Overview

Explores the history of Jews and arson in America Following the Civil War, prominent fire insurance companies in the United States issued instructions to their agents to deny Jews fire insurance policies because of their alleged proclivity to arson. In the years that followed, the stereotype of the Jewish arsonist spread throughout the United States, appearing in fire insurance manuals, cartoons, songs, and silent films. Jewish Firebugs presents the first detailed exploration of both the accusations and the realities of Jewish arson from the late 1800s to the early 1920s. Drawing on such diverse records as fire department reports, insurance records, newspapers, trial transcripts, and humor journals, Jeffrey Marx delves into the social forces that created and then sensationalized the caricature of the Jewish arsonist, investigating how and why Jews became the only racial/ethnic group to be targeted this way in the United States. The book critically assesses how these antisemitic representations were solidified in the American imagination–from the spread of jokes and cartoons, to vaudeville performances across the country. In addition, Marx also investigates the various factors that led to arson criminal activity in Jewish neighborhoods, the unique way that Jewish ""arson gangs"" were organized, and how the fire insurance companies actively supported their efforts. Jewish Firebugs illustrates the socioeconomic realities of Jewish immigrant life at the turn of the nineteenth century, and details what the Jewish arsonist trope reveals about the dynamics of antisemitism in the United States.

Full Product Details

9781479842131

Table of Contents

Reviews

""The canard that American Jewish criminal profiteers torched stores and business was a burning concern for the late 19th-early century community. Through meticulous and wide ranging research, Jeffrey Marx brings light and heat to this previously understudied aspect of antisemitism and Jewish responses in the United States. Marx's accessible narrative will intrigue both scholars and general readers.""--Jeffrey S. Gurock, Yeshiva University

""A revealing history of a largely forgotten facet of Jewish life and social prejudice."" - Kirkus Reviews ""The canard that American Jewish criminal profiteers torched stores and business was a burning concern for the late 19th-early century community. Through meticulous and wide ranging research, Jeffrey Marx brings light and heat to this previously understudied aspect of antisemitism and Jewish responses in the United States. Marx's accessible narrative will intrigue both scholars and general readers."" - Jeffrey S. Gurock, Yeshiva University

Author Information

Jeffrey A. Marx is an Independent Scholar and the author of Smoothing the Jew: Abie the Agent and Ethnic Caricature in the Progressive Era.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available