Embracing a Western identity : Jewish Oregonians, 1849-1950 / Ellen Eisenbe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eisenberg, Ellen, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--Oregon--History.

Jews.

Oregon--Ethnic relations.

Oregon.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (303 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Corvallis, Oregon : Oregon State University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Not all of Oregon's pioneers were Christian farmers or bachelor prospectors. Indeed, many of the first brick buildings on Oregon's newly platted Main Streets were built by Jewish merchants whose services were essential to town founding and growth. In Embracing a Western Identity, Ellen Eisenberg places Jewish history in the larger context of Western narratives, challenging the traditional view that the 'authentic' North American Jewish experience stems from New York. The westward paths of Jewish Oregonians and their experiences of place shaped the communities, institutions, and identities they created, distinguishing them from other American Jewish communities. Eisenberg traces the Oregon Jewish experience from its pioneer beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century to the highly concentrated Portland communities of the mid-twentieth century. Drawing on extensive archival resources at the Oregon Jewish Museum, this historical commentary explores patterns of migration and settlement, the place of Jews in the state's ethnic landscape, their engagement in politics, the development of institutions, and their relationship to Zionism. Departing from familiar treatments of the Jewish experience, Embracing a Western Identity provides a critical look at the impact of place and opportunity upon the identities of migrants both as Oregonians and as American Jews. Readers and scholars interested in Western history--religious, ethnic, expansionist, and otherwise--will enjoy Eisenberg's accessible writing style and rich photograph collection"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Pioneers & Native Sons

Go West, Young Mensch : Composition of a Community

The Heart of the Community : Neighborhood House

A Jewish Vote? : Class, Ethnicity, and Politics

A Western Exception : Zionism and Anti-Zionism

Color of Community

Afterword.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-87071-819-3

OCLC:

928384330