The Spectrum of Jewish Leadership in Ante-Bellum America


 

Publication Date: February 1999

Publisher:

Author(s): Jonathan D. Sarna

Research Area: Social conditions

Keywords: American Jews; Leadership

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Students of American ethnic leadership have three basic conceptual models within which they organize their data: source of authority; conscious leadership strategy; and leadership function. The model proposed in this essay seeks to position a "spectrum of leadership" rather than just another series of categories. On a spectrum, leaders can be placed in relationship to one another and change over time can be graphed. To test this model, the author examines ethnic leadership in America's ante-bellum Jewish community.