ABSTRACT
The congress is an appropriate subject for inclusion in a volume dedicated to Werner J. Cahnman. Attended by Ferdinand Toennies, the congress has implications both for the historical understanding of the social sciences and the attempt of twentieth century Jews to understand and affirm their identity. Both of these concerns have figured prominently in the professional and humanistic endeavors of Professor Cahnman. From July 26–29, 1911, there met in London, at the university, the First Universal Races Congress. Initiated by Felix Adler, professor of social ethics at Columbia University and an early leader of the ethical culture movement, the conference seems to have been closely identified with liberal Jewish opinion on both sides of the Atlantic. It certainly excited considerable interest among leading members of the Jewish community in Britain. In 1904, the anti-Jewish lobby persuaded the Tory government to introduce a restrictive new Aliens Bill into the Commons.
