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George
Washington Appreciation of Washington by American Jews of His Time David Dalin and Alfred Kolatch, The Presidents of the United States & the Jews, pps. 4-5 “Washington’s modest demeanor was appreciated by the small Jewish population [of his time], as it was by the overall citizenry. Even those Jews who had emigrated from England, where they had been treated well and were now numbered among the British Tories or Loyalists to the Crown, valued the kindly American leader who integrity was unimpeachable, despite the fact that he was fighting Britain. Most Jews stood solidly behind Washington, and when he issued a call for volunteers, approximately 100 responded by joining local and state militias. Considering that the total Jewish population at that time numbered less then 2000, 100 volunteers was a substantial representation. One militia company in particular, situated in Charleston, S.C., considered of such a preponderance of young Jews that it became known as “Jew Company.” Letters of Congratulations to George Washington by American Synagogues -- The First President’s Historic Defense Against Bigotry and Persecution Jonathan Sarna, American
Judaism, 38-9 Redolent with biblical and liturgical language, the address noted past discrimination against Jews, praised the new government for `generously affording to all liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship, and thanked God “for all of the blessings of civil and religious liberty” that Jews now enjoyed under the Constitution. Washington, in his oft-quoted reply, reassure the Jewish community about what he correctly saw as its central concern –religious liberty. Appropriating a phrase contained in the Hebrew congregation’s original letter, he characterized the U.S. government as one that `gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” He described religious liberty, following Thomas Jefferson, as an inherent natural right, distinct from the indulgent religious `toleration’ practiced by the British and much of enlightened Europe, where Jewish emancipation was so often linked with demands for Jewish `improvement.’ Finally, echoing the language of the prophet Micah (4:4), he hinted that American might prove itself something of a Promised Land for Jews, a place where they would `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.” Jon D. Levenson, in David Dalin (ed), American Jews & The Separationist Faith, 69 [Washington’s letter to the Newport synagogue reads:] “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.’ These words of George Washington… articulated the basis of a radically new situation in human history: Jews and Christians as full and equal citizens under a government neutral between the two great traditions.. The new arrangement would soon be raised to the level of a fundamental right in the very first stipulations of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the US: ~Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’… [Given a history filled with persecution and bigotry] it is hardly surprising that Jews have been among the uncompromising supporters of the separation of religion and state.” Two Additional Letters of Congratulations Arrived On Behalf of America’s Other Jewish Communities Washington’s letter to the Jews of Newport was actually the second of 3 official exchanges between him and the American Jewish community. Two months earlier he had corresponded with the `Hebrew Congregation’ of Savannah, and in December, fully 20 months into his administration, he received an embarrassingly late joint letter from the `Hebrew congregations’ of Philadelphia, New York, Charleston, and Richmond. In sum, Washington was praised by all segments of the American Jewish community. They lauded his opposition to religious bigotry. They also exalted him for furthering the principle of religious freedom for all U.S. citizens. Washington's Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport Gentleman, While I receive, with much satisfaction, your Address replete with expressions of affection and 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 past is rendered the more sweet, from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security. If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages 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 a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a 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 was 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 for 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 every one 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. G. Washington Sixteenth President of the United States 1861-1865 Abraham Lincoln had numerous Jewish acquaintances and friends even prior to his ascent to the Presidency. Howard M. Sachar, A History of the Jews in America, 73 Moritz Pinner of Missouri and Louis N. Dembitz of Kentucky were 2 of the 3 delegates who placed Lincoln’s name into nomination at the 1869 GOP convention. ( Sachar 73)Dalin & Kolatch, 73 – During Lincoln’s years in office, he cultivated many Jewish friends who supported him while he endured difficult and trying times… Many of Lincoln’s Jewish friends and confidants helped him navigate through his personal and public travails – particularly the dissolution of the Union…. [In particular] five men of note: Abraham Jonas, Abraham Kohn, Issachar Zacharie, Simon Wolf and Adolphus S. Solomons (for further details about his relationship with each of these men, see Dalin and Kolatch, 72-74).This was to prove advantageous to American Jewry. For example, Simon Wolf, based in Washington,"[At certain points in time] secured President Lincoln’s intercession in behalf of mistreated Jewish soldiers… ( Sachar 82)Bertram Korn, American Jewry and the Civil War – 203 "The wide variety of Jews whom Lincoln met during the election year and in the White House deepened his understanding of Jews as individuals. Henry, Greenebaum, a fellow Illinois politician; Sigismund Kaufman and Abraham Dittenhoefer, both Republican presidential electors; Moritz Pinner, the St. Louis abolitionist; Simon Wolf, the lawyer; and Adolphus S. Solomons, the printer and photographer, both of Washington, D.C.; Edward Rosewater, War Department telegrapher; Gustave Myers, the Richmond lawyer – these were only a few of the many Jews whom Lincoln met, some of whom saw him frequently on official or personal business." Abraham Lincoln Supported Jewish Rights on Two Important Occasions
Lincoln was an opponent of bigotry within American civic life As noted by Bertram Korn, 205/6 – "Lincoln’s attitude toward the Jews must be measured in part, at least, by his opinions of the Know-Nothing Movement… Although these Nativists never mentioned Jews as a specific target [they were too small in number], they were undoubtedly included in the general classification [by the Know Nothings] of unwanted aliens… In an 1855 letter to Joshua Speed, Lincoln wrote: I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How could anyone who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor of degrading classes of white people? … As a nation, we began by declaring that `all men are created equal.’… [If] Know-nothings get control, it will read, `all men are created equal except negroes, and foreigners [like Jews] and Catholics.’ Lincoln expressed an affinity for the collective needs of the Jewish people Korn, 202 "In March, 1863, Lincoln conferred with … Henry Wentworth Monk, the Canadian-born Judaeophile and early Zionist, who had come to Washington to [confer with the President]… Monk went on to discuss one of his pet projects: the restoration of European Jewry to Palestine. The President agreed that the vision which Monk had of a Jewish state in Palestine was worthy of consideration, but protested that the United States [in the midst of a Civil War] was in no position to take a leading role in international affairs until it had set its own house in order and reunited the two warring factions. This is what Lincoln said of the Jews: I myself have a [high] regard for the Jews. My chiropodist is a Jew, and he has so many times `put me on my feet’ that I would have no objections to giving his countrymen `a leg up’ The Death of Lincoln Evoked A
Massive Outpouring of Affection Among Jews Dalin/Kolatch, 78 "Instead of celebrating the Passover of 1865 joyfully in their homes and synagogues, Jews grieved for their fallen hero… Many congregations in the North expressed their grief by draping their galleries and entrance doors with black hangings and reciting memorial prayers." Sarna, 122 "In subsequent sermons, delivered in Lincoln’s memory by rabbis across the United States, the president was compared to the patriarch Abraham, to King David, and above all to Moses, who died without entering the Promised Land. Only the absence of parallels to Christ significantly distinguished the Jewish sermons from Christian ones. The critical point, for Jews, was that they be fully included in the memorials for Lincoln. The slain president’s friendship with Jews and the gratitude Jews felt toward him made them especially eager to participate as equals in the rites of national mourning. In New York, some 3000 Jews marched in Lincoln’s funeral pageant, at least half a dozen Jewish leaders sat on the dais, and one of the 6 speakers from among the clergy was Samuel Isaacs – granted coequal status with the others… Subsequently, for Jews as for Christians, Lincoln became something of an American saint. Hundreds of Jews contributed to the `holy national work’ of memorializing the slain president. A contemporary Charleston-born Jewish artist, Solomon Nunes Carvallo, immortalized him as the `great emancipator’ in a magnificent portrait, and his image continues to grace various Jewish homes to this day." Lincoln’s Legacy for American Jews Dalin/Kolatch, 71 "Jews [subsequently]… saw only the stately side of Lincoln. He was a hero of unsurpassed stature and distinction, so much so that his memory evoked warm, positive feelings for more than a century after his passing. This feeling was demonstrated in 1968 when James Myers, a descendant of Jewish shopkeepers Morris and Katharine Myers, joined with several friends to purchase a dilapidated building in Springfield, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln practiced law. They restored the interior of the building as faithfully as possible, and it became a favorite tourist attraction." Courtesy of www.celebrate350.org |
