In Jewish Communities on the Ohio River, Amy Hill Shevitz chronicles the settlement and development of small Jewish communities in towns along the river. In these small towns, Jewish citizens created networks of businesses and families that developed into a distinctive, nineteenth-century middle-class culture. As a minority group with a vital role in each community, Ohio Valley Jews fostered American religious pluralism as they constructed a regional identity. Their contributions to the culture and economy of the region countered the anti-Semitic sentiments of the period. Shevitz discusses the associations among the towns and the big cities of the region, especially Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Also examined are Jewish communities' relationships with, and dependence on, the Ohio River and rail networks. Jewish Communities on the Ohio River demonstrates how the circumstances of a specific region influenced the evolution of American Jewish life.
ISBN: | 9780813124308 |
Publication date: | 17th August 2007 |
Author: | Amy Hill Shevitz |
Publisher: | The University Press of Kentucky |
Format: | Hardback |
Pagination: | 288 pages |
Series: | Ohio River Valley Series |
Genres: |
History of the Americas Social groups: religious groups and communities Social and cultural history |