Advocacy

In the 1880s, Emma Lazarus became increasingly convinced that "the time has come for actions rather than words." She visited Russian refugees housed on Ward's Island, and helped at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Moved by the exiles' struggles, she was also aware of how little she had in common with them. While working among Russian immigrants, she would sometimes joke, "What would my society friends say if they saw me here?"

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Lazarus' ideas on the importance of manual labor helped lead to the establishment of the Hebrew Technical Institute. These views also betrayed an upper class tint as she spoke of "the wretched quality of work performed by the vast majority of American mechanics and domestic servants."

In 1883, Lazarus also formed the Society for the Improvement and Colonization of East European Jews. On her 1883 European trip she met with Jewish philanthropists like Claude Montefiore to gather support. However, much to her disappointment, the organization collapsed in 1884.

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Emma Lazarus' advocacy included secular causes as well as Jewish ones. She corresponded with the activist Henry George, and published a sonnet in honor of his book, Progress and Poverty. She also wrote of her discussions with William Morris in an article in Century. While sympathetic to Morris' socialist ideas, Lazarus felt his theories were not applicable to America where "the avenues to ease and competency broad and numerous."

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Notes

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