AJHS is the oldest ethnic, cultural archive in the United States.
Established in 1892, the American Jewish Historical Society provides access to more than 30 million documents and 50,000 books, photographs, art and artifacts that reflect the history of the Jewish presence in the United States from 1654 to the present.
AHJS Featured Holdings
The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) fosters awareness and appreciation of American Jewish heritage and serves as a center for national scholarly research. Among our archival treasures, exhibitions, and public programs is the handwritten original of Emma Lazarus’ The New Colossus, which graces the Statue of Liberty. We also collect and preserve records of the nation’s leading Jewish communal organizations, and important collections in the fields of education, philanthropy, science, sports, business, and the arts.
We are located within the Center for Jewish History on West 16th street in downtown Manhattan.
Upcoming Events
Julie Salamon, New York Times best-selling author, sits down with author Joel Dinerstein to discusses his latest book, The Last of the Ellis Island Jews: A Brooklyn Memoir. Dinerstein is the founding editor of a new series, Lost Classics of Jewish Literature, for the University of New Orleans Press. He is a Professor of English […]
Join author Melissa R. Klapper for a discussion of her new book Jewish Women at Home in the World: Gender, Judaism & American Identity in the Rise of Mass Tourism with AJHS historian Andrew Sperling. While Americans have gone abroad for leisure and education since the early days of American history, the period between the […]
Author Hannah E. Zaves-Greene joins us to discuss her new book, Able to Be American: Disability in US Immigration Policy and the American Jewish Response with Sarah Imhoff. Epilepsy. Heart disease. Varicose veins. “Feeble-mindedness.” In 1891, Congress unambiguously codified the popular sentiment that “defects” like these should preclude admission to the United States. Expanding the eugenics-rooted […]
Established in 1892, the mission of the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) is to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history. At our home on West 16th Street in downtown Manhattan, AJHS illuminates American Jewish history through our many archival treasures, scholarship, exhibitions, and public programs.