Divining America: Religion in American History

Teaser

Use this essay on Jewish immigration to flesh out a unit on the Civil War or immigration.

lesson_image
Description

In this essay, authors Jonathan D. Sarna and Jonathan Golden of Brandeis University explore the impact Jewish immigration had on American history and culture.

Article Body

While the story of Jewish immigration to America often begins in the late 1800s, this rich story dates back to the beginning of the nation. We have included this essay in the lesson plan review section because it clearly identifies lesson topics, briefly presents teachers and students with a rich and nuanced overview of Jewish history, and provides resources to further explore the topic. The authors of this essay, Jonathan D. Sarna and Jonathan Golden of Brandeis University, explore how the evolution of Jewish customs and practices in America can be examined under the broad lens of assimilation. One scholarly debate summarized in this essay concerns the role of Old World and New World influences in shaping the distinct Jewish tradition that evolved in America. For teachers wishing to develop a historical inquiry lesson around the topic, this is a useful and flexible framework. In addition to viewing the Jewish experience in America through the broad lens of immigration, this resource also connects the Jewish experience with specific events across American history. One of the additional resources for instance, provides primary documents discussing the roles of Jews during the Civil War. Rather than a ready-to-go lesson, this resource is a great collection of the pieces needed for building lessons: background information, potential topics, inquiry questions, and links to primary sources. While the site links to many promising primary document collections, teachers will need to spend time identifying, selecting and modifying these documents. For additional information on adapting documents look to this guide. Use this essay to organize your thinking about Jewish Immigration or more specifically as the basis for a lecture or overview. For those teachers looking to teach this topic through documents, the essay includes key questions for students to explore using primary sources and links that make great starting points to find documents. And be sure to explore the other essays in this “Divining America: Religion in American History” series that offers more than thirty of these rich essays on key topics.

Topic
Jewish Immigration
Time Estimate
Varies
flexibility_scale
1
Rubric_Content_Accurate_Scholarship

Yes
Extensive bibliography provided.

Rubric_Content_Historical_Background

Yes
Centerpiece is rich background essay.

Rubric_Content_Read_Write

No

Rubric_Analytical_Construct_Interpretations

Yes
Includes questions that require interpretation.

Rubric_Analytical_Close_Reading_Sourcing

Yes
However, only yes if students read documents in the “additional resources” section.

Rubric_Scaffolding_Appropriate

Yes
Complex history succinctly explained for busy teachers.

Rubric_Scaffolding_Supports_Historical_Thinking

No

Rubric_Structure_Assessment

No

Rubric_Structure_Realistic

Yes
Provides several entry points into a curriculum (e.g. this lesson could be part of a unit on immigration or the Civil War).

Rubric_Structure_Learning_Goals

No

Through Our Parent's Eyes: Tucson's Diverse Community

Image
Annotation

The ethnically diverse history of Tucson, Arizona is celebrated here in sections on the Hispanic, Native American, African American, Chinese, and Jewish heritage of the area. A 1000-word essay on the Hispanic history of Tucson is complemented by the four histories, from two to 100 pages, of local families. An exhibit of traditional arts in the Mexican American community includes photographs of houses, piñatas, and ten video clips of low-rider cars. Sources on Native Americans include 12 oral histories (300-600 words), about food and culture. The history of African Americans in the Tucson area from the 16th to the 19th century is recounted in an 1,800-word essay. A collection of 22 biographies (120-800 words) and summarized oral histories offer more personal details of African American life in Tucson. The collection of material about Chinese Americans in Tucson includes four biographies (600-1,200 words) and seven video clips of interviews with a Chinese American woman who grew up in Tucson in the 1940s. The journey made by one Jewish family from Russia in the 19th century to Tucson in the 20th is recounted in a 4,700-word illustrated essay. The site will be useful for research in ethnicity and the history of the west.

Student Voices from World War II and the McCarthy Era

Image
Annotation

Presents transcriptions of oral history interviews—with selected accompanying audio files—of five students who participated during World War II in Brooklyn College's Farm Labor Project.

The students, most of whom were children of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland and were committed to radical politics, journeyed upstate during the summer to work on farms in order to support the war effort. The site organizes excerpts of the words of the five interviewees—four women and one man—into four broad sections covering their background and youth, campus life, life on the farm, and life after the project.

These sections are further divided into 20 subsections covering such topics as family life, social influences, politics, working conditions on the farm, protests against a "capitalist" farmer, interactions with locals, and later life. Individual excerpts range in length from one sentence to 750 words. Audio files are provided for 23 of the excerpts.

The site also includes 12 photos from the project, a timeline, and a syllabus for an undergraduate-level course in Oral History Theory and Practice.

A second group of oral histories addresses the shutdown of Brooklyn College's newspaper during the McCarthy era as well as related biographies, contextual essays, and primary documents. The site will be valuable to those studying student life, radical culture, American Jewish history, and homefront experiences during World War II.

Women of Valor

Image
Annotation

This site introduces Emma Goldman—an immigrant, an advocate of free love, a promoter of birth control, and an anarchist. The designers have done a splendid job in tying the many facets of Goldman's public life together into one set of interrelated narratives. An "Introduction" is divided into 13 thematically coherent sections, such as Early Years, Anarchism, Use of Violence, and Deportation. Each runs approximately 500 words. A Timeline is useful for placing Goldman into historical and cultural context.

There are several dozen artifacts, including the full text of two books, six cartoons, four historical documents, an analytical essay, two personal letters, 12 news clippings, and 16 photographs. The information is well documented, and includes a detailed bibliography.

The care that the producers took in explaining potentially confusing or problematic terms (like feminism and suffrage) makes the site particularly appropriate for high school and undergraduate students. Although not a comprehensive archive, this site nonetheless provides an informative introduction to Goldman and her role in American history.

Jewish Women's Archive

Image
Annotation

These exhibits and resources are valuable for studying American Jewish women's contributions to their communities and the wider world. Women of Valor focuses on 16 notable historic women—including Congresswoman Bella Abzug; radical Emma Goldman; philanthropist Rebecca Gratz; poet Emma Lazarus; actress Molly Picon; Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold; and nurse, settlement worker, and political leader Lillian Wald. Women Who Dared offers oral history interviews of Jewish women activists in text, audio, and video formats. Interviewees discuss activism in the context of Jewish and gender identity, values, and situations, and elucidate the path to activism, challenges, rewards, and impact. The Encyclopedia, browsable by keyword, time period, and country, includes 2,000 articles on Jewish women's history. This Week in History looks at moments in the lives of Jewish American women corresponding to the date; visitors can subscribe to this feature by RSS feed or email. On the Map pinpoints locations important to Jewish American women's history—and to Jewish American women today. Visitors can add their own locations with photos. Jewesses with Attitude, the JWA blog, features articles on Jewish American women past and present and on other topics relevant to the lives of Jewish American women today. The site has also digitized nine volumes of The American Jewess. Most recently, the Jewish Women's Archive has compiled objects, photographs, and personal accounts of the Hurricane Katrina disaster and the aftermath, complete with 100 oral histories, blog postings, emails, and other firsthand accounts.