Andrew Porwancher is the author of the new book American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt & the Jews. His other books include The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton. He is a professor of history at Arizona State University.
Q: What inspired you to write American Maccabee?
A: I was inspired to write this book because of Theodore Roosevelt's appreciation of Alexander Hamilton. Previously I had written a book entitled The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton, and I was curious to see if--given Roosevelt's alignment with Hamilton broadly--TR shared Hamilton's affection for the Jewish people. And in large part, Roosevelt did.
Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?
A: I began by reading through Roosevelt's correspondence with Jewish figures, and from there expanding my circle of materials to include contemporary newspapers, memoirs, and political texts. It was an embarrassment of riches!
I learned many things that surprised me, including that the sole person allowed to keep vigil over Roosevelt's body the night before his funeral was a Russian-Jewish immigrant.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and the Jewish community?
A: Roosevelt had a genuine affinity for the Jewish people. And his historic success at the polls with Jewish voters is compelling testimony that the feeling was mutual.
But the relationship was imperfect. If Roosevelt inspired his Jewish supporters at some moments, he disappointed them in others. His complex ties to the Jewish community reflect the deeper contradictions of Jewish life in America. Jews have flourished in the United States but also encountered very real bigotry.
I hope if readers come away from my book with one lesson, it's the importance of nuance when reckoning with the historical record.
Q: The scholar Lila Corwin Berman said of the book, “This book is as much a presidential history as a sophisticated inquiry into the status and standing of American Jews in the early twentieth century.” What do you think of that description?
A: Well, I'm very grateful to Professor Berman for that generous description; it's an honor to have a scholar of her caliber think well of my book.
And I'm appreciative that she is emphasizing how American Maccabee not only uses the Jewish story to understand Roosevelt's own but also uses Roosevelt to open up Jewish history.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Right now I'm working on a book project entitled The Great Jewish Lunacy Trial.
It tells the story of America's first diplomat to Jerusalem who converted to Judaism in the Holy City and then returned home to Philadelphia in 1848—only to find himself charged with lunacy in a court of law for having adopted the Jewish faith. His ensuing trial became a momentous touchstone for religious freedom.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I loved writing about Roosevelt because he is a bundle of contradictions: war hero and peacemaker, literary talent and pugilistic cowboy, pioneering environmentalist and gun-wielding hunter. In so many respects, he personified America with its countless paradoxes.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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