History of Jewish Education in The United States Before The 20th Century

The history of Jewish education in the United States before the 20th century is as old as the United States itself; it's a part of overall U.S. Jewish history.

That history begins early in the history of the first Jewish congregation in New York. Attached to that congregation was a school in which secular as well as Hebrew branches were taught. It was one of the earliest general schools in America; poor children received tuition-free instruction.

Religious instruction was established in connection with most of the early synagogues. For ordinary secular education American Jews resorted, in large measure, to the nonsectarian schools and colleges. There was a Jewish matriculate at the University of Pennsylvania, for instance, as early as 1772. The older communities, however, before the general establishment of the public-school system, frequently provided regular instruction in the secular branches. These schools ordinarily were adjuncts of the religious schools maintained by the congregations.

In Philadelphia as early as 1838 a general Sunday-school, quite irrespective of congregational organization, was established, largely through the instrumentality of Rebecca Gratz, who was its superintendent and president until 1864. This was the beginning of a movement, which has spread throughout the country, for the organization of educational work along lines quite independent of congregational activities.