Haym Salomon: Liberty's Son

by Shirley Gorson Milgrim

Book Overview

For ages 9 and up.

Here is the little-known story of the selfless and patriotic Jewish merchant who raised money to finance the American Revolution and the new nation. Milgrim vividly recreates Haym Salomon's exploits with the underground Sons of Liberty and portrays patriotism as the natural outgrowth of his Jewish heritage.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0012S8182
• ISBN13: 9780827600737
• Release Date: March 1979
• Publisher: Jewish Publication Society
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 7.6" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

Patriotic

Haym Salomon, a Jewish refugee from Poland, arrived in New York in the spring of 1775, just weeks after shots were first exchanged between British soldiers and Americans at Lexington and Concord. He found a job as a distiller and in his free time studied the grievances of the thirteen colonies issued by Congress. Then he joined the Sons of Liberty and became a provisions supplier for American troops at Lake George. Twice, Salomon was arrested by the British and thrown into Provost Prison by Warden William Cunningham, and twice he escaped. Once, he offered to serve as a German interpreter for the Hessian mercenaries-who he convinced to join liberty's cause. Next, he convinced his Hessian guard to unlock his door, in exchange for a free passage to desert to Washington's side. His second escape brought Salomon to the Dobbes Ferry landing, where none of the troops owned a complete uniform, new musket or unbent bayonet. The men were thin, dressed in buckskin shirts and coonskin caps, and their shoes were tied with rope. Salomon, at 40, realized he was too old to serve himself, but he proposed to General Alexander McDougall that he could assist the cause by raising money from the Jewish community in Philadelphia, 100 miles away. Though ill, he set off on foot to do his patriotic best. In Philadelphia, he began trading and his success brought the notice and respect of detractors who had once baited him as the "haggler Jew" or "Jew broker." Before long, he had earned enough to give money to the Continental Congress and its army. His first gestures were to General Casimir Pulaski, who had been authorized by Congress to raise the Pulaski legion. Robert Morris, the head of Willing and Morris, had reluctantly accepted control of all finances to pay for the Revolution. He was soon at his wits' end in efforts to give the necessary help. He even approached the Quakers, though he reportedly demeaned them. But he could not bring himself to ask for money from Jews. Finally, the situation grew so bad that General Washington himself appealed to Morris to see Haym Salomon. On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Morris at last sought Salomon's help. In fifteen minutes, Salomon raised $20,000 from the congregation of Jewish worshipers, who were anxious to save American soldiers from starvation and cold. As news of Salomon's devotion spread, he was approached by all the famous officers and politicians of the day--including John Paul Jones, General Daniel Morgan, Thomas Jefferson, Thaddeus Kosciusko and General Benjamin Lincoln. Salomon bankrupted his family with his generosity. But when his wife asked whether there would be any inheritance for their children, he said, "Yes, a country where they'll be free to differ in the way they worship God and still enjoy the friendship of other people." They would have opportunities for happiness equal to that of others, and a feeling of being as important to the new nation as anyone else. Soon, Salomon was