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Essays by Jewish-American Immigrant Women

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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

National Council of Jewish Women

The National Council of Jewish Women was founded in 1893 by Hannah Solomon, as part of the Parliament of Religions in the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. At the close of the exhibition, Solomon and the others involved with its committee of Jewish women resolved that they would form a permanent organization, known as the NCJW, with a dual purpose. First, this new organization would work to keep Judaism alive by informing women of their religious duties and their role in rearing Jewish children. Secondly, its members would "take part as a large group in all that concerns the welfare of mankind," working together to solve growing social problems that were impossible for the individual to combat alone. The Council quickly spread across the country, as a social and socially active women's club, so that by the time of its first triennial convention in 1896, the Council had more than four thousand members and fifty local sections.

In the past hundred years since its inception, the National Council of Jewish Women has grown to approximately one hundred thousand members and has established itself as one of the preeminent American reform organizations of the twentieth century. It has been actively involved in a wide variety of concerns including immigrant aid, opposition to the white slave trade, educational opportunities and vocational training for the blind and visually impaired, maternal and infant health care, establishment of child labor laws, religious education, opposition to anti-Semitism, international relief work, civil rights for blacks and women, and peace initiatives.

The journal in which these essays were first published, The Immigrant, was a monthly and then later a quarterly journal published by the National Council of Jewish Women, Department of Service to the Foreign Born (later known as the Department of Immigrant Aid) in New York City from 1921 to 1930. It was edited by Etta (Lasker) Rosensohn and Cecilia Razovsky.

This collection consists of about three hundred first-hand accounts of the lives of mainly-Jewish women who immigrated to the United States between about 1900 and 1927. They were written for an essay contest sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women, administered through English language and Americanization classes organized and funded by the Council.

With a few slight deviations, the format of the essays is that of responses to set questions or topic choices. Topics include "My First Impressions of America", "The Most Important Day of My Life", and "My Plans and Ambitions for My Children", among others. These essays served multiple roles, functioning as writing exercises, contest entries, personal tributes to the Council, and publicity for the Council's programs. Now they are also historically relevant, giving a window into the daily lives, exceptional experiences, opinions, and aspirations of these women. They deal with such issues as poverty, antisemitism, female work experiences in the early twentieth century, World War I, the Russian Revolution, marriage, motherhood, and cultural assimilation.

There are some pieces that are beautifully written, and others where the struggle to master a foreign tongue is more clearly evident. There are many accounts that are unfeignedly authentic, telling stories of a very biographical nature, as well as few, especially in response to questions about famous Americans, that seem tainted by plagiarism. Many of these accounts were written by women residing in the New York City area, but there are also many essays from other locations including, among others, Chicago, Nashville, and San Antonio. The winning entries were originally published in The Immigrant, a journal published by the Council. Included in this collection is an article from that journal on the judging process, entitled "What the Judges Say."

The Roman and Arabic numerals on the documents were present in the collection before processing. The intended structure they imply has been preserved. Additionally, whenever a topic title was evident, it was used. In absence of a clear uniform title, the similar content of the essays led to the derivation of a descriptive title for the section.

These essays were extracted from the Arthur Cort Holden Papers (C0767), and originally written for the National Council of Jewish Women. Other than that, their chain of ownership is unknown.

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection was processed by Jennifer Groom in 1999. Finding aid written by Jannon Stein in 2000.

No appraisal information is available.

Publisher
Manuscripts Division
Finding Aid Author
Jannon Stein
Finding Aid Date
2000
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

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Collection Inventory

"What the Judges Say" The Immigrant, circa 1929. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

I: Foreign Childhood & Education, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

II: Reasons for Coming to America, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

III: First Impressions of America, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

IV: Old World Customs I Want My Children to Preserve, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

V: How America Has Helped Me, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

VI: American Customs and Ways of Living I Have Found Most Helpful, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

VII: The Happiest/Most Interesting Day of My Life, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

VIII: The Most Important Day of My Life, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

IX: How We Can Help to Make Our Country Better, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

X: How We Can Promote Better Understanding Between Ourselves and Our American-Born Neighbors, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

XI: Why I Wish to Become a Citizen, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

XII: Prominent Americans Who Were Born in My Native Country, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

XIII: My Favorite Character in American History, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

XIV: What "Americanization Class" Has Done For Me, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

XV: My Plans and Ambitions for My Children, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

XVI: What My Children Gain Through My Cooperation With Their Teacher, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

XVII: The Importance of Judaism in My Life, dates not examined. 1 folder.
Physical Description

1 folder

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