mayer, Annie Nathan, 410 - - Mayer, Constant, 397 - - Mayer, Henry (“Hy”), 398 - - Mayer, Rev. Jacob, 141 - - Mayer, Jacob, 157 - - Mayer, Leopold, 152, 157 - - Mayer, Levy, 403 - - Mayer, Nathan, 191 - - Mayer, Gen. William, 235 - - Mayhew, Rev. Jonathan, 81 - - McClellan, Mayor Geo. B., of N. Y., 362 - - McGregor, Ia., 153 - - McKinley, President William, 332, 334, 400 - - McLaurin, Senator Anselm J., 361 - - Media, 3 - - Mehatob, Isaac and Judith, 42 - - Meisels, Rabbi Berush, 185 - - Memphis, Tenn., 426 - - Mendes, Rev. Abraham P., 101 - - Mendes, Rabbi Frederick de Sola, 340 - - Mendes, Dr. H. P., 371 - - Menken, Solomon, 138 - - Mera, Isaac, 45 - - Mercado, Abraham de, 37, 55 - - Mercado, Raphael de, 55, 56 - - Meridian, Miss., 252 - - Merzbacher, Rabbi L., 177 - - Mesa, Isaac, 63 (note) - - Mesquita, Abraham de, 48 - - Messing, Rev. Henry. J. Messing, 142 - - ♦Mesia, Daniel, 45 - - Mexican War, 161–63 - - Mexico, 24 ff., 158, 393 - - Meyer, Gen. Adolph, 230 - - Meza, de, 51 - - Michael, Elias, 370 - - Michalovsky, Israel, 284 - - Michelson, Prof. Albert A., 399–400 - - Michelson, Charles, 400 - - Michelson, Miriam, 400 - - Michigan, 154, 236, 269, 328, 370, 425 - - Middle Ages, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 - - Middleman, Judah, 189, 190, 191 - - Mielziner, Prof. Moses, 295 - - Miller, Alexander, 385 - - Miller, Louis, 422 - - Milwaukee, Wis., 154, 426 - - Minikes, Ch. J., 423 - - Minis, Isaac, 78 - - Minkovsky, Pinhas, 284 - - Minneapolis, Minn., 426 - - Minnesota, 153, 328, 370 - - Mirabeau, Count, 116 - - Miranda, 381 - - Miranda, Isaac, 76 - - Misch, Marion L., 119 (note), 296 - - Mississippi, 370, 425 - - Missouri, 269, 328, 370, 425 - - Mobile, Ala., 143 - - Mogulesco, Sigmund, 421 - - Moise, Isaac and Jacob, 144 - - Moiseville, Colony, Argentine, 390 - - Monis, Judah, 72 - - Monroe, James, 130 - - Monroe, La., 252 - - Montana, 328, 370, 425 - - Montefiore, Mr. (probably Joshua), 60 - - Montefiore, Sir Moses, 145 - - Montel, Solomon, 48 - - ♦Montevido, Uruguay, 392 - - Montgomery, Ala., 143 - - Montgomery, General, 382 - - ♦Montego Bay, Jamaica, 60 - - Montreal, Que., Canada. 381, 386 - - Moors, 5 - - Mora, Don Francisco de, 37 - - Morais, Henry S., 108 (quoted), 172, 183, 288, 413 - - Morais, Sabato, 180–83, 189, 208 - - Morales, Dr. C. M., 61 - - Mordecai, Abraham, 143 - - Mordecai, Major Alfred, 111 - - Mordecai, Gratz, 111 (note) - - Mordecai, Gen. J. Randolph, 230 - - Mordecai, Jacob, 111 - - Mordecai, Moses, 76, 111, 117 - - Morgenstern, Dr. Julian, 375 - - Morocco, 365 - - Morris, Minister to Turkey, 344 - - Morris, Edward, 404 - - Morris, Robert, 89, 95, 129 - - Morrison, 295 - - Morrison, Isidor D., 337 - - Morrison, Moritz, 422 - - Morton, Martha, 410 - - Moses, brothers of Alabama, 230 - - Moses, family of New Hampshire, 109 - - Moses, Abraham, 73 - - Moses, Major George W., 332 - - Moses, Isaac, 95 - - Moses, Lieut-Col. Israel, 163 - - Moses, Capt. Mayer, 123 - - Moses, Col. Nathan, 123 - - Moses, Pinhas, and his five brothers, 138, 140 - - Moses, Raphael and his sons, 229 - - Moses, Col. Raphael J., 230 - - Moskovich, actor, 422 - - Mosler, Henry, 397 - - Moss, Mary, 409 - - Motta, Jacob de la, 93 - - Motthe, Jacques de la, 62 - - Mucate, Jacob, 37 - - Muhr, Simon, 287 - - Myers, Asher, 106 - - Myers, Capt. Isaac, 88 - - Myers, Levy, 117 - - Myers, Capt. Mordecai, 123 - - - N - - Naär, Capt., 47 - - Nacogdoches, Tex., 159 - - Napoleon III., 201, 225 - - Nassi, David, 43, 45, 46, 47 - - Nassi, Isaac, 48 - - Nassi, J. C., 49 - - Nassi, Joshua, 47 - - Nassi, Samuel, 45, 46 - - Natchez, Miss., 252 - - Nathan, Rabbi, 142 - - Nathan, of British Columbia, 383 - - Nathan, Joseph, 77 - - Nathan, Moses, 138 - - Nathan, Simon, 106 - - Nebraska, 322, 328, 370, 425 - - Neo-Christians, 29 - - Neto, Rabbi Isaac, 45 - - ♦Neumann, Dr. S., 371 - - Neumark, Prof. David, 375 - - Nevada, 370, 425 - - Nevada City, Cal., 155 - - New Amsterdam, 40, 52, 62 ff. - - Newark, N. J., 183, 253, 426 - - Newbauer, Leopold, 154 - - ♦Newburg, P., 150, 151 - - Newberger, Louis, 370 - - ♦Newburger, Morris, 292 - - New Hampshire, 109, 110, 371, 425 - - New Haven, Conn., 75, 426 - - New Jersey, 109, 269, 328, 370, 425 - - Newman, Isidor, 369 - - Newman, Lieut. Col. Leopold C., 237 - - New Mexico, 370, 425 - - New Orleans, La., 140, 144–48, 252, 354, 426 - - Newport, R. I., 72, 98 ff. - - New York, 40, 62 ff., 102, 104, 118, 164, 179, 236, 255–6, 262, - 271, 272, 274, 277, 282, 299, 301, 307, 329, 332, 354, 361, - 362, 366, 371, 378, 425 - - Nicea, Council of, 4 - - Nicholas I., Emperor of Russia, 254 - - Nieuhoff (quoted), 38 - - Ninette, daughter of Judah P. Benjamin, 228 - - Noah, Joel, 155 - - Noah, Manuel Mordecai, 93, 94, 128 - - Noah, Mordecai Manuel, 128–34, 414 - - Nones, Benjamin, 93 - - North Africa, 7 - - North Carolina, 86, 110 ff., 117 ff., 370, 425 - - North Dakota, 269, 328, 370, 425 - - Nuevos Christianos, 20 - - Nuñez family, 60 - - Nunez, Jacob, 45 - - Nunez, Samuel, 77, 78 - - - O - - Oberman, Judah, 192 - - Ochs, Adolph, 414 - - Ochs, George W., 414 - - Ochs, Milton B., 414 - - Offenbach, 159 - - Oglethorpe, General James Edward, 77 - - Ogus, A. D., 420 - - Ohio, 236, 328, 370, 425 - - Oklahoma, 328, 425 - - Oliveira, 51 - - Olivera, David de, 79 - - Ollendorf, M. A., 384 - - Olney, Richard, 314, 316 - - Omaha, Neb., 253, 426 - - Oporto, 34 - - Oppenheim, James, 410 - - Oppenheim, S., 73 (note), 108 (note), 123 - - Opper, Frederick B., 398 - - Orange-Nassau, Prince William Charles of, 54 - - Order Brith Abraham, 247 - - Oregon, 157, 215, 269, 370, 425 - - Ottawa, Ont., 386 - - Ottolenghi, Joseph, 78 - - Owensboro, Ky., 252 - - Ox Bow, Canada, 386 - - - P - - Packeckoe, Moses, 73 - - Paducah, Ky., 252 - - Paley, John, 423 - - Panama, 392 - - Papineau’s Rebellion, 383 - - Para, Brazil, 391 - - ♦Parahiba, Brazil, 38 - - Paramaribo, Surinam, 42, 45, 48 - - Pardo, Rabbi David, 45 - - Pardo, Isaac R. de, 45 - - Pardo, Rabbi Joshua, 53, 61 - - Parona, Argentine, 389 - - ♦Parra, La, 51 - - Passport Question, 306 ff., 329 - - Paterson, N. J., 426 - - Pedro, Emperor Dom, of Brazil, 391 - - Peirce, H. H. D., 313 - - Peixotto, Benj. F., 344, 379 - - Peixotto, Gen. Floriano, 391 - - Peixotto, George D. M., 397 - - ♦Pelatas, Brazil, 391 - - Penn, William, 75 - - Pennsylvania, 75, 118, 237, 370, 425 - - Pensacola, Fla., 333 - - Penyha, Rev. Isaac de la, 384 - - Peoria, Ill., 152 - - Pereira, Abraham, 56 - - Pereire-Mendes, Rev. Abraham, 61 - - Periodicals, 256 ff., 302, 409, 417, 422 - - Perkins, Senator J. C., 315 - - Pernambuco, see Recife - - ♦Perreira, Isaac, 45 - - Perreire, 51 - - Persian Gulf, 3 - - Peru, 26, 27, 393 - - Peters, Dr. Madison C., 413 - - Pettus, Sen. E. W., 316 - - Philadelphia, 57, 75, 94, 102, 105 ff., 171, 186, 198, 249, 262, - 272, 282, 287, 354, 372, 377, 378, 426 - - Philip II., 22 - - Philip III., 23 - - Philippine Islands, 424 - - Philippson, Colony, Brazil, 391 - - Philips, Asher, 148 - - Philips, Feibel, 190 - - Philips, Moses H., 377 - - ♦Philipson, Rev. David (quoted), 138, 370 - - Phillips, Barnet, 414 - - ♦Phillips, Col. Frederick, 69 - - Phillips, Henry M., 108, 128 - - Phillips, Jonas, 85, 128 - - Phillips, Morris, 414 - - Phillips, Zalegman, 108 - - Phoenicians, 2, 3 - - Pierce, President Franklin, 163, 202 - - Pimenta, Moses, 79 - - ♦Pinelo, Francisco, 15 - - Pinhal, Brazil, 392 - - Pinheiro, 18 - - Pinner, Moritz, 212 - - Pinski, David, 419, 421 - - Pinto, brothers, 75 - - Pinto family, 39, 93 - - Pinto, Abraham, 47, 93 - - Pinto, Isaac, 46 - - Pinto, Jacob, 94 - - Pinto, Solomon, 94 - - Pinto, William, 93 - - Pittsburg, Pa., 282, 426 - - Piza, Rabbi David, 384 - - Plotz, Abraham, 148 - - “Pogroms” or Anti-Jewish Riots, 262, 353 - - Polak, Jakob Arons, 47 - - Pollock, Gov. James of Pennsylvania, 236 - - Polonies, Myer, 105 - - Pombal, Marquis de, 42 - - Porter, David, 197 - - Port Gibson, Miss., 252 - - Portland, Ore., 157, 287, 426 - - Porto ♦Alegra, Brazil, 391 - - Porto Rico, 21, 424 - - Portsmouth, N. H., 110 - - Portugal, 5, 6, 28, 33 - - Poznanski, Rabbi Gustave, 168 - - Prager, Regina, 421 - - Providence, R. I., 426 - - Pulitzer, Joseph, 414 - - - Q - - Qu’appelle, Canada, 386 - - “Quebec Act,” 84 - - Quebec, Canada, 381, 386 - - Quevedo, Fra Juan, 21 - - Quincy, Ill., 216 - - Quixano, Moses Mendes, 59 - - - R - - Rabinowitz, Isaac, 408 - - Rabinowitz, Mayer, 407 - - Raczker, Leibel, 190 - - Raisin, Dr. Max, 408 - - Ramsay, Dr., 198 - - Randolph, Beverly, 114 - - Ranke, the historian, 5 - - Raphall, Isidor, 190 - - Raphall, Rev. Morris Jacob, 180, 208 - - Rapoport, Philip, 414 - - Rau, Rev. Moses, 107 - - Rayner, Isidor, 313 - - Recife, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40 - - Reese, Michael, 156, 249 - - Regina, Canada, 386 - - Regio, Abraham Levi, 56 - - Rehiné, Zalma, 171 - - Reiner, Abraham, 190 - - ♦Reisen, A., 423 - - Reiter, Rabbi Naftali, 283 - - Religious Sects in the Colonies, 84 - - Republican Party, 212 - - Rhode Island, 72, 73, 118, 328, 371, 425 - - Ribiero, Francisco, 34 - - Rice, Henry, 289 - - Richmond, Va., 102, 116–17, 171, 180, 184, 198, 233, 295 - - Riesser, Gabriel, 199 - - Rigio, Antonio Rodrigo, 56 - - Rindskopf, ♦Löbl, 154 - - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 38, 391 - - Rio Grande, Brazil, 391 - - Rittenhouse, David, 107 - - ♦Rivera, Jacob Rodrigues, 73 - - Robbins, B. R., 420 - - Rochester, N. Y., 253, 426 - - Rodkinson, Michael L., 409 - - Roman Empire, 3 - - Roos, Rev. J. S., 42, 47, 48 - - Roosevelt, President Theodore, 317, 332, 343, 353, 356, 362, - 365, 400 - - Root, Elihu, 317, 362 - - Rosario, Argentine, 389 - - Rosenbaum, M., 370 - - Rosenbaum, S. G., 289 - - Rosenberg, Abraham H., 303, 408–9 - - Rosenberg, Major Felix, 332 - - Rosenberg, Jacob, 150 - - Rosendale, Simon W., 369, 371 - - Rosenfeld, A., 141 - - Rosenfeld, Morris, 418 - - Rosenfeld, Sydney, 399 - - Rosenhayn, N. J., 269 - - Rosenstraus, Theodore, 309 - - Rosenthal, Adolph, 152 - - Rosenthal, Albert, 397 - - Rosenthal, Herman, 266, 269, 340, 409 - - Rosenthal, Dr. J. M., 152 - - Rosenthal, Max, 397 - - Rosenthal, Toby Edward, 397 - - Rosenwald, Julius, 370, 371, 378, 404 - - Rosenzweig, Gerson, 303, 408–9 - - Rosewater, Edward, 414 - - Rosewater, Victor, 370, 414 - - Rothschild, Baruch Solomon, 190 - - Rothstein, Joshua, 190 - - “Rough Riders,” 332 - - Roumania, relations with, 331, 343–52 - - Rubifrayn, see Ephraim, Rabbi, 15 - - Rudiger, Bishop, 4 - - Rülf, Dr. Isaac (quoted), 255 - - Russia, relations with, 306 ff., 331, 347 - - Russian Period of Immigration, 260 ff. - - Russian-Poland, Immigration from, 189, 254 - - - S - - Sabayo, 17 - - Sabsovich, Prof. H. L., 269, 289 - - Sacramento, Cal., 156 - - Sagres, 11 - - St. Catherine’s, 386 - - St. John, N. B., 386 - - St. Joseph, Mo., 253 - - St. Louis, Mo., 142, 249, 253, 378, 426 - - St. Paul, Minn., 153, 252 - - Salomon, Edward S., 152, 234 - - Salomon, Haym, 95–97, 106 - - Salomon, Haym M., 97 - - Salomon, William, 97 - - Salt River, N. B., 386 - - Salvador, Francis, 79 - - Salwen, Mayer, 191 - - Sampson, Solomon, 105 - - Samuel, Lewis, 385 - - Samuel, Mark, 385 - - Samuels, brothers, 153 - - Samuels, Joseph, 140 - - Samuels, Capt. Morris, 153 - - Samuelson, Simha, 192 - - San Antonio, Tex., 161 - - Sanchez, Gabriel, 15, 16 - - Sanchez, Juan, 20 - - Sanchez, Rodrigo, 14 - - San Francisco, Cal., 155 ff., 234, 252, 287, 402, 426 - - Santa Fe, Argentine, 398 - - Santa Maria, Brazil, 392 - - Santangel, Louis de, 12, 15, 16 - - Santiago, Chile, 393 - - Santo Domingo, 20, 381, 400 - - Sao Gabriel, Brazil, 391 - - Saphirstein, Jacob, 422 - - Sarasohn, ♦Kasriel H., 259, 303, 355, 409 - - Savannah, Ga., 78, 102, 144, 252 - - Schafferstown, Pa., 77 - - Schaikewitz, N. M. (♦Shomer), 304 - - Schechter, Prof. Solomon, 340, 375 - - Scherpenhuitzen, Van, 46 - - Scheusses, Henry de, 47 - - Schiff, Jacob H., 289, 317, 358, 362, 369, 371, 413 - - Schildkraut, Rudolph, 422 - - Schiller-Szinessi, Rabbi, 254 - - Schloss, Simon, 159 - - Schomer, Abraham S., 421 - - Schreiber, Moses Aaron, 408 - - Schur, William, 302, 407, 409 - - Schwab, Rev. Isaac, 157 - - ♦Schwartz, Tobias, 190 - - Schwarzberg, Samuel B., 303, 409 - - Scovil, Joseph A. (quoted), 256 - - Scranton, Pa., 426 - - Seattle, Wash., 426 - - Sebastian, King, 29 - - Sects, religious, in the Colonies, 84 - - Seddon, Secretary of War, 221 - - Seeligsohn, Henry, 160, 163 - - Seeligsohn, Michael, 160 - - Seifert, Moses, 419, 421 - - Seixas, Benjamin, 105 - - Seixas, Rev. Gershom Mendes, 104, 105, 106, 139 - - Seixas, Rev. Isaac B., 171 - - Seixas, Moses, 99, 101 - - Seixas, Theodore J., 195 - - Seligman, brothers, 156 - - Seligman, Prof. E. R. A., 401 - - Seligman, Jesse, 289 - - Selikovich, George, 304 - - Selling, Benjamin, 370 - - Semel, Bernard, 371 - - Seminole War, 162 - - Semites, 3 - - Senior, Abraham, 12 - - Senior, Max, 369 - - Sewall, J. M., 110 - - Seward, William H., 204, 205, 343 - - Shaftesbury, Lord ♦344 - - Shannon, Joseph, 156 - - Sharkansky, A. M., 418, 421 - - Sharp, Rev. John, 68 - - ♦Shasta, Cal., 156 - - Sheftal, Levi, 102 - - Sheftal, Mordecai, 79, 94 - - Shelvin, Bernhard, 423 - - ♦Sherbrooke, Canada, 386 - - Shreveport, La., 252 - - Shor, Anshel, 421 - - Shubert, Nathan, 150 - - Sicily Island, La., 266 - - Siegbert, Louis, 289 - - Siegelstein, Dr. P. A., 371 - - Silberman, Jacob, 154 - - Silberstein, Shalom Joseph, 407 - - Silva, de, family, 60 - - Silva, Aaron de, 45 - - Silva, Antonio José da, 41 - - Silva, Francisco Maldonado de, 27 - - Silva, Rev. de, 143 - - Silverman, Emanuel, 154 - - Silverman, Rev. Joseph, 371 - - Silverman, Samuel, 384 - - Simon, Abraham de la, 63 (note), 64 - - Simon, B., 157 - - Simon, Joseph, of Lancaster, 76 - - Simpson, Samson, 191 - - Singer, Dr. Isidor, 340, 356 - - Sivitz, Rabbi Moses Simon, 282, 407 - - Slidell, Thomas, 222, 225 - - Slonim, Joel, 423 - - Sloss, Louis, 156 - - Sloss, M. C., 369, 370, 403 - - Soarez, family, 60 - - Sobel, Isidor, 370, 371 - - Sobramonto, Don Thomas de, 25 - - Socialism, 273, 301 - - Sofer, Rabbi S., 407 - - Sola, Rev. Abraham de, 384 - - Sola, Rev. Meldola de, 384 - - Solaterevsky, 421 - - Solis-Cohen, David, 287 - - Solis-Cohen, Dr. Jacob da Silva, 403 - - Solis-Cohen, Dr. Solomon, 287, 403 - - Solomon, Hannah G., 296 - - Solomon, J. P., 417 - - Solomon, Rev. M. H., 61 - - Solomons, Adolphus S., 289 - - Solomons, Israel, 155 - - Solomons, Levy, 381, 382 - - Sombart, Werner, 4 (note) - - Sonnenschein, Rev. H. S., 142 - - Sonora, Cal., 155 - - Soria, 15 - - ♦Sossnitz, Jos. L., 305, 408 - - Sousa, Don Luis, 34 - - South, Jews of, see Civil War - - South America, 387 ff. - - South Carolina, 78, 370, 425 - - South Dakota, 269, 328, 370 - - Southey, Robert (quoted), 35 - - Sovrin, Nathan, 423 - - Spain, 3, 5, 6, 7 - - Spanish American War, 331―― - - Spanish Jews as land owners, 4 - - Spanish Town, Jamaica, 60 - - Sparger, Wm., 413 - - Speyer, 4 - - Spiegel, Col. Marcus M., 235–6 - - Spinosa, Cardinal Diego de, 23 - - Spitz, Rabbi Moritz, 142, 417 - - Spivak, Rabbi Aaron, 406 - - Spivak, Dr. Charles D., 287, 417 - - Stern, Morris, 370 - - Stern, Myer, 295 - - Sterne, Adolphus, 159 - - Stiles, Ezra, 73, 74, 82 - - Stockton, Cal., 155 - - Stolz, Rev. Joseph, 370 - - Straus, Isidor, 365, 371 - - Straus, Nathan, 365 - - Straus, Oscar S., 71 (note), 81, 289, 292, 358, 365, 369 - - Strauss, Commander Joseph, 333 - - Strauss, Samuel, 414 - - Stroock, Sol. M. (quoted), 200 - - Stuyvosant, Peter, Governor of New Netherland, 52, 63, 75 - - Styfft, Capt. Michael, 163 - - Sueiro, Ephraim, 37 - - Sulzbacher, Rev. Moses, 107 - - Sulzberger, Cyrus L., 371 - - Sulzberger, Mayer, 171, 289, 292, 362, 369, 370, 371, 376 - - Sulzer, Representative William, 318, 361 - - Sumero-Accadians, 2 - - Sunday Laws, 307, 327 ff. - - Surinam, 40, 42, 43, 45 - - Sutro, Adolph, 156, 402 - - Switzerland, Passport Question, 199–205 - - Sydney, Canada, 386 - - Synagogues and Temples, 250 ff., 274, 338, (in Canada), 385 - - Syracuse, N. Y., 253, 426 - - Szold, Adele (note), 265, 337 - - Szold, Dr. Benjamin, 184 - - Szold, Miss Henrietta, 185, 295 - - - T - - Taft, President Wm. H., 317, 318, 332, 334, 401 - - Talmud Torahs, 276, 376–7 (in Canada), 385 - - Tamarica, Brazil, 38 - - Tannenbaum, Abner, 304, 419 - - Tanzman, Mr. and Mrs., 422 - - “Tashrak,” see Zevin, Israel I. - - Taussig, Rear-Admiral Edward David, 333 - - Taylor Falls, Minn., 153 - - Technical and Training Schools, 378 - - Temple of Jerusalem, destruction of, 13 - - Tennessee, 425 - - Texas, 158 ff., 328, 370, 425 - - Thomas, E. S., 125 - - Thomashefsky, Bessie, 421 - - Thomashefsky, Boris, 421 - - Thorman, Simson, 141 - - Thornberg, 422 - - Thorowgood’s Work on the Indians as Jews, 14 - - Three Rivers, Can., 382 - - Tim, B. L., 143 - - Tintner, Rabbi Moritz, 142 - - Tobacco, discovered by Torres, 14 - - Tobias, Mr. and Mrs., 422 - - Tobias, Joseph and Michael, 79 - - Toronto, Ont., 385 - - Torres, Louis de, 13, 14 - - Touro, 51, 53 - - Touro, Abraham, 101 - - Touro, Rabbi Isaac, 74, 98 - - Touro, Judah, 101, 124, 144 ff., 207 - - Towne, Charles A., 361 - - Toy, Prof. Crawford H., 340 - - Trenton, N. J., 426 - - Triest, Montague, 370 - - Tucacas, Venezuela, 53 - - Tucuman, 26 - - Tunis, M. M. Noah, as American Consul There, 130 - - Turkey, Treaty with, of 1808, 130, 347, 365 - - Tyler, President John, 321 - - - U - - Ullman, Isaac M., 371 - - Ullman, Samuel, 233 - - Union Army, Jews in The, see Civil War - - Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 244 - - United Hebrew Charities of New York, 248, 289, 290 - - Untermyer, Samuel, 403 - - Utah, 370, 425 - - - V - - Van Buren, Martin, 194, 195 - - Vancouver, B. C., 386 - - Van Horne, Capt. Cornelius, 69 - - Vasco, da Gama, 16, 17 - - Vaz family, 60 - - Vecinho, Joseph, 11 - - Velasco, Tex., 158 - - Velosino, Jacob de, 40 - - Venezuela, 392 - - Vermont, 123, 371, 425 - - Vespucci, Amerigo, 17 - - Vicksburg, Miss., 252 - - Victoria, B. C., 386 - - Vidaver, Rev. Henry, 107 - - Vidrevitz, Rabbi Chayyim Jacob, 282 - - Vieyra, 36 - - Vincente, Juan, 26 - - Virginia, 113 ff., 269, 328, 371, 425 - - Vizitelly, Frank H., 340 - - Voorsanger, Rabbi Jacob, 417 - - Vossius, The Old, 37 - - - W - - Waco, Tex., 161 - - Wake Island, Oceanica, 333 - - Waldstein, Prof. Charles, 400–1 - - Waldstein, Louis, 401 - - Waldstein, Martin, 401 - - War of 1812, 123 ff. - - Warburg, Felix M., 371 - - Warfield, David, 399 - - Washington, 370, 425 - - Washington, D. C., 252, 426 - - Washington, George, 90, 99 ff. (his Correspondence with Jews) - - Washington, L. O., 226 - - Webster, Daniel, 147, 200 - - Weigel, Abraham, 142 - - Weil, Isaiah, 144 - - Weil, Leo, 370, 371 - - Weinberg, Alex. B., 162 - - ♦Weinshel, Hayyim, 408 - - Weinstock, Harris, 370 - - Weiss, Simon, 159 - - West Jersey, 109 - - West Virginia, 328, 370, 425 - - Weyl, Max, 397 - - White, Andrew D., 312, 318 - - White, Henry Ambassador, 362 - - Wilcox, John A., 201 - - Willeken, Commander, 35 - - Willemsted, Curaçao, 51, 53 - - William of Orange, 32 - - Williams, Roger, 71 - - Willoughby, Lord, 43 - - Wilmington, Del., 108, 111 - - Wilmington, N. C., 120 - - Wilowski, Rabbi Jacob David, 281 - - Wilson, Charles L., 346 - - Wilson, James, 96 - - Winchevsky, Morris, 418 - - Winder, Gen., 125 - - Winnipeg, Man., 380, 386 - - Wisconsin, 154, 328, 370, 425 - - Wise, Rev. Isaac M., 141, 175–76, 203, 414, 417 - - Wise, Dr. Stephen. 337 - - ♦Wistar, William, 107 - - Witte, Count Serge, 317 - - Wittenstein, Zeeb Dob, 407 - - Wolf, Benjamin, 117 - - Wolf, Benjamin, 370 - - Wolf, Edwin, 292 - - Wolf, Simon (quoted), 33, 83, 88, 123, 130, 218, 233, 287, 295, - 369, 381 - - Wolfenstein, Martha, 410 - - Wolff, A., 160 - - ♦Wolff, J. Meyer, 47 - - Woodbine, N. J., 269 - - Woodstock, Canada, 386 - - Woolf, Moses, 152 - - Woolner, Samuel, 370 - - World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, 186, 295, 403 - - Wormser, Isaac, 151 - - Worthington, Col. W. G. D., 125, 126 - - Wyoming, 370, 425 - - - Y - - Yarmouth, Canada, 386 - - “Yehoash,” see Bloomgarden, Solomon - - Yelisavetgrad, Russia, 262 - - Yeshibot, 276, 376 - - Yonkers, N. Y., 396 - - York, Duke of, afterwards King James II., 67 - - Yorkton, Canada, 386 - - Young Men’s Hebrew Associations, 378 - - Young Women’s Hebrew Associations, 379 - - Yulee, David, 207 - - - Z - - Zacuto, Abraham, 12, 16, 17 - - Zalinski, Lieut.-Col. Moses G., 332 - - Zamora, 15 - - Zarfati, Joshua, 40 - - Zarhi, Rabbi Asher Lipman, 283 - - Zevin, Israel I., 420 - - Zhitlovsky, Dr. Charles, 423 - - Zhitomir, 357 - - Ziegler, Isaac, 150 - - Zionism, 336–7 - - Ziony, Israel, 423 - - Zirndorf, Dr. Henry, 155 - - Zollschan, “Das Rassenproblem,” 3 - - Zolotkoff, Leon, 287, 422 - - Zunser, ♦Eliakim, 418 - - Zuntz, Alexander, 105 - - - - - Footnotes. - - - 1 ‒ A remarkable work by Werner Sombart, _Die Juden and das - Wirtschaftsleben_ (Leipsic 1911), which appeared after the - above was written, deals exhaustively with the important - part which the Jews played in the development of business - and finance in medieval as well as in modern times. While - it is avowedly a partisan work written for a special - purpose, it is a notable contribution to social-economic - Jewish history which no student of the subject can afford - to neglect. - - 2 ‒ A fac-simile of this map is found in the “Jewish - Encyclopedia,” vol. III., opp. p. 678. - - 3 ‒ There is a record that it was not Columbus himself but a - sailor from Lepe who first saw a distant light and cried - “land!” and who, when he found that he had been defrauded - of the gratuity, obtained his discharge, went to Africa - and there discarded Christianity for his old faith. But - the chronicler does not inform us whether the sailor’s old - faith was Judaism or Islam. - - 4 ‒ This subject is treated extensively in the chapter headed - “Services rendered by the Jews to the Dutch, 1623–44,” - in Mr. Simon Wolf’s valuable work “_The American Jew as - Patriot, Soldier and Citizen_,” p. 443 ff., and in the - monogram “Damage done to Spanish Interests in America - by Jews of Holland,” which is incorporated in the - “Publications,” vol. XVII. - - 5 ‒ Rabbi P. A. Hilfman of Paramaribo, Surinam, in - “Publications” XVI, p. 7 ff., supplementing the chronology - made by Prof. Richard Gottheil in the same Publications at - the beginning of Vol. IV. See also Rev. J. S. Roos of the - Dutch Congreg. in Paramaribo, Ibid. Vol. XIII, pp. 126 ff. - - 6 ‒ Daly, “The Settlement of the Jews in North America,” p. - 7 ff. The names of those early immigrants (some of them - coming from Holland about the same time) as far as can - be gathered from the records, are as follows: Abraham - d’Lucena, David Israel, Moses Ambrosius, Abraham de la - Simon, Salvatore d’Andrade, Joseph da Costa, David Frera, - Jacob Barsimson, Jacob C. Henrique (or Jacob Cohen), Isaac - Mesa and Asser Levy. - - 7 ‒ Judge Daly himself, however, sees no ground for inferring - that the decision proceeded from aversion. He thinks it - was simply a question of law. The law of New York colony - was especially modeled upon that of the mother country. - New York was a conquered province, and when it was taken - from the Dutch, the English mode of procedure in all - matters of law and government was introduced bodily; and - from this circumstance English forms, precedents and modes - of proceeding came into use to an extent that did not - prevail in other colonies where the people themselves - had been left to originate and frame such a system of - government and laws as was suggested by their wants - and most conducive to their interests. The Legislative - Assembly was therefore simply declaring the law as it - existed in England at that time. (l. c.) - - 8 ‒ Oscar S. Straus, “The Origin of the Republican Form of - Government in the United States,” p. 48. - - 9 ‒ See Oppenheim, “The Jews and Masonry,” in “Publications” - XIX, pp. 9 ff., for an interesting treatment of the - discussion about the authenticity of this statement. - - 10 ‒ For a list of their names see “Publications” XVII, - pp. 168–69. - - 11 ‒ Lecky, _Rationalism in Europe_, vol. II, 168, quoted in - Straus, _Origin of Republican Form of Government in the - United States_, pp. 19 _ff._, which see for an extensive - treatment of this subject. - - 12 ‒ Another great American clergyman, Dr. Henry M. Field - (1822–1907), who wrote about a century later, also found - in the Jewish polity much that was later adopted in the - Constitution of the United States. In his work _On the - Desert_ (New York, 1883), he says: “Perhaps it does not - often occur to readers of the Old Testament that there is - much likeness between the Hebrew Commonwealth and the - American Republic.... At the bottom there is one radical - principle that divides a republic from a monarchy or an - aristocracy; it is the natural equality of men――that “all - men are born free and equal”――which is fully recognized in - the laws of Moses as in the Declaration of Independence. - Indeed, the principle is carried further in the Hebrew - Commonwealth than in ours; for not only was there equality - before the laws, but the laws aimed to produce equality of - condition in one point, and that a vital one――the tenure - of land, of which even the poorest could not be deprived, - so that in this respect the Hebrew Commonwealth approached - more nearly to a pure democracy.” See a more extensive - quotation in Simon Wolf’s _The American Jew as Patriot, - Soldier and Citizen_, pp. 494–98. - - 13 ‒ A drawing of this design is printed as the frontispiece of - Mr. Straus’s above-named work. - - 14 ‒ See Dr. M. Kayserling. _A Memorial Sent by German - Jews to the President of the Continental Congress_, in - “Publications” VI, pp. 5–8, where it is also stated that - the letter was wrongly attributed to Moses Mendelssohn - (1729–86). - - 15 ‒ _The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen_, by - Simon Wolf, edited by Louis Edward Levy, Philadelphia, - 1895. - - 16 ‒ Aaron Levy (b. in Amsterdam, 1742; d. in Philadelphia, - 1815), who was also of great assistance to the colonies in - their struggle for independence, was a partner of Robert - Morris in various enterprises in Pennsylvania. The town - of Aaronsburg, Center County, Pa., was founded by Levy - and is named after him. (See “Jew. Encyclopedia,” s. v., - Aaronsburg and Levy, Aaron.) - - 17 ‒ A fac-simile of Washington’s reply is found in the “Jewish - Encyclopedia,” vol. IX, between pp. 294–95. - - 18 ‒ See Hyman Polock Rosenbach, _The Jews in Philadelphia - prior to 1800_, pp. 22–23, _ff._, Philadelphia, 1883. - - 19 ‒ See Oppenheim, The Jews and Masonry, in “Publications,” - vol. XIX, 1–94, for the sources of most of the references - to Masonry in this work. - - 20 ‒ A description of this highly interesting Jewish family, by - Gratz Mordecai, is found in “Publications,” VI, pp. 39–48. - - 21 ‒ See Max J. Kohler, _Phases in the History of Religious - Liberty in America ..._ in “Publications,” XI, pp. 53–73, - where the subject is extensively treated and the sources - are given. - - 22 ‒ See Jacob Ezekiel, _The Jews of Richmond_, in - “Publications,” IV, pp. 21–27. - - 23 ‒ See Leon Hühner, _Religious Liberty in North Carolina_, - in “Publications,” XVI, pp. 37–71, for the facts and - the sources, and also for Henry’s speech, which is too - long to be reproduced here. The speech is also found in - _Selections for Homes and Schools_, by Marion L. Misch, - pp. 305–10, issued by the Jewish Publication Society of - America in 1911. - - 24 ‒ See _Jewish Encyclopedia_, VIII. pp. 353–54, s. v., - Martinique; and also Oppenheim in “Publications,” XVIII. - pp. 17–18. - - 25 ‒ See J. H. Hollander, _Civil Status of the Jews in - Maryland_, in “Publications,” II. pp. 33–44; the article - _Maryland_ in the “Jewish Encyclopedia” and Blum’s - _History of the Jews of Baltimore_. - - 26 ‒ Daly, p. 112, et seq.; see also Wolf, _Mordecai Manuel - Noah_, Philadelphia, 1897, and _Jewish Encyclopedia_, - s. v., Noah. - - 27 ‒ See Philipson, _The Jewish Pioneers in the Ohio Valley_, - in “Publications,” VIII, pp. 43 et seq.; also Markens, - pp. 100–104, and _Jewish Encyclopedia_, s. v. Cincinnati. - - 28 ‒ See Leon Hühner, _The first Jew to hold the Office of - Governor of one of the United States_ in “Publications,” - XVII, pp. 187–95. - - 29 ‒ The lines read as follows: - - Amos and Judah――venerated names! - Patriarch and prophet, press their equal claims. - Like generous coursers running neck and neck, - Each aids the work by giving it a check. - Christian and Jew, they carry out a plan―― - For though of different faith, each is in heart a man. - - 30 ‒ See H. Eliassof, _The Jews of Chicago_, in “Publications,” - XI, which also appeared separately. - - 31 ‒ See the papers contributed by Rev. Henry Cohen, of - Galveston, Tex., to the “Publications,” Vols. II, IV, V, - on the Jews of Texas (the last being on Henry Castro) and - his article “Texas” in the Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. XII. - - 32 ‒ Henry S. Morais, _The Jews of Philadelphia_, p. 45. - - 33 ‒ The list of these members as given by J. D. Eisenstein - in his _History of the first Russian-American Jewish - Congregation_ in Publications IX, pp. 63–74, is as follows: - Benjamin Lichtenstein, Judah Middleman, Abraham Benjamin - (of Hamburg), Abraham Joseph Ash, Joshua Rothstein, Israel - Cohen, Abba Baum, David Lasky, Leib Cohen, Baruch Solomon - Rothschild, Elijah Greenstein, Feibel Philips (the scribe), - Abraham Reiner, Tobias Schwartz, Abraham Levy (of Raczki), - Hyman Harris, Leibel Raczker, Samuel Hillel Isaacs, - Jerahmel Chuck (of Berlin), Isidor Raphall and Jacob Levy. - The first twelve were the original members. - - 34 ‒ See A. M. Friedenberg, Publications, _Calendar of - American-Jewish Cases_, XII, pp. 87 _et seq._ - - 35 ‒ Jost, _Neuere Geschichte der Israeliten_, ii, pp. 360–68. - See also Jacob Ezekiel, _Persecution of the Jews in 1840_, - “Publications,” VIII, pp. 141–45, and Joseph Jacobs, _The - Damascus Affair of 1840 and the Jews of America_, ibid. x, - pp. 119–28. - - 36 ‒ See Sol. M. Stroock _Switzerland and the American Jews_, - “Publications” XI, pp. 7–52, and Cyrus Adler, _Jews in - American Diplomatic Correspondence_, ibid. XV, pp. 25–39, - for ample treatment of the subject, including numerous - documents and copious references. - - 37 ‒ See Max J. Kohler in article _Antislavery Movement in - America_ in “Jew. Encyclopedia.” - - 38 ‒ See Markens, _Lincoln and the Jews_ in “Publications,” - XVII, pp. 10–65, for a more detailed treatment of the - subject of this chapter. - - 39 ‒ _The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen_, p. 6. - - 40 ‒ Pierce Butler, _Judah P. Benjamin_, Philadelphia, 1907, - p. 62. This complete biographical work is the only one - of its kind written of an American Jew, and practically - supersedes all that was written about Benjamin before. - - 41 ‒ See Kohler, _German-Jewish Migration to America_ in - “Publications” IX, 96 ff. - - 42 ‒ Rev. Joseph Krauskopf, _Half a Century of Judaism in the - United States_, in “The American Jews’ Annual” for 5648, - p. 87. - - 43 ‒ See Dr. Isaac Rülf (1834–1902), _Die Russische Juden_, - Memel, 1892, p. 4 ff. - - 44 ‒ Adele Szold in _Emma Lazarus, a biographical sketch_, in - “The Hebrew Standard” for December 1, 1905. - - 45 ‒ See Morais, _The Jews of Philadelphia_, p. 142, and also - _Constitution of the Jewish Alliance of America_, etc., - Philadelphia, 1891. - - 46 ‒ John R. Commons, in his report on “Immigration and Its - Economic Effects,” quoted in the article “Trade Unionism” - in _The Jewish Encyclopedia_, vol. XII. - - 47 ‒ See article “Migration” in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_, - where the figures are interesting but the sources do not - justify complete reliability. - - 48 ‒ See _The American Passport in Russia_ in the American - Jewish Year Book for 5665; also _The Passport Question in - Congress_, ibid. for 5670. - - 49 ‒ See _Abstract of the Report on Federal Immigration - Legislation_ by the Immigration Commission, issued by the - Government, Washington, 1911. - - 50 ‒ See his _The Jews and the American Sunday Laws_ in - “Publications,” XI, pp. 101–15 (also note ibid., XII, - pp. 171–73), and his _Sunday Laws in the United States - and Leading Judicial Decisions Having Special Reference - to the Jews_ in The American Jewish Year Book for 5669, - pp. 152–89. - - 51 ‒ See _Preliminary list of Jewish Soldiers and Sailors who - served in the Spanish-American War_ in The American Jewish - Year Book for 5661, pp. 525–622. - - 52 ‒ American-Jewish Year Book for 5661 (1900–1901). - - 53 ‒ See Adler, _Jews in American Diplomatic Correspondence_, - “Publications” XV, pp. 48–73. - - 54 ‒ Rabbi Maximilian Heller in _American Jewish Year Book_ for - 5664. p. 21. - - 55 ‒ See Adler, _The Voice of America on Kishineff_, - Philadelphia, 1904. Among the books which appeared in - the United States on this subject are also _Russia at the - Bar of the American People_, by Isidore Singer, New York, - 1904, and _Within the Pale_, New York, 1903, by the Irish - patriot, Michael Davitt, who was sent to Russia soon after - the massacre as a representative of Mr. Hearst’s papers. - - 56 ‒ Volume XIV of the _Publications_ is devoted to the - proceedings and the addresses of this celebration. It also - appeared in a separate volume entitled _The Two Hundred - and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Jews in - the United States_. New York, 1906. - - 57 ‒ See _American-Jewish Year Book_ for 5667, pp. 230, 233, 234. - - 58 ‒ See above, Chapter XXXI. - - 59 ‒ See Kohler in Publications IV, p. 87. See also for the - sources of this chapter “Publications” I, pp. 117–120, - and the article “Canada” in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_. - - 60 ‒ _Enquete sur la Population Israelite en Argentine_, in the - “Rapport de l’Administration Centrale ...” of the I. C. A. - for 1909. Paris, 1910. pp. 251–308. - - 61 ‒ See _Jew. Encyclopedia_, Vol. III, p. 326–27. - - 62 ‒ Those who want to follow up the subject, which is - by no means uninteresting, are referred to _Early - Jewish Literature in America_, by Geo. A. Kohut, in - “Publications” III, pp. 103–47, and to J. D. Eisenstein’s - _The Development of Jewish Casuistic Literature in - America_, ibid. XII, pp. 139–47. - - 63 ‒ See Dr. B. Drachman, _Neo-Hebraic Literature in America_, - appended to the Seventh Biennial Report of the Jewish - Theological Seminary Ass’n (New York, 1900). - - 64 ‒ The figures are based on the exhaustive though necessarily - incomplete _Directory of Jewish Local Organizations in - the United States_, which appeared in the “American-Jewish - Year Book” for 5668 (published in 1907), and allowance - must be made for some omissions, as well as for increases - in the last five years. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Punctuation has been standardized. - - This book was written in a period when many words had not become - standardized in their spelling. Words may have multiple spelling - variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These have - been left unchanged unless indicated with a Transcriber’s Note. - - The alphabetical order of the Index has been corrected but the - references have not been checked for accuracy. - - The following corrections have been made in the text: - - Page ix: - Sentence starting: Jews in Brazil after the.... - – ‘Paramaraibo’ replaced with ‘Paramaribo’ - (The community of Paramaribo) - – ‘Nasi’ replaced with ‘Nassi’ - (David Nassi and the colony) - - Page xxi: - Sentence starting: Jews fight on the Loyalist.... - – ‘Popineau’s’ replaced with ‘Papineau’s’ - (against Papineau’s rebellion) - - Page 14: - Sentence starting: This view was supported.... - – ‘Manasse’ replaced with ‘Manasseh’ - (than Manasseh Ben Israel) - - Page 21: - Sentence starting: As early as 1511.... - – ‘Juanna’ replaced with ‘Juana’ - (Queen Juana of Castille) - - Page 26: - Sentence starting: When this order arrived.... - – ‘Gonzolo’ replaced with ‘Gonzalo’ - (Gonzalo de Luna) - - Page 38: - Sentence starting: .... - – ‘Parahibo’ replaced with ‘Parahiba’ - (Rio de Janeiro and Parahiba.) - - Page 41: - Sentence starting: Jews in Brazil after the.... - – ‘Paramaraibo’ replaced with ‘Paramaribo’ - (The community of Paramaribo) - – ‘Nasi’ replaced with ‘Nassi’ - (David Nassi and the colony) - - Page 45: - Sentence starting: The Jews of Surinam were.... - – ‘Calaby’ replaced with ‘Calabi’ - (Israel Calabi Cid) - - Page 48: - Sentence starting: In 1772 Noah Isaaks.... - – ‘Noach’ replaced with ‘Noah’ - (In 1772 Noah Isaaks) - - Page 50: - Sentence starting: The most prominent Jewish.... - – ‘De’ replaced with ‘Da’ - (David Da Costa) - - Page 51: - Sentence starting: The land assigned to them.... - – ‘Willemstad’ replaced with ‘Willemsted’ - (present district of Willemsted) - - Page 56: - Sentence starting: Special taxes continued.... - – ‘some’ replaced with ‘same’ - (on the same scale) - - Page 58: - Sentence starting: In 1668 Solomon Gabay Faro.... - – ‘Gomes’ replaced with ‘Gomez’ - (David Gomez Henriques) - - Page 76: - Sentence starting: Barnard Gratz and his brother.... - – ‘Amreica’ replaced with ‘America’ - (came to America about 1755) - - Page 78: - Sentence starting: Several other Jews rendered.... - – ‘renderd’ replaced with ‘rendered’ - (Several other Jews rendered) - - Page 85: - Sentence starting: The separation of Church and.... - – ‘seperation’ replaced with ‘separation’ - (The separation of Church and) - - Page 93: - Sentence starting: Abraham Pinto was a member.... - – ‘it’ replaced with ‘is’ - (of whom it is not certain) - - Page 94: - Sentence starting: In 1782 Sheftal appeared.... - – ‘pariot’ replaced with ‘patriot’ - (the haven for patriot refugees) - - Page 97: - Sentence starting: His son, Haym M. Salomon.... - – ‘Hyam’ replaced with ‘Haym’ - (His son, Haym M. Salomon) - Sentence starting: William Salomon (b. in.... - – ‘Hyam’ replaced with ‘Haym’ - (great-grandson of Haym Salomon) - - Page 115: - Sentence starting: In a letter to Madison.... - – ‘propogated’ replaced with ‘propagated’ - (and propagated with enthusiasm) - - Page 134: - Sentence starting: He was also president.... - – ‘Berith’ replaced with ‘B’rith’ - (into a B’nai B’rith lodge) - - Page 148: - Sentence starting: In that capacity they bought.... - – ‘Hyam’ replaced with ‘Haym’ - (that of Haym Harris) - - Page 151: - Sentence starting: The “Kehillah Anshe Maarab”.... - – ‘Kehilat’ replaced with ‘Kehillah’ - (The “Kehillah Anshe Maarab”) - - Page 152: - Sentence starting: The Hebrew Relief Association.... - – ‘Greenbaum’ replaced with ‘Greenebaum’ - (Henry Greenebaum (b. in Germany, 1833)) - - Page 175: - Sentence starting: He gave up the rabbinate.... - – ‘rabinate’ replaced with ‘rabbinate’ - (He gave up the rabbinate) - - Page 177: - Sentence starting: He also participated in the rabbinical.... - – ‘bcome’ replaced with ‘become’ - (to become rabbi of) - - Page 180: - Sentence starting: For some time he acted.... - – ‘Penteteuch’ replaced with ‘Pentateuch’ - (began a translation of the Pentateuch) - - Page 184: - Sentence starting: Benjamin Szold (b. in Hungary, 1829.... - – ‘consevative’ replaced with ‘conservative’ - (a more conservative course) - - Page 185: - Sentence starting: His work “Die Lage der Juden in Polen”.... - – ‘appeard’ replaced with ‘appeared’ - (which appeared anonymously) - - Page 236: - Sentence starting: Max Einstein (b. in Würtemberg.... - – ‘Würtemburg’ replaced with ‘Würtemberg’ - (Max Einstein (b. in Würtemberg) - - Page 237: - Sentence starting: Another New York Jew.... - – ‘Colonal’ replaced with ‘Colonel’ - (Lieutenant-Colonel Leopold C. Newman) - - Page 252: - Sentence starting: Kehillah Anshe Maarab of Chicago.... - – ‘Kehillat’ replaced with ‘Kehillah’ - (Kehillah Anshe Maarab of Chicago) - - Page 255: - Sentence starting: M. Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu.... - – ‘Polland’ replaced with ‘Poland’ - (emigrants from Russian-Poland) - Sentence starting: The great anti-Jewish riot.... - – ‘cosiderable’ replaced with ‘considerable’ - (followed by considerable emigration) - - Page 259: - Sentence starting: His brother-in-law, Kasriel H. Sarasohn.... - – ‘Sarahson’ replaced with ‘Sarasohn’ - (His brother-in-law, Kasriel H. Sarasohn) - - Page 266: - Sentence starting: (See _Jewish Encyclopedia_.... - – ‘Henriette’ replaced with ‘Henrietta’ - (by Miss Henrietta Szold.) - - Page 269: - Sentence starting: Before the colony was fairly.... - – ‘Missiouri’ replaced with ‘Missouri’ - (farmers in Kansas and Missouri.) - - Page 277: - Sentence starting: The “landsleut” meet there.... - – ‘landsleute’ replaced with ‘landsleut’ - (The “landsleut” meet there) - - Page 285: - Sentence starting: In the last few years.... - – ‘wealtheir’ replaced with ‘wealthier’ - (older and wealthier members) - Sentence starting: But no one would think now.... - – ‘snyagogue’ replaced with ‘synagogue’ - (the position of a synagogue) - - Page 290: - Sentence starting: When the great pressure.... - – ‘somehwat’ replaced with ‘somewhat’ - (had somewhat relaxed) - - Page 291: - Sentence starting: A large majority consists of.... - – ‘precense’ replaced with ‘presence’ - (and demands their presence) - - Page 295: - Sentence starting: The second, The Jewish Publication Society.... - – ‘Maritz’ replaced with ‘Moritz’ - (and Moritz Ellinger) - - Page 296: - Sentence starting: The World’s Columbian Exposition.... - – ‘on’ replaced with ‘an’ - (offered the Jews an opportunity) - - Page 305: - Sentence starting: Some of the best known.... - – ‘Sosnitz’ replaced with ‘Sossnitz’ - (the philosopher Joseph Loeb Sossnitz) - - Page 314: - Sentence starting: It continues that even.... - – ‘arguments’s’ replaced with ‘argument’s’ - (for the argument’s sake) - - Page 335: - Sentence starting: It was in these countries.... - – ‘umost’ replaced with ‘utmost’ - (exploited to the utmost extent) - - Page 379: - Sentence starting: The Young Men’s Hebrew.... - – duplicated word removed ‘’ - – ‘cannoot’ replaced with ‘cannot’ - (people who cannot utilize) - - Page 380: - Sentence starting: Jews fight on the Loyalist side.... - – ‘Popineau’ replaced with ‘Papineau’ - (against Papineau’s rebellion) - - Page 382: - Sentence starting: The Rev. Jacob Raphael Cohen.... - – ‘Mickveh’ replaced with ‘Mickweh’ - (rabbi of Congregation Mickweh Israel) - - Page 386: - Sentence starting: Besides the towns mentioned.... - – ‘Ottowa’ replaced with ‘Ottawa’ - (Ottawa, Quebec, Regina) - - Page 390: - Sentence starting: Despite the friction which.... - – ‘succsssful’ replaced with ‘successful’ - (are successful and their future) - - Page 393: - Sentence starting: According to the writers of the.... - – ‘Maranos’ replaced with ‘Marranos’ - (formerly as Marranos) - - Page 397: - Sentence starting: A picture which he exhibited.... - – ‘Luxemburg’ replaced with ‘Luxembourg’ - (for the Luxembourg gallery) - - Page 400: - Sentence starting: Jacob H. Hollander.... - – ‘emonomy’ replaced with ‘economy’ - (professor of political economy) - - Page 401: - Sentence starting: Professor Edwin R. A. Seligman.... - – ‘subect’ replaced with ‘subject’ - (standard works on the subject) - - Page 406: - Sentence starting: According to Mr. Eisenstein.... - – ‘Josep’ replaced with ‘Joseph’ - (Rabbi Joseph Moses Aronson) - - Page 409: - Sentence starting: The _Hekal ha-Ibriyah_.... - – ‘Ettelsohn’ replaced with ‘Ettelson’ - (edited by N. B. Ettelson) - - Page 414: - Sentence starting: Morris Phillips (1834–1904).... - – ‘Omoha’ replaced with ‘Omaha’ - (died in Omaha, Neb.) - - Page 417: - Sentence starting: _The New Era Illustrated Magazine_.... - – ‘Mabazine’ replaced with ‘Magazine’ - (_The New Era Illustrated Magazine_) - - Page 423: - Sentence starting: The conservative _Volksfreund_.... - – ‘Josephr’ replaced with ‘Joseph’ - (edited by Joseph Selig Glick) - - Page 427: - Sentence starting: Not only the proportion.... - – ‘proporton’ replaced with ‘proportion’ - (Not only the proportion) - - Page 428: - Sentence starting: There is, therefore, every reason.... - – ‘Jewisht’ replaced with ‘Jewish’ - (set the Jewish house) - - Index Abramowitz, Rev. Herman: - – ‘Abramovitz’ replaced with ‘Abramowitz’ - (Abramowitz, Rev. Herman) - - Index Andrade, Salvatore d’: - – ‘Salvator’ replaced with ‘Salvatore’ - (Andrade, Salvatore d’) - - Index Anixter, Rabbi Eliezer: - – ‘Elizer’ replaced with ‘Eliezer’ - (Anixter, Rabbi Eliezer) - - Index Ashkenazi, Dr. Herbert: - – ‘Ashkenazy’ replaced with ‘Ashkenazi’ - (Ashkenazi, Dr. Herbert) - - Index Barsimson, Jacob: - – ‘Barsimon’ replaced with ‘Barsimson’ - (Barsimson, Jacob) - - Index Bender, Canada: - – ‘Bendor’ replaced with ‘Bender’ - (Bender, Canada) - - Index Bennett, James Gordon: - – ‘Bennet’ replaced with ‘Bennett’ - (Bennett, James Gordon) - - Page Bernal, physician: - – ‘Beral’ replaced with ‘Bernal’ - (Bernal, physician) - - Index Campanall, Mordecai: - – ‘Campanell’ replaced with ‘Campanall’ - (Campanall, Mordecai) - - Index Caseras, Henrique de: - – ‘Caseres’ replaced with ‘Caseras’ - (Caseras, Henrique de) - - Index Chuck, Jerahmel: - – ‘Jerahmeel’ replaced with ‘Jerahmel’ - (Chuck, Jerahmel) - - Index Cone, Ceasar: - – ‘Cesar’ replaced with ‘Ceasar’ - (Cone, Ceasar) - - Index Cordoza, Hakam de: - – ‘Cordova’ replaced with ‘Cordoza’ - (Cordoza, Hakam de) - - Index Coutinho, Henriques: - – ‘Henriquez’ replaced with ‘Henriques’ - – add missing page reference ‘51’ - (Coutinho, Henriques, 51) - - Index Coutinho, Isaac Jerajo: - – ‘Jeraso’ replaced with ‘Jerajo’ - (Coutinho, Isaac Jerajo) - - Index Cresques, Jafuda: - – ‘Cresquas’ replaced with ‘Cresques’ - – ‘Jafudah’ replaced with ‘Jafuda’ - (Cresques, Jafuda) - - Index Cufo: - – ‘Cuffo’ replaced with ‘Cufo’ - (Cufo) - - Index Dungan, Irvine: - – ‘Dongan’ replaced with ‘Dungan’ - (Dungan, Irvine) - - Index Falmouth, Jamaica: - – ‘Fallmouth’ replaced with ‘Falmouth’ - (Falmouth, Jamaica) - - Index Faro, Solomon Gabay: - – ‘Gabbay’ replaced with ‘Gabay’ - (Faro, Solomon Gabay) - - Index Fishman, William: - – ‘Fischman’ replaced with ‘Fishman’ - (Fishman, William) - - Index Ford――Committee on Immigration: - – ‘Immigation’ replaced with ‘Immigration’ - (Ford――Committee on Immigration) - - Index Frazon or Frazier, Joseph: - – ‘Frazen’ replaced with ‘Frazon’ - (Frazon or Frazier, Joseph) - - Index Freiberg, J. Walter: - – ‘Friberg’ replaced with ‘Freiberg’ - (Freiberg, J. Walter) - - Index Friedlaender, Dr. Israel: - – ‘Friedländer’ replaced with ‘Friedlaender’ - (Friedlaender, Dr. Israel) - - Index Gliddon, John: - – ‘Glidden’ replaced with ‘Gliddon’ - (Gliddon, John) - - Index Hackenburg, Wm. B.: - – ‘Hackenberg’ replaced with ‘Hackenburg’ - (Hackenburg, Wm. B.) - - Index Harris, Asher Lemil: - – ‘Lemel’ replaced with ‘Lemil’ - (Harris, Asher Lemil) - - Index Hendricks, Benjamin: - – Page reference added ‘70’ - (Hendricks, Benjamin, 70) - - Index Heydenfeldt, Elkan: - – ‘Elkam’ replaced with ‘Elkan’ - (Heydenfeldt, Elkan) - - Index Heister, Gen.: - – ‘Heyster’ replaced with ‘Heister’ - (Heister, Gen.) - - Index Iliowizi, Rabbi Henry: - – ‘Illiowizi’ replaced with ‘Iliowizi’ - (Iliowizi, Rabbi Henry) - - Index Illan, Jaude: - – ‘Illon’ replaced with ‘Illan’ - (Illan, Jaude) - - Index Jaffe, Rabbi Shalom Elhanan: - – ‘Elchanan’ replaced with ‘Elhanan’ - (Jaffe, Rabbi Shalom Elhanan) - - Index Joffe, Joshua A.: - – ‘Jaffe’ replaced with ‘Joffe’ - (Joffe, Joshua A.) - - Index Kohler, Max J.: - – the 2nd (note) is on page 207 instead of 243 - (207 (note), 243,) - - Index Lasky, David: - – ‘Laski’ replaced with ‘Lasky’ - (Lasky, David) - - Index Manasseh ben Israel: - – ‘beu’ replaced with ‘ben’ - (Manasseh ben Israel) - - Index Manso, Bishop Alphonso: - – ‘Mansa’ replaced with ‘Manso’ - (Manso, Bishop Alphonso) - - Index Margolies, Rabbi M. Z.: - – ‘Margolis’ replaced with ‘Margolies’ - (Margolies, Rabbi M. Z.) - - Index Mesia, Daniel: - – ‘Mesya’ replaced with ‘Mesia’ - (Mesia, Daniel) - - Index Montevido, Uruguay: - – ‘Montevideo’ replaced with ‘Montevido’ - (Montevido, Uruguay) - - Index Montego Bay, Jamaica: - – ‘Montigo’ replaced with ‘Montego’ - (Montego Bay, Jamaica) - - Index Neumann, Dr. S.: - – ‘Neuman’ replaced with ‘Neumann’ - (Neumann, Dr. S.) - - Index Newburg, P.: - – ‘Newberg’ replaced with ‘Newburg’ - (Newburg, P.) - - Index Newburger, Morris: - – ‘Newberger’ replaced with ‘Newburger’ - (Newburger, Morris) - - Index Parahiba, Brazil: - – ‘Parahibo’ replaced with ‘Parahiba’ - (Parahiba, Brazil) - - Index Parra, La: - – ‘Para’ replaced with ‘Parra’ - (Parra, La) - - Index Pelatas, Brazil: - – ‘Pellatas’ replaced with ‘Pelatas’ - (Pelatas, Brazil) - - Index Perreira, Isaac: - – ‘Pereire’ replaced with ‘Perreira’ - (Perreira, Isaac) - - Index Philipson, Rev. David: - – ‘Phillipson’ replaced with ‘Philipson’ - (Philipson, Rev. David) - - Index Phillips, Col. Frederick: - – ‘Philipps’ replaced with ‘Phillips’ - (Phillips, Col. Frederick) - - Index Pinelo, Francisco: - – ‘Pinalo’ replaced with ‘Pinelo’ - (Pinelo, Francisco) - - Index Porto Alegra, Brazil: - – ‘Alegro’ replaced with ‘Alegra’ - (Porto Alegra, Brazil) - - Index Reisen, A.: - – ‘Reisin’ replaced with ‘Reisen’ - (Reisen, A.) - - Index Rindskopf, Löbl: - – ‘Löbel’ replaced with ‘Löbl’ - (Rindskopf, Löbl) - - Index Rivera, Jacob Rodrigues: - – ‘Rievera’ replaced with ‘Rivera’ - (Rivera, Jacob Rodrigues) - - Index Sarasohn, Kasriel H.: - – ‘Kesriel’ replaced with ‘Kasriel’ - (Sarasohn, Kasriel H.) - - Index Schaikewitz, N. M. (Shomer): - – ‘Schomer’ replaced with ‘Shomer’ - (Schaikewitz, N. M. (Shomer)) - - Index Schwartz, Tobias: - – ‘Schwarz’ replaced with ‘Schwartz’ - (Schwartz, Tobias)♦ - - Index Shaftesbury, Lord: - – Page reference added ‘344’ - (Shaftesbury, Lord)♦ - - Index Shasta, Cal.: - – ‘Sasta’ replaced with ‘Shasta’ - (Shasta, Cal.) - - Index Sherbrooke, Canada: - – ‘Sherbrook’ replaced with ‘Sherbrooke’ - (Sherbrooke, Canada) - - Index Sossnitz, Jos. L.: - – ‘Sosnitz’ replaced with ‘Sossnitz’ - Sossnitz, Jos. L.() - - Index Weinshel, Hayyim: - – ‘Weinschel’ replaced with ‘Weinshel’ - – ‘Hayim’ replaced with ‘Hayyim’ - (Weinshel, Hayyim) - - Index Wistar, William: - – ‘Wister’ replaced with ‘Wistar’ - (Wistar, William) - - Index Wolff, J. Meyer: - – ‘Woolff’ replaced with ‘Wolff’ - (Wolff, J. Meyer) - - Index Zunser, Eliakim: - – ‘Eliakum’ replaced with ‘Eliakim’ - (Zunser, Eliakim) - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE JEWS IN AMERICA*** - - -******* This file should be named 64574-0.txt or 64574-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/4/5/7/64574 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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