Blog questions for November 6th

German Jews

1. German Jews began to come to the US in large numbers from the 1830s onwards, resulting in an immigration of about 200,000. Why did they leave Germany and how did they make a living once they arrived in America?

In general, the majority of German Jews left their homeland to move to America. This was because of the economic distress and discrimination they had felt in Germany. Theses Jews were searching for economic opportunity in the proclaimed ‘Golden land’, and longed for the chance to break free from the immense anti-semitic restrictions. Within these restrictions, Jews were limited to the number of possible Jewish marriages, there were boundless laws against Jews opening businesses, and there were even laws prohibiting Jews from entering into various professions. Once in the United States, most German Jews earned a living the same way they had in Europe; however there were some exceptions. Traveling peddlers became more permanent and gave up their small carts in exchange for their very own small store and business. Others began as peddlers in the Midwest and Deep South shortly after their voyaging they become captains of finance in New York.  An example of this would be the founder Goldman Sachs himself. Marcus Goldman wandered the American countryside selling things like shoelaces, fabric clothes and pots and pans and then later became the CEO and founder of one of the most successful finance companies in the world. This is an exceptional success stories; however, most of these German Jews who migrated to America became a solid part of the productive middle-class citizens.

Eastern European Jews

4. What happened at the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire on March 25, 1911? What was the political impact of this fire?

With the boom of the industrial revolution, many people started to move to the cities and work in factories. Though the Industrial Revolution was a historical point in time, working conditions were horrendous. Most of the time these factories were extremely dangerous and just plain dirty. In the early 1900’s Jews were working long and terrible hours (59-hour workweeks to be exact). Men were getting paid $3.81 and women made $1.04 a week. With such terrible working conditions it was inevitable that something like the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire would happen. On March 25^th 1911, a fire had exploded in a clothing factory. The doors to the women’s work area were locked shut and there was no escaping. When the fire department got there their ladders couldn’t reach the 9^th story thus women, who were desperate to escape the fire, leapt to their death. This was the turning point in history where people started to realize that the working conditions in factories were not acceptable.

My Questions

Why did most German Jews migrate away from New York City and most Eastern European Jews choose to stay in the city? Why is this such a big distinction between these Jewish groups?

For the most part, why were German Jews more well off than Eastern European Jews after coming to America?