Jewish Immigrant Life in America: A Bavarian Peddler’s Story

During the nineteenth century, about one-third of the world’s Jews joined a wave of global migration. Those who came to the United States, mainly from Central Europe, sought economic opportunity. Most early arrivals were single men, though women followed in growing numbers. Peddling became a common occupation: with little capital, Jewish men carried packs of goods from town to town, relying on networks of fellow peddlers. Their journeys exposed them to the country’s diversity, from hospitality to hostility, and taught them what it meant to live—and remain Jewish—across the vast landscapes of America.