“Haym Saloman and the Lost Pages of American History”�By Dr. Richard Booker�

In 1975 the United States Postal Department issued a commemorative stamp�honoring a Jewish man named Haym Saloman for his contribution to the cause of the�American Revolution. This stamp was uniquely printed on the front and the back. On�the glue side of the stamp, the following words were printed in pale, green ink.�Financial Hero - 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. Historians who have studied the story of Haym Salomon all�agree that without his contribution to the cause there would be no America today.�

When Dr. David Lewis, a minister friend living in Saint Louis, read that Haym Salomon�raised most of the money to finance the American Revolution and later saved the new�nation from collapse, he was shocked that our schools and textbooks, our teachers�and politicians did not mention a figure so important in the founding of our nation.�Dr. Lewis began a search to learn more about this forgotten patriot. That search took�him ten years to document the story of Haym Saloman, which he published in a�booklet entitled, Israel and the USA: Restoring the Lost Pages of American History.�The information presented here is taken from that publication.�

Who was Haym Saloman? And how did this forgotten patriot become a hero of the�Revolution? Haym Saloman was born in Poland in 1740. He came to New York around�1772 and soon joined the Sons of Liberty, a group of revolutionary patriots. He was�arrested by the British in 1776 and became ill with tuberculosis due to exposure�suffered in prison. Before he could be executed, Saloman bribed his guard and�escaped to Philadelphia, which at that time was the seat of the American government.�

Salomon became a wealthy financial broker and the financial. agent in America for�the French Government, which was assisting the American revolutionaries. He bought�and sold financial papers to raise money for Robert Norris who was the Superinten-�dent of Finance for the Continental Congress. The Continental Congress had no power�to tax the Colonists in order to raise money for Washington's troops, and the war�effort was continually on the brink of disaster. The revolutionary fighters were barely�surviving against the superior British forces. It looked as if defeat was imminent.�

Washington Irving gives the following account in his book The Life of George�Washington, The winter set in early, and was uncommonly rigorous. The transporta-�

tion of supplies was obstructed; the magazines were exhausted, and the commissar-�ies had neither money nor credit to enable them to replenish them. For weeks at a�time the army was on half allowance; sometimes without meat, sometimes without�bread, sometimes without both. There was a scarcity, too, of clothing and blankets,�so that the poor soldiers were starving with cold as well as hunger (Washington�Irving, The Life of George Washington, vol. 1 (NY: The Cooperative Publication�Society, 1858, 263-265).�

When Haym Salomon saw the condition of Washington's troops, he was shocked. He�determined to do all that he could to finance the Revolution. This is because Salomon�believed that America would be a safe haven for the Jews. But this son of a rabbi,�also believed that one day in the future, Jerusalem would once again rise from the�dust, the Jews would return to their ancient homeland, and Israel and Jerusalem�would be the home of the wandering Jew. He knew he must give his fortune to help�America survive for the sake of his own people.�

The Congressional Record dated March 25, 1975 reads, "When Morris was appointed�Superintendent of Finance, he turned to Salomon for help in raising the money�needed to carry on the war and later to save the emerging nation from financial�collapse. Salomon advanced direct loans to the government and also gave gener-�ously of his own resources to pay the salaries of government officials and army�officers. With frequent entries of 'I sent for Haym Salomon,' Morris' diary for the�years 1781-84 records some 75 transactions between the two men."�

In his book, George Washington's Son of Israel, Charles Spencer Hart writes, Haym�Saloman not only helped keep the nation in finances through the sale of subsidies to�France and Holland, he turned over to the United States all the commissions he thus�earned. He also pledged his personal fortune to the Bank of North America, which�would have otherwise closed; paid the salaries of James Madison and at least two�other future Presidents of the United States; and neither he nor his heirs ever�collected a dime of what was due him from the Government. He never even received�a medal for his services!�

Charles Spencer Hart continues, "How this came about is a most amazing story of�unselfish service and of a government's ingratitude (a story without a known�counterpart in any nation's history, and an example of utter lack of appreciation of�what the Jewish race has meant to this and other countries" (Charles Spencer Hart,�George Washington's Son of Israel (Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1937,�6).�

Charles Edward Russell writes in Haym Salomon and the Revolution, "He produced�the money; he delivered it ... He was the regular reliance of the poor haunted�Superintendent of Finance, relieving with timely advances a situation that had�become more than threatening. He played the fairy godfather in the drama; he came�in the nick of time to avert disaster ... Salomon deserves a golden page in the history�of the United States, for his means and his services were at the disposal of the�government" (Charles Edward Russell, Haym Salomon and the Revolution (Freeport,�NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1930, 276-277).�

David Lewis tells of one last appeal by Robert Morris. He writes, "After the war was�over, and George Washington became president of the United States of America, it�seemed that disaster loomed on each horizon. One last time Robert Morris appealed�to Haym Saloman for aid."�

"But this time Saloman was laying on his deathbed in his home in Philadelphia.�Salomon could not refuse. Though dying of tuberculosis, he dragged his pain racked�body out of bed, left his home, went to the coffeehouse and opened his brokerage�operation one last time... Haym was able to raise the money needed to save the new�nation from disastrous bankruptcy" (David Lewis, Israel and the USA: Restoring the�Lost Pages of American History (Springfield, NO: Menorah Press, 1993, 41-42).�

The Encyclopedia Britannica reads, "Among his many contributions to the Colonies,�Salomon subscribed heavily to government loans, endorsed notes, gave generously�to soldiers, and equipped several military units with his own money. Robert Morris�records in his diary that between 1781 and 1784 Salomon lent more than $200,000."�

"In addition he made private loans to prominent statesmen such as James Madison,�Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe, from whom he would not take interest. In all,�the government owed Salomon more than $600,000. Generations of his descendants�tried in vain to collect some portion of these loans, which had helped to impoverish�Saloman in his last years" (The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Micropedia, vol. 8�Chicago: 1981, 817).�

The $600,000 debt mentioned in the above quote is considered a conservative�estimate. Jacob Bader Marcus writes in Early American Jewry that the sum owed to�Saloman was $800,000. He says Salomon, "was the real financial hero of the�Revolution: the man that stood behind Morris and actually produced the actual sums�with which the Revolution moved on. He advanced to the government, in one form�or another, about $800,000 of his own money, but when he died, leaving a young�widow and helpless children, nothing was left for them" (Jacob Bader Marcus, Early�

American Jewry, (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1953,�133).�

David Lewis writes, "Suppose the USA were to pay the debt today. Calculate the sum�of $800,000 at 7 percent interest, compounded quarterly over a period of 217 years.�The sum is astronomical (due to the exponential factor of interest increase). We have�had various mathematical and computer experts calculate the amount for us. The�most conservative figure offered us is that the USA owes the heirs of Haym Saloman�two and a half trillion dollars."�

Lewis continues, "The next time some congressman whimpers about aid to Israel,�ponder these facts." Having given his fortune to the cause and with failing health,�Haym Salomon died sick and penniless at the age of 45, January 6, 1875. He left�behind a young widow, Rachel, and four children all under the age of seven.�

David Lewis reports, "Rachel tried for months after Haym's death to collect on�personal loans that he had made to Robert Morris, to the Congress and others. She�was requested to turn all her securities and certificates over to the State Treasurer�of Pennsylvania for evaluation. After several months she made further inquiries and�was informed that all of the papers relating to her inheritance had been lost."�

Haym Salomon was buried in Mikveh Israel Cemetery in Philadelphia in a grave which�is now unmarked Since we don't know which is his grave, we cannot even pay our�respects at his grave side nor erect a marker.�

But the story of Haym Salomon doesn't end with an unmarked grave. There is a�plaque on a brick wall bordering the cemetery that was placed by Haym's great-�grandson, William Salomon in 1917. It says, "To the Memory of Haym Saloman...�interred in this Cemetery the location of the grave being now unknown...".�

Was it just a coincidence that the year this plaque was erected was the same year of�the Balfour Declaration issued by the British which begins, "His majesty's Govern-�ment views with favor the establishing in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish�people."?�

Was it just a coincidence that in 1975 when the U.S. Postal Department issued the�stamp honoring Haym Salomon, that same year the Israeli government issued a�stamp honoring Harry Truman, the American president who was the first head of�state to recognize Israel?�

As Haym Saloman believed, America has been that safe haven for the Jewish people�and Israel has been reborn. As we celebrate America, may we remember the great�debt we owe to Haym Saloman. While we may not be able to repay him personally, we�can honor him by standing firm in our support and prayers for a safe Israel and a united�Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Haym's descendants, the Jewish people.�

Visit Dr. Richard Booker online:�www.drrichardbooker.com or www.rbooker.com�

Sounds of the Trumpet, Inc.�Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies�

4747 Research Forest Dr., # 180-330 (For Mail & Packages ONLY)�The Woodlands TX 77381�

Richard Booker, MBA, Ph.D., is an ordained Christian minister, President of Sounds of the�Trumpet, Inc., and the Founder/Director of the Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies.�

He is the author of thirty books which are used by churches and Bible schools around the�world. He has also developed many seminars and Bible college level courses and writes reg-�ularly for Christian magazines.�

Dr. Booker has traveled extensively for over thirty years teaching in churches and at confer-�ences on various aspects of the Christian life as well as Israel and the Hebraic roots of Chris-�

tianity.�

Dr. Booker and his wife, Peggy, lead yearly tour groups to Israel where, for eighteen years, Dr. Booker was a�speaker at the International Christian Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem attended by over�5,000 believers from 100 nations.�

Dr. Booker’s teachings are designed to help believers better understand the Bible and their covenant God. He�has a God-given ability to communicate the Scriptures in clear, easy-to-understand language with practical ap-�plication for everyday Christians that brings life out of the Bible and into people’s hearts.�

Dr. Booker and Peggy founded the Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies (IHCS) in 1997 as a ministry to edu-�cate Christians in the Hebraic culture and background of the Bible, build relationships between Christians and�Jews, and give comfort and support to the people of Israel.�

Their tireless work on behalf of Christians and Jews has been recognized around the world as well as being rep-�resented at the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus.�Dr. Booker has a daily television program which can be seen on the internet at www.godslearningchannel.com�and around the world via satellite. He has produced over 350 programs.�

 Dr. Booker is a spiritual father to many believers around the world.�

About Dr. Richard Booker�