Source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com

I’ve always loved July 4th. It’s the fireworks, really. There’s nothing more thrilling than sitting on an expanse of grassy lawn with a few hundred other people – including lots of hyper kids – and watching the sky explode with color.

For a long time, that’s pretty much all July 4th was about for me – until I moved to Philadelphia. If you’ve never been to Philly, I highly recommend spending a couple of days here. And if you can finagle it, plan your trip around July 4th. You can listen to the Philadelphia Pops perform in front of Independence Hall, the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. There’s the Bell Tapping ceremony at – you guessed it – the one and only Liberty Bell. And, of course, there are some really amazing Jewish Colonial and Revolutionary-era sites that you can visit, including Mikveh Israel (the synagogue of one of the oldest congregations in the United States), and the Mikveh Israel cemetery (one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the U.S.).

In the city where pretty much every other bridge, building, and public park is named after Benjamin Franklin, I’ve come to see July 4th as a time to rediscover and celebrate American history. So, in honor of the week leading up to Independence Day, I’m going to do a series of blog posts about Jewish American history! (And I’ll hopefully be able to draw some cool connections to JPS’ role in that history.)

To start off, I’ve got some fun military history for you, inspired by the Revolutionary War. Although the United States finally won its independence in 1783 (no, not 1776 – the war wasn’t won for another seven years!), the government did not establish a military academy until 1802. The United States Military Academy at West Point officially opened its doors on July 4th, 1802. According to the website This Day… In Jewish History, “The first graduating class consisted of two cadets, one of whom was a Jew named Simon Levy.”

Source: http://www.usachcs.army.mil

Even since, Jews have played an important part in the American Military tradition. The Aleph Institute has a fascinating page on their website detailing the history of Jews in the U.S. Military. Among some of the fascinating facts detailed there: Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy is credited with bringing about the abolition of corporal punishment or flogging in the Navy during his service in the War of 1812. The Medal of Honor, the highest award given for bravery, was established by Congress during the Civil War, and was awarded to six Jews in the Union Army. And in 2002, in honor of 200 years of Jewish history at the Military Academy, the Jewish Chapel began building a commemorative wall to record and recognize all of the Jewish graduates of West Point.

You may not know that the Jewish Publication Society has, over the years, played an important role in enriching the lives of American Jewish servicemen and women. During World War I, published a special abridged prayerbook and a book of readings from the Bible, and distributed 100,000 free volumes to Jewish soldiers. Then, in 2005, JPS discovered that the approximately 13,000 Jews serving in the U.S. military were offered only the New Testament as their “standard issue Bible.” JPS responded by raising more than $70,000 to send free copies of the JPS TANAKH to those American Jewish soldiers.

Stay tuned for more fun-filled pre-July 4th posts…

-Naomi