American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt and the Jews

by Andrew Porwancher

A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt’s deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.

As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.

Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith.

Genres: Judaism, Biography, American History, Nonfiction, History, Religion

368 pages, Hardcover

First published June 10, 2025

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book about a complicated relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and the American Jewish community.

[Max Fudim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being packed with historical facts, the book was easy to read. I learned a great deal from it.

[Barbara Geffen · Rating 4 out of 5]

TR began his public career as a lowly public servant. He then became police commissioner in NYC to the newly elected Republican mayor. His assignment was to clean up the corruption of Tammany Hall. At age 36, TR enthusiastically embraced this task, visiting every part of NYC. He engaged with the residents, including the impoverished Jews residing in the overcrowded tenements of the lower East Side. He got to know some of them, impressing them with his curiosity and empathy. He encouraged a young Jew to take the exam to become a police officer; he had been introduced to TR as a local hero for saving people from a tenement fire.He based his decision on Otto Raphael’s ability, heroism and his integrity; these traits reminded TR of the Maccabees. TR learned that TR was a boxer; they became sparring partners and lifelong friends. Once TR ran for president, these East Side Jews supported his candidacy. The uptown Jews also were on his side. He knew how to court them, as they were in the same social class, although Jews and gentiles didn’t mix. As president, TR had to deal with international Jewish issues, especially in Russia, which American Jews expected him to resolve. He tried but the Czar didn’t care. His efforts were appreciated at home and abroad. TR also had an antisemitic streak; he was a part of his social class and was conflicted at times, for which his Jewish supporters forgave him. In his post-presidency, TR continued to fight for Jewish causes. The night before his burial, the one man allowed to be watch over his body was Otto Raphael. A kosher Jew, poor Russian immigrant who rose to become a friend of the president; they both knew that if he had remained in Russia, Otto would have been slaughtered in a pogrom. Only in America!

[Mannie Liscum · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a great many books written about Teddy Roosevelt; some like Doris Kearns Goodwin’s ‘The Bully Pulpit,’ are tour de force works. Andrew Porwancher’s ‘American Maccabee’ may not have the literal weight or scope of Goodwin’s work, but this reviewer would argue that is deserves praise consistent with that work. The focus of ‘American Maccabee’ is one the little told life-long connection TR had with the Jewish people. Though fraught with many apparent inconsistencies that oft plagued TRs stances, utterances, and policies, it seems clear that TR maintained a great reverence for Jews as human beings valuable in every way to other human beings. Did he slip into antisemitic tropes on occasion? Did he support on occasion bad policy or fail to intervene in the most positive way on behalf of Jews? Yes to all these; yet, he never failed to maintain a consistent stance on plurality, religious freedom, and the overall decency of men of all ethnicities, creeds, origins. TR was indeed a flawed man but as Porwancher’s outstandingly narrated study shows, TR was also a goyish Maccabee at heart.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teddy Roosevelt was a complicated man. His relationship with American Jews reflected that. Mostly he was a supporter of American Jews, wanting them to be part of the American melting pot and promoting them when he was NYC Police Commissioner, Colonel in the Rough Riders and as President. Yet he was capable of uttering hurtful AntiSemitic tropes and playing realpolitik that was potentially hurtful to Jews but beneficial to a broad swath of other interests. We’re all complicated people, why not TR?

Of particular interest is the way Jews were being horribly treated around the world - Romania and Russia to name two places - during this time. Warm ups to the Holocaust. Hearing a US President support Jews could only have been a balm to these poor, suffering Jews.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really surprised by this. It’s a history book but written as a novelization of the events. So it was pleasant to read and presented in a logical, linear way. And it was a history I had never heard of. A fascinating look at systemic discrimination and the complex relationship of Teddy Roosevelt with Jews in the US and abroad; He was an advocate, a friend, and a shrewd politician who chose his battles delicately, while doing his best to follow his conscience and his morals.

[Adam Katzenell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. Teddy Roosevelt’s attitudes towards the Jewish people is best summed up by this sentence from the epilogue - that references the night after he died as he laid in his coffin: “In these small hours, as the world slept, Roosevelt’s sole companion was a Russian-Jewish immigrant: Otto Raphael.”

[Seth Petok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friend and advocate for Jews.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a big fan of TR I was alittle disappointed. There is some good stuff here but perhaps not enough for a book length manuscript -- more like an extended research paper.

[Bob T · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the title may limit the audience, the book actually should have broad appeal to anyone interested in Theodore Roosevelt, presidential history, or foreign affairs in the early 20th century.

[Edward Weiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like histories and biographies. I learned a great deal.

[Marge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. Each chapter focuses on a different challenge TR faced re Jewish Americans. I certainly learned a lot but I think tighter editing would have made it a more enjoyable read.

[Maggie Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that made me think and was eloquently written about such a pivotal time period! TR was a historical heir to the American Democracy, and I feel more enlightened and inspired by him after this read.