American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco

I enjoyed watching this movie  recently with a group of Brandeis women, and learned so much.  Jews from Bavaria began emigrating to the U.S. in the 1840's, and many of them settled in San Francisco.  The Gold Rush drew people from all over the world seeking fame and fortune from the Gold Rush.  Many Jews determined that their fortune lay more in business, something they knew from the old country.  They could sell goods to miners, which might be more lucrative than mining for gold.  Many had been merchants in Bavaria, and so they continued this tradition by opening businesses in San Francisco and sold to city folks and miners

In 1848, people were coming from all over the world for gold.  Over the next several decades, 250,000 Jews left Central Europe, mostly young and not devout.  It was a long, dangerous trip to get to San Francisco.  One of the most famous immigrants  was Adolf Sutro. Sutro took on the Bank of California and got his Sutro Tunnel built, which made mining safer and more efficient.  He went on to become the largest land owner in San Francisco, and finally, the first Jewish Mayor of San Francisco.

  When Jewish immigrants arrived, they started mutual aid societies, even before synagogues were started.  In 1851, two synagogues were started. In 1866, one of these temples, Temple Emanuel, built a big, beautiful temple in San Francisco, to let everyone know they had arrived, and were part of the community.

Another famous early Jewish immigrant was Levi Strauss, and we all know how he started as a merchant, then went on to manufacture the most famous clothing item ever, jeans.  Believe it or not, Strauss had a sign on his building that said "White labor."  He used only white labor, and did not use Chinese workers.  His attitude toward Chinese is distressing, but he was not alone.  You would expect Jews to sympathize with the plight of poor Chinese labor, but many did not.  For all the good Jews did in building the city of San Francisco, their dislike and lack of desire to help another group that needed help, is unfortunate.  Jews were a vital force in the building of San Francisco.  They came as immigrants, but within a few short years they were leaders of business and industry.