Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 1.pdf/553

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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

505

and diplomat, was also a dramatic author note. Other dramatists aud authors were Samuel H. II. Juilali (born in New York in 17!(0) and Jonas B. Philli|is; and at the present time David Helasco is a most suecessful playwright. It would lie impossible to enumerate the Jews now on the slajie. The introduction of opera into the I'niteil States was due larjiely to the instrumentality liiilitiiian,

1)1

consiilcrabli'

of Jews.

In Commerce and Manufacture Jiws were notably im|iorta]it in

In commerce the eii;hteenth

(inlury. The faei that the earliest settlers were men of means, and were Si>aiiish and I'ortufrucse .lews who had relatives and friends sellled throughout the Ij<?vanl, irave them specially favorable opporluiMties for tradinj;. Some were ship-owners; oiie man, Aaron l.op<'/. of Newport, had before the Hivolulionary War a lleet of thirty vessels. Jews very early traded lietweeii the West India Islandsand the North American colonies, as well as with Amsterdam, Venice, etc. Till' Jewish immijinints who arrived in America dnrini; the nineteenth century were in the main poor people who conunenced iradinu' in a small w ay, usually by peddlini:, w Inch, before the existence of railinads. was a favorite method of carryinir merchandise into the country districts, lly industry and fruicality they laid the foundations of a considerable number of moderate fortunes. The Jews in New York became an integral part of that great trading

more especially in York, many of the Jews

In the early colonial period,

I'<nnsylvania and in New with the Indians. The organization under which the Stock E.change of New York was formed, originated in an agreement in 1793 to buy or sell only on a dctinite commission: and to this dociunent were attached the signatures of four Jews. Since then Jews have been very active in the Stock Extra<led

Jews Active in

change and in banking circles, both in New York and elsewhere. They

Financial Circles,

hav<' also taken a leading part in controlling the cotton tracle. Jews are

likewise very prominent in the manufacture of cloaks anil shirts in the clothing trade, and more recently in cigars and jewelry. In 1H8H Markens estimated that the wholesale trade in the hands of Jews in the city (d' New York amounted to S-Mm,ii(h).(KI. and the holdings of real estate to

changes of mutual good-will between Christians and Jews. I{abbi Ilaym Isaac Karigel was apparently a close friend of Ezra Stiles. ])residentof Yale College. Gershon Jlendes Seixas, minister of

Jews the Shearith Israel congregation. New and Chris- York, was a trustee of Columbia 1TH4-1.S1.") tians College although this Cooperate, organization was under the Episcopal Church; and the Eliiscojial bishop of (

New

.sl.")(l.(HMI.lllll».

Agriculture: Jews were the

first

to introduce

the culture of the sugar caiK' on the western continint and of the vine in Oeorgia. Otherwise their ai;ri).

Social: The social organization <if Ihi' Jews resiin .Vmerica has ditTered little from that in other

dent

In the early colonial period the wealthier to have taken part with their Christian fellow citizens in the organization of dances and other social functions, anil clubs; and il is a matter (f iicord that the wealthier Jewisli families liveil with eompaialive good taste and possessed tine houses, objects of art, etc. Ni'Verthele.ss, in the main, and without any coinpiilsion. Jews preferred to live in close proximity to each other. .Vt the lime when little loleration was shown in other countries, there were in .Vinerica manv inter-

countries.

Hebrews seem

)

Y'ork

occasionally attended service in the After 1848 there arrived a large number of Jews who could not speak the English language, and to them a certain odium attached on

synagogue.

account; but this seems to have gradually worn The general American jiublic exhibited great sympathy with the Jews in 1840 at the time of the Damascus murders, and again in 1883 on the occasion of the persecutions in Russia; and Hermann Ahlwardt, on his visit to America in I8!t."i. found the soil an unfavorable one for his anti-.Seniitic projiaganda. The only indication of any prejudice against the Jews shown mainly in the Eastern states has been the exclusion of Jewish children from certain jirivateschoolsand of .lews generally from some hotels. this

olT.

—

—

Very early the Jews as early as

17!);

in

America began

A club was started

social organizations,

and

in

to

form

Newport

— some cfimprising possessed of magproperties — have been estab-

.social

clubs

many nuinbers and Hebrew^

niticeiit

Clubs.

<oimnunity.

America

lisheil in

many sections of

the country.

This development of Hebrew social clubs has been larger in the United Slates than anywhere else. American .lews have also been especially given to the forming of secret "Ordeis. " which, while they IkiiI primarily an eiliieational and charitable ]iurpose, hail much social inlluence, and tended jiowerfiilly toward theconlinneil association of .lews with each other when the liold of the synagogue upon them relaxed. These were supplemented later by the fornialion of Yriung Men's Hebrew As.sociations, which, like the Orders, partook to some extent of the nature of social organizations. Statistics: In 18is Mordecai M. Noah estimated the Jewish populuti.m of the United States at ;i.(«»0, and in 183(i Isjiac C. Harby set it at (i.lKHI. In 1840 the " Ameriian Almanac" gave the nund)er as 1.5,00(1; and iu 1848 .M. A. Bcik estimated il at ."lO.IMM). The first systematic attempt to obtain slalislinil information was undertaken by the Hoard of Delegalesof .mcrican Israelites, ihrough a committee, of

which William

I!.

Hackenburg, Simon Wolf, and

They esli(naled lh<' Jewisli others were members. population iu IKSOat 3:!0,','.')7." In 188.>< Is;iac Markeiis estimated it at 4tM).0(M). In the rejiorts on the statistic-s of dmrclics in the United Stales at the eleventh census (18il0). the Jewisli stalislics were collected by Philip Cowen. His investigations slmweil that there were .">:i:i con giegalions with 1:10.4!II> communicants. Of these congregations. liOl worshipctl in edilici-s with an approximate sealing capacity of I3!t,384. Others occupied J:!3 halls and rooms, having an aggregntc sealing capacity of 38,477. The lolal value of llie .synagogue property was esliniateil al .$!t.7.Vl,3.'i7. In 18!l7 David Siilzbergercslimateil tlu' total population at !):!7.8IN); and in 1111)0 il was estimated at l,0."iS,l



In the latter year il was estinialiil that tlicri' were upward of 7!M congregiitions in the United Slates. 41.'i educational orgHnizutions, and .'illli phihintliropic

organizations.

The

tolal

through

Jewish immigmlion to the United Slates ports of New York, Pliiladelphia, and

till-