"An eye-opening, myth-shattering, stereotype-breaking work of originality, elegance, and wisdom. A must-read for Civil War buffs, Jewish history fans, and all Americans interested in learning--and you will learn much--about Jewish southerners who placed loyalty to their adopted states above the moral teachings of their tradition (at least as we now interpret them). You may not agree with these Jewish Confederates, but you will surely understand them better." --Alan M. Dershowitz
Rosen N. Rosen's JEWISH CONFEDERATES shows that the breadth and strength of Southern Jews' commitment to the Confederate cause is undeniable. Focusing on the Jewish communities throughout the South, Rosen explains each city's reasons for supporting the cause of Southern independence. Those motivations were as complex as their positions and roles in Southern society.
Profiling the prominent and humble, who volunteered for service, Rosen shows a Confederate army and government remarkably free of anti-Semitism and a Southern leadership, especially Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, without prejudice against the Jews (as opposed to Union generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman who issued anti-Semitic edicts).
The text is supplemented with 160 photographs and illustrations-- many previously unpublished and recently discovered images contributed by the descendants of Jewish Confederates.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Tearing the Curtain of "Political Correctness:":
Great book that sunders the curtain of political correctness. I was even able to find my great-grandfather and his cousins mentioned here. I knew that one had died in battle, but here I discovered whom and where (@the Battle of the Wilderness.) When viewed with an eye toward the true political realities of THAT day--contrary to the recent "PC police" fabrications--it was clear that these were NOT slave owners, as indeed 96% of Southerners were NOT, but citizens loyal to their country & their neighbors,... more info
Great book!:
I read this book some time ago, and loaned my copy and never got it back. It is one of my books that I no longer have that I sorely miss. This is an outstanding history of the history of Jewish involvement with the confederacy. It was an entirely untold story for me, and I found it fascinating. This is a great book that will serve as the reference for future works on the topic. I would be interested in follow ups to this book, covering other minority groups/faiths and their involvement with the... more info
Donate this book to your local library!:
I give books on The Confederacy to my local library (Shreveport, LA) to enrich the lives of other Southerners who may not want to own them and can't afford to buy all that interests them. I selected this one because I wanted more information about a Jewish soldier from Shreveport, Colonel Leon Dawson Marks, a particulary interesting individual; he was one of the highest-ranking Jewish infantry officers. He was a lawyer, edited a weekly newspaper. His father was a German Jew, his mother was Christian Cajun... more info
Unknown American Jewish History:
Mr. Rosen's book examines an aspect of American Jewish History seldom if ever addressed, South Jews who fought for the Confederacy. Yes, most people interested in the subject know of Judah Benjamin, but Rosen goes well beyond this figure in his well written, thoroughly researched book to provide a comprehensive, fascinating, and thought -provoking examination of the issues involved in the Jewish support for the pro-slavery rebellion. But as Rosen establishes, for Jews it was never that simple, with the... more info
