Chosen Capital
288 pages, 6 x 9
22 photographs
Paperback
Release Date:20 Aug 2012
ISBN:9780813553085
Chosen Capital
The Jewish Encounter with American Capitalism
Edited by Rebecca Kobrin
Rutgers University Press
At which moments and in which ways did Jews play a central role in the development of American capitalism? Many popular writers address the intersection of Jews and capitalism, but few scholars, perhaps fearing this question’s anti-Semitic overtones, have pondered it openly. Chosen Capital represents the first historical collection devoted to this question in its analysis of the ways in which Jews in North America shaped and were shaped by America’s particular system of capitalism. Jews fundamentally molded aspects of the economy during the century when American capital was being redefined by industrialization, war, migration, and the emergence of the United States as a superpower.
Surveying such diverse topics as Jews’ participation in the real estate industry, the liquor industry, and the scrap metal industry, as well as Jewish political groups and unions bent on reforming American capital, such as the American Labor Party and the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, contributors to this volume provide a new prism through which to view the Jewish encounter with America. The volume also lays bare how American capitalism reshaped Judaism itself by encouraging the mass manufacturing and distribution of foods like matzah and the transformation of synagogue cantors into recording stars. These essays force us to rethink not only the role Jews played in American economic development but also how capitalism has shaped Jewish life and Judaism over the course of the twentieth century.
Contributors:
Marni Davis, Georgia State University
Phyllis Dillon, independent documentary producer, textile conservator, museum curator
Andrew Dolkart, Columbia University
Andrew Godley, Henley Business School, University of Reading
Jonathan Karp, executive director, American Jewish Historical Society
Daniel Katz, Empire State College, State University of New York
Ira Katznelson, Columbia University
David S. Koffman, New York University
Eli Lederhendler, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Jonathan Z. S. Pollack, University of Wisconsin—Madison
Jonathan D. Sarma, Brandeis University
Jeffrey Shandler, Rutgers University
Daniel Soyer, Fordham University
Surveying such diverse topics as Jews’ participation in the real estate industry, the liquor industry, and the scrap metal industry, as well as Jewish political groups and unions bent on reforming American capital, such as the American Labor Party and the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, contributors to this volume provide a new prism through which to view the Jewish encounter with America. The volume also lays bare how American capitalism reshaped Judaism itself by encouraging the mass manufacturing and distribution of foods like matzah and the transformation of synagogue cantors into recording stars. These essays force us to rethink not only the role Jews played in American economic development but also how capitalism has shaped Jewish life and Judaism over the course of the twentieth century.
Contributors:
Marni Davis, Georgia State University
Phyllis Dillon, independent documentary producer, textile conservator, museum curator
Andrew Dolkart, Columbia University
Andrew Godley, Henley Business School, University of Reading
Jonathan Karp, executive director, American Jewish Historical Society
Daniel Katz, Empire State College, State University of New York
Ira Katznelson, Columbia University
David S. Koffman, New York University
Eli Lederhendler, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Jonathan Z. S. Pollack, University of Wisconsin—Madison
Jonathan D. Sarma, Brandeis University
Jeffrey Shandler, Rutgers University
Daniel Soyer, Fordham University
Fascinating. While each of the essays is scholarly and carefully researched, they are also most engrossing, make for enjoyable reading, and shed new light on the Jewish experience in America.
a helpful addition to the literature. Recommended.
The essays in Chosen Capital break new ground in the study of Jews and their relationship to American capitalism. The ideas and information presented in this exciting volume greatly expand our knowledge of a highly important, yet understudied, subject.
...the essays of Chosen Capital do much to jump-start an emerging field—most importantly by identifying niche economies.
Fascinating. While each of the essays is scholarly and carefully researched, they are also most engrossing, make for enjoyable reading, and shed new light on the Jewish experience in America.
a helpful addition to the literature. Recommended.
The essays in Chosen Capital break new ground in the study of Jews and their relationship to American capitalism. The ideas and information presented in this exciting volume greatly expand our knowledge of a highly important, yet understudied, subject.
...the essays of Chosen Capital do much to jump-start an emerging field—most importantly by identifying niche economies.
REBECCA KOBRIN is the Russell and Bettina Knapp Assistant Professor of American Jewish History at Columbia University. She has published widely on issues concerning American Jewish history and East European Jewish migration and is the author of Jewish Bialystok and Its Diaspora, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.
The chosen people in the chosen land : some thoughts on the Jewish encounter with American capitalism / Rebecca Kobrin
Exceptionalisms : points of departure for studies of capitalism and Jews in the United States / Ira Katznelson
The evolution of the Jewish garment industry, 1840-1940 / Phyllis Dillon and Andrew Godley
From the rag trade to riches : Abraham E. Lefcourt and the building of New York's garment district / Andrew Dolkart
Success from scrap and second-hand goods : Jewish businessmen in the Midwest, 1890-1930 / Jonathan Z.S. Pollack
Despised merchandise : American Jewish liquor entrepreneurs and their critics / Marni Davis
Blacks, Jews, and the business of race music, 1945-1955 / Jonathan Karp
Jews, Indian curios, and the westward expansion of American capitalism / David Koffman
The multicultural front : a Yiddish-socialist response to sweatshop capitalism / Daniel Katz
Making peace with capitalism? : Jewish Socialism enters the mainstream, 1933-1944 / Daniel Soyer
A Jewish "third way" to American capitalism : Isaac Rivkind and the conservative-communitarian ideal / Eli Lederhendler
Sanctification of the brand name : the marketing of cantor Yossele Rosenblatt / Jeffrey Shandler
How matzah became square : Manischewitz and the development of machine-made matzah in the United States / Jonathan D. Sarna
Exceptionalisms : points of departure for studies of capitalism and Jews in the United States / Ira Katznelson
The evolution of the Jewish garment industry, 1840-1940 / Phyllis Dillon and Andrew Godley
From the rag trade to riches : Abraham E. Lefcourt and the building of New York's garment district / Andrew Dolkart
Success from scrap and second-hand goods : Jewish businessmen in the Midwest, 1890-1930 / Jonathan Z.S. Pollack
Despised merchandise : American Jewish liquor entrepreneurs and their critics / Marni Davis
Blacks, Jews, and the business of race music, 1945-1955 / Jonathan Karp
Jews, Indian curios, and the westward expansion of American capitalism / David Koffman
The multicultural front : a Yiddish-socialist response to sweatshop capitalism / Daniel Katz
Making peace with capitalism? : Jewish Socialism enters the mainstream, 1933-1944 / Daniel Soyer
A Jewish "third way" to American capitalism : Isaac Rivkind and the conservative-communitarian ideal / Eli Lederhendler
Sanctification of the brand name : the marketing of cantor Yossele Rosenblatt / Jeffrey Shandler
How matzah became square : Manischewitz and the development of machine-made matzah in the United States / Jonathan D. Sarna
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