Judaism in the United States
Migration to America
Jewish immigrants began coming to America in the 1600s, and were largely Sephardic Jews. The first major Jewish settlement was in New Amsterdam and existed from 1655-1654, until the English conquered the area and named it New York. In 1880, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations published the first census of American Jewry and estimated there to be 250,000 Jews were living in the country. By 1940, there were between 4,770,000 and 4,975,000 Jews living in the US, which was under 5% of the population at the time.
Assimilation
Once Jewish Americans arrived in the United States, there was a concerted effort to negotiate their place without sacrificing their identity. Many went to English classes at night, and adopted American dress and customs. Ultimately, they were learning to fit in with the American way of life. Learning English was a critical part of this assimilation. Many immigrants mastered only rudimentary English, but sent their children to public schools in overwhelming numbers. Although many families needed their children's income to survive, education was the key to mobility for the next generation. Most Jewish children did obtain at least an elementary education during this era.
Leo Frank.
America’s Response to the Holocaust
Beginning in the 1930s, life in Germany became increasingly difficult for Jews and they were encouraged to leave the country. During this time, the US did not welcome Jewish refugees from Europe. In 1939, 83% of Americans were opposed to the admission of refugees. In the midst of the Great Depression, many feared the burden that immigrants could place on the nation’s economy; refugees, who in most cases were prevented from bringing any money or assets with them, were an even greater cause for concern.
The extermination of European Jewry began when the German army invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. The Nazis attempted to keep the Holocaust a secret, but in August 1942, Dr. Gerhart Riegner, the representative of the World Jewish Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, learned what was going on from a German source. Riegner asked American diplomats in Switzerland to inform Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, one of America’s most prominent Jewish leaders, of the mass murder plan. The State Department, which was undoubtedly influenced by antisemitism, decided not to inform Wise. Wise was subsequently given this information by Jewish leaders in Great Britain. When he then approached Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles, Wise was asked to keep the information confidential until the government verified it.
In November 1942, Welles authorized the release of Riegner’s message, and the New York Times reported the news on its tenth page. During WWII, the New York Times and most other newspapers failed to give prominent and extensive coverage to the Holocaust. This was partially due to the newspaper reporting about false atrocities committed by the Germans during WWI. The American public discovered the full extent of the Holocaust only when the Allied armies liberated the extermination and concentration camps at the end of World War II.
Antisemitism
Although Jewish Americans have generally flourished in America, like other minorities, they have also faced prejudice. This was, and is, especially true during periods of economic hardship or war. During World War I and the Great Depression, Jews were often targeted as scapegoats.
In 1915, a Jewish businessman, Leo Frank, was lynched after being falsely accused and convicted of killing a young woman who worked in his pencil factory. Even though this was an isolated incident, it caused fear and alarm amongst the Jewish population. The lynching also lead to a resurgence of the KKK, who’s 4 million members in the 1920s outnumbered the amount of Jewish people in the US at the time.
