{"product_id":"the-great-christmas-boycott-of-1906-antisemitism-and-the-battle-over-christianity-in-the-public-schools-hardcover","title":"The Great Christmas Boycott of 1906: Antisemitism and the Battle Over Christianity in the Public Schools - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eScott D. Seligman\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToday's battles over Christianity in U.S. public schools have deep roots. In the nineteenth century it was an intramural struggle between Protestants and later-arriving Catholics. But at Christmastime in 1905, when Frank Harding, the Presbyterian principal of a Brooklyn elementary school, urged his Jewish students to be more like Jesus, the Jewish community entered the fray in a big way. It was just the trigger Orthodox Jewish activist Albert Lucas had been waiting for. Fresh from battling Christian settlement houses intent on converting Jewish children, Lucas accused the public schools of illegal proselytizing and called for Harding's ouster. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e After the Board of Education let Harding off in 1906 with a slap on the wrist and declined to clarify the rules governing religion in schools, New York's Jews staged a boycott of school Christmas pageants in protest. The board's concession to exclude sectarian hymns and religious compositions generated enormous antisemitic public backlash. Jews were accused of waging war on Christmas and of being less than true Americans. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Great Christmas Boycott of 1906\u003c\/i\u003e traces the Christmas celebration dispute to the present day and describes how Jewish organizations of the twenty-first century, persuaded that politics are unlikely ever to permit a victory, seem to have reconciled themselves to the status quo and moved on to other, more winnable issues. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eScott D. Seligman\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer and historian. He is the national award-winning author of numerous books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Chief Rabbi's Funeral: The Untold Story of America's Largest Antisemitic Riot\u003c\/i\u003e (Potomac Books, 2024) and \u003ci\u003eThe Great Kosher Meat War of 1902: Immigrant Housewives and the Riots That Shook New York City\u003c\/i\u003e (Potomac Books, 2020). \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.6 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 01, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51978327490861,"sku":"9781640126541","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/JujGkiZPaQ9781640126541.webp?v=1775801660","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/the-great-christmas-boycott-of-1906-antisemitism-and-the-battle-over-christianity-in-the-public-schools-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}