Blackstone Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Blackstone Memorial of 1891 was a petition written by William Eugene Blackstone
, a Christian Restorationist, in favor of the delivery of Palestine
to the Jews
. It was signed by many leading American citizens and presented to President
Harrison
.
The Memorial was motivated by concern over the plight of the Jews in Russia
where they were being murdered in government-incited pogroms. It argued that it would be politically unwise to ask the Russian government to desist, "What shall be done for the Russian Jews? It is both unwise and useless to undertake to dictate to Russia concerning her internal affairs." But assumed that they would not be welcome in western countries, "Where shall 2,000,000 of such poor people go? Europe is crowded and has no room for more peasant population. Shall they come to America? This will be a tremendous expense, and require years."
There was a solution:
"Why not give Palestine back to them again? According to God's distribution of nations it is their home, an inalienable possession from which they were expelled by force."
"Why shall not the powers which under the treaty of Berlin, in 1878, gave Bulgaria
to the Bulgarians and Servia
to the Servians now give Palestine back to the Jews? These provinces, as well as Roumania
, Montenegro
, and Greece
, were wrested from the Turks
and given to their natural owners. Does not Palestine as rightfully belong to the Jews?"
The Memorial petition was circulated in five major cities: Boston
, Baltimore
, Philadelphia, New York
, and Chicago
. It was signed by 431 prominent citizens from those cities: financiers John D. Rockefeller
and J. P. Morgan
, future President William McKinley
, and Chief Justice
Melville Fuller
; many members of Congress; the editors of all major newspapers in those five cities, including the still-extant Boston Globe, New York Times, Chicago Tribune
, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Washington Post; and a long list of university
and seminary
presidents, mayors, and leading businessmen. The Memorial was presented to President Harrison with little result.
The Blackstone Memorial was turned over to the State Department archives for safe keeping. It has been lost since. All knowledge of the Blackstone Memorial are derived from newspaper reports of the period and biographies of the major people involved.
May 16, 1916, Nathan Straus
, at the behest of (later Supreme Court Justice) Louis Brandeis
wrote Rev. Blackstone. “Mr. Brandeis is perfectly infatuated with the work that you have done along the lines of Zionism. It would have done your heart good to have heard him assert what a valuable contribution to the cause your document is. In fact he agrees with me that you are the Father of Zionism
, as your work antedates Herzl
". After the initial contact, Brandeis asked Rev. Blackstone to prepare for presentation to President Wilson a second Blackstone Memorial. The purpose of the second Memorial was to influence President Wilson to support the developing Balfour Declaration. Rev. Blackstone, though 75 years of age, energetically undertook the mission. Of central importance to the second Memorial was the securing by Rev. Blackstone of the endorsements of the Presbyterian Church and most of the main stream American Protestant movement. President Wilson was a deeply religious Presbyterian. The second Memorial was presented privately to President Wilson May, 1917. The Memorial strongly influenced President Wilson to let the British government of Lloyd George know of American sympathy in favor of the Balfour Declaration. The second Blackstone Memorial was never publicly presented.
William Eugene Blackstone
William Eugene Blackstone was an American evangelist and Christian Zionist. he was the author of the proto- Zionist Blackstone Memorial of 1891. Blackstone was influenced by Dwight Lyman Moody, James H...
, a Christian Restorationist, in favor of the delivery of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
to the Jews
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. It was signed by many leading American citizens and presented to President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
.
The Memorial was motivated by concern over the plight of the Jews in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
where they were being murdered in government-incited pogroms. It argued that it would be politically unwise to ask the Russian government to desist, "What shall be done for the Russian Jews? It is both unwise and useless to undertake to dictate to Russia concerning her internal affairs." But assumed that they would not be welcome in western countries, "Where shall 2,000,000 of such poor people go? Europe is crowded and has no room for more peasant population. Shall they come to America? This will be a tremendous expense, and require years."
There was a solution:
"Why not give Palestine back to them again? According to God's distribution of nations it is their home, an inalienable possession from which they were expelled by force."
"Why shall not the powers which under the treaty of Berlin, in 1878, gave Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
to the Bulgarians and Servia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
to the Servians now give Palestine back to the Jews? These provinces, as well as Roumania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, were wrested from the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and given to their natural owners. Does not Palestine as rightfully belong to the Jews?"
The Memorial petition was circulated in five major cities: Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Philadelphia, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. It was signed by 431 prominent citizens from those cities: financiers John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
and J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
, future President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
, and Chief Justice
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Melville Fuller
Melville Fuller
Melville Weston Fuller was the eighth Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910.-Early life and education:...
; many members of Congress; the editors of all major newspapers in those five cities, including the still-extant Boston Globe, New York Times, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Washington Post; and a long list of university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
presidents, mayors, and leading businessmen. The Memorial was presented to President Harrison with little result.
The Blackstone Memorial was turned over to the State Department archives for safe keeping. It has been lost since. All knowledge of the Blackstone Memorial are derived from newspaper reports of the period and biographies of the major people involved.
May 16, 1916, Nathan Straus
Nathan Straus
Nathan Straus was an American merchant and philanthropist who co-owned two of New York City's biggest department stores – R.H...
, at the behest of (later Supreme Court Justice) Louis Brandeis
Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents who raised him in a secular mode...
wrote Rev. Blackstone. “Mr. Brandeis is perfectly infatuated with the work that you have done along the lines of Zionism. It would have done your heart good to have heard him assert what a valuable contribution to the cause your document is. In fact he agrees with me that you are the Father of Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
, as your work antedates Herzl
Herzl
Herzl is originally a Yiddish given name.* Herzl Berger* Herzl Bodinger* Theodor Herzl Gaster* Cyrus Herzl Gordon* Yehudah Herzl Henkin* Herzl Rosenblum* Herzl Yankl Tsam- Family name :* Theodor Herzl, most famous "Herzl"** Herzl Award...
". After the initial contact, Brandeis asked Rev. Blackstone to prepare for presentation to President Wilson a second Blackstone Memorial. The purpose of the second Memorial was to influence President Wilson to support the developing Balfour Declaration. Rev. Blackstone, though 75 years of age, energetically undertook the mission. Of central importance to the second Memorial was the securing by Rev. Blackstone of the endorsements of the Presbyterian Church and most of the main stream American Protestant movement. President Wilson was a deeply religious Presbyterian. The second Memorial was presented privately to President Wilson May, 1917. The Memorial strongly influenced President Wilson to let the British government of Lloyd George know of American sympathy in favor of the Balfour Declaration. The second Blackstone Memorial was never publicly presented.