First Facts in American Jewish History: From 1492 to the Present

Where was the first Jewish settlement in North America? What book featured the first American Jewish heroine of fiction? Where was the first matzo factory? Who pioneered ready-made clothing for children? Who was the first American Jew to give his life for the State of Israel? Who was the first Jewish astronaut? Discover these and more than 100 other "firsts" in First Facts in American Jewish History: From 1492 to the Present. Each short, self-contained chapter of this meticulously researched volume provides a unique look at the American Jewish experience. Arranged in approximate chronological order are first times, first places, first institutions, first people, and first things. Find out that the first man in Columbus' crew to step ashore in the New World was of Jewish origin, that it was a Jew, Nathan Straus, who first brought pasteurized milk to America, and that the first blue jeans were made by a Jew. Learn about Jews who changed the face of American society - labor leader Samuel Gompers, who built up the American Federation of Labor; Louis D. Brandeis, the first Jewish Supreme Court justice, who wove the norms of social justice into the fabric of American law; and George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, who modernized American music. Explore how Jews have been integral in the growth and development of many aspects of American economic, political, cultural, and social lives. They pioneered the department store, the clothing industry, show business, motion pictures, science, and health care. The role of the American Jewish community in helping to establish the State of Israel is also examined.