Several Jewish communities established synagogues (like Touro Synagogue in Newport, Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, and Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston), which served not only as houses of worship but also as vital community centers, providing social and religious functions.
These institutions atypically reinforced Jewish identity while also demonstrating their commitment to establishing permanent roots in the new nation.
Before the revolutionary period, the vast majority of Jewish communities were comprized largely of Sephardic Jews, many of the early arrivals were those who fled the Inquistion in Spain and Portugal. Many of these "wandering Jews"-a Nation of people who were refugees from their land, had previously fled to the Netherlands, Brazil, and the West Indies, followed only later by Ashkenazi Jews from Germany and England.
Early Jewish communities actively challenged discriminatory laws and practices that limited their rights, such as restrictions on voting or holding public office.
Asser Levy in New Amsterdam (later New York) famously fought for the right of Jews to serve guard duty and be admitted as Burghers in the mid-17th century, setting an early precedent for equal rights.
Levy was the first Jew to "officially" own a house in North America. As early as 1661, he purchased real estate in Fort Orange; he was also the earliest Jewish owner of real estate in New York City, his transactions there commencing in June 1662 with the purchase of land on South William Street.
Within ten years of his arrival Levy had become a man of consequence, and when, in 1664, the wealthiest inhabitants were summoned to lend the city money for fortifications against the English, he was the only Jew among them: he lent the city 100 florins.
His Christian fellow citizens had in his honesty appears frequently from the court records. Property in litigation was put into his custody; he is named as executor in the wills of Christian merchants, and figures as both administrator and trustee in colonial records. His influence was not confined to New York; in the colonial records of Connecticut he appears as intervening to obtain the remission of a fine imposed upon a Jew there. The court remitted the fine with the comment that it did so "as a token of its respect to the said Mr. Asser Levy."
As a distinct religious minority in a predominantly Protestant society, Jews often found themselves at the forefront of the fight for religious freedom. Their presence and their desire for equal rights pushed the Founding Fathers to articulate and implement broader principles of religious liberty than might otherwise have been the case.
Despite their small numbers, Jews played an active role in the economic life of the colonies as merchants and traders.
They also largely supported the Patriot cause during the American Revolution particularly in demonstrating and advocating for the principles of religious liberty and in offering financial and logistical support to the Patriot cause.
Many Jews served in the Continental Army and local militias. While exact figures are hard to ascertain,it has been estimated that approximately 100 Jews fought in the Revolutionary War.
Some of the most noteable Jews during the Revolutionary War period:
- He helped convert French loans into hard currency.
- He brokered large donations to the Patriot cause.
- He provided personal loans to prominent statesmen like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson (often without charging interest), helping them stay in public service.
- His efforts were vital in securing the funds needed to conduct the war and operate the government in its immediate aftermath. It's often said that he died penniless due to his extensive financial sacrifices for the cause.
Francis Salvador was an early and prominent Jewish Patriot. He was the first Jew elected to public office in the colonies (South Carolina Assembly) and is considered the first Jew to die fighting for American independence, killed in an ambush by Loyalists and Cherokee Indians in 1776.
Mordecai Sheftall was a prominent revolutionary leader from Savannah, Georgia, who served as the head of the local revolutionary committee and later as Deputy Commissary General for Federal troops, responsible for provisioning soldiers. He and his son were captured and imprisoned by the British.
Isaac Moses of Philadelphia, was a Jewish ship owner, who outfitted privateers to disrupt British shipping and engaged in blockade running to supply the Continental forces with vital provisions.
Let us take heed and hote those views of the "founding fathers":
John Adams:
Adams often expressed high praise for the Jews and their historical impact, calling them "the most glorious nation that ever inhabited the earth" and acknowledging their profound influence on civilization. He even expressed proto-Zionist sentiments, hoping for the return of Jews to their homeland in Israel. However, it's also noted that Adams, like many Enlightenment thinkers, harbored the expectation that Jews would eventually assimilate or even "convert" to a more "liberal Unitarian Christian" perspective.
Thomas Jefferson:
Jefferson was a strong advocate for the "wall of separation between church and state," a principle that greatly benefited Jews by ensuring religious freedom. However, in private correspondence, Jefferson also expressed some belittling views of Judaism as a faith, accusing it of having a "degrading and injurious" understanding of God that "needed reformation." This highlights the distinction between their political ideals of religious liberty and their personal theological views.
Benjamin Franklin:
While a fraudulent document (the "Franklin Prophecy") later attempted to portray him as anti-semite. Documented historical evidence suggests Franklin generally advocated for religious tolerance and inclusivity. It is documented that he donated to help Philadelphia's oldest formal Jewish congregation
Washington wrote:
"It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support."
He added, "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."
Washington's words moved beyond the European concept of "toleration" (which implied that a majority religion merely permitted others to exist) to a declaration of inherent natural rights for all citizens, regardless of their faith.
In conclusion :
While no Jews signed the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, due to their small numbers and the nascent stage of full political integration, their active participation and the principles they embodied played a crucial role in shaping the American experiment.
Their contributions, particularly in the realm of financial support and their insistence on full religious liberty, directly influenced the unique American framework that separated church and state and guaranteed freedoms that were revolutionary for their time.
Their contributions, can be witnessed in the historical documentation the U.S. Founding Fathers, which were inspired and driven by the ideals of Enlightenment and practical considerations for forming a diverse nation. These consideratons laid the groundwork for unprecedented religious freedom for Jews in America.
While some still held personal theological reservations about Judaism as a faith, their public pronouncements and the constitutional framework they established ensured that Jews would be treated as full citizens with equal rights, rather than merely "tolerated."
This commitment to religious liberty was a radical and transformative aspect of the American founding.
