At the beginning of the 19
th century there were fewer than two thousand Jews in the
United States; by century's end the number had risen to over a million.
Synagogues increased in number from a half dozen to over eight hundred, charitable and educational institutions were founded, cultural and fraternal organizations were established and a periodical press in four languages was developed.
During this time,
American Jewry also evolved from a tiny, hardly noticed presence in a few Eastern seaboard cities, to a visible factor in the social, economic, cultural, religious and political life of the American nation.
