This comprehensive and analytical history of American Jews and Judaism from the Colonial Era to the present explores the impact of America on Jews and of Jews on America.
Covering more than four centuries from the Colonial Era forward, Jewish American Chronology offers an introduction to the history of American Jews and Judaism, using individual examples, personality profiles, and illustrations to bring fundamental patterns and major themes to life. Arranged chronologically, the entries illustrate how a variety of different Jewish groups and individuals have adapted to America, both changing in accordance with time and place and retaining tradition and culture, even as they became thoroughly American.
Readers will learn how Jews have created community and institutions, confronted anti-Semitism, and interacted among themselves and with other groups. They will read about immigration, migration, and socioeconomic mobility. And they will discover how Jews have filled critical economic niches, contributed disproportionately in a variety of endeavors, and changed over time and in reaction to circumstances. In this wide-ranging work, Jewish Americans are depicted in a balanced and accurate manner, describing Nobel Prize winners and standout economic success stories as well as those who achieved fame and notoriety in other ways.
Hundreds of entries, organized chronologically, explain and analyze America’s impact on Judaism and Jews, and Jews’ impact on America
Photographs of individuals, businesses, synagogues, and orphans’ homes, striking workers, suffragettes, and statuary with explanatory labels
Dozens of glossary entries that define and clarify key terms from anti-Semitism to Zionism, as well as historical jargon like colonial charters and established churches
A select bibliography of books, journals, and web pages guides the reader in further study
