I really enjoyed the book, and I appreciate you giving it a thoughtful overview for your audience! Porwancher really does present a comprehensive argument that, while acknowledging that the full answer cannot be known with 100% certainty, the most logical conclusion would be that Hamilton would have been halachically Jewish.
He was raised by a Jewish mother, taught in a Jewish school (and perhaps she wanted her sons to be Jews), but as an adult he clearly decided to be a Christian. He was married in a Christian church and raised his kids as Christians. Just because he wasn't a flagrant anti-semite and open to Jewish culture doesn't make him Jewish. If he chose to be Jewish as an adult having a Jewish mother could have expedited that.
Yeah, he was a member of Trinity Church in NYC, rented a pew there, and is buried in their churchyard. He took communion on his deathbed. Whatever his early childhood experiences were, he clearly did not consider himself a Jew.
Thanks for this book review and analysis. ✅ I read it myself last year. One main take away I got was the author’s properly motivated historiography toward Hamilton’s mother exercising her own agency and self efficacy in her marriages and extramarital relationships.
Interesting. It's always nice to see a historian drive a screw straight through some established thinking or preconceptions on a topic. Of course I both care and really don't care whether or not Hamilton was crypto-Jewish - if you follow my meaning. I'm in the historical disciplines myself, but biography has always been fairly far from my research interests - for the obvious reasons that most humanities scholars have heard several times before. However, it does strike me as poignant that, if true, this particular biographical detail would be excluded and forgotten from popular representations of American history for so long. And your praise for the writing style might just motivate me to give it a read!
Do Benjamin Franklin next!!! Definitely a Crypto-Jewish lineage. Franklin is an Anglicized version of "Frauncelin" a French word meaning 'Land owning person not of Royal Blood'. Notably, like many 'Possibly Jewish' names it had no historic record/crest in England before the Middle Ages, 'Franklin' appears out of nowhere and they likely were immigrants from France after the Norman conquest. France - The land of The Franks was historically hospitable to Jews, who were involved in Principalities and Courts as Stewards/Treasurers/Lenders, even being a place where they could buy land/trade and the 'Silk Road' officially ended. (Jewish names = Frank, Franklin, DiFranco etc.) His first name was Benjamin!!! In England his ancestors were in the Silk Dying/Weaving trade - near exclusively a Jewish occupation. His immediate family in Boston were printers, could read and write (Jews unlike many Europeans, could read and write because of Torah Studies). Many of the founding Fathers probably had Jewish roots as they could read, write, knew numbers, were lawyers and doctors, silversmiths (John Adams. Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson had Turkish DNA - many Jews settled in Turkey after Expulsion from Europe).
Was James Madison Jewish? His mother's family name is Conway, if I recall correctly. I have suspected that Hamilton was Jewish and it turns out to be right! Thanks for your lectures, Dr, Abramson.
Very interesting, Henry. My daughter-in-law loves the Alexander musical, often referring to various favorite songs. He seems to be quintessentially American :)
Mr. Abramson, I must concede that the last edit of the star for Hamilton was very funny. I'm curious if you have any other content, or perhaps are considering producing some in the future, with respect to the general religious mesh of Early continental America, and the subsequent effects of the early Jewish community / on the early Jewish community therein. Do persist in the great work you are performing, rest assured it is not going unnoticed.
I saw where some people were suggesting that Franklin had Jewish ancestry on his mother's side with living relatives still practicing, and possibly on his father's side. There's also talk of renewed interest in Adams & Jefferson. Not only DNA and links to early settlers, but also matchmaking documents suggesting a continued awareness.
He's buried in Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, New York City. He didn't have a Jewish father, so he had no male role models to help him practice his Judaism, even though he was Jewish by law.
Hamilton is a Crypto-Jewish Scottish name. In the 12th century, many Sephardic Jews fled England to seek refuge in Scotland. They adopted English sounding surnames. His portrait certainly shows the features of a Sephardic Jewish person.
I did read of this idea of the Scottish Jerusalem as an explanation for City of London having various Scottish Lord Mayors, goldsmiths and so on. That said, I don't think there is proof of it.
@@ValidatingUsername True, but let's also allow Ashkenazi can be a title for different peoples genetically even if they are part of the culture of Germanic Jews. The Ashkenazi earlier on have more Cyprus or Italian like DNA whereas later Ashkenasi fled into central or eastern Europe and have mixes sometimes similar to Chechen or Ossetian DNA.
@@fufu3539 Read the book, "When Scotland was Jewish", by Elizabeth Caldwell. The research she has done and the incredible proof she provides is staggering. I found the book on Kindle.
Could it also be that Rachel too was at least partially of Jewish heritage? Hence the name Rachel, plus the continuate commitment to the faith even after her marriage broke down
I was already aware that his mother had married a Jew after his birth. I had heard that the reason he went to the Jewish school was because he was not allowed in the local Christian school due to his mother's divorced status. Even if she did convert to marry Levine, that would not mean he did, since he was already born. I didn't hear a convincing argument or compelling new information.
What is interesting to note is before converting his mother was part Huguenot (a French protestant group), a group who have seemed to have a long history of affinity for Jews.
I didn't know that about huguenots. I have some Huguenot family background. It explains some of the very forward thinking that we have always had on racial equality and acceptance of the Jewish people.
@@dougfowler1368 The starting event of the Huguenot diaspora is the French religious wars. The start of them is I guess Calvin when he was preaching in France (most people don't know he was French). Obviously if some flee east they could end up in areas like Frankfurt, which was also a place in the 1500s for English protestants. I haven't looked into it though, so those are just guesses at where to look.
Checking this against Wikipedia (admittedly not perfectly reliable, but it's often good enough), Alexander's mother's husband was Lavien, not Levine, though Hamilton (once?) spelled it Lavine. Her (Rachel's) maiden name was Fawcette (or Fawcett), her father being a French Huguenot and her mother, Mary Uppington, being English. Claiming that Rachel converted to Judaism then married, at age 16, a non-Jewish planter seems to me a contradiction. In other words, I'd have to see stronger evidence that Rachel Fawcette (later Lavian, then Hamilton) converted properly to Judaism before accepting Hamilton as being in any way Jewish.
Many French Huguenots were converted Jews who landed in French Ports where Huguenots were already allowed to live. Being un-landed and second class they had similar trades (silversmithing, merchant, silk) and it is well observed the two cultures mixed.and intermarried. Paul Revere (Huguenot spelling 'Riviere') is most likely of French Huguenot/Jewish ancestry with his ancestors originating in Spain/Portugal name "Rivera". In English it was often translated to "Rivers" a Jewish name. There is zero contradiction. And a slight variation of the the name "Levine" (which can be spelled even as "Lavigne") means nothing. still from the Jewish name Levi Levine. Many Crypto Jews re-converted back and or married other crypto Jews.
Scot is the traditional designation though parentage was murky. Notice he didn't say he was Jewish because he was good with money. Though it's evident his early life included training in a triangular trade business.
I strongly suspect that Hamilton's description of himself as an "Anglican" in a British colony at the time would have flowed more from the fact that there would be conflict of religion - his mother asserts him to be Jewish and Judaism flows through the mother, his father asserts him to be of whatever non-conformist Christian community - which English law would resolve to a default religion of the state.
Yes, Rabbi Aaron Hart (Levi) was Alexander and Charles (brothers) Hamilton’s teacher on the Caribbean Island of Nevis. Nevis was the judicial seat of the Royal Navy because is was the hub of sugar cane, sugar trade of the British West Indies!
The Hamilton name comes from Scotland and Scottish kings have a lot of indicia of Jewishness. They had multiple kings named Malcolm, which relates to the Hebrew word Milcom, or Great King. SH 4445. This leads to the more interesting question of the Jewishness or not of King James I of England, the "author" of the King James Bible. Looks kinda Jewish in paintings. Scottish lore calls Scotland Alba, also an important name in Spain or Iberia. The Scotichronicon, a 15th century 9 volume history of Scotland including "mythological" stories by Walter Bower, relates in volume 1 the story of Scota, an Egyptian daughter of the pharaoh who settled in Spain. Iberia means Hebrew, as in Eber, Ivrit, etc. Catalonia has the Ebro or Hebrew river. European history tells us the Inquisition attacked the Jews of Spain. Southern France and northern Spain developed the Kabbala, with such luminaries as Abraham ben David of Posquieres (linguists tell us the word David relates to the Egyptian word for king, Tut), and his son Isaac the Blind. We should not confuse the modern idea of Jews with the much broader Torah idea of the children of Israel led by Moses, a Levite, not a Jew. The modern idea of Jewishness comes down from rabbinical Judaism given to us by Yohanen ben Zakkai. Do we know any of our real history? I suspect maybe 1% or less. Look around Europe and you will see the names of the 12 tribes everywhere. President Trump derives from the Lewis family, an Anglicization of Levi, I think. Who knows?
Haven't read the book yet, but Hamiton having been considered Jewish by his contemporaries seems dubious at best. I doubt he would have been allowed to marry into the prestigious Schuyler family if he had been considered a Jew.
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
I really enjoyed the book, and I appreciate you giving it a thoughtful overview for your audience! Porwancher really does present a comprehensive argument that, while acknowledging that the full answer cannot be known with 100% certainty, the most logical conclusion would be that Hamilton would have been halachically Jewish.
He was raised by a Jewish mother, taught in a Jewish school (and perhaps she wanted her sons to be Jews), but as an adult he clearly decided to be a Christian. He was married in a Christian church and raised his kids as Christians. Just because he wasn't a flagrant anti-semite and open to Jewish culture doesn't make him Jewish. If he chose to be Jewish as an adult having a Jewish mother could have expedited that.
Yeah, he was a member of Trinity Church in NYC, rented a pew there, and is buried in their churchyard. He took communion on his deathbed. Whatever his early childhood experiences were, he clearly did not consider himself a Jew.
Thanks for this book review and analysis. ✅ I read it myself last year. One main take away I got was the author’s properly motivated historiography toward Hamilton’s mother exercising her own agency and self efficacy in her marriages and extramarital relationships.
Totally agree!
Interesting. It's always nice to see a historian drive a screw straight through some established thinking or preconceptions on a topic.
Of course I both care and really don't care whether or not Hamilton was crypto-Jewish - if you follow my meaning. I'm in the historical disciplines myself, but biography has always been fairly far from my research interests - for the obvious reasons that most humanities scholars have heard several times before.
However, it does strike me as poignant that, if true, this particular biographical detail would be excluded and forgotten from popular representations of American history for so long.
And your praise for the writing style might just motivate me to give it a read!
Thanks, Professor, very informative.
Do Benjamin Franklin next!!! Definitely a Crypto-Jewish lineage. Franklin is an Anglicized version of "Frauncelin" a French word meaning 'Land owning person not of Royal Blood'. Notably, like many 'Possibly Jewish' names it had no historic record/crest in England before the Middle Ages, 'Franklin' appears out of nowhere and they likely were immigrants from France after the Norman conquest. France - The land of The Franks was historically hospitable to Jews, who were involved in Principalities and Courts as Stewards/Treasurers/Lenders, even being a place where they could buy land/trade and the 'Silk Road' officially ended. (Jewish names = Frank, Franklin, DiFranco etc.) His first name was Benjamin!!! In England his ancestors were in the Silk Dying/Weaving trade - near exclusively a Jewish occupation. His immediate family in Boston were printers, could read and write (Jews unlike many Europeans, could read and write because of Torah Studies). Many of the founding Fathers probably had Jewish roots as they could read, write, knew numbers, were lawyers and doctors, silversmiths (John Adams. Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson had Turkish DNA - many Jews settled in Turkey after Expulsion from Europe).
Was James Madison Jewish? His mother's family name is Conway, if I recall correctly. I have suspected that Hamilton was Jewish and it turns out to be right! Thanks for your lectures, Dr, Abramson.
Elvis Presley's mother was a Jew.. seriously.
Article on Algemeiner news .
Awesome 👍
תודה רבה שלום
Very interesting, Henry. My daughter-in-law loves the Alexander musical, often referring to various favorite songs. He seems to be quintessentially American :)
And, apparently, Jewish!
Mr. Abramson, I must concede that the last edit of the star for Hamilton was very funny.
I'm curious if you have any other content, or perhaps are considering producing some in the future, with respect to the general religious mesh of Early continental America, and the subsequent effects of the early Jewish community / on the early Jewish community therein.
Do persist in the great work you are performing, rest assured it is not going unnoticed.
I saw where some people were suggesting that Franklin had Jewish ancestry on his mother's side with living relatives still practicing, and possibly on his father's side. There's also talk of renewed interest in Adams & Jefferson. Not only DNA and links to early settlers, but also matchmaking documents suggesting a continued awareness.
The awareness could have influenced Jefferson's perception of marriage within slavery being valid, as well as considering Sarah "Sally" a pilegesh.
Fascinating, thank you.
He's buried in Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, New York City. He didn't have a Jewish father, so he had no male role models to help him practice his Judaism, even though he was Jewish by law.
Fun history of Hamilton. I’ll put the book on my never ending reading list ! Have a good shabbos. 📚
Thanks!
Hamilton is a Crypto-Jewish Scottish name. In the 12th century, many Sephardic Jews fled England to seek refuge in Scotland. They adopted English sounding surnames. His portrait certainly shows the features of a Sephardic Jewish person.
The descendants of ashkenaz emigrated all over modern day Europe.
I did read of this idea of the Scottish Jerusalem as an explanation for City of London having various Scottish Lord Mayors, goldsmiths and so on. That said, I don't think there is proof of it.
@@ValidatingUsername True, but let's also allow Ashkenazi can be a title for different peoples genetically even if they are part of the culture of Germanic Jews. The Ashkenazi earlier on have more Cyprus or Italian like DNA whereas later Ashkenasi fled into central or eastern Europe and have mixes sometimes similar to Chechen or Ossetian DNA.
@@fufu3539 Read the book, "When Scotland was Jewish", by Elizabeth Caldwell. The research she has done and the incredible proof she provides is staggering. I found the book on Kindle.
Always excellent and always fascinating Professor! I’ve placed the book on my Amazon list.
Hope you enjoy it!
Could it also be that Rachel too was at least partially of Jewish heritage? Hence the name Rachel, plus the continuate commitment to the faith even after her marriage broke down
I was already aware that his mother had married a Jew after his birth. I had heard that the reason he went to the Jewish school was because he was not allowed in the local Christian school due to his mother's divorced status. Even if she did convert to marry Levine, that would not mean he did, since he was already born. I didn't hear a convincing argument or compelling new information.
Wait.. Is Henry Abramson Jewish?
😂
What is interesting to note is before converting his mother was part Huguenot (a French protestant group), a group who have seemed to have a long history of affinity for Jews.
I didn't know that about huguenots. I have some Huguenot family background. It explains some of the very forward thinking that we have always had on racial equality and acceptance of the Jewish people.
@@dougfowler1368 The starting event of the Huguenot diaspora is the French religious wars. The start of them is I guess Calvin when he was preaching in France (most people don't know he was French). Obviously if some flee east they could end up in areas like Frankfurt, which was also a place in the 1500s for English protestants. I haven't looked into it though, so those are just guesses at where to look.
Checking this against Wikipedia (admittedly not perfectly reliable, but it's often good enough), Alexander's mother's husband was Lavien, not Levine, though Hamilton (once?) spelled it Lavine. Her (Rachel's) maiden name was Fawcette (or Fawcett), her father being a French Huguenot and her mother, Mary Uppington, being English. Claiming that Rachel converted to Judaism then married, at age 16, a non-Jewish planter seems to me a contradiction.
In other words, I'd have to see stronger evidence that Rachel Fawcette (later Lavian, then Hamilton) converted properly to Judaism before accepting Hamilton as being in any way Jewish.
Many French Huguenots were converted Jews who landed in French Ports where Huguenots were already allowed to live. Being un-landed and second class they had similar trades (silversmithing, merchant, silk) and it is well observed the two cultures mixed.and intermarried. Paul Revere (Huguenot spelling 'Riviere') is most likely of French Huguenot/Jewish ancestry with his ancestors originating in Spain/Portugal name "Rivera". In English it was often translated to "Rivers" a Jewish name. There is zero contradiction. And a slight variation of the the name "Levine" (which can be spelled even as "Lavigne") means nothing. still from the Jewish name Levi Levine. Many Crypto Jews re-converted back and or married other crypto Jews.
The picture in the first few seconds of the video is NOT Alexander Hamilton
Scot is the traditional designation though parentage was murky. Notice he didn't say he was Jewish because he was good with money. Though it's evident his early life included training in a triangular trade business.
I strongly suspect that Hamilton's description of himself as an "Anglican" in a British colony at the time would have flowed more from the fact that there would be conflict of religion - his mother asserts him to be Jewish and Judaism flows through the mother, his father asserts him to be of whatever non-conformist Christian community - which English law would resolve to a default religion of the state.
Yes, Rabbi Aaron Hart (Levi) was Alexander and Charles (brothers) Hamilton’s teacher on the Caribbean Island of Nevis. Nevis was the judicial seat of the Royal Navy because is was the hub of sugar cane, sugar trade of the British West Indies!
The Hamilton name comes from Scotland and Scottish kings have a lot of indicia of Jewishness. They had multiple kings named Malcolm, which relates to the Hebrew word Milcom, or Great King. SH 4445. This leads to the more interesting question of the Jewishness or not of King James I of England, the "author" of the King James Bible. Looks kinda Jewish in paintings. Scottish lore calls Scotland Alba, also an important name in Spain or Iberia. The Scotichronicon, a 15th century 9 volume history of Scotland including "mythological" stories by Walter Bower, relates in volume 1 the story of Scota, an Egyptian daughter of the pharaoh who settled in Spain. Iberia means Hebrew, as in Eber, Ivrit, etc. Catalonia has the Ebro or Hebrew river. European history tells us the Inquisition attacked the Jews of Spain. Southern France and northern Spain developed the Kabbala, with such luminaries as Abraham ben David of Posquieres (linguists tell us the word David relates to the Egyptian word for king, Tut), and his son Isaac the Blind. We should not confuse the modern idea of Jews with the much broader Torah idea of the children of Israel led by Moses, a Levite, not a Jew. The modern idea of Jewishness comes down from rabbinical Judaism given to us by Yohanen ben Zakkai. Do we know any of our real history? I suspect maybe 1% or less. Look around Europe and you will see the names of the 12 tribes everywhere. President Trump derives from the Lewis family, an Anglicization of Levi, I think. Who knows?
Haven't read the book yet, but Hamiton having been considered Jewish by his contemporaries seems dubious at best. I doubt he would have been allowed to marry into the prestigious Schuyler family if he had been considered a Jew.
Alexander Hamilton! Alexander Hamilton,
We are waiting in the wings for jews...
Wow, thank you Professor! Very interesting
He was the Treasurer, makes sense lol
Boy, the founding fathers and Columbus Day parade are sure taking a hit - lol
No ancient Levantine ancestral admixture, no Jew.
He can't be jewish with Ham in his name. Also, did he pronounce it with a chess like? "Chamilton" ?
Thank you added Jew light to nations ✡️💪
Wonderful content
Bring 💛 Them 💙 Home ❤
Am 💛 Yisrael 💙 Chai ❤
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Hey Mike!
Amazing!
Thanks! It is really interesting, isn't it?
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I would say he was not Jewish.
Even if he was not Jewish, his all important contribution to the US Constitution was very influenced by his Jewish education and Torah learning.
@mauricecohen3830 yes, I agree with that.
I graduated a Jewish run school, CEDU/RMA, but we were all mashugina.🤣