Early Jewish Migration to Maryland Essay -- Judaism

The Early Waves of Jewish Migration to MarylandIntroductionThe state of Maryland is current home to oer 235,000 self-identified Jewishresidents, making up over 4% of the total state population (JDB, 159). Today, JewishMarylanders live in an open, welcoming environment, but this was not ever the case.When the first Jewish settlers landed in St. Marys City, political equality was only ahope for the distant future. The first wave of Jewish migration to Maryland was markedby a trend of percolation rather then influx migration. Jews in the area practiced a quiet ceremonial occasion rather then an open profession of faith. After the Revolutionary War,urbanization increased and wave two of Jewish migration began. But it wasnt until1826, the year the Jew batting order was passed, and the begging of Wave 3 that Jews inMaryland could truly experience political equality.Migration Wave OneThe first record of Jewish settlement in colonial Maryland appears as early as the1630s. The individual wh o is credited as being the first Jewish colonist, a Portugueseitinerant salesman named Mathias de Souse, is enter to have moved to the area in1633 (Schwartz-Kenvin, 130). De Souses arrival to the region marks the beginning ofthe first wave of Jewish migration. This wave begins in 1633 and ends a decade beforethe revolutionary war, in 1765. When comparing Jewish migration in the Chesapeakeregion to migration patterns in surrounding areas, the lack of movement to the area beat outdefines this period. Large Jewish communities were forming in New York, Newport,Savannah, and Charleston, yet Maryland remained relatively free of Jewish settlement.On a local scale, Schaefersville and Lancaster, both prominent Jewish communi... ...y Jewish Life, University ofConnecticut. 9 Feb. 2008 .*Cited in text as JDB*3. Maryland. Archives of Maryland Online. Bacons Law of Maryland.*Cited in text as AMO*4. Rabinove, Samuel. How -- and Why -- American Jews Have Contended for ghostlikeFreedom the Requi rements and Limits of Civility. Journal of Law and Religion 8(1990) 131-151. 1 Mar. 20085. Sarna, Jonathan D. The Impact of the American Revolution on American Jews.Modern Judaism (1981) 149-160. 9 Feb. 2008. Oxford University Press6. Schwartz-Kenvin, Helene. This wreak of Liberty. New York Behrman House, 1986.112- 1377. Stern, Horace. The First Jewish Settlers in America Their Struggle for ReligiousFreedom. The Jewish Quarterly Review (1996) 289-296. 2 Mar. 2008. Center forAdvanced Judaic Studies, University of dad