Haym Salomon was a U. S. patriot who was a principal financier of the fledgling American republic and a founder of the first Philadelphia synagogue, Mikvah Israel.
Background
Haym Salomon (anglicized from Chaim Salomon) was born on April 7, 1740 in Leszno (Lissa), Poland to a Sephardic Jewish family descended from Spanish and Portuguese Jews who migrated to the Jewish communities of Poland as a result of Ferdinand and Isabella's expulsion of the Jews in 1492 and remained there for many generations.
Education
In his youth, he studied Hebrew. During his travels in western Europe, he acquired a knowledge of finance and fluency in several other languages, such as German.
Career
As an advocate of Polish independence, he fled to England in 1772 and then to America, where he opened a brokerage office in New York. Salomon was naturally drawn to the American movement for independence and joined the Sons of Liberty. His underground activities on behalf of the American cause twice led to his arrest by the British during the American Revolutionary War. As financial agent in America for the French government and one of the leading dealers in bills of exchange and other securities in New York, Salomon was one of the largest depositors in Robert Morris' Bank of North America and thus contributed to maintaining the new U. S. government's credit. Salomon also advanced direct loans to the U. S. government and gave generously of his own resources to pay salaries of government officials and army officers. After the war Salomon was almost penniless, and before he could rebuild his business he died, January 6, 1785.
Religion
In 1783, Salomon was among the prominent Jews involved in the successful effort to have the Pennsylvania Council of Censors remove the religious test oath required for office-holding under the State Constitution. These test laws were originally written to disenfranchise the Quaker majority (Quakers objected to taking oaths at all), but many were caught up in this anti-democratic ploy. It was Salomon's old friend Robert Morris, who actually introduced legislation to end the test laws in Pennsylvania.
Views
Quotations:
"I am a Jew; it is my own nation; I do not despair that we shall obtain every other privilege that we aspire to enjoy along with our fellow-citizens. "
Membership
Salomon was involved in Jewish community affairs, being a member of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia.