This and That
Issue: 6.01 this is column 185
January 11, 2005
From Haven to Home

There is much about the Jewish experience in America that is similar to that of other immigrant groups, including the processes of acculturation, discrimination, acceptance, and assimilation, to name but a few. This special online exhibit from the Library of Congress features more than two hundred objects of American Judaica from its extensive holdings, supplemented by other items loaned by other cultural institutions. The exhibit looks at the Jewish experience through such documents as the correspondence between Newport's Hebrew Congregation in 1790 and George Washington, where the president noted that the United States gives "to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance." The section titled "A Century of Immigration, 1820-1924" is particularly rich in archival material, as it includes images of a Jewish prayer book intended for travelers to America and a beautiful woodcut print by Albert Potter that documents the bustle and opportunity of New York's Lower East Side during the turn of the 20th century. The site concludes with a list of suggested readings and information about various public programs associated with the on-site exhibit, such as film showings and lectures.

Visit the site at: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/haventohome/

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