Over a career spanning forty years, David G. Dalin has written extensively about the role of American Jews in public life, from the nation’s founding, to presidential appointments of Jews, to lobbying for the welfare of Jews abroad, to Jewish prominence in government, philanthropy, intellectual life, and sports, and their one-time prominence in the Republican Party. His work on the separation of Church and State and a prescient 1980 essay about the limits of free speech and the goal of Neo-Nazis to stage a march in Skokie, Illinois, are especially noteworthy. Here for the first time are a collection of sixteen of his essays which portray American Jews who have left their mark on American public life and politics.

Jews and the American Public Square is a study of how Jews have grappled with the presence of religion, both their own and others, in American public life. It surveys historical Jewish approaches to church-state relations and analyzes Jewish responses to the religion clauses of the First Amendment. The book also explores how the contemporary sociological and political characteristics of American Jews bear on their understanding of the public dimensions of American religion. In addition to a descriptive and analytic approach. the volume is also critical and polemical. Its contributors attack and defend prevailing views, raise critical questions about the political and intellectual positions favored by American Jews, and propose new syntheses. This book captures the current mood of the Jewish community: both committed to the separation of church and state and perplexed about its scope and application. It provides the necessary background for a principled reconsideration of the problem of religion in the public square.

Analysis of the relationship between religion & politics in America, underlying causes & issues.

Joseph Lieberman's Vice Presidential nomination and Presidential candidacy are neither the first nor last words on signal Jewish achievements in American politics. Jews have played an important role in American government since the early 1800s at least, and in view of the 2004 election, there is no political office outside the reach of Jewish American citizens. For the first time, Jews in American Politics: Essays brings together a complete picture of the past, present, and future of Jewish political participation. Perfect for students and scholars alike, this monumental work includes thoughtful and original chapters by leading journalists, scholars, and practitioners. Topics range from Jewish leadership and identity; to Jews in Congress, on the Supreme Court, and in presidential administrations; and on to Jewish influence in the media, the lobbies, and in other arenas in which American government operates powerfully, if informally. In addition to the thematically unified essays, Jews in American Politics: Essays concludes with an invaluable roster of Jews in key governmental positions from Ambassadorships and Cabinet posts to federal judges, state governors, and mayors of major cities. Both analytical and anecdotal, the essays in Jews in American Politics offer deep insight into serious questions about the dilemmas that Jews in public service face, as well as humorous sidelights and authoritative reference materials never before collected in one source. The story of the rich tradition of Jewish participation in American political life provides an indispensable resource for any serious follower of American politics, especially in election year 2004.

“Illuminating.” —Phil Zuckerman, author of Living the Secular Life If the First Amendment protects the separation of church and state, why have atheists had to fight for their rights? In this valuable work, R. Laurence Moore and Isaac Kramnick reveal the fascinating history of atheism in America and the legal challenges to federal and state laws that made atheists second-class citizens.

The History of the Jewish People in America is a thorough historical account of Jewish communities in both South and North America starting from the earliest days of Spanish colonization all the way to the beginning of the 20th century. Contents: The Participation of Jews in the Discovery of the New World Early Jewish Martyrs Under Spanish Rule in the New World Victims of the Inquisition in Mexico and in Peru Marranos in the Portuguese Colonies The Short-lived Dominion of the Dutch Over Brazil Recife: The First Jewish Community in the New World The Jews in Surinam or Dutch Guiana The Dutch and English West Indies New Amsterdam and New York New England and the Other English Colonies The Religious Aspect of the War of Independence The Participation of Jews in the War of the Revolution The Decline of Newport; Washington and the Jews Other Communities in the First Periods of Independence The Question of Religious Liberty in Virginia and in North Carolina The War of 1812 and the Removal of Jewish Disabilities in Maryland Mordecai Manuel Noah and His Territorialist-Zionistic Plans The First Communities in the Mississippi Valley New Settlements in the Middle West and on the Pacific Coast The Jews in the Early History of Texas Conservative Judaism and Its Stand Against Reform The Discussion About Slavery Lincoln and the Jews Participation of Jews in the Civil War Immigration From Russia Prior to 1880 Relations With Russia The Passport Question The American-Jewish Committee The Jews in the Dominion of Canada Jews in South America, Mexico and Cuba

This captivating story of the Jewish community in Johnstown, Pennsylvania reveals a pattern of adaptation to American life surprisingly different from that followed by Jewish immigrants to metropolitan areas. Although four-fifths of Jewish immigrants did settle in major cities, another fifth created small-town communities like the one described here by Ewa Morawska. Rather than climbing up the mainstream education and occupational success ladder, the Jewish Johnstowners created in the local economy a tightly knit ethnic entrepreneurial niche and pursued within it their main life goals: achieving a satisfactory standard of living against the recurrent slumps in local mills and coal mines and enjoying the company of their fellow congregants. Rather than secularizing and diversifying their communal life, as did Jewish immigrants to larger cities, they devoted their energies to creating and maintaining an inclusive, multipurpose religious congregation. Morawska begins with an extensive examination of Jewish life in the Eastern European regions from which most of Johnstown's immigrants came, tracing features of culture and social relations that they brought with them to America. After detailing the process by which migration from Eastern Europe occurred, Morawska takes up the social organization of Johnstown, the place of Jews in that social order, the transformation of Jewish social life in the city, and relations between Jews and non-Jews. The resulting work will appeal simultaneously to students of American history, of American social life, of immigration, and of Jewish experience, as well as to the general reader interested in any of these topics.

History of the Jewish People in America is a thorough historical account of Jewish communities in both South and North America starting from the earliest days of Spanish colonization all the way to the beginning of the 20th century. _x000D_ Contents:_x000D_ The Participation of Jews in the Discovery of the New World_x000D_ Early Jewish Martyrs Under Spanish Rule in the New World_x000D_ Victims of the Inquisition in Mexico and in Peru_x000D_ Marranos in the Portuguese Colonies_x000D_ The Short-lived Dominion of the Dutch Over Brazil_x000D_ Recife: The First Jewish Community in the New World_x000D_ The Jews in Surinam or Dutch Guiana_x000D_ The Dutch and English West Indies_x000D_ New Amsterdam and New York_x000D_ New England and the Other English Colonies_x000D_ The Religious Aspect of the War of Independence_x000D_ The Participation of Jews in the War of the Revolution_x000D_ The Decline of Newport; Washington and the Jews_x000D_ Other Communities in the First Periods of Independence_x000D_ The Question of Religious Liberty in Virginia and in North Carolina_x000D_ The War of 1812 and the Removal of Jewish Disabilities in Maryland_x000D_ Mordecai Manuel Noah and His Territorialist-Zionistic Plans_x000D_ The First Communities in the Mississippi Valley_x000D_ New Settlements in the Middle West and on the Pacific Coast_x000D_ The Jews in the Early History of Texas_x000D_ Conservative Judaism and Its Stand Against Reform_x000D_ The Discussion About Slavery_x000D_ Lincoln and the Jews_x000D_ Participation of Jews in the Civil War_x000D_ Immigration From Russia Prior to 1880_x000D_ Relations With Russia_x000D_ The Passport Question_x000D_ The American-Jewish Committee_x000D_ The Jews in the Dominion of Canada_x000D_ Jews in South America, Mexico and Cuba

Assesses the current state of American Jewish life, drawing on the research and thinking of scholars from a variety of disciplines and diverse points of view.

By applying various critical historical strategies and methodologies to the study of 19th- and 20th-century American public life, this volume unearths fascinating chronicles in American history, such as the alliance of the Anti-Saloon League and the Klu Klux Klan.