Seven American Newspapers Concerning Jews & The Civil War, 1861-1865

Seven large folded newsprint broadsheets (five of four leaves each and two of two leaves each).  Various conditions as expected. Includes copies of: New York Tribune: January 7, 15, 18, 22, 1861 and Nov 11, 1863; New Orleans Sunday Delta: December 8, 1861; Baltimore Clipper: February 14, 1865.

The years 1861-1865 during which the United States was engaged in the Civil War saw an ever rising demand for information, which in turn led to the proliferation of newspapers, to report on the momentous events and issues of the day. Almost everyone knew someone who was fighting, whether it was a family member, a friend, or a neighbor, and it may be accurately stated that America really became a nation of newspaper readers during the Civil War, and that the Jews, both in the North and South, were no exception.

The first four newspapers in the present lot, all from January 1861, revolve around a famous speech given by Rabbi Morris J. Raphall on January 4, 1861, in which the eminent New York clergyman delivered a sermon that would resound throughout the United States. Addressing his congregants on the issue of the Bible and slavery, Raphall stated that while he was no “friend to slavery in the abstract” and even less “to the practical working of slavery,” his personal feelings were not germane. Slavery, he argued, was the oldest form of social relationship aside from family ties. Several of the papers in the present lot reflect a broad opposition to Raphall’s remarks, which were nearly universally characterized as “pro-slavery.”

Another newspaper in the present lot, from December of the same year features a sermon by Rabbi Bernard Illoway of New Orleans, on the subject of Tyranny (New Orleans Sunday Delta, 12/8/1861). The final two items in the present lot, include a rare report of an order of Union General Hurlbert with dire consequences for Jewish merchants in Memphis (NY Tribune 11/27/1863). Finally, a copy of the Baltimore Clipper from the end of the war (2/14/1865), chronicling the speech by Judah P. Benjamin, a prominent Jew who served as the Confederacy’s Secretary of State, advocating freedom for slaves who would take up arms against the Union.

These newspapers provide a rare opportunity to view the events of this tumultuous period in American history in the same contexts as they were seen by contemporary American audiences including Jews and non-Jews alike.