The Jews who stood by Washington; an unwritten chapter in American history

THE JEWS
WHO STOOD

MADISON C. PETERS

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The Jews TVho Stood
By Washington

AN UNWRITTEN CHAPTER IN
AMERICAN HISTORY

By
MADISON C. PETERS

II

AUTHOR OF "JUSTICE TO THE JEW," "AFTER DEATH WHAT?" ETC.

THE TROW PRESS

NEW YORK

1915

COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY MADISON C. PETERS

All rights reserved

To Nathan Straus
The Man With International

Head and Heart

This Volume is Dedicated

By His Friend

The Author

PREFACE

JEWS WHO STOOD BY WASHING-
TON" and "HAYM SALOMON" are two of

many similar addresses the Author has given on subjects
pertaining to Jewish history. The Author is perhaps the
only Christian minister to be found anywhere who has
made these themes a special study. The address by
former President Taft was given immediately following
the writer's address on "THE PART OF THE JEW
IN THE MAKING OF AMERICA." In the hope
that these facts may some day become a part of the
American history to which they rightfully belong, these
addresses are put in permanent form.

THE AUTHOR
NEW YORK
April, 1915

TKe Jews WKo
Stood by WasKington

The first Jewish settlers in New Am
sterdam, as New York City was then
called, arrived September 23, 1654, from
Brazil, a part of America first inhabited
by a large number of Jews. The following
spring other Jews arrived and the expul
sion of the Jews from Brazil increasing
the Jewish residents in New Amsterdam
gave ground for the belief that their num
ber would grow enormously.

The bigoted Governor, Peter Stuyve-
sant, whose head was as wooden as his
leg, requested the directors of the West
India Company in Amsterdam that "none
of the Jewish nation be permitted to infest
the New Netherlands." The answer was
worthy of tolerant Holland — that his re
quest "was inconsistent with reason and
justice."

Finally the directors of the company at
Amsterdam resolved to permit the Jews
to trade in New Netherlands so long as

The Jews Who

they cared for their own poor. If those
narrow-minded old burghers could see
how well the Jews have kept their prom
ise, they would open their eyes in surprise
at the many magnificent benevolent insti
tutions, covering every conceivable case
of need and suffering, which testify to
the inborn kindness of the Jewish heart.

In 1656 D'Andrada was denied the priv
ilege of holding real estate. During the
same year the Governor, through the
Council which he absolutely controlled, as
well as the burghomasters, refused De
Lucena permission to prepare a burial
ground for the Jews. A few months later
this decision was revoked. The Jews'
worship was not allowed.

An interesting example of the "good
old times" is the fact that the Pilgrim
Fathers appealed in vain to the Dutch
government for permission to settle in its
American domains before a Plymouth set
tlement was made. The Dutch like the
Puritans loved religious liberty so much
that they desired to keep it all to them
selves. It is strange that so many of the
dissenters who fought against the estab
lished church no sooner had their own

Stood by Washington

efforts been crowned with success than
these very men who had fought their own
cause so bravely became opponents of
that complete religious liberty which now
lies at the foundation of American in
stitutions.

The most conspicuous Jew of this early
period was Asser Levy, one of the very
first Jews who went to New Netherlands,
as a refugee, from Brazil, in 1654.

Life in the new world was insecure and
it became necessary for the burghers to
stand guard for the protection of their
homes. Stuyvesant would not permit the
Jews to exercise this right of defense, and
instead imposed a monthly contribution.
Levy and his comrades refused to pay.
He demanded of the tax collector:

'Is this tax imposed on all the residents
of New Amsterdam?"

''No/' was the reply, "it is imposed upon
the Jews because they do not stand guard."

"I have not asked to be excused," .said
Asser Levy, and added, "I am not only
willing, but I demand the right to stand
guard."

"But you are not a burgher," was the
objection.

The Jews Who

"Then what is there to prevent my be
coming a burgher?" was the proud re
joinder. The Council rejected Levy's pe
tition and told him that he and his com
rades might go elsewhere if they liked. He
appealed to Holland and was permitted to
do guard duty like other burghers and so
Asser Levy became the first Jewish cit
izen of America.

Furious under the reversal of his pol
icy, by his superiors, Stuyvesant became a
strict constructionist of the grant of the
law prohibiting the Jews to trade at Ft.
Orange, the City of Albany, or in the di
rection of the Delaware. Again Asser
Levy appealed to Holland and on came
the decree permiting trade to be carried
on by the Jews throughout the Dutch pos
sessions.

The rights given to the Jews were then
declared by Stuyvesant not to include
holding real estate and again Levy ap
pealed to the authorities and once again
prevailed and became the first Jewish
owner of real estate within the United
States, ownership located in Albany, in
1661. Levy was also the earliest Jewish
owner of real estate in New York City,

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Stood by Washington

his transactions commencing in June,
1662, and in 1664 when the wealthiest in
habitants were summoned to lend to the
city money for fortifications against the
English, he lent the city one hundred flo
rins — a Dutch florin or guilder equalled
forty cents — but you will get an idea of
how far $40 went in those days when you
recall that Peter Minuit, by good use of
"schnapps," bought the whole of Manhat
tan Island in 1626, for beads and trinkets
valued at sixty florins or guilders, or about
$24.*

No other Jew in his day seems to have
had so many dealings with Christians as
Levy. In 1671 he lent the money If or
building the first Lutheran church in New
York. He was named as the executor of
wills of Christian merchants. His grand
son, Asser Levy, or Lewis, was an officer
in a New Jersey regiment during the Rev
olution.

In 1664 the city was captured by the
English and its name changed to New

*The Indian word Man-a-tey means "the island" and
when the Indians awoke from their drunken stupor,
they named the place Man-a-hat-ta-nink, "the place
where we all got drunk."

11

The Jews Who

York in honor of the Duke of York.
The charter of liberties and privileges
adopted by the Colonial Assembly in
1683 extended religious freedom to all but
Jews, and the Mayor and the Common
Council of New York in 1685, consider
ing the Jew's petition "for liberty to exer
cise their religion" referred to them by
Governor Dongan, decided that no "pub
lic worship is tolerated by act of assembly,
but to those that profess faith in Christ,
and therefore the Jew's worship was not
to be allowed."

When James, Duke of York, became
King James the II, Governor Andros, who
succeeded Dongan, was instructed to "per
mit all persons of whatever religion, free
dom to worship." It is not known when
the Jews took advantage of this liberal
decree. Prior to this time services were
privately conducted, though there is evi
dence to show that there was a Synagogue
in New York in 1695, the first in Amer
ica, on the south side of the present Beaver
Street, near Broadway. In 1728 a new
edifice was erected in Mill Street, a street
now known as South William. That there
was a Synagogue in New York before the

12

Stood by Washington

one erected on Mill Street is evident from
the statement of the Rev. John Sharpe,
who in proposing the erection of a school
library and a chapel in New York in 1712,
in pointing out the advantages which the
city afforded, declared it was "possible
also to learn Hebrew here as in Europe,
there being a Synagogue of Jews attended
by many ingenious men of that race from
Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Germany and
other countries."

The prohibition against the Jews going
into retail trade, a Dutch law which some
how remained operative under English
law, was gradually dropped, for we find
Jews engaged in retail trade in the early
part of the eighteenth century. One of
the great merchants of this period (about
1768 to 1790) was Hayman Levy, who
traded with the Indians, and an historian
of that day claims that he was "actually
worshipped by the red man/'

John Jacob Astor acquired his first ex
perience in the fur trade while in Levy's
employ. Upon his books are entries of
money paid to John Jacob Astor, for beat
ing furs at $1.00 a day. Nicholas Low,
ancestor of Seth Low, served as Levy's

13

The Jews Who

clerk for seven years, and then laid the
foundation of his great fortune in a hogs
head of rum purchased from his former
employer, who besides rendered him sub
stantial assistance.

Perhaps the first Jew in America* ever
elected to office was Colonel Frederick
Phillips, of Westchester County, and on
the question concerning his contested seat
in the Assembly of New York, on Sep
tember 23rd, 1737, it was resolved that
Jews could neither vote for representa
tives nor be admitted as witnesses as the
Jews were not permitted to vote for mem
bers of Parliament in Great Britain, it
was the unanimous opinion of the house
that none of the Jewish profession could
vote for representatives.

The Jews of New York were not on
a footing of political equality with Chris
tians prior to the Revolution. By the first
Constitution of the State of New York
' adopted in 1777, they were put on absolute
equality with all other citizens, New York
having been the first State actually grant
ing full religious liberty.

*It has been claimed that one Marks, a Jew, was a
member of the Colonial Assembly of Connecticut, in
1728.

14

Stood by Washington

Bancroft has referred to Maryland as
among the first colonies which "Adopted
Religious Freedom as the Basis of the
State." But its religious freedom was
limited to those within the province who
believed in Jesus Christ, and was accom
panied by a proviso which declared that
any person who denied the Trinity should
be punished with death. Maryland there
fore was no place for the Jews. Even
after the Revolution, though under the
Constitution of the United States, a Jew
was eligible to hold office, no one could
hold office under the government of Mary
land without signing a declaration that he
believed in the Christian religion. This
disability was not removed until Febru
ary 26th, 1825, when the legislature
finally passed the bill according to the
Jew and his full civil rights.

From the period of the riot, in 1749,
"directed against a Jew and his wife/' ac
cording to Governor Clinton's report to
London, to the Revolution, there was lit
tle increase in the Jewish population in
New York. A few additions were made
by immigration from England, but not
sufficient to counteract the emigration to

15

The Jews Who

Charleston, Philadelphia and especially to
Newport. Attracted by the tolerance of
Roger Williams, a fugitive himself from
persecution, and disheartened by Stuyve-
sant's persistent persecutions, many Jews
made their way to Newport as early as
1657, and for twenty years preceding our
Revolutionary War Newport was one of
the principal cities in the American colo
nies, in commercial importance ranking
with Boston and Philadelphia, for Edward
Eggleston tells us that "he w^as thought a
bold prophet who then said that 'New
York might one day equal Newport/ " for
about 1750, New York sent forth fewer
ships than Newport, and just half as many
as Boston. It was the fair treatment of
the Jews under Roger Williams, the pio
neer of religious liberty, which caused the
Puritan Cotton Mather, in his "Mag-
nalia," to characterize Newport as "the
common receptacle of the convicts of Jeru
salem and the outcasts of the land."

The breaking out of the American Rev
olution ended the commercial prosperity ^at
Newport. The very favorableness of its
situation for commerce had now the op
posite effect and left it most exposed to

16

Stood by Washington

the attacks of the enemy of any other
place in North America. In addition to
this exposure, people of Newport had par
ticularly provoked England, as it was one
of the very first places to show resistance
to the arbitrary acts of the British, by
burning an armed vessel which came to
exact an odious tax. Eight thousand Brit
ish and Hessian troops occupied it, de
stroyed four hundred and eighty houses,
burned the shipping and during an occu
pation of three years destroyed the com
mercial prospects of the city. The heavi
est blow fell upon the Jews.

An occasional Jew may have strayed in
to other parts of New England, but the
Puritans had no use for the Jew — unless
he became a convert. The best known of
the early settlers was Judah Monis, the
first instructor in Hebrew in Harvard.
He was born Feb. 4th, 1683 and educated
in Leghorn and Amsterdam. After serv
ing as Rabbi in Jamaica and afterwards in
New York he settled in Boston, in 1720,
in which year Harvard gave him the de
gree of M. A., the only degree conferred
upon a Jew by Harvard, prior to 1800.
He embraced Christianity and his baptism

17

The Jews Who

was made a great public ceremony in Col
lege Hall. After teaching for twelve
years the college authorities undertook the
publication of his Hebrew Grammar, for
which purpose a set of Hebrew type was
sent out from England to the Colony.
Monis filled the chair of Hebrew for forty-
two years.

The first documentary evidence regard
ing the settlement of Jews in Philadelphia
dates from 1726, although it is known that
Jews settled in Shaefersville, Lancaster.
York and Easton, as early as as 1655.
Evidently there were Jews in Pennsyl
vania at least twenty-five years prior to
the landing of William Penn.

Aaron Levy came to America from Am
sterdam in 1760 and founded the town of
Aaronsburg, in Northumberland county,
Pennsylvania, the only town in America
bearing the name of a Jew. He was of
great assistance to the Colonists in their
struggles for independence. He was a
partner of Robert Morris in various enter
prises and in the Journal of Continental
Congress from March 29, 1781 is a report
from the Board of Treasury about con
siderable loans to Continental Congress.

18

Stood by Washington

Maryland, it seems was the first colony
in which Jews settled, they seemed to have
arrived shortly after the establishment of
the provincial government in 1634. As
early as 1657, Dr. Jacob Lumbrozo settled
there and letters of denization were issued
to him Sept. 10, 1663.

On July 7, 1733, a party of forty Jews
sailed up the Savannah river on a vessel
direct from London, arriving in the very
midst of a public dinner given by Ogle-
thorpe, who had assembled the Colonists
for the purpose of allotting to each settler
his proportion of land and of organizing
a local government.

The industry of the Jews, with the thrift
of the Scotch, who came a little later, made
a success of Oglethorpe's scheme, for it is
a well-known fact that the Colonists, were
dissolute, mutinous and unwilling to pro
tect the Colony from the Spaniards, who
threatened its destruction.

Oglethorpe had great respect for the
Jews and to a proposition of the trustees
that the Jews should have no lands allotted
them in the Colony, Oglethorpe had the
pluck to override the desire of the trustees,
declaring that if he obeyed he would lose
some of the best settlers in the Colony.

19

The Jews Who

With the departure of Oglethorpe from
Georgia and on account of the persistent
hostility of the trustees of the London
Company, subjected not only to civil dis
abilities, but with the rest of the popula
tion, many Jews moved from Savannah
and settled in the rising city of Charles
ton, where the Jews distinguished them
selves by their patriotism during the
struggle for independence.

The Colonial Jew was engaged in com
merce on a large scale. His merchandise
floated on every sea. He invaded the
wilderness and contributed enormously to
the wealth of the country. He cast his
fortunes with the infant republic. Though
comparatively recent settlers, few in num
bers, they furnished more than their pro
portion of men and the sinews of war.
They not only risked their lives, but aided
with their money to equip and maintain
the armies and this in spite of the fact that
they were denied the rights accorded to
other citizens — though barred from elec
tive offices by clauses in the charters,
hemmed in and hounded by restrictive
laws, yet almost to a man they stood loy-

20

Stood by Washington

ally by Washington and the men who
stood with him.

At the date of the first census, 1790,
when the total population was four mil
lions, and the Jewish population was esti
mated at three thousand, one to thirteen
hundred and thirty of the population. Ac
cording to the estimate of Isaac Harby
in 1826, there were then, nearly forty
years after the Revolution, not over six
thousand Jews in the United States.

The Jew's part in the making of the
new nation is in the main an unwritten
chapter in American history

The rulers of Europe, during the pres
ent war are recognizing the patriotism of
the Jew. Washington, Jefferson, Frank
lin, Madison and the men who stood with
them were familiar with the services of
the Jews for their country, as their fre
quent communications with them, showed
and favored conferring full rights upon
them as citizens.

The Non-Importation Resolutions in
1765, the first organized movement in the
agitation for separation from the mother
country, a document still preserved in Car
penter's Hall at Philadelphia, contains the

21

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following Jewish names : Joseph Jacobs,
Hayman Levy, Jr., David Franks, Mat
thias Bush, Michael Gratz, Bernard Gratz,
Moses Mordecai, and Benjamin Levy*
who was appointed March 9, 1776, by
Continental Congress as authorized signer
of bills of credit.

The decision reached in New York, 1770,
to make more stringent the Non-Impor
tation Agreement which the Colonists had
adopted to bring England to terms on the
taxation question, had amongst its sign-

*Benjamin Levy's son Moses, born in Philadelphia,
1756, was the most distinguished Jewish lawyer prior
to 1800. He became presiding judge of the District
Court of Philadelphia in 1822 and it is very likely that
the Mr. Levy of Pennsylvania referred to in the cor
respondence between Jefferson and Gallatin in which
Jefferson mentioned having Levy's name under con
sideration for the office of Attorney General of the
United States was Moses Levy.

The first Jew on the bench in America was Isaac
Miranda and the first we know of him was in Lan
caster, Pa., where he died in 1733. With the exception
of Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Georgia, we find
no Jewish lawyers anywhere in the thirteen states
before the beginning of the nineteenth century. In
1774, Moses Franks of Pennsylvania appears on a
list of Americans admitted as members of the London
Inns Court to plead at the bar of the English Courts
of Common Law and Equity.

22

Stood by Washington

ers Samuel Judah, Hayman Levy, Jacob
Moses, Jacob Meyers, Jonas Phillips and
Isaac Seixas.

Among the signers of the bills of credit
for the Continental Congress in addition
to Benjamin Levy already named were
Benjamin Jacobs and Samuel Lyons of
New York, Isaac Moses of Philadelphia
and New York, a co-worker with Robert
Morris on behalf of the Government's fi
nances, who contributed $15,000 to the
Colonial Treasury. Through his influ
ence an act was passed November 18,
1784, by the Legislature of New York,
levying specific duties and establishing
custom houses.

Herman Levy of Philadelphia repeat
edly advanced considerable sums for the
army in the field.

The Jews in the South were not lag
ging behind their patriot brothers of the
North. Congress in 1778 ordered the Co
lonial Treasury to pay Philip Minis $7,000
for money advanced by him to the acting
paymaster of the troops of Virginia and
North Carolina in the State of Georgia.

Manuel Mordecai Noah, of South Caro
lina, not only served in the army on Wash
ington's staff, but gave $100,000 to fur-

23

The Jews Who

ther the cause in which he was enlisted.

The real financier of the American
Revolution was Haym Salomon, a Polish
immigrant, a Philadelphia broker, "a
dealer in bills of exchange on France and
Holland." In the subsequent chapter of
this book, we give a detailed account of
the remarkable story of one of the most
interesting men in American history, and
in this connection we desire only to speak
of Haym Salomon as a man.

Through the courtesy of Mr. William
Salomon, great-grandson of the Revolu
tionary hero, the author had placed at
his disposal copies of letters written and
received by Haym Salomon, which let
ters give us an insight into his character.
Men are apt to say on the impulse of the
moment things which are not their real
thoughts, but when a man deliberately sits
down and that which with pen in hand he
writes out, may be regarded as the best
evidence of his real nature. "As a man
thinks so is he/' And a man's written
words rather than the things spoken are
the best evidence of what sort of a man
he is.

Under date of February 4, 1782, Joshua

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Stood by Washington

Isaacs, of Lancaster, Pa., wrote to Mr.
Salomon concerning the number of offi
cers there belonging to Cornwallis' army
and who were in great want of money,
but found it difficult to sell their Bills.
Isaacs, owing to scarcity of cash could
not accommodate them and wrote to Mr.
Salomon to do so. Mr. Salomon answered
that '"if the bills were drawn by the Pay
master-General in favor of any particular
officers and indorsed by the Commander-
in-Chief, or at least by the Commanding-
officer of the Regiment, for a short sight,
payable in New York, they will answer,
if they are drawn on London it will make
no difference. If they are correctly drawn
it is in my power to furnish sufficient
cash to supply the whole army," and then
he added that he would advance small
sums on them until he "knew positively
that the Bills were correct." Receiving
word from Mr. Isaacs that everything was
all right he answered: "I shall furnish
you with as much cash as you may stand
in need of. Proceed on the business im
mediately and draw on me for any sum
by post or express, it shall be honored at
sight, let the amount be ever so great."

25

The Jews Who

Thus we see that he not only relieved our
army, but the foes in distress found him
a friend.

The letters also show that Mr. Salomon
bought goods of every description for peo
ple in all parts of the Colonies, advancing
the money for the purpose, for which ad
vance he charged 5%. The confidence
his letters show he reposed in those who
transacted business with him at 'long dis
tance was remarkable. The letters indi
cate a variety of enterprises and interests
which would be remarkable even in our
days. His letters show that he was one
of the most courtly men, a gentleman of
the old school and his demands for money
owed him were made in the kindliest spirit.

Among the letters in preservation and
which reveal the characteristic of his race
is his anxiety for his parents, how he sent
a Mr. Sampson to find them in Poland,
as well as his brothers and sisters and con
tributed generously to their wants. It
seems for a while he had lost sight of
them. He says it is his "duty now that it
is in my power to afford them assistance. "
Mr. Sampson with 500 guilders was in
structed to dispose it among his relatives.

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Stood by Washington

In one of his letter he says: "What little
I have I feel it my duty to share it with
my father and mother — they1 are the first
to be provided for by me and must and
shall have the preference. Whatever lit
tle more I can squeeze out I will 'give my
relations/' but, writing to one of his neph
ews, he says: "I tell you plainly and
truly that it is not in my power to give
you or any relation yearly allowances.
Don't you or any of them expect it — don't
fill your mind with vain expectations and
golden dreams that never can be accom
plished. I have three young children and
as my wife is very young may have more
and if you and the rest of my relations
will consider things with reason they will
be sensible of this I now write, but, not
withstanding this, I mean to assist my
relations as far as lays in my power."

In one of his letters to Felix Gilbert
of Rockingham County, Virginia, he con
cluded by saying: "Nothing can give me
more real pleasure than when you please
to give me an opportunity of rendering
you such services as is in the power of
Your Very Obedient and Most Humble
Servant."

27

The Jews Who

Salomon was a graduate of the Uni
versity of Hard-Knocks, he was a self-
educated man and his associations with
the foremost' men of his period made him
conscious of the value of a good educa
tion and in his letter to Mr. Israel Meyers
of New York in which he again speaks
of his concern for his parents and as Mr.
Meyers was going to Poland to relieve in
person the parents of Salomon, he added
a postscript to the letter as follows:
"Please mention to my father the difficulty
that I have labored under in not having
any learning and that I should not know
what to have done had it not been for the
languages that I learned in my travels —
such as French, English, etc. Therefore
would advise him and all my relations to
have their children well educated, particu
larly in the Christian language and should
any of my brother's children have a good
head to learn Hebrew would contribute
towards their being instructed."

The Jews were as patriotic in the field
as they were generous with their money.
Even before the Revolution the Jews
stood by Washington — in 1754 during the
French and Indian War, Isaac Meyers of

28

Stood by Washington

New York, called a town meeting at the
Rising Sun Inn and organized a company
of bateaumen of which he became Cap
tain and in Washington's Journal of the
expedition across the Allegheny Moun
tains two Jews by name, Michael Franks
and Jacob Meyers, are named. No doubt
others followed Washington, but only
these have left traces of their presence.

When the Colonies were agitated by
the disastrous ending of the Braddock
campaign in 1755 and the incipient move
ment towards federation, we find a Jew,
Benjamin Cohen, a member of the Pro-
.vincial Council of Pennsylvania appointed
to high office in the Colony.

Among the patriots of the South, none
worked more unselfishly than Mordecai
Sheftall, "Chairman of the Rebel Paro
chial Committee," organized to regulate
the internal affairs of Savannah, and com
posed of patriots opposed to the royal gov
ernment, who after hostilities were begun
in the South, was appointed Deputy Com
missary General of Issues for the Conti
nental Army assigned to the South, and
when the British troops attacked Savan
nah, in December, 1778, Shef tail's name

29

The Jews Who

appears not only foremost among the pa
triotic defenders of that city and as one
who advanced considerable money to the
cause, but as one who was placed on board
the prison ships because of his refusal
to flock to the royal standard.

In 1780 when the British authorities
passed the disqualifying acts we find the
name of Mordecai Sheftall near the head
of the list with the most prominent pa
triot names of Georgia. He received a
grant of land as a reward for his serv
ices. Besides his services he contributed
large sums of money.

David Emanuel, of whom little is
known, was the first Jew to hold the office
of Governor of one of the United States —
Georgia. He was born in Pennsylvania
and settled in Burke County, Georgia,
about 1768. From the very beginning of
the American Revolution he was a prom
inent figure on the patriot side as an able
scout, a fearless soldier and an important
member of the Executive Council

Besides serving in the field he was a
member of the Assembly and County
Judge for a long time. Georgia was one
of the battle grounds of the war and

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Stood by Washington

Emanuel served throughout the entire
struggle. He was captured by a party
of loyalists and ordered to be shot. He
was ready for the execution when one
of his unfortunate companions begged for
permission to go to 'prayer and while the
soldiers stood ready to fire Emanuel made
a sudden jump among cthe horses, and
mounting one made a dash for his life.
His pursuers followed him into the dark
ness of the night, but he made his escape.
His brothers, David and Levy were Sec
ond Lieutenants. After the war he be
came President of 'the Senate and March
3, 1801, sixth Governor of Georgia.
Whether he held this dignity by virtue
of his Presidency of the Senate or whether
he won it. at a regular election, is a mat
ter of dispute, but no matter how he be
came Governor, it is certain that the laws
for that year, 1801, are signed "David
Emanuel, Governor." Since that time no
Jew has served as Governor of any State
until the present, Moses Alexander, of
Idaho.

Francis Salvador was an important
member of the Provincial Congress of
South Carolina.

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The Jews Who

Major Benjamin Nones served on the
staffs of Washington and Lafayette — his
first service was as a private under Pulaski
and what he accomplished under the gal
lant Pole is shown in the following testi
monial now in possession of the Nones
family, signed by Captain Verdier, of Pu-
laski's staff, dated Charleston, December
15, 1779:

"It is but just that I should render an
account of the conduct of those who have
most deserved thanks for bravery in this
legion. I take advantage of the occasion
and with much pleasure in my capacity of
Captain of Volunteers, attached to the
suite of General Pulaski to certify that
Benjamin Nones has served as a volun
teer in my company during the campaign
of this year and at the siege of Savannah
in Georgia and his behavior under the fire
in all the bloody actions we fought have
been marked by the bravery and courage
which a military man is expected to show
for the liberties of his country, and which
acts of said Nones gained him the favor
and esteem of General Pulaski, as well
as 'that of all the officers who witnessed
his daring conduct. For which reason I

32

Stood by Washington

have delivered to him this certificate, hav
ing been an eye witness to his bravery and
good conduct on the field of battle and
which I make it a duty to certify to with
proof, satisfaction and pleasure."

Colonel Isaac Franks served under
Washington during the whole of the
American Revolution, during which he
received several wounds. He was an in
timate friend and companion of Washing
ton, who occupied his house at German-
town when he came to Philadelphia to at
tend the assembling of the first Congress
of the newly born United States.

Franks entered upon his military career
at 17. He took part in the Battle of Long
Island under the immediate command of
Washington. He equipped himself at his
own expense. He first entered Colonel
Lesher's regiment, annexed to the army
of the United States under command of
Washington. In 1778, he became Forage-
master and was stationed at West Point
during 1781 when he entered as an En
sign into the service of the 7th Massa
chusetts, then stationed at West Point.
In 1794 he was honored by Governor Mif-
flin as Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd regi-

33

The Jews Who

ment of Philadelphia County Brigade of
the Milita of the Commonwealth of Penn
sylvania. Through this appointment he
became generally known as Colonel
Franks.

David S. Franks, a young English mer
chant who settled in Montreal in 1774,
was arrested May 3rd, 1775 for speaking
disrespectfully of the King. He was dis
charged a few days later. In 1776, Gene
ral Worcester appointed him paymaster to
the American garrison at Montreal, dur
ing which time he advanced considerable
sums of money. When the army retreated
from Canada, he enlisted as a volunteer
and joined a Massachusetts regiment. In
1778, he was ordered to serve under Count
d'Estaing, then commanding the sea forces
of the United States. The expedition hav
ing failed, Franks became a member of
Arnold's military family. In 1779, he
went as a volunteer to Charleston, serv
ing as aide-de-camp to General Lincoln.
He was later recalled to attend the trial of
Arnold. Franks was implicated in the
trial, but was honorably acquitted. Not
satisfied, he wrote to Washington for a
court of inquiry, which met Nov. 2nd,

34

Stood by Washington

1780, at West Point and completely ex
onerated him. His arrest was a mere
formality. He was too jealous of his
honor as a man and reputation as a sol
dier, not to demand an investigation.
Colonel Harrison, Washington's Secretary
expressed the utmost confidence in Franks,
as did General Knox in his sworn state
ment before General Greene.

In 1781, Major Franks was sent by
Robert Morris to Eiurope with important
messages to Jay in Madrid and to Frank
lin in Paris. On his return Congress re
instated him into the army with the rank
of Major. He was sent to Europe by Con
gress in 1784 on matters connected with
Peace Treaties and two years later served
in a confidential capacity in the negotia
tions connected with the Treaty of Peace
and Commerce made with Morocco. A
year later he brought the Treaty home
with him. January 28th, 1789, he was
granted 400 acres of land in recognition
of this services during the Revolutionary
War.

David Franks of Philadelphia had his
fortune swept away by confiscation on ac
count of his adherence to the cause.

35

The Jews Who

David Hayes, a Westchester County,
New York, merchant, ardently supported
the Colonists, serving in the Colonial army
of Long Island, in retaliation for which
the Tories burned his house.

Lewis Bush became a captain in the 6th
Pennsylvania Battalion and later was com
missioned a Major. He was wounded at
the battle of Brandywine, died four days
later.

Captain Abraham served with the bat
talion of Cumberland County Milita,
Maryland.

Aaron Benjamin became Regimental
Adjutant in the 8th Connecticut.

Solomon Pinto served as an officer in
the Connecticut Line throughout the War
and was among the patriots wounded in
the British attack upon New Haven, July
5th and 6th, 1779. He has the additional
distinction of having been one of the orig
inal members of the Society of Cincinnati
in Connecticut, which included only mer
itorious officers of the Revolutionary
army. He had brothers, Abraham, a sol
dier in the 7th Connecticut, and Jacob, who
early espoused the patriotic cause.

36

Stood by Washington

Isaac Israel became captain of the 8th
Virginia.

Nathaniel Levy of Baltimore served
under Lafayette.

Benjamin Etting was among the patrio
tic merchants of New York who were
forced to flee before the British Troops.

In Madison's papers the services of
Jacob I. Cohen are repeatedly mentioned.

Solomon Bush after having served as
Deputy Adjutant General of the Milita of
the State of Pennsylvania entered again
in the service, when General Sir William
Howe invaded Pennsylvania and the mil-
ita were called out pursuant to the resolu
tions of Congress and the requisition of
George Washington. He was dangerously
wounded in the skirmish with the militia
and the advance of the British army.

Philip Jacob Cohen became so distin
guished for his services that he was singled
out by the British authorities, through a
special order, depriving him of the right
of holding or exercising any office of trust,
honor or profit in the Province of Georgia.

Solomon Etting, a native of York, Pa.,
was appointed on the committee which for
warded resolutions to Washington ex-

37

The Jews Who

pressing disapprobation of a proposed
treaty with Great Britain.

Captain Ruben Etting of the Indepen
dent Blues was taken prisoner by the Brit
ish at the surrender of Charleston.

Michael Hart of Easton, Pa., in recogni
tion of his public services was honored by
George Washington, who became his
guest during a short sojourn in that town.

Moses Isaacks, in recognition of whose
valuable services had the honor of receiv
ing Washington as a guest at his house in
Newport.

Jacob Leon and Benjamin Moses served
on the staff of Pulaski. Jacob Moser was
a captain in the 6th Pennsylvania. Second
Lieutenant Joseph Samson of Massachu
setts, and Lieutenant Abraham Seixas of
the Georgia Brigade, Samuel Bush, Eman-
uel de la Motta, Benjamin Ezekiel, Jason
Sampson, Ascher Levy, Nathaniel Levy,
Jacob Hays, Aaron Benjamin and Ben
jamin Moses, are a few of the Jews who
distinguished themselves upon the battle
fields of the Revolution.

Hazan Gerhsom Mendes Seixas was one
of the fourteen ministers participating in
the inaugural exercises of Washington's

38

Stood by Washington

administration in New York, April 30th,
1789. He was a trustee of Columbia Col
lege for 28 years, the only Jew who ever
sat upon the Board of Trustees, they be
ing almost uniformly of the Episcopalian
faith. He disbanded his congregation in
New York rather than continue under
British auspices. His is also the honor of
having preached the first Thanksgiving
sermon in this country in pursuance to
President Washington's proclamation.

Phillip Moses Russell in the spring of
1775 enlisted as a surgeon's mate under
the command of General Lee. After the
British occupation in Philadelphia in Sep
tember, 1777, he became surgeon's mate
to Surgeon Norman of the 2nd Regiment
of Virginia. Russell went into winter
quarters with the army at Valley Forge
in 1777-1778. Sickness forced him to re
sign in August 1780. He received a letter
of commendation from General Washing
ton for his "assiduous and faithful atten
tions to the sick and wounded."

The commemoration of the first battle
field of the Revolutionary war was made
possible through a Jew — Judah Touro, of
New Orleans, who came to the aid of An-

39

The Jews Who

drew Jackson during the memorable de
fense of that city. Upon learning that
Amos Lawrence of Boston had proposed
to give $10,000 to complete the Bunker
Hill monument if any other person could
be found who would give a like amount,
and immediately Judah Touro sent his
check.

At a dinner given at Faneuil Hall on
June 17th, 1843, to celebrate the comple
tion of the monument the two great bene-
fcators of the association were remem
bered by the following toast:

"Amos and Judah, venerated names,
Patriarch and Prophet press their equal claims,
Like generous courses running neck and neck,
Each aid the work by giving it a check ;
Christian and Jew they carry out one plan,
For thought of different faiths, each is in
heart a man."

I have recited these instances of the
Jew's loyalty to show that he is not a para
site, not an exploiter, not a new comer,
but an American of the Americans. May
the Jew of the future never prove false to
this heritage, and may he never forget his
debt to the first settlers in this land of
freedom.

40

Stood by Washington

Has the Jew no country? Peerless
America is his. The American flag is his.
America is as much a Jewish as a Christ
ian country. In the Mayflower the Jewish
Bible crossed the Atlantic and at Plymouth
Rock the Pentateuch was recognized as
the inspiration of the young common
wealth.

The earliest constitution of several New
England colonies were framed upon the
model of the Mosaic code as a guide and
the preachers, who were the progressives
and radicals of their day, constantly drew
their civil creed from the history of those
times and held up the old Hebrew common
wealth as a model for our government.

Dr. Samuel Langdon, President of Har
vard College, one of the most influential
men of his period, in his election sermon
before the "Honorable Congress of Mas
sachusetts Bay/' May 3rd, 1775, held up,
"The Republic of the Israelites as an Ex
ample to American States."

Dr. George Duffield in the Third Pres-
berterian Church of Philadelphia, with
John Adams as a listener, drew a parallel
between George III and Pharoah.

Dr. Ezra Stiles pleached a sermon on,

41

The Jews Who

"The United States Elevated to Glory and
Honor," in which he set forth the Hebrew
Commonwealth as the model for the new
republic. This was true of all the great
preachers of that day.
It is therefore not surprising that when
•a committee was appointed on the day
the Declaration of Independence was
adopted, consisting of Franklin, Adams
and Jefferson, to prepare a device for
a seal for the United States, how
perfectly natural that they should, as they
did propose as such, Pharoah sitting in an
open chariot, a crown on his head and
a sword in his hand, passing through the
dividing waters of the Red Sea in
pursuit of the Israelites, with rays from a
pillar of fire, beaming on Moses, who is
represented as standing on the shore ex
tending his hand over the sea, causing it
to overwhelm Pharoah and underneath the
motto : —
Rebelion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.

42

Hay m Sa lorn on

President Taft on
Haym Salomon

ADDRESS AT EIGHTH STREET TEMPLE, WASHINGTON, D. C.

It is a great pleasure for me to be here
to-night and to hear the eloquent tribute
of the orator, Dr. Peters, to what the Jew
has done in American history.

One of the privileges of the President
of the United States is to attend, and to
feel at home at, the religious services of
every denomination that is fostered under
the flag, no matter what his own church.

It is the duty of the President of the
United States, in so far as he may, to tes
tify to his interest in every religion in
order that it may be understood of all men
that the absence from the Constitution of
the United States of any recognition of
a state church gives no right to any man
to infer that the government is against
the churches. On the contrary, the gov
ernment is for all the churches, and it
eliminates a state church in order that

President Taft

it may embrace all and support all and
protect all without guiding or restricting
any.

If there was anything that I could
criticise in my friend Dr. Peters' address,
it was that the Jews of the United States
do not need the elaborate defense that he
has made — at least for one brought up as
I was. My father was a member of the
Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, and that
church stood just opposite Dr. Wise's syn
agogue — just across the street, on the cor
ner of Eighth and Plum, and occasionally
wre exchanged ministers, and we had Dr.
Wise in our pulpit, and our minister spoke
in the synagogue across the street. As
a consequence, under the influence of my
father, who was the broadest man I ever
knew, I came to feel that the Jews were a
very important part, as they were, of the
citizenship of Cincinnati.

And as I attended the public schools, and
was prepared for college there, I had oc
casion to note what Dr. Peters has com
mented on, that there were some young
men and women with "stein" at the end of
their names who were always among the
first in the class. Everyone who lives in

On Haym Salomon

a community like that of my home city of
Cincinnati knows that none of the great
charities, none of the theatres, none of the
societies for art, artistic development, or
music, could live if it were not for the sup
ports of the Jews.

I believe it to be true, as Dr. Peters says,
that the Jews are not very rich, but they
are all engaged in making as good a liv
ing as they can, and in supporting their
families as comfortably as they can, and
in upholding the home and the domestic
circle as the most important things to be
upheld and supported. And so it is that
they are a most important part of every
community.

It is pathetic almost to see the Jews of
the East Side, who come from Russia and
elsewhere, seize and enjoy and appreciate
the opportunities that are given in this
government for education. I have been
there to see the energy and the sincerity
with which they respond to every patri
otic sentiment, feeling, as they do, grati
tude to the flag under which they enjoy
the educational and other privileges that
this government affords.

I believe, and I am proud of the fact,

President Taft

that the Jews in America enjoy an equal
ity that they have in only a few other
countries of the world. I don't mean to
say that there are not racial prejudices
here; I don't mean to say that there are
not social clubs and other places where the
small-headed men who occasionally get
into a directory manifest their greatness
by using a blackball and shutting out men
of importance in the community; but, my
friends, while it is aggravating and exas
perating, still it is not the worst thing that
could happen. I have had it happen to
friends of mine — Gentiles — wrho have been
kept out of clubs by people who are not
worthy to button up their shoes, and who
have no standing save in clubs. It is ag
gravating, I agree, but a man is what he is
by reason of his respect for himself, and
if he knows that some one who affects to
snub him and look down upon him is not
worthy — if he knows that that person is
not his equal and he cultivates any of the
philosophy that he ought to call to his aid
—he will have the 'advantage over his
small-brained and narrow-minded critic
always.

I did not come here to make a speech.

On Haym Salomon

I came here to second the motion for a
memorial to the Jew who stood by Robert
Morris and financed the revolution, the
friend of Kosciuszko and of Pulaski, both
of whom have monuments here — a man
who apparently gave all he had, for he had
nothing when he died — or at least there
was nothing except what he ought to have
collected and did not — a man thrown into
prison as a spy under Clinton, and who
escaped because he could talk ten different
languages, and because somebody who had
custody of him thought he would be more
useful to him as a live interpreter than as
a dead man. He subsequently escaped and
devoted his entire time and fortune to
helping along the cause of the revolution.
It is most interesting to read those let
ters, to which Dr. Peters has referred, in
which Madison speaks of the strapped
condition in which he was while he was
trying to help out the country as a mem
ber of the Congress, and his constant ap
plication to his friend Salomon until he
became ashamed to go to him, because
Salomon would not charge him any inter
est. Salomon must have had a pretty
heavy load to carry in looking after all

President Taft

those Congressmen, but they were neces
sary to this country, and he knew it. It
is not the man only who wears the uniform
and carries a gun or a sword and has
epaulets that is necessary to effect a suc
cessful revolution.

Money is the sinews of war, and the
necessity for money impresses itself as the
fight goes on, and you will observe that
Haym Salomon was most active during
these later years, when the strain grew
harder in the fight and when people were
likely, because of the long struggle, to be
come tired out and to lose their patriotic
interest. Then it was that he negotiated
these large loans; then it was that he
helped his impecunious associates, and
then it was that he entitled himself to the
gratitude of the entire country. If there
should be erected a memorial to him in
Washington to testify to his disinterested
self-sacrifice in behalf of his country it
would be most appropriate.

I
Haym Salomon

HAYM SALOMON was born at
Lissa, Poland, in 1740, of Jewish-
Portuguese descent, and it is prob
able that he left his native country after the
partition of Poland in 1772.

Salomon's family were highly respectable
and learned people. He enjoyed the friend
ships of Kosciuszko and Pulaski, the noble
patriots who unsheathed their swords for hu
man liberty.

With his own unhappy country's history
and with his hatred of despotic Russia, Salo
mon imbibed a love of liberty which extensive
travel in Europe intensified, and, as might
have been expected, the outbreak of the Revo
lution found him an ardent supporter of the
Colonial cause.

1 1

Haym Salomorl

He was imprisoned, tortured, and con
demned to a military death, but on August 1 1,
1778, he managed to escape, by bribing his
jailor, leaving behind him in New York six
thousand pounds sterling, a distressed wife,
and child one month old. It seems likely
that his intimate friend, the brave General
McDougall, who then commanded the Ameri
can army in the neighborhood of New York,
was in co-operation with him. Fourteen days
later Salomon addressed a petition to the Con
tinental Congress, setting forth his services
and asking for some employment; but, char
acteristic of the man, he asked not for himself
alone, at the same time he entered a plea for
the exchange of Samuel Demezes, a fellow
prisoner.

Congress turned a deaf ear to his plea and
the denial worked for the ultimate good both
of Salomon and the young country.

The tide in his affairs, and as the story
shows, the tide in the affairs of the young
Republic, turned upon his escape to Phila
delphia, and it was not long until he succeeded
in establishing himself in business, and there

H

The Financier of the Revolution

becoming one of the greatest financiers of his
adopted city.

Salomon's matchless enterprise, eminent re
spectability, remarkable intelligence, irre
proachable integrity, his delicate sense of
mercantile honor, his unbounded benevolence
for all mankind, and, above all, his undying
hatred of English tyranny, soon led to his
recognition by the leading men of his time,
and the uncompromising, implacable foe to
British dominion was brought into intimate
relationships with the Revolutionary patriots.

Early in 1781, he made known through
the newspapers that he was a dealer in bills
of exchange on France and Holland. For the
most part the money advanced by Louis XVI
and the proceeds of the loans negotiated in
Holland passed through his hands. He was
intrusted with the negotiation of all the war
subsidies of France and Holland on his own
personal integrity, which were sold to the res
ident merchants in America without any loss,
at a credit of two and three months, for which
he received the small commission of one-
fourth of one per cent. Several European fi-
15

Haym Salomon

nancial houses did business through him. A
few days after the foregoing announcement,
Robert Morris became Superintendent of
Finance. Morris' diary records not less
than seventy-five financial transactions with
Salomon, between August 1781, and April
1784.

Alexander Hamilton, writing during the
dark days of the war to Robert Morris, says :
" It is by restoring public credit, not by gain
ing battles, that we are finally to gain our ob
ject." Haym Salomon brought not only all
his wealth to the aid of his adopted country,
but a financial insight which, for clearness and
depth, was not surpassed by Alexander Ham
ilton nor equalled by Robert Morris. Amer
ica found in Haym Salomon a champion
equalled by few, his fertility in resource and
soundness of financial views made him,
through Robert Morris, Superintendent of Fi
nance, the real financier of the Revolution and
judged by Alexander Hamilton's standard of
patriotism, surpassed by none, for Haym Salo
mon was practically the sole agent employed
by Morris for negotiating bills of exchange,
16

The Financier of the Revolution

by which means the credit of the Government
was so largely maintained during this period.
We do not wish to detract from the glory of
Robert Morris, but we do insist that the suc
cess Morris obtained in his financial schemes
was due to the skill, ability and sacrifice of
Haym Solomon.

On July 12, 1782, he requested Morris'
permission to publish the fact that he was
broker to the Office of Finance. In reference
to this Morris entered into his diary: " This
broker has been useful to the public interests.
... I have consented, as I do not see that
any disadvantage can possibly arise to the
public service, but the reverse."

He was appointed broker to the French
consul and the treasurer of the French army
and fiscal agent of the French Minister to the
United States, Chevalier de la Luzerne, enor
mous sums passing through his hands. He
was the principal depositor of the Bank of
North America, an institution founded
through the instrumentality of Robert Mor
ris, to serve as a means of obtaining funds to
carry on the Government, the first and only

Haym Salomon

bank chartered by the Revolutionary Con
gress. The accounts of fifteen other mer
chants who commenced with the opening of
the bank occupied, in all, fifteen pages, up
to the period of Salomon's death, while Salo
mon's account occupied in all fifteen pages,
double columns, of the same ledger. Salo
mon's one account was as large as their entire
account in the aggregate. The balances at
the various times of settlement in his bank
book show special balances of from $15,000
to $50,000 at each period. The amount
charged by the bank to his account as paid to
Robert Morris was over $200,000, while
Robert Morns' own account during the same
period had a deposit of less than $10,000.
A further interesting fact is that on a day
when Robert Morris deposited $10,000 in
the bank, he received exactly the same amount
from Haym Salomon.

Morris' diary, August 26, 1782, records:
" I sent for Salomon and desired him to try
every way he could to raise money." Two
days later he wrote: " Salomon, the broker,
came and I urged him to leave no stone un-
18

The Financier of the Revolution

turned to find out money and the means by
which I can obtain it."

Not only did Salomon advance large sums
to the Government for which he received no
return, but the services of James Madison,
Edmund Randolph, Generals Mifflin, St.
Clair and others were retained in the cause
through his bounty. In Madison's letter to
Virginia, in 1781, he writes: " My wants are
so urgent that it is impossible to suppress
them. The case of my brethren is equally
alarming." Later he declares: u The kind
ness of our friend in Front Street (Mr. Salo
mon) is a fund that will preserve me from ex
treme necessities, but I never resort to it with
out great mortification, as he obstinately re
jects all recompense. To necessitous delegates
he gratuitously spares from his private stock."

Henry Wheaton says : " Judge Wilson, so
distinguished for his labors in the Convention
that framed the Federal Constitution, would
have retired from public service had he not
been sustained by the timely aid of Haym Sal
omon, as delicately as it was generously ad
ministered."

19

Haym Salomon

When Salomon was called on to advance
the entire pay for the ensuing year to Jones,
Randolph, and Madison, as members of the
Revolutionary Congress, they had in writ
ing allotted that Madison should get fifty
pounds less than the other two, but Salomon,
seeing in young Madison, then only twenty-
nine years old, those great talents for which
be became distinguished in after years, pre
sented him, from his own private purse, the
fifty pounds, thus equalizing the pay of the
whole delegation.

Jared Sparks in his life of Gouverneur
Morris, a member of Congress in 1780, pub
lishes a letter written by Mr. Morris, in
which he declares that " the person who did
loan cash to a member to relieve his distress
in that day, was in no expectation of ever
getting repaid."

James Madison, twice President of the
United States, the most learned and patriotic
member of the Revolutionary Congress, thus
paid his tribute to Salomon's devotion and
bounty: " When any member was in need, all
that was necessary was to call upon Salomon."
20

The Financier of the Revolution

Again and again he refers to his " little friend
in Front Street," acknowledged not only his
indebtedness to " the little Jew " on whose
bounty he had pensioned, but again and again
refers to his integrity and disinterestedness.

It is true that there were merchants who
subscribed to make up army supplies in 1780,
ostensibly without security, but Madison's
journal shows that they had a contingent se
curity of the best Sterling Exchange to the
amount of 150,000 pounds in excess of their
subscription.

Not only did Salomon aid his home gov
ernment, but he was the confidential friend
and adviser of agents, consuls, and representa
tives of foreign powers in sympathy with the
Revolutionary movement. He had confiden
tial relations with all the foreign representa
tives at one time or another. He was the con
fidential friend of that ardent adherent to
the American cause, Count de la Luzerne,
Ambassador for France. With this appoint
ment, Salomon was made banker for that
Government. He was appointed by Mon
sieur Roquebrune, treasurer of the forces of
21

Haym Salomon

France in America and made paymaster-gen
eral, which office he filled free of charge. A
letter from Count Vergennes, Minister of
Spain, to De la Luzerne, states that in two
years 150,000 livres (equal to present-day
francs) were distributed through Salomon.

Salomon for two years, up to the time of
his death, out of his own private purse main
tained Don Francisco Rendon, Ambassador
from Spain. Writing to the Spanish Governor
of Cuba, Rendon says: "Mr. Salomon has
obtained money for his Most Catholic Maj
esty and I am indebted to his friendship in
this particular for the support of my charac
ter, as his Most Catholic Majesty's agent
here, with any degree of credit and reputa
tion, and without it I would not have been
able to give that protection and assistance to
His Majesty's subjects which His Majesty
enjoins and my duty requires." More than
$10,000 was thus advanced which was never
repaid.

The secret support of Charles III of Spain
is said to have been due to Salomon's efforts.

Although Salomon endorsed a great por-

22

The Financier of the Revolution

tion of the bills of exchange for the amount
of loans and subsidies our Government ob
tained in Europe, of which he negotiated
the entire sums and the execution of which
duty required a great deal of his valuable
time, from 1781 to 1783, still there was
only charged a fractional percentage to the
United States. He never caused the loss to
the Government one cent of the many mil
lions of his negotiations, either by his own
management or from the credit he gave to
others on the sale he made of those immense
sums of foreign drafts on account of the
United States.

After the peace of 1783, when foreign
commerce could again float unmolested, Salo
mon engaged as a trading merchant to Eu
ropean ports. He had several ships upon the
sea, but through the failure of merchants in
whom he had confidence, he suffered great
losses.

Always eager to help his fellowmen, he

gave every assistance possible to those who

commenced trading after the war. To the

president of the National Bank, whose part-

23

Haym Salomon

ner was the Superintendent of Finance, he
gave two loans of $40,000 and $24,000, and
without interest. The firm was known as
Willing, Morris & Swanick. It is doubtful
if he ever got any of his money back.

So successful had Salomon become that he
opened up an establishment in New York. In
the Pennsylvania and Weekly Advertiser,
January i, 1785, appeared the following an
nouncement :

" Haym Salomon, broker to the Office of
Finance, having provided a license of ex
ercising the employment of an auctioneer in
the City of New York, has now opened for
the reception of every species of merchandise,
his house, No. 22 Wall Street, and every
branch of business, which in the smallest de
gree appertains to the profession — factor,
auctioneer and broker, will be transacted in it,
with that fidelity, dispatch and punctuality
which has hitherto characterized his dealings.
The house, in point of convenience and situa
tion, is exceedingly well calculated for the
different kinds of business above mentioned,
and he thinks it is almost unnecessary to assure
those who favor him with their orders that
the strictest attention shall be paid to them
and the utmost care and solicitation employed

24

The Financier of the Revolution

to promote their interests. The nature of his
business enables him to make remittances to
any part of the world with peculiar facility,
and this he hopes will operate considerably
in his favor with those who live at a
distance.

u A desire of being more extensively use
ful and of giving universal satisfaction to the
public are among his principal motives for
opening the house and shall be the great lead
ing principles of his transactions. By being
broker to the Office of Finance and honored
with its confidence, all those sums have passed
through his hands, which the generosity of
the French Monarch, and the affection of
the merchants of the United Provinces,
prompted them to furnish us with, to enable
us to support the expenses of the war and
which have so much contributed to its suc
cess and happy termination. This is a cir
cumstance which has established his credit and
reputation, and procured him the confidence
of the public, a confidence which it shall be
his study and ambition to merit and increase,
by sacredly performing all his engagements.
The business will be conducted upon the most
liberal and extensive plan, under the firm
name of Haym Salomon and Jacob Morde-

cai."

Salomon died suddenly in Philadelphia,
January 6, 1785, at 45 years of age. He left

25

Haym Salomon

a widow and four small children, to use the
language of the Congressional report: "to
hazard and neglect." Here is his obituary
notice taken from the Pennsylvania Journal
and Weekly Advertiser, of January 8, 1785 :
" On Thursday, died Haym Salomon, a
broker." That is all, not a word about his
princely fortune to the new Republic, nothing
about his self-denying gifts whereby the great
geniuses of Revolutionary days could give the
service that constructed the greatest Nation
on the globe, nothing about his leadership in
the first charitable organization among the
Jews of Philadelphia, a society for the relief
of destitute strangers, nothing about his loy
alty to the ancient faith, his eminent charac
ter as a business man and high standing as a
citizen. But — he was a Jew ! That tells the
story.

The following is a copy of an authentic cer
tificate from the Register's office in Philadel
phia, showing the amount of public securities
and Revolutionary papers left by Haym Salo
mon and from which personal estate not a
cent has been received by any of his heirs:
26

The Financier of the Revolution

58 Loan office certificates $110,233.65

19 Treasury certificates 18,259.50

2 Virginia State certificates. . . 8,166.48

70 Commissioners' certificates. . 17,870.37

Continental liquidate 199,214.45

$353*744-45

Besides he left evidences of advances to
Robert Morris in the sum of $211,000, a
claim of $92,000 on the United States for ad
ditional loans, an unpaid balance of $10,000
to the Spanish Ambassador, and innumerable
loans to Madison, St. Clair, Steuben, Wilson,
and many others.

The condition of the Government's finances
as well as those of individuals during and im
mediately after the Revolutionary War was
almost as chaotic, and his affairs were neces
sarily much involved and his family were al
most without resources. The widow's un-
familiarity with business, together with the
monetary situation prevailing at the time, pre
vented her ever securing a dollar of the $658,-
007.13 advanced, as shown from document
ary evidence afterwards submitted to Con-
27

Haym Salomon

gress — an enormous sum at that period for a
private individual, when all commerce and
business were prostrated. Madison, in 1827,
urged that the memorialists might be indemni
fied and reports in their favor have been fre
quently made, but not a dollar has been repaid
— not a medal granted in lieu of the claim —
a fact which affords support to the oft-re
peated observation of the ingratitude of re
publics.*

*The descendants of Salomon have been de
prived of their valued inheritance by the reason
of their vouchers being lost while in the custody
of the Government, and in consequence of the
destruction by the British of many of the public
archives of that period, during the invasion of
Washington in 1814.

During the first session of the Twenty-ninth
Congress the Senate Committee of Claims unani
mously agreed upon a report similar to that
adopted by the House Committee of the Thir
tieth Congress, but too late for presentation.

At the second session of the Fifty-second Con
gress (February 24, 1893), a bill presented to
the House ordered that a gold medal be struck
off in recognition of services rendered by Haym
28

The Financier of the Revolution

Ezekiel, the elder son of Haym Salomon,
was for some time purser in the United States
Navy, and died in 1822 while cashier of New
Orleans branch of the United States Bank.

Haym M., the younger son, established
himself in the mercantile business in New
York City, where he married Ella, the
daughter of Jacob Hart, a German Jew who
came to America in 1775, became a promi
nent merchant of Baltimore and is mentioned
in the secret journals of Continental Congress
as having headed a subscription of the Balti
more merchants for the relief of a detachment
of the American Army, under command of
Lafayette, then passing through that city.

In 1844, Haym M. Salomon abandoned
business, gathered the evidence proving his
father's claim against the Government and de
voted all his energies to recovering the fortune
of which his family had so long been deprived.

Salomon, in consideration of which the Salomon
heirs waived their claims upon the United States
for indemnity. The measure was reported favor
ably by the House Committee on the Library,
but too late for consideration.
29

Haym Salomon

He enjoyed the confidence of Webster, Clay,
Calhoun and other great Americans of his
time, and though his claims were frequently
reported favorably by committees of both
Houses of Congress, a united action taking
the form of legislation was never secured by
him.

Colonel David Salomon, grandson of
Haym, was a man of mark, and after having
made a great name as a merchant in Phila
delphia, the Pennsylvania Railroad created
for him the office of financial agent in New
York. His son, William, great-grandson of
ftaym Salomon, one of the famous bankers
of New York, as the direct descendant, makes
no monetary claim upon the Government.

For the justice of the Haym Salomon claim
we have the highest possible authority. In
the report filed in the Senate during the twen
ty-ninth Congress it was said:

" From the evidence in the possession of
the committee, the patriotic devotion of Haym
Salomon to the cause of the American Inde
pendence cannot in their judgment be ques
tioned. The proof of his eminent character
and standing as a citizen and merchant is very

3°

The Financier of the Revolution

clear and abundant." Further in the report,
the committee found Mr. Salomon to have
been " the negotiator of all the war subsidies
obtained from France and Holland, which he
indorsed and sold in bills to the merchants in
America, at the credit of two or three months
on his own personal security."

In the same report it was also stated :

" The committee from the evidence before
them are induced to consider Haym Salomon
as one of the truest and most efficient friends
of the country in a very critical period of its
history and when its pecuniary resources were
few and its difficulties many and pressing.
He seems to have trusted implicitly to the
National honor; and the committee are of the
opinion that, as in the case of Lafayette and
others, the Nation ought to be liberal in their
indemnity to a son of any early benefactor in
the day of its prosperity.

" France, in the most pressing times during
the Revolutionary struggle, redeemed her
paper obligations by means of the public do
main; and generation after generation of Rev
olutionary claimants in this country have been
rewarded by a grateful people; nor ought the
memorialist to bear exception. His claim, in
the opinion of the committee, to the amount
which the United States owed to his father
when he suddenly died, and which has been
clearly established by documents referred to

31

Haym Salomon

in this report, is a just one, and the recom
pense he seeks ought not to be longer delayed.
" Abundant proof is presented that Haym
Salomon rendered very essential aid to the
cause of the Revolution, and that he did so,
judging by so many of his acts, disinterestedly
and from a sincere and ardent love for human
freedom."

In the report submitted by the Committee
on Revolutionary Claims in the Senate, under
date July 2, 1865, the justice of the claim was
again affirmed, and a further attestation of the
remarkable public spirit of Haym Salomon
was made, in these words, viz. :

u It is also proven by the vouchers before
your committee that Haym Salomon provided
the means to support the ambassador of the
King of Spain, Don Francisco Rendon, who
was in secret alliance with the Revolutionary
Government, and whose supplies were cut oft
by the British cruisers. This fact was ac
knowledged in an official letter from that
minister to the Governor-General of Cuba,
and the original orders, uncancelled, to the
amount of ten thousand Spanish dollars, are
before your committee, showing that the
amount was never paid. But the memorialist
does not nor never has asked this Government
to pay that sum.

32

The Financier of the Revolution

" All the former reports from the commit
tees of both houses show that Haym Salomon
supported from his private means many of the
principal men of the Revolution, who other
wise, as stated by themselves, could not have
attended to their public duties, among whom
are mentioned Jefferson, Madison, Lee, Steu-
ben, Mifflin, St. Clair, Blond, Jones, Monroe,
Wilson and others."

The unsecured loans of Haym Salomon in
the Nation's supreme crisis, like Washing
ton's advance of $64,000, at an earlier period,
out of his own purse, with no other security
but his own faith in the cause, to pay his daily
expenses, while he was leading their armies,
inspired the confidence that made men rally
'round the flag. Even so Jeremiah purchased
a field in Anathoth, in the days when Judah
was captive under Babylon, paying down
seventeen shekels of silver as a token of his
faith that the land would some day be de
livered from the enemy and restored to peace
ful habitation. Washington's pledge of prop
erty to liberty was repaid by a grateful people
— but for his services, not a dollar.

The men who stood with Washington were

33

Haym Salomon

recklessly rash in the pursuit of their ideals.
John Dickinson said: u It is not our duty to
leave wealth to our children, but it is our duty
to leave liberty to them. We have counted
the cost of this contest and find nothing so
dreadful as voluntary slavery."

Samuel Adams, hungry and poorly clad,
rejected with scorn the offer of a profitable
office, wealth, a title even, to turn him from
his allegiance to America.

John Adams wrote to his wife: "I have
accepted a seat in the House of Representa
tives and thereby have consented to my own
ruin, to your ruin and to the ruin of our chil
dren."

She replied: "I am willing, in this cause,
to run all the risks with you and be ruined
with you if you are ruined."

Benjamin Franklin, past seventy, then the
most celebrated man in all America, accepted
the dangerous mission to France, saying: " I
am old and good for nothing, but as the
storekeepers say of the remnants of cloth, ' I
am but a fag end and you may have me for
what you please.' '

34

The Financier of the Revolution

America has honored these patriotic men
and justly so, by high places in her history,
and as we sing their praises we are inspired
with the invincible determination to give our
country to our children as we got it from our
fathers, a free and independent Nation, but
this man, Haym Salomon, who, renouncing
the maxim of worldly wisdom which says,
" Get all you can and keep all you get," gave
all he had to the cause of America, gave it
in a crucial moment, when money alone saved
the day, and when, had he kept it, he could
have made millions, and it is only just to
ask that future writers of American history
acknowledge " the little Jew," the real finan
cier of the American Revolution. Shall not
the people of this peerless, unrivalled, unap-
proached and unapproachable Republic, now
in the days of their prosperity, erect to this
early benefactor a monument at Washington,
a memorial to this ardent lover of human free
dom, who did in his little office in Front Street,
Philadelphia, for the Nation's credit, what
Washington did on the field of battle for the
people's freedom?

35