Search results for: Ronald Rubin

On Jon’s Desk: A gift from Dr. Ronald Rubin serves as a patriotic reminder

12 Monday Sep 2016

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The War, Title Page

The War, Title Page

Title: The War. Being a Faithful Record of the Transactions of the War between the United States of America and their territories and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Volume 1. Issue Numbers 1 -52, dated 27 June 1812 – 15 June 1813

Printed by: S. Woodworth & Co., New York

Pages: 218

The War, Vol. 1, No. 1, Page 1

The War, Vol. 1, No. 1, Page 1

James Madison has the unfortunate distinguishment of being the first President of the United States to ask Congress to declare war on another nation. In the early nineteenth century the United States struggled as a young nation against more powerful countries for legitimacy. Americans were mostly farmers and, having thrown off the chains of British oppression by winning the Revolutionary War, most returned to their plows. In succeeding in their worthy cause they wounded deeply the pride of the great lion across the Atlantic Ocean. For the British it was a stinging wound not easily forgotten. The American Revolution stopped many infringements in the former colonial states, but Britain continued to teach the traitorous Americans a “lesson” abroad.

In early 1812 the executive leader of the infant nation knew that without further action his country would continue to suffer under economic bondage resulting from Britain’s policies. After diplomatic solutions failed, President James Madison made a report to Congress on the continued abuses laid upon the country by Great Britain and requested the country declare war against the abusers. His request resulted in the War of 1812, a conflict that gave us our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” and ultimately culminated in greater legitimacy as a sovereign nation.

More than slightly ironic, the United States’ federal government itself at the time fought for legitimacy. The state governments were powerful and for most citizens the necessity for war with Great Britain ended with the winning of the Revolution. Public opinion precluded support for a war because if there is one aspect of war that is constant and unchanging it is that war is expensive. No one wanted to pay for a war. How then would the federal government generate the support necessary to successfully defeat another nation with arguably the most powerful navy of the period? The answer: information. People needed to know why it was important to once again challenge Great Britain and be educated on the stakes of not doing so.

Printers played a crucial role in accomplishing this. They printed and sold newspapers, generating support for the federal government’s decision to declare war on Great Britain. Historians refer to this as war propaganda.

S. Woodworth & Co., Printers

Printer’s Advertisement

The word “propaganda” holds many negative connotations, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and perspective matters. The act of uniting the United States would have been impossible without it. In the first issue of The War. Being a Faithful Record of the Transactions of the War between the United States of America and their territories and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland the editor tells the reader that the object, or purpose, of this publication includes: “To diffuse knowledge in the art of war, by communicating improvements calculated to render courage efficient against the enemy” and “To hand down to posterity the names of those heroes of America, who, by patriotism or courage, will signalize themselves in the present contest.”

The first issue of the publication provides the reader with a brief history in regards to the necessity of the American Revolution. The section ends with the conclusion that the United States’ quick recovery from that war led to its ability to economically compete with Great Britain and consequently caused that nation to become envious. The paper then offers two reports given by President Madison on the acts and injustices committed against the United States by Great Britain.

In issue number two the reader is confronted with examples of acts of patriotism and support. One section with the title “PATRIOTISM” offers an open invitation, almost a challenge, to the reader. One entry reads:

A Call for Patriotic Action

A Call for Patriotic Action

Support for the war did come from the nation’s citizenry and ultimately the United States succeeded in proving its sovereignty.

On September 12th, 1814 Frances Scott Key witnessed an attack on Baltimore, Maryland’s Fort McHenry from aboard a British ship. The next day he wrote a poem he titled “The Defense of Fort McHenry.” It was printed in newspapers. The United States’ victory at Fort McHenry in September 1814 turned the war in its favor. Frances Scott Key’s poem began to be sung set to a popular English tune (“To Anacreon in Heaven”) and in 1931 became our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Without support-generating propaganda such as The War, the United States may not have won the War of 1812 and we might be singing something other than “The Star Spangled Banner” at patriotic events. The War provides a glimpse into what the leaders of a young nation two hundred years ago needed from the country’s citizens in order to become the nation it is today.

 Contributed by Jon Bingham, Rare Books Curator

Editor’s note: Dr. Ronald Rubin has been a generous supporter of the Rare Books Department for years. For more about his donations see Dr. Rubin.

Thank you, Dr. Rubin!

A donation helps lift the fog — Thank you, Dr. Rubin!

03 Thursday Mar 2016

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Title Spread

“When the mind has been made up to encounter disasters and reverses, and has fixed a point as the zero of its scale, however for the time it may be depressed by doubts and difficulties, it will mount up again with the first gleam of hope for the future; but, in this instance, there was no expedient by which we could overcome the obstacles before us: every resource was exhausted, and it was vain to expect that any efforts, however strenuous, could avail against the close-wedged ice, and the constant fogs which enveloped every thing in impenetrable obscurity.”

Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition…
George Back (1796-1878)
London: A. Spottiswoode for John Murray, 1836
First edition, octavo

In 1833, George Back set out to find John Ross, who had departed in the summer of 1829 on an expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Ross had not been heard from since. Back, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, had sailed to the Arctic under John Franklin in 1819-22 and again in 1824-26. Back volunteered to lead his own expedition to find Ross.

While the Back expedition was en route, the Ross expedition arrived home in 1834. Back continued his expedition, traveling overland through central Canada from Montreal to Fort Resolution on the Great Slave Lake. The group of five, including an American Indian guide named Maufelly, used canoes to explore the Great Fish River, seeking and finding its source.

Back mapped the Arctic coast westwards, as they portaged around lakes, negotiated rapids, and made their way through dense forests. Upon his return, Back was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society. The Great Fish River was renamed the Back River in his honor. In all, the expedition traveled nearly 7,500 miles, eventually making its way to the Arctic Coast before returning home to England.

Back documented his observations on geology, plant and animal life, the weather, (noting the aurora borealis in an appendix to this publication), and indigenous peoples; and added his own illustrations. In the year of its publication, Back traveled to the Arctic again. While Back was accused by some of being an ineffective leader, his writing was clear, detailed, even lyrical. His story is considered one of the finest travel narratives of the nineteenth century.

University of Utah copy gift of Dr. Ronald Rubin.

Camp
Falls
Map

 

A Donation Highlights Jewish Contributions to Commerce in Early America

20 Monday Nov 2017

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Dr. Ronald Rubin has donated four issues of early American newspapers highlighting Jewish contributions to commerce.


The Pennsylvania Packet, Philadelphia, October 9, 1781, features an advertisement by Haym Salomon, broker, considered the Financier of the American Revolution.

In the news that day, a report on the war from September 28:

“Gen. Washington sent in a flag to lord Cornwallis directing him not to destroy his shipping or warlike stores, as he would answer it at his peril. The early capture of the out-posts will greatly accelerate the future operations of our army.”


The Independent Gazetteer, or the Chronicle of Freedom, Philadelphia, February 4, 1783, contains an advertisement by Philadelphia stock brokers Isaac Franks, and Nones and Cohen.

In the news that day, a letter from the editor regarding vesting “power to Congress to levy, for the use of the United States, a duty of 5 per cent…on all goods, wares, and merchandise, of foreign growth and manufacture, etc….” to which the author against Rhode Island’s demurs: “If the Congress of America was a body of individual permanency, there might just cause of jealousy; but, when it is considered, that every member is annually nominated by assemblies, who are themselves also annually chosen by the people, I cannot perceive the least ground of danger; nay, I believe in most of the states, the delegates to Congress are revocable at pleasure: so that evil of misapplied power may be check as soon as it appears.”


Dunlap’s American Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, May 9, 1791, features an advertisement by Solomon Lyons, a prominent Colonial-era broker and financier. Lyons was born in 1760 in Frankfurt, Germany and died in 1812 in Philadelphia, having raised a family of six children and being an active participant with Congregation Mikveh Israel.

In the news that day, an observation from a correspondent:

“The Bank of the United States may justly be considered as a proposition made to the monied interest, foreign and domestic — & in fact, appears to both in a very favourable point of light – the latter, from every information, are making great preparations to subscribe, and the terms are so advantages that no equal object of speculation is perhaps presented in any quarter of the globe to the former.


The Charleston Mercury, Charleston, South Carolina, February 13, 1856, contains a front page illustration of Levy Department Store.

In the news that day, a piece on abolitionism:

“…the Southern States shall become strong. Then, like the barons of England in similar circumstances, that they be able to demand their rights under the magna charta of the land, or, failing to secure these, to dissolve their connection with a hostile and lawless section. Glorious, indeed, according to our view, would be the result of Southern Union…”

Thank you, Dr. Rubin, for years of your wonderful gifts!

The Risk of Being Less Free

04 Tuesday Jul 2017

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JK154-1788-title
“The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.”
― Alexander Hamilton

The Federalist: A Collection of Essays…
Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), James Madison (1751-1836), and John Jay (1745-1829)
New-York: Printed and sold by J. and A. M’Lean, no.41, Hanover-square, M,DCC,LXXXVIII (1788)
First edition
JK154 1788

Although written for the purpose of supporting New York state’s ratification of the Constitution of the United States, these essays were eventually published together as The Federalist and were soon recognized for their brilliant commentary on the new republican charter. The use of The Federalist as a tool for interpreting the Constitution began before it was officially ratified and has continued to the present day. The Federalist is the fundamental document left by the framers of the Constitution as a guide to their philosophy and intentions.

Alexander Hamilton was the principal force behind the pro-ratification pamphlets, enlisting fellow New Yorker John Jay and Virginian James Madison as coauthors of the essays. The individual responsible for each essay is not clear. The first essay by “Publius” (the pen name for all three authors) appeared in the 27 October 1787 issue of The Independent Journal, and all or some of the subsequent numbers were also printed in the New-York Packet, The Daily Advertiser, and The New-York Journal. The first thirty-six Federalist essays were collected and published by the M’Lean brothers in March 1788 and the final forty-nine, along with the text of the Constitution, followed in a second volume in May. The last eight essays were printed in book form before they appeared in newspapers. In all, the essays represent one of the most important American contributions to political theory.

The first edition of the collection was of five hundred copies, fifty of which were purchased by Hamilton and sent to Virginia. The sale of the others was poor. The publisher complained in October 1788, long after New York had ratified the Constitution, that they still had several hundred copies unsold.

The Federalist, On the New Constitution, Written in 1778, by Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Jay, and Mr. Madison
Philadelphia: Published by Benjamin Warner, No. 147, Market street, and sold at his stores, Richmond, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina, 1818
Fifth Edition
KF4515 F4 1818

Despite the poor sales of the first edition, The Federalist was published again and nearly continuously to the present day. The fifth edition of The Federalist contains an appendix of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States with Amendments, not found in the fourth edition. The Philadelphia imprint contains revisions by Madison, along with his claims of authorship of some of the essays previously attributed to Hamilton. This is the second single-volume edition printed, complete with full-page engraved portraits of Hamilton, Madison and Jay. It was published the same year as a Washington, D.C. imprint.

Federalist1818-JamesMadison

James Madison became the fourth President of the United States.

Federalist1818-AlexanderHamilton

Alexander Hamilton, who had represented New York at the Constitutional Convention, became the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, holding the post until he resigned in 1795.

Federalist1818-JohnJay

John Jay became the first Chief Justice of the United States in 1789, stepping down in 1795 to become governor of New York, a post he held for two terms, until retiring in 1801.

Rare Books copy of fifth edition is gift of Dr. Ronald Rubin.

A fine piece of early Americana and a very fine gift

20 Tuesday Dec 2016

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title

HE KAINE DIATHEKE, NOVUM TESTAMENTUM
Wigorniae, Massachusettensi: excudebat Isaias Thomas, Jun, 1800
Editio Prima Americana

This is the first American printing of the Greek New Testament, considered a milestone in American printing history.

Isaiah Thomas’ printing shop was dubbed “the sedition factory,” during the American Revolution. Thomas moved his press from Boston across the Charles River to Worcester in order to avoid confiscation by British troupes. His press reassembled, Thomas remained in Worcester for the rest of his life, printing the first reports of the battles of Lexington and Concord (“Americans! – – – Liberty or Death! – – – Join or Die!”) and continuing to print until he sold his business in 1802.

Isaiah Thomas was born in Boston in 1749. Thomas was apprenticed to a printer, at the age of six, after the death of his father. He stayed for ten years, then broke his bond and headed to London, much as Benjamin Franklin had done earlier. Thomas got as far as Nova Scotia, where he stayed to print a newspaper. After six months, he was sent packing because of his anti-Stamp Act actions. After another foray, this time to the south, Thomas returned to Boston to set up his own newspaper, The Massachusetts Spy. At the same time, he began what would become a lucrative printing business, which included an almanac and the Royal American Magazine, in 1774.

After the war for independence was won, Thomas built his press into an enterprise that included a bindery, a paper mill and bookstores from Vermont to Maryland. In 1773, he established the first press in Newburyport, Massachusetts, at the request of some of its citizens. He printed books on medicine, music, history, and literature; and printed spellers, dictionaries, and bibles. Caleb Alexander (1755-1828), a graduate of Yale University, worked with Thomas as editor for his first American editions of Virgil and other works in Greek, including He kaine diatheke. Alexander based his edition on a 1707 Oxford edition by English scholar John Mill (1645-1707).

Thomas retired around 1802, about two years after his printing of He kaine diatheke. He spent the rest of his life collecting printed American works – books, pamphlets, broadsides, almanacs, and newspapers. He used these as primary sources for his History of Printing in America, published in 1810. He donated his collection to the American Antiquarian Society, an institution he organized in order to provide a home for print material from early American history.

This is the most recent of numerous gifts throughout the years from Dr. Ronald Rubin, a collector, like Isaiah Thomas, of early Americana and a very fine friend of Rare Books. Thank you, Dr. Rubin!

238-239spread

On this day, 1798 Independent Chronicle

17 Saturday Dec 2016

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AN2-A2-I49-V30-N1852

“In every country whatever, he who violates a woman is a monster.”

The Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser
Nathaniel Willis, publisher
Boston, MA: Powars and Willis, 1776
v. 30: no. 1852 (1798: Dec. 17-20)
AN2 A2 I49

Miscellany

—————–

For The Chronicle

To the virtuous Females in the United States

“In every country whatever, he who violates a woman is a monster”

-Buonaparte to his soldiers

This exalted sentiment must endear the immortal Buonaparte to every female throughout the world – more particularly to the virtuous part of that sex in America, whose accomplishments have exalted them to the highest elevation, in every circle wherein delicacy and refinement are estimated.—While this Hero is engaged in the arduous services of the Camp, he is not unmindful of those duties, which as a man and a citizen he is bound to discharge. With what indignation must this amiable sex in America, hear the invectives heaped on the Armies of France, and the praises bestowed on those of Britain? In what instance, did a British General guard his Soldiery against such horrid practices?—While a Burgoyne was spreading the alarm of havoc, and destruction through every cottage in the interior; while he was painting the distressing scene of savages let loose upon our frontiers; While the frantic mother, was clasping her disconsolate daughter to her bosom, and the bloody tomahawk was anticipated as uplifted to fever them in their affectionate embrace. While the premeditated carnage was promulgated in the sanguinary proclamation of this British commander—at this important period, my fair countrywoman, how did your bosoms throb with convulsions at the dreadful issue of his progress! Your Habitations destroyed! Your Parents massacred, and yourselves the Victims of the brutal lust of an unprincipled Soldiery.— These were your fears while the Army of Burgoyne were making inroads into your country.—These were your apprehensions while the troops of England were moving with hostile menaces towards the Cottages of Saratoga.

How different was the conduct of the British Generals in America, to that of Buonaparte in Egypt! Instead of exciting the Soldiery to burn Towns and Cities—instead inflaming their passions to trespass on the sanctity of female virtue—instead of alarming the anxious feelings of the tender mother, or, causing the timid bosom of a virtuous daughter to palpitate with terrific apprehensions: The magnanimous Buonaparte, no less displays the martial energy of a Soldier, than the tender sensibility of a guardian. Amid his anxious cares as a general, he is not inattentive to the kind of pattronage of a protector. Amid the shouts of a victorious Army, he proclaims in accents more sonorous than their huzzas, “that WHOEVER VIOLATES A WOMAN IS A MONSTER.”—In this noble and generous sentiment he unites the Camp of Mars, with the Temple of Venus. His cannon became the bow and his shot the arrows of Cupid.

While contemplating the highly esteemed reputation of Buonaparte, as it respects his honor, fidelity and attachment to the fair sex, we cannot but contrast it with the character of one, whose military appointment has led to many eulogiums in case a War should commence between France and America. While Buonaparte is anxious for the tranquility of the Egyptian Women, the American Hero has even blasted the happiness of a virtuous Wife and Children, by publicly revealing his detestable deeds.—Compare my fair Citizens the two characters—and in every circle where you hear of Bounaparte, remember the man, who wickedly committed the Crime, and then sacrificed the tender feelings of his Family, by furnishing a document of the fact, which the sensibility of a Husband and a Parent ought ever to revolt at!—Can this man, at the head of his Army, ever use the language of Buonaparte? If he should, his own blushes, would penetrate with that firey pungency, as to occasion an explosion of the whole magazines within his camp. For the man who is capable of violating the confidence of a woman, must be destitute of every principle which secures her protection.

The generous sentiment of Buonaparte must even assure him the affectional attachment of the Ladies:– And they must reprobate those, who, in their hearing should speak disrespectfully of the conqueror of Tyrants, and the protector of Women.

Let the delicate pen of Philenia resound the praises of a Buonaparte: On this topic may her poetic sublimity become equally as immortalized as the fame of the Conqueror of Italy. While contemplating the exalted theme, every female breast must beat with rapturous transports, and every voice join in reiterated plaudits, in celebrating the Virtues of the Man, who declares amid the ravage of a Camp, that “WHOEVER VIOLATES A WOMAN IS A MONSTER.”

These are thy trophies immortal Buonaparte! Should you even fail in the conquest of India, your declaration on the borders of Egypt, will enrich your memory beyond the most sumptuous acquisitions of the Earth.

A REPUBLICAN.

Rare Books issues of the Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser gift of Dr. Ronald Rubin.

Rare Books receives donation of historic issue of Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser

13 Wednesday Jan 2016

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Independent-Chronicle

THE INDEPENDENT CHRONICLE AND THE UNIVERSAL ADVERTISER
Boston: Ebenezer Rhoades (for the proprietor) at the Printing-Office opposite the Court-House, Court-Street, vol. XXXII, number 1964, Monday, January 13 to Thursday, January 16, 1800

The front page of this issue begins with a eulogy for George Washington by the Rev. Richard Allen, pastor of the Bethel (Pennsylvania) African Methodist Episcopal Church. This church, founded by Allen and others in 1797, was the first Methodist church in the United States opened specifically for African Americans. Richard Allen was born into slavery in 1760. Benjamin Chew, a Quaker attorney, owned the Allen family, then sold the family to Stokeley Sturgis, a planter in Delaware. Allen was converted to Methodism by an itinerant preacher. Sturgis, apparently influenced by Allen, also became a Methodist. After his conversion, Sturgis offered to let his slaves buy their freedom. After working odd jobs for five years, in 1783, Allen purchased his own freedom for $2000. Through Methodist connections, he was invited to Philadelphia in 1786, where he joined a church and became active in teaching and preaching. A growing congregation of African Americans caused the white congregation so much discomfort that they began segregating seating and services. Allen and several others formed their own church in 1787. Allen opened a day school for African Americans and worked actively for abolition of slavery. His home was a stop in the Underground Railroad. Allen died in 1831. In his eulogy for George Washington, believed to be the first by a black minister for an American president, Allen wrote, “We, my friends, have a peculiar case to bemoan our loss. To us he has been the sympathizing friend and tender father. He has watched over us, and viewed our degraded and afflicted state with compassion and pity – his heart was not insensible to our sufferings.” This was part of a sermon he delivered on Sunday, December 29, 1799. Allen referred to the fact that Washington freed his slaves and asked that his congregation adhere to the “laws of the land” as Washington asked of United States citizens in his Farewell Address, “Your observance…will…greatly promote the cause of the oppressed…” Our copy inscribed by “Col. Whipple.” University of Utah copy gift of Dr. Ronald Rubin.

alluNeedSingleLine

Book of the Week/ Donation – Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser

16 Monday Feb 2015

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Independent Chronicle, 1800Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser
Boston: Ebenezer Rhoades, 1800

“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life: pious, just, humane, temperate and sincere; uniform, dignified and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting.”

George Washington’s death, late in 1799, evoked hundreds of funeral orations from all over the United States. Of these, that of Henry Lee, delivered before Congress on December 26, 1799 in Philadelphia, is the most memorable. His eulogy was re-printed in newspapers throughout the nation, and in pamphlets printed on the continent and overseas. The eulogy covered nearly the entire front page of newspapers.

As in many newspapers, this issue included “A Proclamation” signed by then-President John Adams setting aside February 22, Washington’s birthday, for the public to “testify their grief for the death of General George Washington.” In 1885, February 22 was declared a federal holiday. The date was changed to the third Monday of February in 1971 following Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

“Light-Horse Harry” Lee had been summoned by Washington in 1776 to join the Continental Army. In 1778, Washington promoted Lee to the rank of major and gave him command of a small corps of irregulars. Lee’s leadership of these troops earned him his nickname. In 1794 Washington sent him to command the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. From 1799 to 1801 he served in Congress.

Lee helped his friend A.C. Hanson, editor of the Baltimore Federal Republican which opposed the War of 1812, resist a mob attack. In the melee he received injuries from which he never recovered. Lee served a year in debtor’s prison. He was the father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The Independent Chronicle (1776-1840) originated in 1768 as The Essex Gazette in Salem and The New-England Chronicle in Cambridge which joined forces in Boston. In 1820 it had the distinction of being Boston’s oldest running newspaper.

University of Utah copy gift of Dr. Ronald Rubin.

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Donation keeps Alice collection growing

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

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“You’ve got no right to grow here,” said the Dormouse.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” said Alice more boldly: “you know you’re growing too.”
– Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Dr. Ronald Rubin has donated a set of Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.

Dr. Rubin, with his frequent and diverse gifts to the Rare Books Division, helps add to the breadth and depth of our collections. Thank you, Dr. Rubin, for helping the rare book collections grow.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There
Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
New York: Random House, 1946
“Special Edition”
PR4611 A7 1946

This edition was designed by George Salter using John Tenniel’s illustrations from the first edition, colored by Fritz Kredel. Dalziel Brothers were the wood-engravers. Type face is Monotype Scotch. Two matched volumes issued in one slipcase.

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Donations feature American Judaica

14 Wednesday May 2014

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Dr. Ronald Rubin has donated five newspapers to the Rare Books Division with notices that depict American Judaica in late colonial British America and the early United States.

Dr. Rubin, with his frequent and diverse gifts to the Rare Books Division, helps add to the breadth and depth of our collections. Thank you, Dr. Rubin, for each of these important pieces of American history.

The Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser
Philadelphia
Saturday, April 26, 1783

Two Jewish brokers ran advertisements in this issue. Haym Solomon (1740-1784) informed readers that he arranged for Bills of Exchange with France. Isaac Franks (1759-1822), on George Washington’s staff during the American Revolution, invited the public to his office on Front Street where he bought and sold Bills of Exchange. Also advertised in this issue are a goldsmith, a bookstore, the sale of raisins and figs, and a reward for the return of a runaway apprentice. The lead story was the signing of a treaty between the King of Sweden and the United States, signed at Paris.

Haym Solomon immigrated to New York from Poland in 1772. In 1777, he married Rachel Franks, sister to Isaac. Solomon helped convert French loans into ready cash, aiding the Continental Army. Completely short of funds, George Washington is said to have made this direct order for help: “Send for Haym Solomon.” Solomon quickly raised $20,000 to help Washington conduct his Yorktown campaign, the final battle of the American Revolution.

Solomon’s obituary in the Philadelphia newspaper, Independent Gazetteer, described him as “an eminent broker of this city…a native of Poland, and of the Hebrew nation. He was remarkable for his skill and integrity in his profession, and for his generous and humane deportment.”

Although Isaac Franks was Jewish, he married into the Christian faith. At the age of 17, he joined the Continental Army and fought the British in the battles of Long Island. Captured in Manhattan, he escaped to New Jersey where he joined Washington. The Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser was founded in 1767.

The Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser
Philadelphia
Tuesday, August 8, 1786

In an advertisement on the front page of this issue of The Pennsylvania Packet, broker Moses Cohen informed his readers that he had moved his office. Also advertised in this issue were voyages to Cork, Barbados, and other ports; the sale of a schooner; a lost and found notice; the lease of homes; the sale of a Negro; the services of a private tutor; the lease of a forge; the sale of sugar, rum, port wine and sherry; groceries such as molasses, tea, coffee, chocolate, ginger, vinegar, prunes and raisins; cotton cloths including chintzes, calicos, and jeans; and the burglary of a store.

Moses Cohen opened one of the first employment agencies in the newly formed United States. For 18 cents, Cohen would contact workers about job openings. Through his brokerage, Cohen also sold cloth.

The Pennsylvania Packet was founded in 1771 as a weekly. In 1784 the paper became a daily publication, adding “and Daily Advertiser”to its title. This was the first daily newspaper printed in the United States. On September 21, 1796, it was the first to publish George Washington’s “Farewell Address.”

The Pennsylvania Packet, 1786

The Pennsylvania Packet, 1786

United States Gazette for the Country
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 11, 1806

An article, in the form of a translated letter, enthusiastically reported what Jews in Europe felt about Napoleon’s recent triumph over Prussian troops, including a genealogy connecting Napoleon to King David: “From him is our emperor and king descended, of this doth he now make his boast, and called us together, to prove his high descent and restore Sion. And he has also vouchsafed to inform us that the great Talleyrand is no less a personage that the sage Ahitophel resuscitated, to regulate the world by his counsels; who hath in his turn made known unto us, that the emperour and king with his whole court will in grand gala, in presence of the empress, and queens, and all the princesses of his august House, submit to the operation enjoined by our holy law; and moreover he hath commanded the pope and cardinals in full conclave, together with all the kings of his creation, to submit to a curtailment, which will secure to us a complete triumph over the uncircumcised!”

The United States Gazette for the Country was published between 1823 and 1847.

Salem Gazette
Salem, Massachusetts
June 12, 1817

A front page report by an anonymous writer described an ancient battle to the death between six Jews traveling with loaded donkeys and a group of Moors in a place called, for this reason, “The Jews Leap.” “It is,” said the writer, “enough to produce dizziness, even in the head of a sailor, and if I had been told the story before getting on this frightful ridge, I am not certain but that my imagination might have disturbed my faculties, and rendered me incapable of proceeding with safety along this perilous path.”

The Salem Gazette was founded in 1790. Other front page news included a report on the European economy and an essay on courage.

Salem Gazette,1817

Salem Gazette,1817

Christian Mirror
Portland, Maine
November 28, 1828

The Christian Mirror was published between 1822 and 1829 on behalf of the Congregational Church in Maine. Its focus, as the name suggests, was Christianity. In this issue, a front page article, in the form of a letter written from Halle, discussed the problems facing the American Society for Meliorating of the Jews in Prussia and Poland.

Christian Mirror, 1828

Christian Mirror, 1828

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