The Immigrant Jews of New York

Originally published in 1976, this monumental volume is a study of one of the major migrations of modern times - the result of which has been significantly to alter the history of the United States and of the whole Middle East. In researching this volume, the author drew on many different sources, including the rich materials of the Yiddish press and the vast number of memoirs written in both English and Yiddish. The book traces the historical, cultural and social experience of the immigrant Jews to New York in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who came mainly from Eastern Europe. It covers many aspects of Jewish life in New York - the early years on the East side, Jewish children in American schools, the growth of Yiddish-speaking socialist movements and trade unions, the passion for learning which animated this culture and Yiddish culture in its many manifestations.

Irving Howe (1920-1993) was a major American public intellectual, who was recognized as a literary, political, and social critic. He was passionate about literature, social democratic ideas, and Judaism. His interest in Jewish history is exemplified in The Immigrant Jews of New York, where he traces the story of immigration of Jews to New York and their major political, literary and cultural challenges, achievements, and contributions to American society in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Howe's complementary interests in literature, politics, and culture are interwoven across the chapters of the book and provide a vivid and enduring picture of the life of these immigrants. It also reflects Howe's own experiences of growing up in New York as the son of Jewish immigrants. Yiddish was his first language. He was instrumental in editing, translating, and collecting Yiddish essays, stories, and poetry in several collections. Howe was a MacArthur Fellow, a National Book Award winner, the author of many other books on literary, social, and political criticism, and co-found and long-time editor of Dissent magazine.

Part 1. Toward America 1. Origins 2. Departure and Arrival Part 2. The East Side 3. The Early Years, 1881-1900 4. Disorder and Early Progress 5. Slum and Shop 6. The Way They Lived Then 7. The Restlessness of Learning 8. Growing Up in the Ghetto 9. Jewish Labor, Jewish Socialism 10. Breakup of the Left 11. Getting into American Politics 12. American Responses Part 3: The Culture of Yiddish 13. The Yiddish Word 14. The Yiddish Theatre 15. The Scholar-Intellectuals 16. The Yiddish Press Part 4: Dispersion 17. Journeys Outward 18. At Ease in America?