The Socio-Political History of the Jewish Community in the United States from 1820 to 2001

Abstract

The first Jewish communal life in America started in 1654 when the twenty three Sephardim Jews settled in New Amsterdam. They were from Recife a Dutch colony in Brazil. This colony was conquered by the Portuguese and its Jews scattered. They sought refuge through the Dutch Caribbean and opted for New Amsterdam as their first place of settlement in the New world. However, the number of the Jews in America did not develop until the nineteenth century when the two great waves of immigration reached the continent. The first one started in 1820 and ended in 1880 bringing West and Central European immigrants. The second one brought the East European immigrants and started in 1880 until 1924 when America restricted immigration. The Jews left their countries of origin for specific reasons. In the nineteenth century, an anti-Jewish feeling aroused in Europe due to the Jews’ historical past. They were for centuries accused for many troubles in the world. Moreover, the European states considered them as the enemy of the Christ, and started to complicate their lives. The Jews endured misery and persecution so they opted for America as a place of safety where they could worship freely and live peacefully. The present work, therefore, will explain why these thousands of nineteenth century Jewish people immigrated to America and how did they become the most successful ethnic group there