Folks-
I am engaged in one of my periodic discussions with Ioram my Israeli friend. He is a highly educated fellow and rarely makes a mistake. I would like you thoughts on this.
“Revolutionary France was the first to grant full citizenship to Jews in 1790, the young USA followed in the early XIX century.”
I think I am correct that he is completely wrong here. Can anyone out there think of any legal impediemtns on Jews in the US Way Back When?
Well, it’s possible that Revolutionary France was the first nation to draw up a charter or stature PROCLAIMING that Jews had full, equal rights, but that doesn’t mean Jews in the United States weren’t citizens, or that they lacked the same rights every other American citizen had under the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution never mentioned Jews explicitly, because it was assumed that all rights provided for under the Constitution applied to Jews as well.
For that matter, while Jews certainly weren’t universally loved in England (to say the least!), they’d been welcome in England since the days of Oliver Cromwell, and English Jews were entitled, ever after, to the same rights as any other Englishman.
That’s not to say Jews didn’t encounter discrimination or prejudice. But they were never “non-citizens” of the United States, and hadn’t been “non-citizens” in England since Cromwell’s Protectorate.
Indeed, in the 17th and 18th century, Jews were afforded far more respect in England than Catholics (whom even John Locke regarded as inherently disloyal, untrustworthy, and undeserving of true British citizenship).
Well, with the exception of the right to hold elected office or be a government employee. I think when you deny those rights, in a democratic society, to a certain segment of the population, based on religion, or race, you can’t say that that group has equal rights.
So when did Jews become full British Citizens (or better still “Subjects”)?
(Thanks for two great posts!)