America, immigrants and opportunity
Lincoln museum welcomes noted author November 7th to discuss Jewish peddlers and their impact on America
 

[October 28, 2015]   SPRINGFIELD – They came to American seeking freedom and opportunity. They traveled as peddlers, taking new goods and new ideas across the country. Their legacy includes businesses like Levis Strauss, Sears Roebuck and I. Magnin.

Noted author Hasia Diner will tell the story of these Jewish immigrant peddlers when she appears Nov. 7 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. She will also sign copies of her most recent book, “Roads Taken: The Great Jewish Migrations to the New World and the Peddlers Who Forged the Way.”

The free event includes access to the museum exhibits, including “With Firmness in the Right: Lincoln and the Jews,” a groundbreaking look at Lincoln’s relationships with the small but growing Jewish population of Civil War-era America.

The exhibit closes Nov. 15, and Diner’s appearance is the final special event tied to “With Firmness in the Right.”

Diner will sign books at 6 p.m. and speak 6:30 in the museum’s Union Theater (212 North Sixth Street, Springfield).

Please visit www.presidentlincoln.illinois.gov  and click on “special event reservations.”

The Wall Street Journal praises Diner’s new book for its “impeccable scholarship.” History Today calls it “an absorbing account of how Jewish peddling modernised the lives of non-Jewish customers.”

One of those peddlers was Samuel Rosenwald. His brother-in-law knew Abraham Lincoln and likely sold clothing to the future president. Rosenwald’s son, Julius, was born in Springfield not far from the Lincoln home. Julius went on to lead Sears, Roebuck & Co. to national success.

Levi Strauss, who founded the clothing company that bears his name, also started as a peddler, as did Isaac Magnin, founder of the I. Magnin stores.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln documents, photographs, artifacts and art. It has some 12 million items pertaining to all aspects of Illinois history, making the library one of the nation’s leading institutions for genealogy and history research.

The museum is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. For information on all our events, visit www.TenYearsLincoln.com.

[Shanta Thoele, Communications and Public Affairs, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]