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Book Cover
E-book
Author Swierenga, Robert P., author

Title The forerunners : Dutch Jewry in the North American diaspora / Robert P. Swierenga
Published Detroit : Wayne State University Press, 2018

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Description 1 online resource (465 pages) : illustrations
Series American Jewish Civilization Series
Contents Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of Figures; List of Tables; Preface; Chapter 1: Netherlands Jewry; Chapter 2: The Dutch Era: Immigration Before 1830; Chapter 3: New York City: The Bastion; Chapter 4: Philadelphia: An Early Base; Chapter 5: Boston: A Close Community; Chapter 6: Baltimore: The Fells Point Settlement; Chapter 7: New Orleans: A Secular Lot; Chapter 8: The Great Lakes Frontier: The Restless Ones; Chapter 9: San Francisco: An Instant Elite; Chapter 10: The "Essence" of Dutch Jewry in America; Appendix I: Immigration Statistics
Appendix II: Dutch Jewish Household Heads and Working Adults in New York: 1850, 1860, 1870 CensusesAppendix III: Dutch Jewish Household Heads and Working Adults in Philadelphia: 1850, 1860, 1870 Censuses; Notes; Bibliography; Index
Summary Between 1800 and 1880 approximately 6500 Dutch Jews immigrated to the United States to join the hundreds who had come during the colonial era. Although they numbered less than one-tenth of all Dutch immigrants and were a mere fraction of all Jews in America, the Dutch Jews helped build American Jewry and did so with a nationalistic flair. Like the other Dutch immigrant group, the Jews demonstrated the salience of national identity and the strong forces of ethnic, religious, and cultural institutions. They immigrated in family migration chains, brought special job skills and religious traditions, and founded at least three ethnic synagogues led by Dutch rabbis. The Forerunners offers the first detailed history of the immigration of Dutch Jews to the United States and to the whole American diaspora. Robert Swierenga describes the life of Jews in Holland during the Napoleonic era and examines the factors that caused them to emigrate, first to the major eastern seaboard cities of the United States, then to the frontier cities of the Midwest, and finally to San Francisco. He provides a detailed look at life among the Dutch Jews in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Orleans. This is a significant volume for readers interested in Jewish history, religious history, and comparative studies of religious declension. Immigrant and social historians likewise will be interested in this look at a religious minority group that was forced to change in the American environment
Notes The publication of this volume in a freely accessible digital format has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Mellon Foundation through their Humanities Open Book Program
12 black and white images
Robert P. Swierenga is a professor of history at Kent State University. He received his Ph. D. from the University of Iowa
Subject Jews, Dutch -- United States -- History
Jews -- Netherlands -- History
Immigrants -- United States -- History
SOC049000.
HISTORY -- Jewish.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Emigration & Immigration.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- World -- European.
Emigration and immigration
Ethnic relations
Immigrants
Jews
Jews, Dutch
SUBJECT United States -- Emigration and immigration. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140040
United States -- Ethnic relations. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140043
Netherlands -- Ethnic relations
Subject Netherlands
United States
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 081434416X
9780814344163
Other Titles Wayne State University Libraries Digital Collections
Wayne State University Libraries Digital Collections
Wayne State University Libraries Digital Collections