ABSTRACT
The contrast between the Jewish communities—as well as Catholic—of Boston and Philadelphia can be attributed directly to the fact that Philadelphia had settlements of these two groups from colonial times, while Boston had none until almost the middle of the 19th century. A comparative analysis of the Jewish charitable institutions in the two cities gives a parallel glimpse into the lives, families and successful careers of their civic and business leaders. Even though there was a definite, coherent and visible Jewish community, there was little anti-Semitism, and the families who had made their money and consolidated their position by that time participated extensively in the Gentile world. Because of the admixture of Jewish as well as Catholic and other components, Philadelphia’s upper class was quite different from Boston’s wasp establishment. While Boston upper class families were almost entirely British in origin, with no clear cases of Jewish ancestry, the traditional Quaker-turned-Episcopal gentry in Philadelphia were quite heterogeneous in origins.
