When Barak Obama visited Cairo Egypt in 2009 he said, “I know too, that Islam has always been part of America’s story.” President Obama’s take on American
history is far from accurate. We can go back to a post I wrote November 15, 2011 in
which I referred to the roles of Muslims and Jews in American history.
Yes, Islam played a part in our early history, but not
a part that helped build our godly foundations.
In the early 1800’s, Muslim pirates invaded American ships off the coast
of North Africa. When the United States
became independent from Great Britain she no longer had the British paying
exorbitant amounts to protect her ships. This began the first war America was
to engage in overseas. At the time, Americans just wanted to pass through the
sea and trade fairly with other nations! Kidnapping murder and bribery were
preventing that from happening. Jefferson had concluded that the war was easier
to fight than paying $1 million in bribes every year. After an 8 year war, in
1815, our military victories forced the Muslim pirates to sign a treaty ending
all “nonmuslim tax payments” by the United States.” So, yes, Muslims did play a
part in American history. Our first battle overseas was against them which
inspired the Marine hymn that includes the words, “from the shores of Tripoli”.
In direct contrast to this is there were Jews in the
early history of America who made great positive contributions to the nation’s
success. Haym Salomon was a Jewish man born in Poland in 1740. His parents were
refugees who had fled from Portugal to escape religious persecution. As a young
man, he traveled through Europe for 10 years learning about finance. He ended
up in England where he earned enough
money to pay for his passage to America and sailed in August, 1772 arriving in
New York City that winter.
Haym became an active member of the Sons of Liberty in
NY: however NY fell to the British in Sept. of 1776. Days later, large portions
of the British compound and surrounding areas caught on fire, and The Sons of
Liberty were targeted by the British as the culprits. 
However there was no evidence to support
their verdict. George Washington reportedly said:
"Providence, or some good honest fellow, has done more for us than we were
disposed to do for ourselves". But before the British and the citizens of
New York City had put out all the fires, all known members of the Sons of
Liberty found themselves in jail! Among them Haym Salomon.
While in maximum security, haym became a member of the
American espionage ring. It is believed that Salomon was responsible for
encouraging more than 500 Hessian solders to desert to the American side! The British paroled him, not knowing of his
other activities. However, two years later, he was again arrested, and this
time taken to a prison called "Congress Hill". On August 11th, 1778,
he was convicted of several capitol charges, all relating to his activities as
a spy. He was sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead, the next morning.
He was returned to his cell to await his fate.
Salomon had planned on this possibility and had hidden some gold coins
in his clothes. With them, he bribed a guard, escaped and made his way to
Philadelphia and safety. Over time, he was appointed by Congress as postmaster to the French Army and Navy and to the Ambassadors of Spain, France and Holland. He prospered and soon accumulated significant wealth. Salomon began handling transactions for Congress helping the American cause for independence with no salary. In fact, he made numerous personal loans to the new government which helped make it possible for many of the congressmen to stay in Philadelphia. These were loans from Haym’s personal wealth. He was not repaid or reimbursed.
In the summer of 1781, George Washington along with
Count de Rochambeau and the French army, were prepared to deliver the final
blow to General Cornwallis. Sadly, there was no money in the war funding or in
Congress to supply the $20,000 needed to finance the battle. Washington gave a simple order, “Send for
Haym Salomon.” Salomon came through with
the $20,000 and funded the final battle at Yorktown in the Revolutionary War!
The newly established country still faced financial
trials. Haym Salomon time and again raised the finances to bail the government
out of debt.
Prior to the adoption of the Constitution in 1789,
Congress did not have the power to levee taxes, other then collect duty on
imported goods. The overwhelming debt owed by the fledgling Nation far exceeded
that of its meager income. Among the indebtedness obligating Congress was the
need to provide pensions for those officers and soldiers who had been wounded
while serving in the Continental army. This was their first priority. Repaying
vast sums to creditors like Salomon, was outweighed by the number of disabled
veterans accept a settlement of $100,000
- - but, Congress simply didn't have the money. Salomon’s widow and children were left in
poverty when he died prematurely from Tuberculosis.
On March 25th, 1975, in time for the bicentennial, the United States Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp which honored him as a Revolutionary War hero. It depicted him seated at a desk. On the front side of the stamp are the words "Financial Hero". And, for only the second time in 143 years of U.S. stamps, a message appeared on the back of this stamp, reading:
"Businessman and broker Haym Salomon was responsible for raising most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution and later to save the new nation from collapse. "
This Jewish man is a true American hero. His contribution to American history is worthy to be honored.
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