Great Expectations:
Was America Everything
it was supposed to be?
Nick Barnett
My
father often likes to joke that as far as the issue of slavery goes, his
side of the family is pretty well even. His reasoning is that one side
of the family owned slaves, while the other side served as slaves. The
side of my family that served as slaves were Russian Jews. My great-grandparents
emigrated from Ukraine, part of Russia at the time, in 1914 to escape religious
persecution. Although the Jews in Russia were not slaves in the sense that
Africans were in America, the two groups could be compared in the sense
that once slaves were freed, the had almost no rights in their own country.
This was very much the case for Jews in Russia around the time that my
Great-Grandparents emigrated to America. In one of the only times that
my father talked with his Grandmother about Ukraine she told him the following:
“When
I was a little girl in Russia there was a law that said Jews had to live
in towns. They couldn't live in the country or own land. So
we had to be shopkeepers, or tailors, or shoemakers. Every week, we would
buy our vegetables (because we had no land to grow our own) from the peasants
who would come into town from the villages. Sometimes, after the
peasants sold their vegetables, they would buy vodka and get drunk.
Then they'd say, 'Let's go kill a Jew!' Since they were poor, they
didn't have guns, but if they had a knife, they would stab us to death.
If they didn't have a knife, they would take a rope and hang us. If they
didn't have a rope, they would stone us to death. If there weren't
any stones, they’d hold us face down in puddles and drown us, or if there
weren't any puddles, they'd knock us down and kick us to death.”
She went on, "We were very scared when the pogroms would come, but we had
a Gentile (Christian) neighbor who would hide us in her basement till the
pogrom was over. That's how I learned there were good Christians
as well as bad ones. I wanted you to know that”(qtd. in Barnett).
Unfortunately,
other than that story, my family knows almost nothing about my Great-Grandparent’s
life in Russia. My Great-Aunt Florence says that my Great-Grandparents
never spoke about Russia, never spoke in Russian, and had no desire to
return.It is easy to see why, considering
the oppression that they faced. Anti-Semitism arose in Russia out of the
need for the government and people to blame a group of people for Russia’s
political problems. Government discrimination against Jews in Russia extends
well back to the 1700’s, but the first major action was the creation of
the Pale of Settlement in 1835 by Tsar Nicholas the first. The Pale of
Settlement was a law that stated where Jews in Russia would be allowed
to live (Homeward par. 1).
Harsh
persecution of the Jews in Russia continued until the reign of Alexander
the Second.Many of the laws against
Jews were relaxed and for a brief time, and the Jews flourished.Then,
in 1881, Alexander the Second was assassinated and was succeeded by Alexander
the Third. It is under his government that the worst Pograms, raids on
Jewish communities, occurred. Many Jews were killed, hundreds were injured
and hundreds of women were raped. Throughout Russia, the sentiment towards
Jews was either indifference or hatred. Most of this hatred resulted from
governmental policies throughout Jewish-Russian history. Alexander the
Third blamed political unrest on the Jews and published the “Temporary
Laws” in 1882. These laws prohibited Jews from living in villages and forced
them to reside in towns. The process of moving the Jews out of the countryside
was very methodical. Jews who left town for a few days were expelled as
visitors, those who rented housing were denied renewal of leases, and workers
who attempted to sell anything that they didn’t make themselves were expelled
because they were no longer “artisans”. If a Jew went to another town to
go to a hospital, to inherit a business, or to visit relatives, he faced
expulsion to the Pale of Settlement (Sachar 283). It also limited the number
of Jewish students in secondary schools to ten percent within the Pale
of Settlement and three to five percent outside. Since the Pale of Settlement
was nearly half Jewish, many classrooms were left half-empty just to keep
the amount of Jews in school at ten percent. Under Alexander the Third‘s
rule, the police applied discriminatory laws, the press was required to
campaign anti-Semitic propaganda and the government endorsed Pograms. To
sum up Russian sentiment, K. Pobedonostsev, the head of the Russian Holy
Synod expressed the wish that “one-third of the Jews will convert, one-third
will die, and one-third will flee the country" (Federation par. 13). Russia
was almost entirely geared towards the elimination of the Jews. In fact,
one of the few attempts to help the Jews backfired. In the third Dumas,
(1907-1912), there was a suggestion by liberal and socialist factions for
the abolition of the Pale of Settlement. The Right Wing and monarchists
met this suggestion with great violence and made even harsher anti-Semitic
policies (Beyond, 37 par. 1).
My
great-grandfather tried everything he could to alleviate the problems for
his family. The government had not been able to do without the Jews who
were enlisted in the military, and they had a few more rights than civilian
Jews, such as being exempt from the pale of settlement. Of course, the
Russian military didn’t take more Jewish soldiers than they had to, and
when my Great-grandfather, Itska Chaikin tried to enlist, he was not accepted.
That is when his decision to move his family to America was made.
The
Journey to Freedom
When
I consider what my great-grandparents went through to come here, I appreciate
my existence even more. Despite the fact that Russia was actively trying
to rid itself of its Jewish population, it was no easy task to leave. There
were enormous amounts of paper work to deal with as well as many heavy
fees to pay. The journey itself was very difficult and there was no guarantee
that an immigrant would pass all of the many inspections that were required
to come to America.
The
journey involved a long track across Europe to Germany where they had to
pass more inspections to get on the boat. Because they were so poor, my
great-grandparents along with most other immigrants, had to ride in steerage.
This meant that they were crowded into a large, empty space originally
designed to carry animals with about 200 other immigrants. The journey
took a little over two weeks on rough seas. The passengers on these ships
faced many hazards such as disease, fire, icebergs, and possible collisions
with other ships. If at any point during the journey they showed any signs
of illness, they would not be allowed to stay in America and all of their
efforts would be for nothing. Fortunately, my great-grandparents made their
way to America before the 1920’s when new immigration laws drastically
cut the number of immigrants coming to America, so it was a little easier
for them to get in.
My
great-grandfather made this dangerous journey to New York City and then,
for unknown reasons, he went to Baltimore. A possibility for this choice
may be that he found out about the good trade relations between Baltimore
and Germany. Baltimore exported goods, especially tobacco, to Germany,
and then immigrants could come over on the return ship. Baltimore was an
industrialized city and in constant need of cheap labor.Many
immigrants were offered jobs by factories as soon as they passed through
immigration. My great-grandfather, who changed his name to Isaac when he
arrived, came to America when he was twenty-one years old. He left behind
my great-grandmother, who was pregnant, and my future grandmother who was
not yet two. When he arrived in Baltimore, he got a job in a sweatshop.
Six months after my Great-Grandfather left, he was able to send enough
money to Russia to allow my Great-Grandmother and Grandmother, to join
him in the United States. He probably had to take out a loan or borrow
money in addition to what meager earning to get my Great-Grandmother over
so soon because they were very poor.
The
seriousness of the situation in Russia and Europe really hits home when
I consider the fact that an entire line of my family would never have been
born, including me, if my Great-Grandparents had not had the courage to
go to America. Between the two of them they had some twenty siblings. They
kept in touch with them until the Nazi occupation of Russia in World War
Two. Their relatives in the States could only assume that they met their
end in the Holocaust, like so many other Jews (Waters unknown).
My
Great-Grandparents were the only members of their family to come to America.
It was certainly better than the fate that probably awaited them in their
homeland. But what was it like to be a Russian Jew in America? What kinds
of anti-Semitism did they face? Did America live up to an immigrant’s expectations?
Life
in America
America had both its good and bad
sides when it came to its treatment of immigrants.Working
conditions were usually terrible and wages were low. To make matters worse,
the American people were growing more and more intolerant of immigrants
in general. There was a lot of fear that immigrants would destroy the American
way of life, which is strange considering that immigrants created the American
way of life. To say that life was certainly not easy for immigrants coming
to America would be a gross understatement. Despite the fact that life
was hard, many immigrants still loved this country with a passion. All
of my relatives that knew my great-grandparents have said that they were
extremely patriotic towards their new home. They loved America and everything
that it stood for. At first I thought that the only reason that they loved
America was that being poor, overworked and free is better than being poor,
enslaved, and killed, which would have inevitably been the case had they
stayed in Russia.
Actually,
the more I learn about my great-grandfather, the more I see that maybe
the hardships were actually the biggest part of what he loved so much.
He had faced hardship before, but he had never been able to anything about
it but leave. His favorite quote really says a lot about what he believed
in. My great-aunt found this quote in my great-grandfathers handwriting
on a piece of paper in a one of his jackets after he died. It read: "Voltaires
Dictum"--I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to
the death your right to say it" (Waters unknown). I don’t think I have
ever seen a statement more representative of the ideal American way. That
is what my great-grandfather expected from America and that’s what he found
when it came to improving his life and the life of his family.
Making
the Best of the Situation
My
great-grandfather was a big part of the labor movement that took place
in the early part of the twentieth century. Only a few years after his
arrival, he became very active in the labor movement hoping to improve
working conditions. He was elected secretary of his local chapter
of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America in the early 1920’s and
also served on the National Board of the Workmen’s Circle for 38 years
(Waters unknown). The Workmen’s Circle was founded in 1900 and still
exists today. It has always been an organization geared towards enabling
the Jewish Community in America to flourish and to maintain it’s own identity.
This group is self-proclaimed as “a progressive-liberal organization committed
to advancing democratic frontiers, eliminating poverty, strengthening civil
rights, promoting universal health care and opposing bigotry, tyranny and
totalitarianism” (Workmen’s par 1). What I find so interesting about all
of this is that the things that the Workmen’s Circle is aiming for are
also some of the biggest reasons that my great-grandparents left Russia.
Labor
unions, such as the ones in which my great-grandfather was involved, were
a huge factor in the improvement of life for the working class, which was
largely comprised of immigrant workers. By 1919, the labor movement had
won shorter hour workweek, improved working conditions, and arbitration
and sanity boards (Sachar 391-2). It really boggles my mind that a relative
of mine was involved in what, at the time, was a radical movement that
changed the course of American history.
The
things that these unions were able to accomplish improved the quality of
life enough that my great-grandfather was able to attend classes at night
school. He learned to read and write in English and eventually managed
to get the equivalent of a High School education. That was a big deal considering
that in Russia, most Jews were never allowed to attend school. These skills
delighted my great-grandfather. He loved to read and write as much as possible.
Both he and my great-grandmother passed on a great love for learning to
all of their children. I can see that the tradition is still continuing
in both my cousins and myself. Of course, one thing that I have learned
from all of my relatives is that great-grandfather liked to be entertained
as much as he liked to learn.
All
of my relatives have fond memories of the activities that they would do
with my great-grandfather when were children. He
took the family to the art museums, theatre, and to historical sites like
Fort McHenry, amusement parks, and marketplaces and he loved to do it.
In fact, one of my aunts commented that it was sometimes hard to tell who
enjoyed the rides more (Waters unknown).
I
believe that my great-grandmother, although not a revolutionary, was able
to chase the American dream in her own way. Many women today would not
say that being a poor housewife is living the American dream. At the time,
that was what women did. I think the fact that my great-grandmother didn’t
have to have a job to survive made her very happy. The life she lived was
as close to the stereotypical American life as she could get.
My
great-grandmother was a stay at home mother of five, but the loss of a
son at the age of nine haunted her for the rest of her life. She was also
a great cook and was able to create imaginative meals with the little money
that the family had.Of course, she
didn’t take to the American way of everything. When it came to housekeeping,
my great-grandmother liked to do things the old-fashioned way. Actually,
my great-grandfather once surprised her with a washing machine; she tried
it once but then decided that she preferred her washboard and the boiler.
My great-grandmother also learned to read English and really enjoyed the
Romance novels. My Great-Aunt Florence remembers that Saturday was almost
always “movie day”, and my Great-Grandmother rarely missed one.
On the way home, she always stopped by the open market to bring some treats
(Waters Great-Grandmother).
Part
of the reason that the “American experience” was so positive for my ancestors
may also be that my great-grandparents lucked out on finding a good neighborhood
and that they were friendly people. My
great-grand parents were the only immigrants in their neighborhood and
by all accounts they were very well liked. I don’t think that they faced
a lot of the discrimination that most immigrants did. One thing that surprised
me is that no one in my family could recall more than one incident where
prejudice or hate played in role in their lives in America.
It
is very unusual that my great-grandparents faced so little discrimination
considering the time period in which they came to America. At the time,
this country was going through a period of anti-immigration. This was largely
due to the fact that many people believed that the influx of Eastern European
immigrants was going to ruin the nation. In fact, in the early 1920’s,
the United States passed legislation that drastically cut the number of
immigrants that arrived on its shores (Sachar 370). This “closed-door”
mentality must have had an effect on the population’s attitude towards
immigrants that were already there.
My
great-grandparents should have been even greater targets for prejudice
than most immigrants because they were both from Russia and Jewish. A series
of events in world history were largely responsible for the greatest increase
in anti-Semitism in Untied States history. An increased belief in isolationist
policies that followed World War One intensified the belief in “The Great
American Race” which increased intolerance of outsiders. A rise in Ku Klux
Klan activities during this time did not help any, as there were many raids
on Jewish and catholic communities. In 1917, the Bolshevik revolution,
added a great deal of fire to the anti-Semitic
flame
that was smoldering in America during the early part of the twentieth century
because of Jewish involvement in the coupe. Many Americans feared that
Jewish immigrants would bring such radical ideas to this country and overthrow
the government. This fear led to large sections of many cities being closed
off to all Jews through the cooperation of landowners in a given area.
These kinds of limitations sound eerily similar to The Pale of Settlement
in Russia. These fears led to the introduction of quotas in colleges many
colleges as well as medical and law schools that limited the number of
Jewish students that could attend. In the 1930’s, when the Nazis first
became prevalent in German society before World War Two, many immigrants
from Germany brought anti-Semitic propaganda with them that raised the
prejudice against Jewry in America even higher. Fortunately, the Nazi regime
actually defeated it’s own purpose. During World War two, as the horrors
of the holocaust were discovered and made public, growing sympathy for
the Jews largely out shadowed the prejudice (Sachar 404-7).
I
find it very hard to believe that my grandparents lived through thirty
years of anti-Semitism in America and were never exposed to prejudice or
threats. The one incident that any of my family remembers was when
my great-grandfather was investigated for communism because he was a socialist.
My father remembers that it was extremely disappointing to him and it is
easy to see why considering his extreme patriotism.
When
I started writing this paper, I had a different idea of what immigrants
wanted. I think that most people believe that immigrants believe that America
is a place where anyone can go and become instantly successful. That was
certainly not the case for my great-grandparents. I don’t think that that
means that they were in anyway disappointed with what their new home had
to offer them. The reason they came to America was because it was free.
That freedom allows people to pursue whatever they want, whether they attain
it or not is up to them. My great-grandparents came here in search of education,
peace, safety, freedom to live where they wished and to have the chance
to make a life for themselves and their family. They found all of those
things in America. Any country in the world has prejudice, exploitation,
and violence. The thing that was so wonderful to my great-grandparents
was that, in America, the people have the opportunity to change the way
things are if they are unhappy. Unlike Russia, they can voice their opinions
and work to have them heard without fear. I return to Isaac Chaikin’s,
my great grandfather, favorite quote: "Voltaires Dictum"--"I do not agree
with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to
say it." That is really what America was all about for him and his wife.
Through the labor unions, through education, and through doing what they
felt was best, they were able to live that quote.
Works Cited
Barnett,
George. “Great-Grandparents”. E-mail to Nicholas Barnett. 16 Nov. 2000.
"Beyond
the Pale: A History of Jews in Russia; A Government Blood Libel-The Beilis
Affair." 30 Oct. 2000. http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/beyond-the-pale/english/37.html.
"Homeward
Bound: The Pale of Settlement and the Pograms of 1881 in Russia." 8 Nov.
2000. The Zionist Exposition. http://www.wzo.org.il/home/politic/pale.htm.
"Jewish
History of the Russian Federation: Ancient Times Until the Second World
War." 7 Nov. 2000.http://www.heritagefilms.com/RUSSIA1.htm.
Waters,
Florence. Personal interview. 15 Nov. 2000.
---. “Unknown.”
E-mail to Nicholas Barnett. 18 Nov. 2000.
---. “Great
Grandmother Notes.” E-mail to Nicholas Barnett. 30 Nov. 2000.
"Workmen’s
Circle/Arbiter Ring Membership Information." 2 Dec. 2000. http://www.circle.org/wcmi.htm.