Morris Michael Edelstein
Morris Michael Edelstein was a prominent American lawyer and politician born on February 5, 1888, in Meseritz, Prussia, to Jewish parents. His family immigrated to the United States when he was three years old, and he later pursued legal studies at Cooper Union College and Brooklyn Law School, passing the bar exam in 1910. In 1940, he was elected as a congressional representative for New York City's Lower East Side, a district known for its significant Jewish immigrant population. Throughout his political career, Edelstein faced opposition from anti-Semitic figures in Congress, who criticized Jewish influence in American society and war efforts.
Edelstein became a vocal advocate for Jewish rights, notably defending the community against racial slurs and accusations during a time of rising prejudice. His passionate speeches, including one addressing the equality of all citizens regardless of race or creed, garnered significant attention. Tragically, he suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after delivering one such speech in the U.S. Capitol in 1941. His death resonated deeply within both Congress and the Jewish community, highlighting the discrimination they faced and marking a significant moment in Jewish political history. Edelstein's legacy is remembered for his contributions to civil rights and his unwavering stance against anti-Semitism.
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Subject Terms
Morris Michael Edelstein
Polish-born politician
- Born: February 5, 1888
- Birthplace: Meseritz, Prussia, Germany (now Międzyrzec Podlaski, Poland)
- Died: June 4, 1941
- Place of death: Washington, D. C.
Edelstein was a congressman noted for a dramatic and impassioned opposition to anti-Semite John Rankin, who claimed a Jewish conspiracy was pressuring the United States into entering World War II.
Early Life
Morris Michael Edelstein (EHD-ihl-stin) was born to Jewish parents on February 5, 1888, in Meseritz, Prussia. His family immigrated to were chosen when Edelstein was only three years old. As a child he attended public school in the city, then enrolled at Cooper Union College. Remaining in New York, he earned a degree in law from the Brooklyn Law School of St. Lawrence University in 1909, he passed the bar exam in 1910, and he began practicing in New York City.
Life’s Work
In 1940, Edelstein was elected as the congressional representative of the lower East Side of New York City, which was a hub for immigrants, particularly Jews. It had the greatest concentration of Jewish immigrants—as well as Jewish-owned institutions, stores, and publications—in the United States.
Edelstein’s opponents in Washington were many, including such anti-Semitic congressmen as John Rankin of Mississippi, Gerald Nye of North Dakota, and Burton Wheeler of Montana, who were affiliated with the isolationist America First Committee. Rankin in particular was an infamous bigot who spoke against interventionism in violent terms and used racial slurs while Congress was in session. He was not alone in his anti-Semitic opposition to interventionism: Wheeler gave a speech attacking Jewish film moguls for supposedly creating prowar propaganda, and Nye joined him in condemning Hollywood’s “dangerous” and “vicious” influence. Many of Edelstein’s constituents feared that the racism present in Congress was a sign that the U.S. government might prove no less prejudiced than that of Nazi Germany. Several well-known Americans, including aviator Charles Lindbergh, accused Jews of agitating to draw the United States into the war.
In April, 1941, Rankin smeared columnist Walter Lippmann as an “international Jew.” Later that year, Rankin gave a speech before Congress, claiming that a rally in support of the war, which had taken place in the financial district of New York, was staged by “international Jewish brethren.” According to Rankin, Jewish businessmen did not want the war to end before the United States got involved.
Edelstein quickly pointed out that no Jews had been involved in the rally and that few individuals in the financial district were Jewish. He launched into a speech defending the rights of Jewish citizens, which is quoted in the book The Congressional Minyan: “it is unfair and I say it is un-American. . . . All men are created equal, regardless of race, creed, or color; and whatever a man be, Jew or Gentile, he may think what he deems fit.”
After this passionate speech, Edelstein stumbled while walking back to his seat and was assisted by his colleagues, who brought him outside the chamber. Edelstein suffered a major heart attack and died on the spot, in the cloakroom of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington. Edelstein’s funeral was attended by fifteen thousand people. He was buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery in Masbeth, Queens, New York.
Significance
Edelstein’s death shocked both Congress and his constituents. According to the scholar Edward Shapiro, the incident heightened Jewish awareness of the discrimination they faced from the American public, many of whom supported limiting the number of Jews allowed to immigrate and enter the workplace. Congressman Adolph Sabath, the dean of the U.S. House of Representatives (the longest continuously serving member at the time), described Edelstein’s speech as “one of the most dramatic as well as most significant utterances ever made by a Jew in Congress.” While Edelstein’s speech succeeded in drawing attention to the hypocrisy of anti-Semitic politicians, it did not resolve the debate between intervention and isolation, which would remain unsettled until the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941.
Bibliography
Shapiro, Edward. “World War II and American Jewish Identity.” Modern Judaism 10, no. 1 (February, 1990): 65-84. A readable scholarly article, containing a detailed description of the context of Edelstein’s final speech before Congress.
Stone, Kurt. The Congressional Minyan: The Jews of Capitol Hill. New York: Ktav, 2000. A highly informative book about Jewish members of Congress, with a significant entry describing Edelstein’s time as a New York congressman.