Eli Faber is professor of history and Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York. Hasia Diner is professor of American studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gerald Sorin is chairman of the Department of History and Director of Jewish Studies at the State University of New York, New Paltz. Henry L. Feingold is professor of history at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Edward S. Shapiro is professor of history at Seton Hall University.

• Series Editor's ForewordPreface and AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1. Origins and AntecedentsChapter 2. The Atlantic World of Colonial JewryChapter 3. CommunityChapter 4. Fitting InChapter 5. The Jewish Communities of the Early RepublicChapter 6. A Second Jerusalem?Conclusion: The Significance of Early American JewryNotesBibliographical EssayIndex

Because of the small numbers involved, Eli Faber in this work can follow families, specific communities, and even individuals in gratifying detail. Throughout, his focus is on the persisting tension between preserving the distinctive community on the one hand and, on the other, seeking some identification with the surrounding society... In workmanlike prose Faber demonstrates how patterns of accommodation and survival were set well before large numbers of Jews began arriving in this latter day promised land. -- Edwin S. Gaustad Journal of American Ethnic History