Product Description

Studio: E1 Entertainment Release Date: 09/16/2003 Run time: 60 minutes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79845 in DVD
• Brand: Koch International
• Released on: 2001-04-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.com
The story of Jews in America is told in "Present at the Creation 1654-1820," the first installment of a series that was shown on PBS, They Came for Good. Beginning with the arrival of 23 Brazilian Jews who fled persecution and arrived unwelcome at the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam in 1654, the story involves a number of heroic figures who fought for the rights of Jews to own property and practice their religion in the New World. One such colonist, Asher Levy, whose name is memorialized on several landmarks in New York City today, was a successful merchant who fought against being treated as a second-class citizen. During the American Revolution, Jewish financiers helped the Colonial cause, and in what would have been startling in a European country of that era, President George Washington wrote a letter expressing his wishes that America not practice bigotry directed at Jews. Actors in period costume appear as Jews of the time, telling stories derived from diaries and letters of how they managed to mesh in the new country while at the same time keeping to the strict Jewish customs. This is a very intelligently produced look at an aspect of early American history that is often overlooked. --Robert J. McNamara

From the Back Cover
It was the beginning of a new chapter in the story of an ancient civilization. A group of 23 Brazilian Jews landed on Manhattan Island, then the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. Never fully accepted, these Jews and their descendents kept their Jewish identities hidden so as to better mix in their host society. Colonial paintings of upwardly mobile Jews are indistinguishable from those of their Gentile contemporaries. Unwilling to accept second-class citizenship, one of these new Americans, Asher Levy, spent his life fighting for equal rights. Later, The American Revolution galvanized most American Jews into zealous support for the patriotic cause. Present at the Creation also profiles the lives of other important figures including Rebecca Gratz, who become the role model for Jewish women in public service, and Uriah Levy, who fought for equal rights in the U.S. military.

They Came For Good is the first comprehensive series to tell the little known story of 250 years of Jewish immigration in America. From the first Brazilian Jews who landed on Manhattan Island in 1654 through the end of the 19th Century, over 250,000 Jews came to our shores. They Came For Good looks at where they settled, how they adapted, survived and helped shape our country. Thoroughly researched using letters, diaries and documents of the time, the series also brings to light the first Jewish Americans who made significant contributions to American society. Assimilating into this society while maintaining a separate group identity was an issue for Jews from the very beginning, and with our heritage as a nation of immigrants, this story is therefore about all Americans. Approximately 60 Minutes.

Customer Reviews

A video history of Jews in the U.S. (part 1 of 2)
This hour-long video is the first part of a two-disc series on the history of Jews in the United States. This part covers the period from 1654, when the first Jews arrived in North America, to 1820, the beginning of the massive wave of Jewish immigration from Germany and Central Europe. (The second part, "Taking Root," covers the period from 1820 to 1880.) Both parts are informative and interesting.

One complaint: Like another reviewer, I found it strange that the film refers to North America prior to European colonization as "empty" and "unexplored." Also, one commentator in the film says that "there was very little anti-slavery sentiment in the colonies," but I imagine there was plenty of anti-slavery sentiment among the slaves, who constituted something like fifteen percent of the population by the time of the Revolution.

Chapter titles:
- 23 Brazilian Jews land on Manhattan
- Asher Levy fights for equal rights
- First Jewish synagogue built in 1720
- Rhode Island welcomes Jewish settlers
- Jews and the Revolutionary War
- Influence of Mordecai Manuel Noah
- Rebecca Gratz's life of public service
- Uriah Levy versus the U.S. Navy
- Next exodus of European Jews begins

Another good video on Judaism in the U.S. is "A Life Apart: Hasidism in America." And an excellent book on the history of Judaism in the U.S. is Jonathan Sarna's "American Judaism: A History."

Very Important Documentary
They Came for Good, a history of the Jews from 1654 to 1820 in the United States, is an important documentary. I appreciate all of the research that was done to produce this DVD. I will definitely recommend it to others.

A historical documentary worth seeing.
A documentary of the Jewish history during and after the creation of the United states of America.

It speaks about the role of the Jews in the American life and history.

Whether during the constitution or civil war they were always there as American Jews. Soldiers ,philosphers ,lawyers and economists .

A worth watching tape.