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The History of Jews in the United States of America.
Why and when did they migrate?
The history of Jews in the United States of America is a long and arduous one. This relationship began in the first week of September 1654, when 23 Jewish immigrants landed at New Amsterdam, the Dutch colony ( Now known as Manhattan), and was immediacy ask to leave by the then governor Peter Stuyvesant, for as he said they should not be allowed to infest the new colony,(Schappes 9). The Jews immigrants refused and was later granted permission by the Dutch West India Company to stay , travel and trade. However, the major migration of Jews to the United States of America took place in three waves mainly known as the German period of immigrants1850-1870, the Eastern European Emigration (1881-1924), and the Post Holocaust immigration (1945-60).
The first wave, the German period of immigration took place during the years 1850 to 1870, during which the American Jewish population quadrupled. In this period the Jews suffered political and religious persecution in Western Europe .this was preceded by the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, which saw oppressive laws and ordinances being reintroduced into many European countries (Wiernik 136). The German Jews were more seriously affected by these laws than any other group. To make matters worse the ghetto walls were rebuilt and a new wave anti-Semitism swept across Europe, which led to the migration of many Jews from Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia Russia and Poland.
Also during this period capitalism was being introduced in Europe and the effect on agricultural economies was devastating; given the fact that most of the common folks made their living in by farming. In addition, there was wide s...
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Schappes, Morris u. The Jews in the United States: A Pictorial History 1654 to the Present. New York. The Citadel Press, 1958. Print.
Spielvogel, Jackson L. Western Civilization: A Brief History. USA.Wadsworth, 2008. Print
Wiernik, Peter. History of the Jews in America: From the Period of the Discovery of the New World to the Present Time. New York. Hermon Press, 197. Print.
Oxtoby, Willard Gurdon. "Jewish Traditions." World religions: western traditions. 1996. Reprint. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2011. 127-157. Print.
I chose to write about Jewish-Americans after my mother, who was raised Christian, chose to identify herself as Jewish. In my reading I examined Jewish culture and how it is in American society. I looked at how Jewish-American culture has become a prominent component of American society. I looked at the historical forces that have shaped Jewish-American experience in the United States. I looked at demographics of where most Jewish-Americans live. I examined how Jewish-Americans have contributed to our culturally pluralistic society in the United States.
Vigdor, Jacob L. From Immigrants to Americans (The Rise and Fall of FittingiIn.) New York:
Throughout the history of America, there has always been a influx of Jews from Europe. Even though Emma Lazarus wrote her poem after the massive immigration of German Jews to America, her poem can be used to describe the Jewish Immigrants. Many German Jews arrived in New York " tired ... poor... [and] yearning to breathe free." While New York City was still a hub for German Jewish immigrants, some had also moved to Atlanta and more Western states. Several of the German Jewish families who immigrated to America will forever have their names etched into her history, through their central role as entrepreneurs in America's expanding clothing industry. They began from humble careers and worked their way up the proverbial food chain. Once settled in, these German Jews knew they had to take advantage of their circumstances, past experiences and ability to "predict" the future in order to survive in the dog eat dog world of the Nineteenth Century. Although many of which did not have much startup capital, they managed to pay off their debts and move into the profit margin. For a job that can fabricate those results, many chose to become peddlers.
This paper discusses ethnic conflict between Jews and gentiles in the area of immigration policy. Immigration policy is, however, only one aspect of conflicts of interest between Jews and gentiles in America. The skirmishes between Jews and the gentile power structure beginning in the late nineteenth century always had strong overtones of anti- Semitism. These battles involved issues of Jewish upward mobility, quotas on Jewish representation in elite schools beginning in the nineteenth century and peaking in the 1920s and 1930s, the anti- Communist crusades in the post- World War II era, as well as the very powerful concern with the cultural influences of the major media extending from Henry Ford's writings in the 1920s to the Hollywood inquisitions of the McCarthy era and into the contemporary era. That anti- Semitism was involved in these issues can be seen from the fact that historians of Judaism (e. g., Sachar 1992, p. 620ff) feel compelled to include accounts of these events as important to the history of Jews in America, by the anti- Semitic pronouncements of many of the gentile participants, and by the self- conscious understanding of Jewish participants and observers.
Hertzberg, Arthur. (1973). The Jews of the United States. New York: Quadrangle/ The New York Times Book Co.
Boroff, David. "A Little Milk, a Little Honey: Jewish Immigrants in America." 1966. Oates. 87-97.
Stannard, David, E. 1992. American Holocaust: Columbus and the Conquest of the New World. Oxford University Press. 385pp
The transition of Jews through history is one, which is complex and took place over a long period. There are many factors, which contributed to the change of the status of Jews within their world and changes in their status as well; these changes affected the religious and cultural values of European Jews, which lead to an alteration in their own perception, as well as the surrounding populace. There are several opinions as to how non- Jews perceive the issues that led to Emancipation of Jewish people. Prior to the period of Emancipation there were three main characteristics which defined the traditional Jewish communities of Europe. These three aspects are community, autonomy and torah (religion). In relation to Torah, there is a common yearning to return to their homeland in Eretz Yisrael. As it is known from the Greek era, the purpose of a state or community was to glorify one's own religion and as a result, Jews could not be members of a Christian state. Therefore, they had no choice but to form their own communities within the larger Christian State. A Jew is a member of the Jewish nation and people and religion is what defined your life and place in society. Virtually everything revolved around the community; decisions were made with the impact of the community in mind. An essential aspect of this community was the conceptions of ghettos; Jews lived, worked, and played in these ghettos. These ghettos kept the Jewish community contained, and also provided a sense of separatism from outside influences. "The point can also be made that separation was in fact a contributing factor to healthy relations (between Jews and non- Jews)" with their concern for l...
Melton, J. Gordon, James A. Beverley, Constance M. Jones, and Pamela Susan Nadell. Melton's encyclopedia of American religions. 8th ed. Detroit: Gale Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Zollman, Joellyn. "Jewish Immigration to America - My Jewish Learning." Jewish Immigration to America - My Jewish Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. . Joellyn Zollman described three "waves" of Jewish immigration to America. First came the Sephardic settlers from 1654 and several decades on, second the German Jews (mainly to escape oppression and denial rights, even basic human rights) in the 1840s, and lastly the Eastern Europeans after 1880. It provided information on the history of Jewish immigration to the United States, along with the reasons why - these reasons seemed to be part of a trend throughout history.
New York is worlds one of the most significant, historic and precious city. It is often considered as the cultural and financial capital of the world. However, what makes New York so unique, popular and famous? It is New York’s immigrants. For my research I have used two texts, One Out of Three by Nancy Foner and New York by M.J. Howard. In the first text Foner gives an insight description about immigrant’s contribution in economic and cultural sector of New York. In the second text Howard writes about Immigration history and the way immigration has changed New Yorks lifestyle. New York is America’s most essential gateway city to immigrants. According to asanet.org “from the year 1850 to now massive amount of immigrants have moved and lived
During the years of the war, America’s immigration policy and the restriction of Jewish immigrants was very apparent. The January 1943 Telegram Confirming Reports of Mass Executions of Jews in Poland talks about the Immigration Reform Act of 1924 and how it passed tight quotas on immigration. In 1924, the Unites States passed the Immigration Reform act. This act granted as little as two percent of the immigrating population a visa they needed to enter the U.S. Getting a visa could mean life or death for many immigrants. Instead of America helping the Jews escape Germany and Hitler, they blocked them out with more strict immigration policies. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and other officials warned that stricter controls on immigration were needed to prevent foreign threats from invading our nation. But innocent Jews trying to escape death don’t seem that harmful to most people. They also refused to, “ raise their immigration quotas in order to accept large numbers of refugees” (Lichtheim and Riegne 1). Because of this, many European Jews were not expected into America and in return harshly affected by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Some even died a horrible deaths in concentration camps just because America was afraid of giving out too many visas. Because of actions like these, the Jews were turned down in their time of need, especially when they
While the Jewish population is small, its impact on the economy is extensive. For a group of people making up less than two percent of the United States populace, Jews are certainly a topic of much conversation and controversy. For a race so often targeted negatively and used as a scapegoat, it is surprising to realize the Jewish hand in America today. A question circulating for a while is whether or not Jews control America; Jews rule the film industry, the news and communication business is a Jewish kingdom, the American financial industry is essentially a Jewish franchise, and the professions are so dominated by Jews its shocking, so where does their influence run out? While the idea that America is run by Jews is disputed, the fact that there is a disproportionate Jewish influence on the US and global economy in comparison to their size cannot be argued against. While their effect may be small, it is surely noticeable and non-ignorable. Though the Jews have been the focus of much hate and ignorance throughout history, it is undeniable that they have had an effect on the American stock market, the real estate market, and the public school system.
"Dehumanization of the Jews." . Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh , n.d. Web. 16 Dec 2013. .