George Washington and the JewsThis volume explores the background and circumstances that brought about a milestone relationship between George Washington and the Jews. President George Washington was the first head of a modern nation to openly acknowledge the Jews as full-fledged citizens of the land in which they had chosen to settle. His personal philosophy of religious tolerance can be summed up from an address made in 1790 to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, where he said "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." Was it Washington's respect for the wisdom of the ancient Prophets or the participation of the patriotic Jews in the struggle for independence that motivated Washington to direct his most significant and profound statement on religious freedom at a Jewish audience? Fritz Hirschfeld is a documentary historian. |
Contents
Preface | 9 |
The Promised Land | 40 |
General Washington and the Jewish Patriots | 58 |
Fighting for the Cause Part I | 79 |
Fighting for the Cause Part II | 97 |
Washington and the Jews | 122 |
Living Monuments | 144 |
A Jewish Perspective | 158 |
Bibliography | 181 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abraham American Jewish Historical American Revolution appointed Arnold arrived August Benjamin bigotry British Charleston Charlottesville Church citizens Colonel Franks Colonial American Jew commander in chief conscience Continental army Continental Congress David Franks Dorothy Twohig England Fitzpatrick Francis Salvador Franks's French George Washing George Washington Georgia Germantown Haym Salomon Hebrew congregation honor House Ibid Isaac Franks Isaac Touro Israel Jacob Jewish Jewish community Jewish Historical Society John Judah Touro letter Levi liberty Lieutenant Colonel Major Franks Marcus ment merchant military Mordecai Mount Vernon nation Newport Oglethorpe Papers of George Pennsylvania persecution Philadelphia President Washington Presidential Series Press of Virginia Promised Land Quakers Regiment religion religious freedom religious tolerance Revolutionary Rezneck Rhode Island Robert Morris Salvador Savannah Sheftall soldiers Solomon Bush South Carolina Thomas Jefferson tion Touro Synagogue town U.S. Government Printing United University Press Unrecognized Patriots W. W. Abbot William worship York City