Haym Salomon
Haym Salomon | |
|---|---|
_-_NARA_-_532941.jpg) Haym Salomon, financier of the American Revolution | |
| Born | April 7, 1740 Leszno, Poland |
| Died | January 6, 1785 (aged 44) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Resting place | Mikveh Israel Cemetery, Philadelphia |
| Occupation | Broker |
| Known for | Prime financier during the American Revolutionary War |
Haym Salomon (also Solomon; anglicized from Chaim Salomon; April 7, 1740 – January 6, 1785) was a Polish-American Jewish businessman and political financial broker who assisted the Superintendent of Finance, English-born Robert Morris, as the prime financier of the colonists' side during the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain.
Having immigrated to
Early life and education
Haym Salomon was born in 1740 in
During his adult travels in Western Europe, Salomon acquired a knowledge of
Revolutionary activity
Sympathizing with the
Financing of the American Revolutionary War
Once resettled, Salomon resumed his activities as a broker. He became the agent to the French consul as well as the paymaster for the French forces in North America. In 1781, he began working extensively with Robert Morris, the newly appointed Superintendent for Finance for the Thirteen Colonies.[7]
From the period of 1781–1784, records show Salomon's fundraising and personal lending helped provide over $650,000 (approximately $19,565,382.35 in 2023 dollars[8]) in financing to General George Washington in his war effort. His most meaningful financial contribution, however, came immediately prior to the Siege of Yorktown.[9]
In August 1781, the Continental Army trapped Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis in the Virginia coastal town of Yorktown. George Washington and the main army, and Count de Rochambeau with his French army, decided to march from the Hudson Highlands to Yorktown and deliver the final blow. But Washington's war chest was completely empty, as was that of Congress. Without food, uniforms and supplies, Washington's troops were close to mutiny.[9]
Washington determined that he needed at least $20,000 to finance the campaign. When Morris told him there were no funds and no credit available, Washington said: "Send for Haym Salomon". Salomon raised $20,000, through the sale of bills of exchange. With that contribution, Washington conducted the Yorktown campaign, which proved to be the final battle of the Revolution.[5]
Salomon brokered the sale of a majority of the war aid from France and the Dutch Republic, selling bills of exchange to American merchants. Salomon also personally supported various members of the Continental Congress during their stay in Philadelphia, including James Madison and James Wilson. He requested below-market interest rates, and he never asked for repayment.[10]
Salomon is believed to have granted outright bequests to men that he thought were unsung heroes of the revolution who had become impoverished during the war. One example is Bodo Otto, a senior surgeon in the continental army. Otto joined the army at the age of 65 and served for the entire war. Among other things, he established the hospital at Valley Forge, where he often used his own funds to purchase medical supplies. Due to Salomon's bequest, Otto was able to rebuild his medical practice in Reading, Pennsylvania, at war's end.
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the Revolutionary War but not the financial problems of the newly established nation. America's war debt to France was never properly repaid, which was part of the cascade of events leading to the French Revolution.
Jewish community
Salomon was involved in Jewish community affairs, being a member of
Freemasonry
Like Washington and many prominent men associated with the American revolution, Salomon was a member of the Masonic fraternity. He received his first two degrees in Philadelphia's Lodge No. 2, Ancient York Rite in 1764. After the war, his Master Mason degree was conferred in 1784 (possibly in Maryland Lodge 27), the year before his death.[12][13]
Death
The financier died suddenly and in poverty on January 8, 1785, in Philadelphia. Due to the failure of governments and private lenders to repay the debt incurred by the war, his family was left penniless at his death at age 44.[9] The hundreds of thousands of dollars of Continental debt Salomon bought with his own fortune were worth only about 10 cents on the dollar when he died.
His obituary in the Independent Gazetteer read, "Thursday, last, expired, after a lingering illness, Mr. Haym Salomon, an eminent broker of this city, was a native of Poland, and of the Hebrew nation. He was remarkable for his skill and integrity in his profession, and for his generous and humane deportment. His remains were yesterday deposited in the burial ground of the synagogue of this city."
Legacy
The grave site of Haym Salomon is located in the
Commemoration
There is a legend that during the design process of the Great Seal, Washington asked what compensation Salomon wanted in return for his financial contributions to the American Revolutionary War. He replied that "he wanted nothing for himself but that he wanted something for his people". While there is no evidence, there is a theory that the 13 stars representing the colonies on the seal were arranged in the shape of the Star of David in commemoration of Solomon's contributions.[15] This appears to have little basis in fact, however, although it is oft-repeated.[16]
- In 1893, a bill was presented before the 52nd United States Congress ordering a gold medal be struck in recognition of Salomon's contributions to the United States.
- In 1939, as Salomon.
- In 1941, the writer Howard Fast wrote a book Haym Salomon, Son of Liberty. That same year, the Heald Square Monument, a sculpture designed by Lorado Taft was erected in today's Heald Square in downtown Chicago. Taft began the work but died in 1936. It was completed by his associate, Leonard Crunelle. The monument depicts George Washington flanked by Salomon and Robert Morris and grasping hands with both men.[17]
- In 1946, a memorial statue was erected to Salomon at Pan-Pacific Park in the Fairfax District, where it can be found on the corner of Gardner and Third Street.[18]
- In 1975, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring Haym Salomon for his contributions to the cause of the American Revolution. This stamp, like others in the "Contributors to the Cause" series, was printed on the front and the back. On the glue side of the stamp, the following words were printed in pale green ink: "Financial Hero – 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".
- The Congressional Record of March 25, 1975 reads:
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.
- In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Haym Salomon was named in his honor. The ship was launched on May 17, 1943. It was sold for private use in 1947 and scrapped in 1971.
- The Brooklyn, New York, is named in his honor.
- Haym Salomon Square is located Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York City.
- Haym Salomon Memorial Park in Frazer, Pennsylvania, is a Jewish cemetery in suburban Philadelphia. It is the final resting place of musician Jim Croce.
- The Haym Salomon Center is a nonprofit organization located in Northbrook, Illinois, that advocates for pro-Western, pro-democracy values.[19]
See also
References
- ^ Buescher, John. "Jewish Immigration During the Revolutionary War". Teachinghistory.org. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- ISBN 978-0823966295.
- ^ Weiss, Amy. "Haym Salomon." In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 1, edited by Marianne S. Wokeck. German Historical Institute. Last modified February 9, 2015.
- ^ Milgrim, Shirley. "The Story of Mikveh Israel Cemetery". USHistory.org. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ a b Moran, Donald N. (October 1999). "Haym Salomon –The Revolution's Indispensable Financial Genius". Liberty Tree and Valley Compatriot Newsletter. Sons of Liberty Chapter; Sons of the American Revolution.He hated the president!. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ "Haym Salomon". National Park Service, US Department of the Interior. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
- ^ Wiernik, Peter. History of the Jews in America. New York: The Jewish Press Publishing Company, 1912. p. 96. Salomon is mentioned nearly 75 times in Morris's personal correspondence relating to selling bills of exchange to raise cash for the Revolution.
- ^ Inflation rate between 1785-2023: Inflation calculator. $600,000 in 1785 → 2023 | Inflation Calculator. (n.d.-b). https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1784?amount=650000
- ^ a b c "Haym Solomon: The Man Behind the Myth of the Dollar's Star of David". Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- ^ Wiernik, Peter. History of the Jews in America. New York: The Jewish Press Publishing Company, 1912. p. 95.
- ^ Levine, Rabbi Menachem (February 22, 2023). "The Jew who saved America in the Revolutionary War". Arutz Sheva.
- ^ Denslow, William R. (1957–1960). 10,000 Famous Freemasons. Missouri Lodge of Research.
- ^ Klein, Walter J. "Lost Hero: The Mason Who Backed the Revolution". Scottish Rite Journal.
- ^ On June 17, 1980, the Philadelphia public was advised of this fact in The Philadelphia Morning Inquirer, complete with a background story and photograph of the event.
- ^ "The Stars on the American Flag and the Great Seal". Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ^ Levine, Rabbi Menachem (February 22, 2023). "The Jew who saved America in the Revolutionary War". Arutz Sheva.
- ^ "Heald Square Monument". City of Chicago. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- ^ "Haym Salomon Statue Re-Dedication". Tom LaBonge. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
- ^ "Home - Haym Salomon Center". Haym Salomon Center. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
Further reading
- Amler, Jane Frances. Haym Salomon: Patriot Banker of the American Revolution. ISBN 0-8239-6629-1.
- Arcuri, James. For God and Country: A Spy and A Patriot. ISBN 978-1980797487.
- Berry, Steve. The Patriot Threat. ISBN 978-1-250-05623-8.
- Hart, Charles Spencer. General Washington's Son of Israel and Other Forgotten Heroes of History. Literary Licensing, LLC. 2013. ISBN 978-1258823610.
- Levine, Rabbi Menachem. The Jew who Saved America in the Revolutionary War
- Klinger, Jerry. "Haym Solomon", Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.
- Lyons, Renee Critcher. Foreign-Born American Patriots: Sixteen Volunteer Leaders in the Revolutionary War. North Carolina: McFarland Publishing. 2013. ISBN 978-0786471843.
- Moran, Donald M. Haym Salomon –The Revolution's Indispensable Financial Genius. Revolutionary War Archives, Sons of Liberty Chapter.
- Peters, Madison C. Salomon. The Financier of the Revolution. Haym Salomon at LCCN 11-23019.
- Russell, Charles Edward. Haym Salomon and the Revolution. ISBN 0-7812-5827-8.
- Schwartz, Laurens R. Jews and the American Revolution: Haym Salomon and Others. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 1987. ISBN 978-0899502205.
- Wiernik, Peter. History of the Jews in America: From the Period of the Discovery of the New World to the Present Time at LCCN 12-25267
- Young, Christopher J. (2011). "Barnet Hodes's Quest to Remember Haym Salomon, the Almost-Forgotten Jewish Patriot of the American Revolution." The American Jewish Archives Journal Vol. 63, No. 2 (2011): 43-62.
External links
