The Project Gutenberg eBook of Jewish Immigration to the United States from 1881 to 1910, by Samuel Joseph

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4

JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES

STUDIES IN HISTORY, ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC LAW

EDITED BY THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO
THE UNITED STATES

FROM 1881 TO 1910

SAMUEL JOSEPH

1914

To
MY FATHER AND MY MOTHER

PREFACE

In this survey of Jewish immigration to the United States for the past thirty years, my purpose has been to present the main features of a movement of population that is one of the most striking of modern times. The causes of Jewish emigration from Eastern Europe, the course of Jewish immigration to the United States and the most important social qualities of the Jewish immigrants are studied, for the light they throw upon the character of this movement. The method employed in this investigation has been largely statistical and comparative, a fact which is partly due to the kind of material that was available and partly to the point of view that has been taken. Certain economic and social factors, having a close bearing upon the past and present situation of the Jews in Eastern Europe and frequently neglected in the discussion of the various phases of this movement, have been emphasized in the examination into the causes of the emigration of the Jews from Eastern Europe and have been found vital in determining the specific character of the Jewish immigration to this country.

I desire gratefully to acknowledge my deep indebtedness to Mr. A.S. Freidus, head of the Jewish department of the New York Public Library, for his ever-ready assistance in the preparation of this work. Thanks are due as well to Dr. C.C. Williamson, head of the Economics department of the library, and to his able and courteous staff; to Professor Robert E. Chaddock for his many valuable suggestions and aid in the making of the statistical tables and in the reading of the proof; and to Professor Edwin R.A. Seligman for his painstaking reading of the manuscript.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PART I.—THE CAUSES OF JEWISH EMIGRATION.
		PAGE
CHAPTER I
Introduction.
1.	Character of Jewish immigration	21
2.	Eastern Europe	22
3.	Distribution of Jews in Eastern Europe	21
4.	Uniform character of East-European Jews	22
CHAPTER II
Eastern Europe: Economic, Social and Political Conditions
I.	Russia.
	1. Medieval past	27
	2. Agricultural character	28
	3. Emancipation of serfs	29
	4. Reminiscences of serfdom	29
	5. Changes since the emancipation	30
	6. Epoch of transition	31
	7. Social orders: classes, the church	31
	8. Political order: autocracy, bureaucracy	32
	9. Political struggle: Russian liberalism	32
	10. Reaction since Alexander III	33
II.	Roumania.
	1. Social-economic classes	34
	2. Emancipation of the serfs: results	35
	3. Development of industry and commerce	36
	4. Growth of a middle class	36
III.	Austria-Hungary.
	1. Reminiscences of medieval economy	37
	2. Transitional nature of economic life	37
	3. Organization of industry and commerce	37
	4. Politico-economic struggles	38
	5. Galicia: economic and social conditions	39
IV.	Summary.
CHAPTER III
The Jews in Eastern Europe: Economic and Social Position
I.	Russia.
	1. Economic characteristics	42
	a. Occupational distribution of the Jews	42
	b. Comparison with the non-Jews	42
	c. Participation of the Jews in principal occupational groups	43
	d. Comparison of occupational distribution of Jews and non-Jews in the Pale	43
	e. Economic activities of the Jews	44
	2. Social characteristics	46
	a. Urban distribution of the Jews	46
	b. Comparison with the non-Jews	46
	c. Literacy: comparison with the non-Jews	47
	d. Liberal professions: comparison with the non-Jews	48
II.	Roumania.
	1. Economic characteristics	48
	a. The Jews as merchants and entrepreneurs	48
	b. The Jewish artisans	49
	c. Participation of the Jews in industry and commerce	49
	2. Social characteristics	49
	a. Urban distribution of the Jews	49
	b. Comparison with the non-Jews	49
	c. Literacy: comparison with the non-Jews	50
III.	Austria-Hungary.
	1. Economic characteristics	50
	a. Occupational distribution of the Jews	50
	b. Comparison with the non-Jews	51
	c. Participation of the Jews in principal occupational groups	51
	Galicia	51
	a. Occupational distribution of the Jews	51
	b. Comparison with the non-Jews	51
	c. Participation of the Jews in principal occupational groups	51
	d. Industrial and commercial position of the Jews in East and West Galicia	52
	2. Social characteristics	52
	a. Urban distribution of the Jews	52
	b. Comparison with the non-Jews	52
	c. Liberal professions: comparison with the non-Jews	52
III.	Summary.
CHAPTER IV
Thirty Years of Jewish History
I.	Russia.
	1. Treatment of the Jews after the partitions of Poland	56
	2. Pale of Jewish Settlement: special Jewish laws	57
	3. Attitude of Russian government toward the Jews	57
	4. Alexander II and liberalism	58
	5. Reaction: antagonism to the Jews	59
	6. Economic attack: the May Laws	60
	7. Effect of the May Laws	61
	8. Educational restrictions: the "percentage rule"	62
	9. Pogroms: pogroms of 1881-2	63
	10. Expulsions from Moscow	64
	11. Nicholas II: anti-Jewish agitation: Kishineff	64
	12. War and revolution: effect upon the Jews	65
	13. Pogroms as counter-revolution	66
	14. Results: economic and social pressure	67
	15. Jewish policy of reactionary régime	68
II.	Roumania.
	1. Early legal status of the Jews	69
	2. Convention of Paris	69
	3. Anti-Jewish activities of the government: Article VII	70
	4. Berlin Congress	70
	5. Article 44 of the Berlin Treaty	71
	6. The revised Article VII	71
	7. Legal status of the Jews fixed	72
	8. Campaign of discrimination	73
	9. Exclusion of Jews from economic activities	73
	10. Educational restrictions: restrictions to professional service	74
	11. Political basis of anti-Jewish policy	75
	12. Results: economic and social pressure	76
	13. Jewish policy of Roumanian government: Hay's circular note	76
III.	Austria-Hungary.
	1. Early legal status of the Jews: emancipation	77
	2. Jews attacked as liberals and capitalists	78
	3. Rise of political antisemitism: its triumph: the clericals	78
	Galicia	78
	1. Rise of a Polish middle class: displacement of Jews in industry and commerce	79
	2. Economic boycott of Jewish artisans and traders	79
	3. Anti-Jewish activity of local authorities	79
	4. Over-competition and surplus of Jews in industry and commerce	80
	5. Historical rôle of the Jews: antagonism of peasantry and clergy	80
CHAPTER V
Conclusion
PART II.--JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES
A. Its Movement
CHAPTER I
Determination of Number of Jewish Immigrants
1.	Construction of table: difficulties	87
2.	Sources utilized: reports of Jewish societies	87
3.	Rearrangement of numbers from 1886 to 1898	88
4.	Determination of numbers by country of nativity: methods used	88
5.	Determination of numbers from 1881 to 1885: methods used	90
6.	Tendency to magnify numbers of Jewish immigrants	91
7.	Results	92
CHAPTER II
Immigration of Jews from Eastern Europe
1.	Jewish immigration East-European	95
2.	Summary by decades of Jewish immigration from Russia, Roumania and Austria-Hungary	95
3.	Annual contributions of Jewish immigration from Russia, Roumania and Austria-Hungary	96
CHAPTER III
Immigration of Jews from Russia
1.	Russian Jewish immigration a movement of steady growth	98
	a. Summary by decades	98
	b. Annual variations: effect of the Moscow expulsions	98
2.	Participation of Jews in the immigration from Russia	101
	a. Annual variations	101
	b. Summary by decades	102
	c. Relative predominance of Jewish in total	102
3.	Intensity of Jewish immigration from Russia	103
	a. Rate of immigration	103
	b. Fluctuations of rate	104
CHAPTER IV
Immigration of Jews from Roumania
1.	Roumanian Jewish immigration a rising movement	105
	a. Summary by decades	105
	b. Annual variations	105
2.	Participation of Jews in the immigration from Roumania	107
	a. Jewish and total synonymous	107
	b. Annual variations	107
3.	Intensity of Jewish immigration from Roumania	108
	a. Rate of immigration	108
	b. Fluctuations of rate	108
CHAPTER V
Immigration of Jews from Austria-Hungary
1.	Jewish immigration from Austria-Hungary a rising movement	109
	a. Summary by decades	109
	b. Annual variations	109
	c. Comparison of Jewish with total	110
2.	Participation of Jews in the immigration from Austria-Hungary	110
	a. Summary by decades	110
	b. Annual variations	111
3.	Comparison of immigration of Jews from Austria and Hungary	111
	a. Numbers	111
	b. Participation in total	111
4.	Immigration of Jews and other peoples from Austria-Hungary	112
5.	Rate of Jewish immigration from Austria-Hungary	112
CHAPTER VI
Jewish Immigration
1.	Total movement one of geometrical progression	113
	a. Summary by decades	113
	b. Summary by six-year periods	113
	c. Annual variations	114
CHAPTER VII
Participation of Jews in Total Immigration
1.	Rise in proportion of Jewish to total	117
2.	Summary by decades	117
3.	Annual variations	117
4.	Comparison of annual variations of Jewish and total immigration	118
5.	Rank of Jewish in total immigration	119
6.	Rate of immigration	120
CHAPTER VIII
Summary
B. Its Characteristics
CHAPTER I
Family Movement
1.	Importance of sex and age distribution	127
2.	Proportion of females in Jewish immigration	127
	a. Tendency towards increase	127
3.	Proportion of children in Jewish immigration	128
4.	Proportion of sexes in total and Jewish immigration	129
5.	Proportion of children in total and Jewish immigration	129
6.	Comparison of composition by sex of Jews and other immigrant peoples	130
7.	Comparison of composition by age of Jews and other immigrant peoples	130
8.	Comparison of composition by sex and age of Jews and the Slavic races	131
9.	Comparison of composition by sex and age of Jews from Roumania and Roumanians	131
10.	Comparison of composition by sex and age of Jewish and "old" and "new" immigration	132
11.	Conclusion	132
CHAPTER II
Permanent Settlement
1.	Emigration of Jews compared with immigration of Jews	133
2.	Comparison of return movement of total and Jewish immigration	134
3.	Comparison of return movement of Jews and other immigrant peoples	134
4.	Emigration tendency of Jews from Russia, Roumania and Austria-Hungary	135
5.	Comparison of return movement of Jews and Poles from Russia and Austria-Hungary	136
6.	Comparison of return movement of Jewish and "old" and "new" immigration	137
7.	Comparison of return movement of Jews and other immigrant peoples, 1908	137
8.	Response of Jewish immigration to economic conditions in the United States	138
9.	Comparison of Jews and other immigrant peoples who have been previously in the United States	138
10.	Conclusion	139
CHAPTER III
Occupations
1.	Occupational distribution of Jewish immigrants	140
2.	Jewish immigrants reporting occupations	141
	a. Number and percentage of occupational groups	141
3.	Skilled laborers	141
	a. Garment workers	141
	b. Other important groups	142
4.	Participation of Jews in occupational distribution of total immigration	142
5.	Comparison of occupational distribution of Jews and other immigrant peoples	143
6.	Comparison of occupational distribution of Jews and Slavic peoples	144
7.	Comparison of occupational distribution of Jewish and "old" and "new" immigration	144
8.	Conclusion	145
CHAPTER IV
Illiteracy
1.	Illiteracy of Jewish immigrants	146
2.	Influence of sex upon illiteracy of Jewish immigrants	146
3.	Illiteracy of Jewish male and female immigrants	147
4.	Comparison of rate of illiteracy of Jews and other immigrant peoples	147
5.	Comparison of rate of illiteracy of Jewish and "old" and "new" immigration	147
6.	Comparison of rate of illiteracy of Jews and East-European peoples	148
7.	Comparison of rate of illiteracy of each sex among Jews and East-European peoples	148
8.	Conclusion	148
CHAPTER V
Destination
1.	Factors influencing destination	149
2.	Proportion of Jewish immigrants destined for divisions	149
3.	Proportion of Jewish immigrants destined for principal states	149
4.	Comparison of destination of Jews and other immigrant peoples	150
5.	Participation of Jews in the immigration destined for divisions	150
6.	Final disposition of Jewish immigrants	151
CHAPTER VI
Summary and Conclusions