Exploring

History, Philosophy, & Politics

Essays, articles, and books on important topics and events in U.S. history
 

Jewish Political Thought and Jewish Americans

JMC presents a collection of writings on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, two of the most important holidays on the Jewish calendar, begin on September 29 and October 8 of this year. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Customarily, it is a time of inner renewal. Yom Kippur, which began last evening, marks the tenth day of the new year and is also known as the Day of Atonement. It is the holiest day of the year for Jews and has central themes of atonement and repentance.
On this occasion, we present a collection of interesting articles and books on Jewish political thought and Judaism’s role in American political and historical development. Jewish-Americans have had a profound impact on the United States’s founding and development; early Jewish-Americans, such as Haym Salomon and Jonas Phillips, devoted themselves to the American cause and helped win the Revolutionary War. Judaism also has had a substantial impact on western, and subsequently American, political philosophy.
Collection Highlights:
Forgotten Patriot: Haym Salomon
Haym Salomon is an oft-forgotten, yet indispensable patriot. Just as the Yorktown Campaign was escalating, the Polish-born Jew secured the necessary loans that Washington needed to feed and clothe the Continental Army. In addition, Salomon brokered bills of exchange for the American government and extended interest-free personal loans to members of Congress, including James Madison.

Read about Haym Salomon at the National Park Service and the American Battlefield Trust >>
 
A Jewish Founding Father?
JMC fellow Andrew Porwancher argues that Alexander Hamilton was of Jewish parentage. After extensive research into Hamilton’s family and upbringing, Professor Porwancher has discovered indications that the founding father has Jewish roots. Porwancher’s book on the topic, The Jewish Founding Father: Alexander Hamilton’s Hidden Life, is under contract with Harvard University Press.

Jewish Immigration and the American Experience
The Library of Congress provides many relevant documents on the Jewish-American experience, from a Hebrew prayer book for immigrants to Einstein’s handwritten theory of relativity.

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About the Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is a 501(c)(3) public charity with the mission to reinvigorate education in America's founding principles and history. We work to advance the teaching and study of America's history, its political and economic institutions, and the central principles, ideas and issues arising from the American and Western traditions—all of which continue to animate our national life.

We support professors and educators through programs, resources, fellowships and more to help them teach our nation's students.
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