The Jew That Finance the American Revolution

dscn0147_0035On December 15th, 1941, the City of Chicago erected the statue of George Washington, flanked by Haym Salomon and Robert Morris. It stands today at the intersection of Wabash and Wacker Drive. Under the image of Salomon it says “Haym Salomon – Gentlemen, Scholar, Patriot. A banker whose only interest was the interest of his Country. ”

The twelve foot tall statue we rededicated on January 10, 1999, was sculpted by Robert Paine in 1941 and was originally placed in Hollenbeck Park in East Los Angeles in 1944. Because of vandalism, the statue was moved to MacArthur Park in 1953, and then again to West Wilshire Recreation Center of Pan Pacific Park at the request of the Los Angles Council of the Jewish War Veterans of America, who paid all the relocation expenses.

Haym SalomonOn March 25th, 1975, in time for the bicentennial, the United States Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp which honored him as a Revolutionary War hero. It depicted him seated at a desk. On the front side of the stamp are the words “Financial Hero”. And, for only the second time in 143 years of U.S. stamps, a message appeared on the back of this stamp, reading:

“Businessman and broker Haym Salomon was responsible for raising most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution and later to save the new nation from collapse.”

Haym Salomon’s Ketubah “This ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) records the 1777 marriage of Haym Salomon and Rachel Franks in New York. Born in Poland, Haym Salomon arrived in New York in the mid-1750s. He was a prominent supporter of the American cause during the Revolutionary War, and, after the war, he became an important merchant and financier in Philadelphia.” found at the Library of Congress’ official website

 

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Pennsylvania Historical Marker, 44 N 4th Street, Philadelphia (July 2014)

 

 

 

 

“When Morris was appointed Superintendent of Finance, he turned to Salomon for help in raising the money needed to carry on the war and later to save the emerging nation from financial collapse. Salomon advanced direct loans to the government and also gave generously of his own resources to pay the salaries of government officials and army officers. With frequent entries of “I sent for Haym Salomon”, Morris’ diary for the years 1781–84 records some 75 transactions between the two men.” The Congressional Record of March 25, 1975

 

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Haym Salomon
Birth: 1740, Poland
Death: Jan., 1785
Pennsylvania, USA
“Revolutionary War Patriot. He was a Jewish banker and broker whose monetary contribution helped pay for Revolutionary troops, buy food and guns and was essential to the cause. The Revolution lived, in great part, because He and a few others believed in it, because they stood as security for a nation that had no security. When he came to Philadelphia from New York, the Continental Congress was struggling with finding enough money to support the war. Congress had no power to directly tax the states, and had to rely heavily on loans from the French and the Dutch. Superintendent of Finances Robert Morris started the Bank of North America, but in order for it to be successful, required men like Salomon to subscribe to the bank, find purchasers for government bills of exchange, and lend their own money to the government. When Haym Salomon died in January 1785, he held $353,000, largely in depreciated certificates of indebtedness and continental currency, all which were virtually worthless. The Pennsylvania Packet wrote “He was remarkable for his skill and integrity in his profession and for his generous and humane deportment.” (bio by: Maude)” at Find a Grave

 

Read online, or download for free the following books:
The Jews who stood by Washington; an unwritten chapter in American history, New York, The Throw Press, 1915

Haym Salomon THE FINANCIER OF THE REVOLUTION, New York, The Throw Press, 1911

American heroes and heroines Lothrop Publishing Company 1905

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