From Sitting Room to Soapbox: Emma Lazarus and Union Square, 1860s-1930s

FAIN: GI-264528-19

American Jewish Historical Society (New York, NY 10011-6301)
Annie Polland (Project Director: August 2018 to March 2021)
Melanie Meyers (Project Director: March 2021 to present)

Implementation of a permanent exhibition exploring how Americans engaged in social activism and responded to activist movements in both private spaces and the public sphere, 1860–1930.

“From Sitting Room to Soapbox: Emma Lazarus and Union Square, 1860s-1930s” draws upon AJHS’s most prized collection—the writing of Emma Lazarus—as well as such ancillary collections as the papers of Philip Cowen, her editor at the American Hebrew, and the rich labor history collections of the YIVO Institute, one of the Society’s CJH partners. The exhibit will recreate Emma Lazarus’s sitting room and project an interactive “diorama” of Union Square in the most prominent and heavily trafficked areas of the Center. The Center counted 53,000 visitors in fiscal 2017-2018 onsite in its archives, temporary exhibits, and public programs. A further 61,503 used the Center’s digital collections online.

Associated Products

"Emma's Sitting Room" (Exhibition)
Title: "Emma's Sitting Room"
Curator: Annie Polland
Abstract: Opening Winter 2019, this exhibit situates the genesis of the New Colossus poem in a brownstone sitting room, where the author, Emma Lazarus, immersed herself in the debates and literature of the day. Read and discuss Emma’s words and immerse yourself in the issues of the time.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://www.ajhs.org/emma-lazarus-project
Primary URL Description: This website brings together multiple grant funded projects under the umbrella of the "Emma Lazarus Project." The project is comprised of the NEH funded exhibition, and a separately funded curriculum and poetry contest. These three projects are designed as stand alone experiences that when combined deepen the public and students engagement with the humanities across disciplines.
Secondary URL: www.ajhs.org
Secondary URL Description: The general AJHS website, which is home to advertising programming, tours and school visits to the exhibit, as well as walking tours.

From Sitting Room to Soapbox: Emma Lazarus, Union Square, and American Identity (Exhibition)
Title: From Sitting Room to Soapbox: Emma Lazarus, Union Square, and American Identity
Curator: Melanie Meyers
Abstract: While Union Square was developed in the 1840s as a park to attract well-to-do New York property owners and investors, (such as Emma Lazarus’s family), the central location of the park also quickly made it a popular choice for soapbox speakers, union organizers, and activists of all political persuasions. Victoria Woodhull and Emma Goldman are just a sampling of the orators and activists who spoke to the crowds at Union Square, and many a march and rally used the Square as a location for meetings and demonstrations. Women’s suffrage, organized labor, and new political movements all organized events and marches using Union Square as a backdrop, often drawing crowds of thousands of fellow New Yorkers. What these disparate political movements and participants shared was a deep belief in the evolution of the American identity and spirit, and a mutual commitment to improving the lives of their fellow citizens; the topics discussed in the Square, which are reflected in the AJHS collections and explored in this exhibition, are drawn from these animated discussions about the evolving nature of American identity, and how these activists believed American life and identity would continually advance to represent that promised ideal of “the more perfect union.”
Year: 2022
Primary URL: http://https://ajhs.org/exhibits/union-square-from-sitting-room-to-soapbox/
Primary URL Description: This is the AJHS page for the exhibition, created when installation was complete.

Village Preservation: Recognizing and Protecting Jewish History (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Village Preservation: Recognizing and Protecting Jewish History
Abstract: Andrew Berman, Executive Director of Village Preservation, joined us for a night to discuss the history of Union Square and its path to landmark status designation. The discussion includes the rich and varied Jewish history of Greenwich Village and the East Village, including censorship battles, socialist agitators, and the creation of one of the county's first reform congregations. Discover how Village Preservation is working to obtain landmark designation for the historic Union Square area.
Author: American Jewish Historical Society
Date: 10/26/2022
Location: The Center for Jewish History, NY NY
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpfWAiNhhEE
Primary URL Description: This is the permanent link to the program content

Jews in the Gilded Age (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Jews in the Gilded Age
Abstract: This event, held in coordination with the new special exhibition From Sitting Room to Soapbox: Emma Lazarus, Union Square, & American Identity, and in celebration of the new comprehensive volume from Princeton University, Yearning to Breathe Free: Jews in Gilded Age America, will welcome some of American Jewish history’s most preeminent scholars as we delve into the history and memory of one of the United States’ most complex eras. Join co-editors Jonathan D. Sarna and Adam D. Mendelsohn and our esteemed panelists for a journey through the Gilded Age. This event has been made possible by the generous support of Leonard L. Milberg in Honor of Harold T. Shapiro, and is co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish History and Congregation Shearith Israel, and received additional support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the David Berg Foundation.
Author: American Jewish Historical Society
Date: 10/2/2022
Location: The Center for Jewish History, NY NY
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLnAmhx7d1E
Primary URL Description: This is the permanent link to the symposium content

The Relationship between Union Square and Jewish Activism (Blog Post)
Title: The Relationship between Union Square and Jewish Activism
Author: Melanie Meyers
Abstract: The blog post is a reminder about the exhibition, and also contains extra context about the content as well as information about the upcoming programs associated with the exhibition.
Date: 10/6/2022
Primary URL: https://ajhs.org/union-square-exhibit/
Primary URL Description: This is the official AJHS website
Blog Title: The Relationship between Union Square and Jewish Activism
Website: ajhs.org

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