Jews in the Thirteen Colonies (1654-1789)

I am not Jewish. I am African American. I enjoy learning about how various people came to America.

Many years I was walking in New York's Chinatown and passed by a very tiny Cemetery tucked away in the backyard of an apartment building. The cemetery was barely visible from the street and could only be seen if like me you are very tall. There was a plaque that said this was the first Jewish cemetery in North America. The names were Sephardic sounding Spanish or Portuguese but often with a Jewish first name. The plaque said that the cemetery was on "the outdkirts" of New Amsterdam.

"Send for Haym Salomon." Dude must have been an absolute baller.

I spent years amongst revolutionary era reenactors and armchair historians and never once heard any of this. Thank you so much!

Aaron Levy, prominent merchant of Philadelphia and a member of the Sons of Liberty was a close friend of Haym Salomon and like Salomon, donated much of his own fortune to the Continental Army. He also paid for the building of the first Lutheran church in Pennsylvania as an act of interfaith friendliness.

Why was "and none have them had been a rabbi" the best cliffhanger of 2022 thus far?

As a descendant of Prussian (Polish) Jews named Salomon, I am proud of Hayim Salomon's contribution to America's independence weather he is a blood relative or not.

My Grandfather whom was Sicilian-Italian saw some of the "Not quite White" stuff, and due to CCC service in the South saw Jim Crow, which he disapproved of. His best friend in the Army was a Jewish guy, whom he stayed in contact with after he left the East & moved to California.

I've always loved how detailed your maps were, even showing stuff that isn't important to the story at hand. I remember I could pause and see so many countries and locations. And I'm glad you included the indigenous tribes on the map because most maps about this time period that I've seen just included the various European colonies and then brown blank space for the rest. While everybody knows there were people there, the blank space thing can put forth the impression that the land was unimportant and the people sparse. So great job again I'm excited to see what comes next.

Love this video! I remember the first time that I learned about the history of American Jews. I had always been interested in history since I was a young child, but my public textbooks emphasized a narrow conception of what made up the American experience. I stumbled upon Jonathan Sarna's works, and for the first time I saw myself as an integral part of American history rather than being a later addition in the 19th century wave of immigration. After reading Sarna, I decided that I would study Jewish history in college and contribute to the scholarship of American Jewish life to spread the knowledge of our experiences in this country. A sheynem dank Sam for bringing the history of American Jews to light for a larger audience to see! It warms my heart to know that it might inspire those who are searching for themselves as part of the American story.

"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 figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid." -President Washington, 1790

For me, as a Brazilian, it's very emotional to hear about the first fellow jews that founded the Kahar Zur Israel congregation here and their expulsion by the portuguese inquisition (specially for being a 'da Fonseca' from my paternal grandmother side like Isaac Aboab). Great work as always Sam!

I have been to the Touro synagogue on a trip to Newport and prayed there during the festival of Sukkot. It’s a beautiful structure, built in the Portuguese style. Its congregation is dwindling and it’s more museum than synagogue now.

This is awesome job! On my father's side, his grandfather's family were Sephardic Jews came to New Amsterdam from Holland, then ended up in Philadelphia. They received land grants from their service in War for Independence in the Applachian frontier. There they eventually assimilated as there was no Jewish community intermarrying among their neighbors with only their last name to point to their Jewish origin.

Really loving your channel. Good history that I haven't heard anywhere else. Shoutout to my fellow 1/64+ Cherokees out there.

I didn't know that colonial Rhode Island didn't allow Jews to become citizens, wow... If any colonial Jews out there want citizenship, hmu and we can get married

If it weren’t for Solomon Haym’s cash and credit we wouldn’t have won the War for Independence

- "first Jew in the Americas…" - Joseph Smith joined to the chat. :D

I had heard anecdotally that there was a jew who was involved in the funding of the revolutionary war. This was quite specific in explaining how that all came about. Thankyou.

The local Jewish library claims "Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland, is home is one of the United States' oldest and largest Jewish communities. As an immigrant port of entry and border town between North and South, as a gateway to the nation's interior and as a manufacturing center in its own right, Baltimore has been well-positioned to reflect developments in American Jewish life." It was from Baltimore that the Jews were sent to Israel during the Exodus of 1947