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American Jewish Immigrant Experience
Three In-Person Sessions
Mon., Nov. 3, 10, 17, 2025, 6:30-8:30 pm MT

The origins of the American Jewish community date back to the 1650s, when a small group of refugees from Portuguese Brazil fled to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (later renamed New York by the British) in search of safety and opportunity. Despite anti-Semitic efforts to expel them, these first immigrants persevered and formed communities in the port cities of the British American colonies. They struggled at times to maintain their religious traditions in their new surroundings, which offered them economic opportunity and a chance at a better life for themselves and future generations. Since that time, Jewish people have immigrated to the U.S. from around the world, most recently from such countries as South Africa, Iran, Israel and the former Soviet Union.

In this course, DU faculty member Joshua Furman examines the American Jewish immigrant experience from the mid-1600s to the mid-1800s to help students understand how newcomers navigated the processes of adaptation, acculturation and integration into American life. Through memoirs, letters and legal documents, Furman travels back in time to explore the earliest years of Jewish life in the U.S. Why was America such an appealing destination for Jews looking to escape poverty and persecution in Europe? How did Jewish Americans participate in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War? Is there a longer history of anti-Semitism in the United States dating back to the colonial period? To what extent were Jews involved in the antebellum slave trade? Who were the first Jews to settle in Colorado, and why did they come? Furman answers these questions and others as you explore the earliest chapters of the American Jewish immigrant experience.

is the Jeanne Abrams Endowed Director of the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society at the ºÚÁÏÃÅ, where he also serves as affiliate faculty in the Center for Judaic Studies. His work focuses on the experiences of American Jews and Jewish communities between the East and West Coasts, principally in Colorado and Texas. He received his PhD in modern Jewish history from the University of Maryland-College Park in 2015.