Page Title

Elisa Alweis
Hillel Academy of Broome County
Vestal, NY

                         Anti-Semitism in America
                                   Early 1900s to Pre WWII

     The anti-Semitism in America was different from the anti-Semitism in Europe because it
mostly was less extreme. The most violent acts were smaller and less publicized. They
mostly affected only a few individuals or families instead of whole cities like the pogroms in
Europe.

     Many Jews came to America in order to escape anti-Semitism. In Russia, Jews were
blamed for Czar Alexander II assassination in 1881. There were many pogroms (anti-Jewish
riots). Jews were “attacked, raped and murdered” (6). Laws were passed against living in
certain places, going to college and made Jews take off Sundays and Christian holidays
from work. Jews in Rumania at the end of the 1800s had their citizenship taken away. They
“were expelled from certain parts of the country” (6). They were not allowed to be teachers
or lawyers. They could not trade salt, tobacco or alcohol. They also could not attend public
school. Over 75,000 Rumanian Jews came to America. America was referred to as “De
Goldeneh Medina”- “The Golden Land”. It was thought to be a “place were you could get
anything you wanted or needed” (6), the new promised land.

     Between 1881-1920, 3 million Jews who had lived in Eastern Europe immigrated to the U.
S. Many “came to work the country’s mines and factories” (5). They were distrusted by many
of the Americans because of their different culture and because of anti-Jewish propaganda.
With the Jews came many of the old prejudices from Europe. They were thought of as
inferior by groups like the Immigration Restriction League. The Immigration Act of 1924 made
a quota that made it difficult for more Jewish immigrants from Europe to come to America.
Before 1900, Jews were about 1 percent of the population. By 1930, about 3.5 percent of the
population was Jews. 2 million Jews left Russia, many came to America. Over 75,000
Rumanian Jews came to America. The Jews already in America were mostly all in the middle
class and had respectable, well paying jobs. The new immigrants had very little money and
were not even respected by many of their own kind, the Jews who had immigrated to
America earlier. This rapid increase was the cause of an anti-Semitic revival.

     In 1913 in Atlanta, Georgia, Leo Frank, a Jewish man, was charged with killing a 14-year-
old girl named Mary Phagen. She worked in his pencil factory. Many of the locals considered
Leo Frank an outsider because he was Jewish and was also from the north. During the trial,
protestors yelled outside the courthouse “Hang the Jew, hang the Jew.” He was sentenced
to death. John M. Slaton, the governor of Georgia at that time, got rid of his death sentence
and changed it to life in jail, due to lack of evidence. Leo Frank was dragged out of the jail by
a mob and lynched. In 1986, evidence was found that Jim Connely, a janitor in the pencil
factory, committed the murder.

     Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was an anti-Semite. “The Dearborn
Independent” was a newspaper that “ran for 8 years, from 1920 until 1927.”(7) It was owned
by Ford and published by his aide and secretary, Ernest G. Liebold. The paper published the
“Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion”. They are a fake text that describes how Jews are
trying to take over the world. It was first published in Russia. It was used to justify anti-
Semitism all over the world, including in America. Five-hundred thousand copies circulated
in the 1920s due to Henry Ford, who sponsored its printing. It still circulates today, mostly on
the internet

     Father Charles Coughlin was an American Catholic Priest. In the 1930s and 40s, his
newspaper, “Social Justice” and his radio show talked about how “international Jewish
bankers and radicals” were the cause of all the bad things in the world. The church made
him stop broadcasting and writing the newspaper. “Social Justice” was not allowed to be
mailed because it “violated the Espionage Act” (1)

     The Ku Klux Klan is a group of white supremacists. After the Civil War, six former
Confederate soldiers began going out at night in disguises, scaring the townspeople. They
grew a following. In April 1867, they held the first formal meeting to discuss rules and
structure of the Klan. Nathan Bedford Forrest was elected to be the first Grand Wizard (the
leader over the whole Klan). There were many local chapters all over the country that
terrorized mostly former slaves, Catholics and Jews. By 1869, it had slowed. There was a
revival during the mass immigration as more Jews came to America from Eastern Europe.
They were involved in the Lynching of Leo Frank. Many government leaders joined the KKK.
Violence became more of a common thing for the Klan. The Klan’s image became worse,
due to scandals that were publicized. There was recently a spike in hate crimes by the Klan,
as recently as 2006

     The Anti Defamation League of Bnai Brith was started in 1913 to face anti-Semitism and
discrimination of Jews. 1913 was the year of the conviction of Leo Frank. The ADL was
founded partially to prevent similar cases like this. Due partially to the ADL, there are now
laws against discrimination. Fewer Jewish Americans now feel as if they need to hide their
roots and heritage. The ADL has expanded beyond only helping Jews and now also helps
other groups of minorities fight for equality.

     There has been anti-Semitism since the first Jews came to America. Anti-Semitism
especially peaked during and after the mass immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe to
America. Anti-Semitism still is present in today’s American society but it is less apparent.
People in America appear to have become more accepting of people who are different.
Unfortunately, not everyone has. There are still active members of the Ku Klux Klan.
Recently there was an occurrence in a middle school of “Kick a Jew Day”. This shows
people’s continued ignorance and discrimination. Most Jews have at least partially
assimilated into American Society, mostly blending in with everyone else. This does not
mean that anti-Semitism has left us though. There is still a long way to go in the fight for
equality and an end to anti-Semitism in America.

Bibliography

1.    Encyclopedia Judaica, volume 16, p.1648-1656

2.    Butwin, Frances, The Jews in America, Lerner Publishing Group,1991, p.79-83

3.    Kenvin, Helene Schwartz, A History of America’s Jews This Land of Liberty Helene
Schwartz Behrman House Inc. 1986, p.97-103

4.    www.adl.org

5.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_the_United_States

6.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford#The_Dearborn_Independent

7.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protocols_of_the_Elders_of_Zion

8.    http://www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/jewish_life/anti-semitism.html