"The
Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed blind eternal fate, I
should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential
instrument for civilizing the nations."
These are the words
of John Adams, America’s 2nd president. His
words are expressive of the pro-Jewish sentiment that prevailed among America’s
Founding Fathers and throughout the nation at the time of its founding. This respect
was rooted in their view of history and the positive role they believed the Jews had played
in world history.
The Hebrew Influence on Early America
Many of the early immigrants to America considered themselves a Second Israel and England as their Egypt from which they had fled to the New England wilderness to find freedom. It is, therefore, not surprising that they looked to the story of Israel in the Old Testament for guidance and inspiration.
This respect for Old Testament Israel, led to colonial colleges such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton all offering courses in Hebrew. Several students at Yale delivered their commencement speeches in Hebrew. At the time, Hebrew was not offered in any university in England.
In his excellent book, On
Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding, the late
Michal Novak documents this influence of the Old Testament on America’s
founding generation. He says,
Practically all
American Christians erected their main arguments about political life from
materials in the Jewish Testament. Early American Protestants loved the stories of the Jewish Testament, and from them took many names for their children . . ..
For all these reasons the language of Judaism came to be the language of the
American metaphysic—the unspoken background to a special American vision of
nature, history, and the destiny of the human race.
This love for the Jewish Old Testament was confirmed by a ten-year study to determine where the Founders got their ideas for nation building. The study discovered that they quoted the Bible far more than any other source, and they quoted Deuteronomy more than any other biblical book.
It is then not surprising
that Jews were welcomed in July 4th celebrations from the very
beginning. Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphia physician and signer of the
Declaration of Independence, was delighted to see a Jewish rabbi given such open
acceptance in a July 4th parade in Philadelphia. Rush, who was a
devout Christian, wrote,
The rabbi of the Jews locked in the arms of two ministers
of the Gospel was a most delightful sight. There could not have been a more happy emblem of that section of the
Constitution, which opens all its power and offices alike, not only to every
sect of Christians, but to worthy men of every religion.
George Washington’s Pro-Jewish Stance
In 1790, George
Washington visited the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island where he was
warmly received by this Hebrew congregation. In his official welcome, Moses
Seixas compared the Revolutionary War to the
struggles of ancient Israel and Washington to King David and to Daniel, saying,
With pleasure we
reflect on those days—those days of difficulty, & danger when the God of
Israel, who delivered David from the peril of the sword, shielded your head in
the day of battle: and we rejoice to think, that the same Spirit who rested in
the Bosom of the greatly beloved Daniel enabling him to preside over the
Provinces of the Babylonish Empire. rests and ever will rest upon you, enabling
you to discharge the arduous duties of Chief Magistrate in these States.
Washington was
obviously moved by these sentiments and responded that same day with a letter in
which he addressed the members of this congregation as “children of the stock of Abraham.” He assured
them that life would be different in the new nation for all who had fled
religious tyranny. They would not experience mere toleration, he said, for
religious toleration would give way to religious liberty.
He reassured them that because of America’s
commitment to religious liberty they could expect to experience the words of
the Old Testament prophet, who in Micah 4:4 said, Each one shall sit in
safety under his own vine and fig-tree and there shall be none to make him
afraid. Washington went on to say,
For happily the
Government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no
assistance, requires only that
they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens,
in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.
Yaari Taal, of George
Washington University, says that Washington’s remarks to this congregation established a
precedent for protecting religious liberty and pluralism in the United States
that persists to this day.
Antisemitism is Anti-American
Early America’s embrace of the Jewish
people resulted in America becoming a haven for persecuted Jews from all over
the world. This resulted in America becoming home to the largest Jewish population
in the world. This remained true until 2003 when the Jewish population in
Israel finally surpassed that in America,
It is, therefore,
disheartening to see the antisemitism that has erupted on college campuses and in
the large cities of America. Such antisemitism is completely out of sync with
America’s Founding Fathers. Such Jewish hatred had no place at America’s
founding and should be given no place in America today. Antisemitism is truly Anti-American.
Dr. Eddie Hyatt's books on America's overt Christian origins, 1726: The Year that Defined America, America's Revival Heritage, and others are being widely distributed and are available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.
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