List of Jewish political milestones in the United States
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of Jewish political milestones in the United States.
- First Jewish member of a colonial legislature (South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
): Francis SalvadorFrancis SalvadorFrancis Salvador was the first American Jew to be killed in the American Revolution, fighting on the South Carolina frontier...
(1775) - First Jewish soldier killed in the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
: Francis SalvadorFrancis SalvadorFrancis Salvador was the first American Jew to be killed in the American Revolution, fighting on the South Carolina frontier...
(1776) - First Jewish governor of a U.S. state: David EmanuelDavid Emanuel (Governor of Georgia)David Emanuel became 24th Governor of Georgia on March 3, 1801 upon the resignation of James Jackson to become U.S. Senator from Georgia. Emanuel served until November 7, 1801, the remainder of Jackson's term, but did not seek re-election.Emanuel was a member of the Democratic Republican Party...
(1801) - First Jewish member of the U.S. CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
/U.S. House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
: Lewis Charles LevinLewis Charles LevinLewis Charles Levin was a Philadelphia politician, prominent Know Nothing, and anti-Catholic social activist of the 1840s and 1850s. He served three terms in Congress , representing the Pennsylvania 1st District...
(1845) - First Jewish member of the United States SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
: David Levy YuleeDavid Levy YuleeDavid Levy Yulee, born David Levy was an American politician and attorney from Florida, a territorial delegate to Congress, the first Jewish member of the United States Senate, and a member of the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War...
(1845) - First Jewish mayor of a major American city (Iowa City, IowaIowa City, IowaIowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
): Moses BloomMoses BloomMoses Bloom was a Jewish American politician, member of both houses of the Iowa General Assembly, and mayor of Iowa City, United States. Various publications name him as the first Jewish mayor of a major American city.- Biography :...
(1873)- Two years later, Bailey GatzertBailey GatzertBailey Gatzert was the eighth mayor of Seattle, Washington, serving from 1875 to 1876. He was the first Jewish mayor of Seattle, narrowly missing being the first Jewish mayor of a major American city , and has been the only Jewish mayor of Seattle to date.Gatzert was born in 1829 in Darmstadt,...
became a mayor of Seattle (1875)
- Two years later, Bailey Gatzert
- First Jewish CabinetUnited States CabinetThe Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
member/Secretary of Commerce and Labor: Oscar StrausOscar Straus (politician)Oscar Solomon Straus was United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1906 to 1909. Straus was the first Jewish United States Cabinet Secretary. - Biography :...
(1906)- Not including Judah P. BenjaminJudah P. BenjaminJudah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
, who served in the ConfederateConfederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
cabinet as Secretary of State and War
- Not including Judah P. Benjamin
- First elected Jewish governor of a U.S. state: Washington BartlettWashington BartlettWashington Montgomery Bartlett was the 20th Mayor of San Francisco, California from 1883–1887 and was California's first and to date only Jewish Governor of California.- Life and career :...
(1887) - First Jewish Justice of the Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
: Louis BrandeisLouis BrandeisLouis Dembitz Brandeis ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents who raised him in a secular mode...
(1916)- President Millard FillmoreMillard FillmoreMillard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
offered to appoint Judah P. BenjaminJudah P. BenjaminJudah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
to the Supreme Court in 1853, but Benjamin declined
- President Millard Fillmore
- First Jewish woman member of the U.S. CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
/U.S. House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
: Florence Prag KahnFlorence Prag KahnFlorence Prag Kahn was an American teacher and politician who in 1925 became the first Jewish woman to serve in the United States Congress. She was only the fifth woman to serve in Congress, and the second from California, after fellow San Franciscoan Mae Nolan...
(1925) - First person of Jewish ancestry to run for President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
on a major party ticket: Barry GoldwaterBarry GoldwaterBarry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
(1964) - First Jewish Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
: Henry KissingerHenry KissingerHeinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
(1973) - First Jewish openly gay member of the U.S. CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
/U.S. House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
: Barney FrankBarney FrankBarney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
(took office 1981, came out 1989) - First Jewish female governor: Madeleine M. KuninMadeleine M. KuninMadeleine May Kunin is a Swiss-American diplomat and politician. She was the 77th Governor of Vermont from 1985 until 1991, as a member of the Democratic Party. She also served as United States Ambassador to Switzerland from 1996 to 1999. She was Vermont's first and, to date, only female governor...
(1985) - First Jewish women members of the United States SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
: Barbara BoxerBarbara BoxerBarbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
& Dianne FeinsteinDianne FeinsteinDianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
(1993) - First Jewish woman Justice of the Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
: Ruth Bader GinsburgRuth Bader GinsburgRuth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
(1993) - First independent Jewish member of the U.S. CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
/U.S. House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
: Bernie SandersBernie SandersBernard "Bernie" Sanders is the junior United States Senator from Vermont. He previously represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives...
(1991) - First Jewish nominee for Vice President of the United StatesVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
on a major party ticket: Joe LiebermanJoe LiebermanJoseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.Born in Stamford, Connecticut,...
(2000) - First Jewish elected official representing large constituency to serve past age 90: David CohenDavid CohenDavid Cohen , was an American lawyer, Democratic civil servant and politician. For the last 26 years of his life, he was a Philadelphia city councilman representing the northwest district. Having served a four year term not consecutive to the other terms, he represented northwest Philadelphia for a...
(2004) - First openly gay Jewish Congressman to be openly gay upon first election: Jared PolisJared PolisJared Schutz Polis is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
(2009) - Number of Jewish Senators rises from 13 to 15 (15% of all American Senators vs. approx. 2% of the general population) (2009)