{"product_id":"the-great-christmas-boycott-of-1906-antisemitism-and-the-battle-over-christianity-in-the-public-schools-hardback-9781640126541","title":"The Great Christmas Boycott of 1906; Antisemitism and the Battle Over Christianity in the Public Schools (Hardback) 9781640126541","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Great Christmas Boycott of 1906\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eAntisemitism and the Battle Over Christianity in the Public Schools\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eScott D. Seligman (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781640126541\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 1 November 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e224 pages, 26 photographs, 6 illustrations, 1 chronology, index\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.666 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e“Scott D. Seligman shines light on an overlooked incident from church-state history-a protest against Christmas celebrations in New York City public schools in the early twentieth century. Filled with intriguing characters, colorful detail, and valuable context, \u003ci\u003eThe Great Christmas Boycott of 1906\u003c\/i\u003e is a fascinating look at an issue-the proper role of religion in public education-that continues to bedevil our nation. This is an important, instructive story, and Seligman tells it with verve and style.”-Rachel K. Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“A forgotten protest over celebrating Christmas in New York City’s public schools reveals Jewish immigrants determined that their new nation must live up to its founding ideals. \u003ci\u003eThe Great Christmas Boycott of 1906\u003c\/i\u003e speaks not only to the past but to the present, a powerful reminder that the First Amendment states: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’”-Pamela S. Nadell, Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender History at American University and author of \u003ci\u003eAntisemitism, an American Tradition\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“The date is 1906 and the place New York City, where Jewish families are increasingly ostracized when they protest required Christian celebrations in the schools, especially at Christmas. Scott Seligman, a consummate storyteller and careful historian, diligently unravels this often-neglected chapter in the ongoing struggle to recognize that diversity is the foundation of public education in the United Sates. A must-read to understand the background of today’s controversies.”-Charles H. Lippy, Martin Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies Emeritus at the University of Tennessee–Chattanooga\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eToday’s battles over Christianity in U.S. public schools have deep roots. In the nineteenth century it was an intramural struggle between Protestants and later-arriving Catholics. But at Christmastime in 1905, when Frank Harding, the Presbyterian principal of a Brooklyn elementary school, urged his Jewish students to be more like Jesus, the Jewish community entered the fray in a big way. It was just the trigger Orthodox Jewish activist Albert Lucas had been waiting for. Fresh from battling Christian settlement houses intent on converting Jewish children, Lucas accused the public schools of illegal proselytizing and called for Harding’s ouster.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e After the Board of Education let Harding off in 1906 with a slap on the wrist and declined to clarify the rules governing religion in schools, New York’s Jews staged a boycott of school Christmas pageants in protest. The board’s concession to exclude sectarian hymns and religious compositions generated enormous antisemitic public backlash. Jews were accused of waging war on Christmas and of being less than true Americans.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Great Christmas Boycott of 1906\u003c\/i\u003e traces the Christmas celebration dispute to the present day and describes how Jewish organizations of the twenty-first century, persuaded that politics are unlikely ever to permit a victory, seem to have reconciled themselves to the status quo and moved on to other, more winnable issues.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e List of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e Preface\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Author’s Note\u003cbr\u003e Dramatis Personae\u003cbr\u003e Prologue: Boys and Girls, Be Like Christ\u003cbr\u003e 1. This Private, Clandestine, Surreptitious “Union of Church and State”\u003cbr\u003e 2. Those Ever-Watchful Collectors of Stray Lambs\u003cbr\u003e 3. The Jews Demand That We Give Up Christmas Traditions\u003cbr\u003e 4. An Unfit Man\u003cbr\u003e 5. Systematically Christianizing\u003cbr\u003e 6. I Will Speak about Christ as Much as I Want To\u003cbr\u003e 7. To Say the Least, Indiscreet\u003cbr\u003e 8. The Christs Are Murdering Our Babies\u003cbr\u003e 9. There Is Nothing Harmful in These Christmas Observances\u003cbr\u003e 10. Empty Seats in the Jewish Neighborhoods\u003cbr\u003e 11. This Is Too Much to Endure, Especially from Jew Rabbis\u003cbr\u003e 12. Sanctioned by Custom\u003cbr\u003e 13. Anti-Sectarianism Has Gone Mad\u003cbr\u003e 14. I Will Not Back Down from This\u003cbr\u003e 15. Almighty God, We Acknowledge Our Dependence upon Thee\u003cbr\u003e 16. Not Yet Learned How to Wage War\u003cbr\u003e Afterword\u003cbr\u003e Chronology\u003cbr\u003e Further Reading\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Index \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Potomac Books","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52734389584152,"sku":"9781640126541","price":23.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-great-christmas-boycott-of-1906-antisemitism-and-the-battle-over-christianity-in-the-public-schools-hardback-9781640126541","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}