THE JEW'S STRUGGLE FOR RELIGIOUS AND CIVIL LIBERTY IN MARYLAND
Baltimore; M. Curlander, 1924. Item #31414
Publishers cloth. 8vo. [5], 211 pages. 24 cm. First edition. With five leaves of plates. A history of early Jewish life in Maryland and the struggle for emancipation, until the time of the bill of 1826, which effectively gained civil liberties for the Jews of Maryland. Maryland: “A one-crop tobacco economy and the existence of few major towns caused Jews, with rare exceptions, to avoid the colony during the first century and half after its establishment in 1634. David Fereira, a Jewish tobacco trader from New Amsterdam, appeared in Maryland as early as 1657 and later the same year colonial records mention a Jewish physician, Jacob Lumbrozo, who was also engaged in trade. Lumbrozo, a colorful figure who was often in conflict with his neighbors, was arrested in 1658 for blasphemy after offending Christian colonists during a conversation about religion. He was released before trial, however, due to the proclamation of a general amnesty. After the 1740s, with the growth of commerce in the colony, individual Jews appeared in Annapolis, Fredericktown (now Frederick) , and a few other towns, but a Jewish community with supporting institutions did not emerge until the period of the American Revolution, when Baltimore became one of the region's leading ports and attracted several Jewish families. By 1825, there were about 150 Jews in the new state. Although Baltimore Jews like Solomon Etting and Jacob I. Cohen, Jr. , achieved a degree of prominence in the larger, non-Jewish community, the state constitution barred them from holding public office unless they would submit to a Christian oath. This requirement was finally removed with the passage of the 1826 ‘Jew Bill, ’ which was championed by the non-Jewish legislator Thomas Kennedy. ” (EJ 2007) The author, E. Milton (Emanuel Milton) Altfeld (1889-1965) was a State senator, author, and lawyer, of Baltimore, Marlyand. Subjects: Jews - Maryland. Kennedy, Thomas, 1776-1832. Institutional marks on endpages and backstrip, otherwise clean and fresh. Good condition. (AMR-39-20).
Price: $145.00