AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY Fall 2004/Winter 2005 Jewish Giants of Music Also: George Washington and the Jews Yiddish “Haven to Home” at the Theatre Library of Congress Posters Milken Archive of American Jewish Music th Anniversary of Jewish 350 Settlement in America AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY Fall 2004/Winter 2005 ~ OFFICERS ~ CONTENTS SIDNEY LAPIDUS President KENNETH J. BIALKIN 3 Message from Sidney Lapidus, 18 Allan Sherman Chairman President AJHS IRA A. LIPMAN LESLIE POLLACK JUSTIN L. WYNER Vice Presidents 8 From the Archives SHELDON S. COHEN Secretary and Counsel LOUISE P. ROSENFELD 12 Assistant Treasurer The History of PROF. DEBORAH DASH MOORE American Jewish Music Chair, Academic Council MARSHA LOTSTEIN Chair, Council of Jewish 19 The First American Historical Organizations Glamour Girl GEORGE BLUMENTHAL LESLIE POLLACK Co-Chairs, Sports Archive DAVID P. SOLOMON, Treasurer and Acting Executive Director BERNARD WAX Director Emeritus MICHAEL FELDBERG, PH.D. Director of Research LYN SLOME Director of Library and Archives CATHY KRUGMAN Director of Development 20 HERBERT KLEIN Library of Congress Director of Marketing 22 Thanksgiving and the Jews ~ BOARD OF TRUSTEES ~ of Pennsylvania, 1868 M. BERNARD AIDINOFF KENNETH J. BIALKIN GEORGE BLUMENTHAL SHELDON S. COHEN RONALD CURHAN ALAN M. EDELSTEIN 23 George Washington RUTH FEIN writes to the Savannah DAVID M. GORDIS DAVID S. GOTTESMAN 15 Leonard Bernstein’s Community – 1789 ROBERT D. GRIES DAVID HERSHBERG Musical Embrace MICHAEL JESSELSON DANIEL KAPLAN HARVEY M. KRUEGER SAMUEL KARETSKY 25 Jews and Baseball SIDNEY LAPIDUS PHILIP LAX in the Limelight IRA A. LIPMAN NORMAN LISS MARSHA LOTSTEIN KENNETH D. MALAMED DEBORAH DASH MOORE EDGAR J. NATHAN, III ARTHUR S. OBERMAYER STEVEN OPPENHEIM JEFFREY S. OPPENHEIM, MD NANCY T. POLEVOY LESLIE M. POLLACK ARNOLD J. RABINOR ROBERT D. ROSEN HAROLD S. ROSENBLUTH LOUISE P. ROSENFELD ZITA ROSENTHAL FAYE G. SCHAYER BRUCE SLOVIN DAVID P. SOLOMON JOSEPH S. STEINBERG 29 The Brownsville MORTON M. STEINBERG LOUISE B. STERN Public School Boycott, RONALD S. TAUBER SAUL VIENER Christmas 1906 SUE R. WARBURG EFREM WEINREB JUSTIN L. WYNER ROBERTA YAGERMAN AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY Message from SIDNEY LAPIDUS, President AJHS On September 9, 2004, at the Center for Jewish History, Governor George Pataki of New York presented Sidney Lapidus, president of the American Jewish Historical Society, with a proclamation honoring the 350th anniversary of Jewish settlement in New York City and North America. The following are Mr. Lapidus’s remarks on receiving the governor’s proclamation. t is fitting this evening that the American each arriving immigrant. For example, in the even the Baseball Hall of Fame, to make all Jewish Historical Society, one of the 18th century Jewish leaders contributed Americans aware of two important things: founding partners of the Center for funds for building the steeple of Trinity I • First, the unprecedented opportunity Jewish History, receives a proclamation from Church, at the foot of Wall Street; helped that New York and the United States have George Pataki, the Governor of the State of pioneer the fur trade in the Hudson Valley given its Jewish citizens to participate New York, honoring the 350th anniversary (near Governor Pataki’s family home); helped fully, without legal impediment, in the of permanent Jewish settlement in America. establish the New York Stock Exchange; and greatness of our nation, and in the I am honored to accept it. one of the first Jewish clergyman in America delivered an invocation at George development of American culture and In 1654, after a perilous journey, 23 Jews Washington’s first inauguration. institutions. fleeing from Recife, Brazil, eventually landed • And second, that we Jews have taken at the Battery, only two miles or so from this It is also fitting that Gov. Pataki presents advantage of this opportunity, and spot. The difference between the honor this proclamation to us here in the Center contributed so much to the fabric that makes Governor Pataki pays the Jewish community for Jewish History. The Governor and State up America. tonight and the reception those 23 Jews Legislature provided funds that helped build received from Pieter Stuyvesant, the this great repository of learning that In 1790, President George Washington Governor-General of the then-Dutch Colony documents the history of Jewish life in wrote to the Hebrew Congregation of of New Netherlands, could not be more Europe and America. Newport, Rhode Island informing them that striking. Stuyvesant tried to get the Jews to Since 1892, it has been the primary role the newly formed government of the United leave, believing they would not assimilate, of the AJHS to document and record the States would give, in those memorable words, would not support themselves financially, Jewish experience in America. Thanks to the “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no and would not adequately participate in the facilities provided by the Center for Jewish assistance.” For this guarantee, we remain Dutch colony’s Christian lifestyle. History, we are now better able to perform forever grateful. Thank you, Governor Pataki, for honoring us with your presence Fortunately, The Dutch West India that role than ever before. tonight and for reaffirming the importance Company in Amsterdam disagreed and At the 250th anniversary of Jewish of religious liberty as a keystone of American ordered Stuyvesant to permit the Jews to settlement in 1904 and the 300th anniversary constitutional rights. remain. The rest, as we say in this building, in 1954, the AJHS took a leading role in is history. organizing the national celebration of these In the 350 years since, we Jews, as New milestone anniversaries. Now, at the 350th, Yorkers and as Americans, have benefited we join with a myriad of other Jewish and from and contributed to the atmosphere of non-Jewish institutions, such as our partners vitality, diversity, toleration and opportunity here at the Center, with the Library of that New York and America have offered Congress and the National Archives, and Sidney Lapidus Fall 2004/Winter 2005 • 3 It’s your heritage – Join the American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society is the world’s leading institution for communicating the history of the Jewish people in the United States. This is so important because the Society’s critical mission is not duplicated by any other organization. For more than a century, this institution has served educators, students, rabbis, researchers, genealogists, filmmakers, curators and audiences – Jewish and non-Jewish alike, bringing forth the richness of the remarkable Jewish experience in this great nation. Now more than ever, as we celebrate 350 years of Jewish life in America, support from friends and members like you can make a difference. Without your commitment, the stories we tell and the documents we preserve will be lost to future generations. What does your personal gift make possible? Congregation B’nai Jeshurun New York 1827 identity and pride, while conveying the record of American Jewish accomplishment to people of all backgrounds. • Recent exhibits include our partnership with the Library of Congress on “From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish History in America,” the largest exhibition on this subject ever assembled. • AJHS has created the Archive of American Jews in Sports, the first full-scale archival effort of its type in the United States. AJHS published a wildly popular set of cards of every Jew who played major league baseball from 1872 to the present. • AJHS produces two heavily visited websites enjoyed by teachers, students, rabbis, newspaper editors and the general public: www.ajhs.org and www.jewsinsports.org. Announcement for the 1881 Purim ball, New York • AJHS’s Project ADAJE has begun digitization of all American Research and Scholarship Jewish periodicals from the 1840s to the present, offering free • AJHS makes available millions of unique documents from access to a wealth of historical resources. The AJHS journal, which researchers write the history of the American Jewish American Jewish History, and its predecessor titles from 1893 experience. through 1979 are currently available on-line at www.ajhs.org. • AJHS sponsors the AJHS Academic Council, the only professional organization in the field. Its scholarly conferences are critical to Your support keeps our developing new scholarship and ideas in American Jewish history alive history. Tomorrow’s history • AJHS provides fellowships to young scholars aspiring to lessons will be written and academic careers. understood because, today, • AJHS publishes American Jewish History, the most respected you helped advance the scholarly journal in the field. mission of the American Jewish Historical Society. Public Knowledge and Understanding Current initiatives that • AJHS produces museum exhibitions, lectures, concerts, film are enhanced though your series and popular cultural events that actively reinforce Jewish generosity include: Seixas Family Circumcision Set, 18th Century 4 AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY – Join the American Jewish Historical Society Federations, the National Jewish Welfare Board, and hundreds of organizations, synagogues, movements and initiatives that have shaped American Jewish life. Your support directly enables us to continue our important work. Whether in business and finance, politics, education, science, the arts, human rights, sports, entertainment to the everyday activities of family life –AJHS has ensured that the record from 1654 to the present is kept, that the stories are told, and our shared history is not forgotten. Please join us now or give the gift of membership with a tax-deductible donation and receive the benefits of membership. Call 1-866-740-8013, visit our website www.ajhs.org or use the enclosed membership form to make sure you continue to be a part of the legacy. To explore other instruments of giving including naming AJHS as a beneficiary in your will and joining our Horizon Society please call, in confidence, Cathy Krugman in our Development Department at (212) 294-6164. Uriah P.