 |
| Claude Rains as Haym Solomon in "Sons of Liberty" Source |
 |
| A legend links this design with Haym Salomon |
Russia, Prussia, and Austria wiped Poland off the map in
the late eighteenth century. Poles resolved to restore their nation. In
addition to fighting for Poland's freedom, they fought for other nations. Their
cry was "For your freedom and ours."
Many know that two Poles fought in the American
Revolution. Casimir Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko's names are found in the US
on towns and bridges. Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain in Australia.
There was another, less well known Pole who contributed
to the American Revolution: Haym Salomon, a Polish Jew. He was a financial broker
who made profound personal sacrifices to aid the Revolutionary cause.
According to Wikipedia, Salomon raised the equivalent of $16,870,212.74
in 2013 dollars. He was also a man of action who fought the Russians and had to
escape from them, and then engaged in espionage on the British in America and
had to escape from them, too. He was imprisoned and this imprisonment lead to
his early death.
People who want to bash Christianity always point to the
Inquisition. I respond that the Inquisition was a backlash in Spain against the
Muslim Conquest and the Reconquista, not a manifestation of Christianity. I
also say that while the Spanish Inquisition was taking place, it was condemned
by Catholics.
Other Catholic countries invited in Jews escaping from
Spain. Catholic Poland was a significant refuge for Jews. According to Wikipedia, "Haym
Salomon was born in Leszno, Poland in 1740 to an Ashkenazi Jewish family
descended from Spanish and Portuguese Jews who migrated to the Jewish
communities of Poland as a result of the Spanish Inquisition of 1492 and
remained there for many generations."
In the US, Salomon was proudly and actively Jewish. He
contributed to Jews' civil rights. From Wikipedia:
"Salomon was involved in Jewish community affairs,
being a member of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, and in 1782 made
the largest individual contribution towards the construction of its main
building.
In 1783, Salomon was among the prominent Jews involved in
the successful effort to have the Pennsylvania Council of Censors remove the
religious test oath required for office-holding under the State Constitution.
These test laws were originally written to disenfranchise the Quaker majority,
but many were caught up in this anti-democratic ploy.
It was Salomon's old friend Robert Morris, who actually
introduced legislation to end the test laws in Pennsylvania. In 1784, Salomon
answered anti-Semitic slander in the press by stating: 'I am a Jew; it is my
own nation; I do not despair that we shall obtain every other privilege that we
aspire to enjoy along with our fellow-citizens.'"
Here's a dramatic paragraph from the below-linked article
entitled "Haym Salomon -The Revolution's Indispensable Financial
Genius" by Donald N. Moran:
"In August of 1781, our Southern forces had trapped
Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis in the little Virginia coastal town of
Yorktown. George Washington and the main army and the Count de Rochambeau with
his French army decided to march from the Hudson Highlands to Yorktown and
deliver the final blow.
But Washington's war chest was completely empty, as was
that of Congress. Washington determined that he needed at least $20,000 to
finance the campaign. When Morris told him there were no funds and no credit
available, Washington gave him a simple but eloquent order: 'Send for Haym
Salomon.'
Haym again came through, and the $20,000 was raised.
Washington conducted the Yorktown campaign, which proved to be the final battle
of the Revolution, thanks to Haym Salomon."
Salomon's time in prison damaged his health. He died
young, at age 44, of tuberculosis, leaving four young children. His obituary in the
Independent Gazetteer read, "Thursday, last, expired, after a lingering
illness, Mr. Haym Salomon, an eminent broker of this city, was a native of
Poland, and of the Hebrew nation. He was remarkable for his skill and integrity
in his profession, and for his generous and humane deportment. His remains were
yesterday deposited in the burial ground of the synagogue of this city."
He gave and sacrificed much, but died bankrupt. The new
United States could not honor its debt to him. His children attempted to
receive reimbursement, but were always turned down. Young America was poor. Truly,
the inscription on the statue of Haym Salomon on Wacker Drive in Chicago is
accurate: "Haym Salomon – Gentlemen, Scholar, Patriot. A banker whose only
interest was the interest of his Country."
There is a legend that George Washington asked Haym
Salomon how he wanted to be compensated for his sacrifices. "I want
nothing for myself but something for my people," Salomon replied. Washington
had the stars on the US seal arranged in the shape of a Star of David. You can
read this legend here
Another article about other Jews who played a key role in
the American Revolution here
 |
| Statue to Robert Morris, G Washington, Haym Salomon Source Wacker Drive, Chicago |
 |
| Sam Gruber's Jewish Monuments Blogspot |
Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
ReplyDeleteYour article is very well done, a good read.
I have just completed a review of a fascinating book on Jews and the military. The Jewish author has a somewhat different take on Berek Jozelewicz, in the 1794 Kosciuszko Insurrection, than is usually considered.
ReplyDeleteTo see my review, please click on my name in this specific posting.