First published 2002
Theodore Rosengarten examines three centuries of Jewish experience in South Carolina, beginning with the remarkable fact that by 1800, the state housed North America's largest Jewish population. The book documents how Jewish settlers helped build Carolina's cities and participated in its slave-based economy while maintaining their religious identity. Rosengarten draws from a major exhibition featuring 200 cultural artifacts, portraits, and documents that reveal stories of immigration, economic success, religious adaptation, and community building. The narrative traces Jewish life from colonial settlement through the challenges of maintaining ancient traditions in a new land. Essays by scholars including Deborah Dash Moore and Jenna Weissman Joselit provide historical context, while contemporary photographs by Bill Aron capture modern developments including Holocaust remembrance, civil rights era changes, and renewed religious observance. The book shows how Jewish southerners both tested American freedoms and had their own faith tested by new circumstances.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, american, 21st-century, 19th-century, jewish, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-drama, social-issues
Setting: Carolina, North America, South Carolina
Period: Colonial, Civil Rights Era
288 pages · Hardcover · University of South Carolina Press