鈥淭eddy Roosevelt was a man of contradictions.鈥 That鈥檚 how Andrew Porwancher, professor of history at Arizona State University and author of The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton, describes the 26th president of the United States. 鈥淥n the one hand you had the intellectual who wrote the definitive history book on the War of 1812, and on the other you had the athlete who spent much time in the gym boxing or in the field hunting; NYPD police commissioner and commander of the Rough Riders and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize; a trust-buster and an honorary member of the Jewish elite in upper New York City.鈥
It is that relationship with American Jews that is the subject of Porwancher鈥檚 latest book, . Porwancher spoke about the book to a group of Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program and Zahava and Moshael J. Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought students on Sunday, Sept. 14, with Straus Center Deputy Director and Senior Advisor to the Provost Rabbi. Dr. Stuart Halpern moderating. The Senator Joseph Lieberman 鈥 Mitzner Center for Public Service and Advocacy and the Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership also co-sponsored the event.
Porwancher began his discussion by telling the story of Roosevelt鈥檚 invitation to a Hanukkah party at the Jacob Riis Settlement House. While Roosevelt was not able to attend, he wrote a letter to the children of the house gushing over the 鈥渇ine loyalty and valiant achievements of the Maccabees.鈥 His letter continued, 鈥淚t is a good thing that the Jewish boys and girls should keep their pride in and admiration for their own heroes of early days, and such pride and admiration, instead of hindering them, will help them to the friendliest and most brotherly relations with all their fellow Americans.鈥
This letter, Porwancher argues, epitomizes Roosevelt鈥檚 view of American Jews. Despite being against 鈥渉yphenated Americans鈥 and enjoying the controversial play The Melting Pot, Roosevelt believed that Jewish integration into the United States would best be accomplished, not by disowning their heritage, but by honoring it. This viewpoint, Porwancher noted, was a stark contrast from the conventional views of the time, which were either totally anti-immigration or pro-immigration with the assumption that the cultures and beliefs of other lands would be left on the boat. Roosevelt鈥檚 pluralistic vision was counter-cultural and better matches the vision of modern America.
Roosevelt was not an obvious figure to build such an alliance with American Jewry. Raised among the Protestant elite, his father came from a New York business dynasty, while his mother was a Southern socialite. He did visit Israel at the age of 14, which concretized his love of the heroic Maccabees. From his earliest days serving in the NYPD and the American army, he was always looking for volunteers, Jews and non-Jews alike, who displayed the 鈥渧alor of the Maccabees.鈥
That is not to say that Roosevelt has a perfect record with American Jewry. At the time of his presidency, Russian Jews were being butchered by their neighbors with the consent of their government. Roosevelt was cautious to act against this violence, taking each instance on a case-by-case basis. This, of course, frustrated American Jews, who wanted a more consistently assertive policy. On the other hand, Roosevelt did submit a petition on behalf of Americans and Jews to Russia to stop the violence, one of the first of its kind.
Roosevelt also dabbled in antisemitic tropes, albeit for noble reasons. When the antisemitic Hermann Ahlwardt was scheduled to speak on the Lower East Side on Hanukkah, Roosevelt assigned him a police detail made up of Jews who looked particularly Jewish, sending a message to the bigoted speaker. Porwancher called it 鈥渄efying antisemitism by playing into tropes of antisemitism.鈥
Despite these critiques, Roosevelt helped Jews reach new milestones in American government. He appointed Oscar Straus as the United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor, making him the first Jew to sit in a presidential cabinet. Straus and Roosevelt were very close, with Straus at one point remarking, 鈥淚 love you like a brother.鈥 His appointment was also a message to Russia about its treatment of Jews.
Roosevelt was also very close to Otto Raphael, a Jewish immigrant who ran into a burning building multiple times to save those trapped inside. Roosevelt was so impressed with Raphael that he invited the hero to serve in the NYPD. The two became great friends and boxing partners. Following Roosevelt鈥檚 death, Raphael watched over his body before burial, serving as his unofficial shomer.
Reflecting on writing American Maccabee and The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton, Porwancher stressed that the 鈥渟tory of the Jews needs to be told.鈥 Despite the antisemitic hate mail he receives for writing these types of books, Porwancher said he is only more determined to write about the American Jewish experience. 鈥淭his is a place that Jews have fought and bled for,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he American experiment would not exist today without the Jews.鈥
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