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1902 kosher meat boycott
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1902 kosher meat boycott
Jewish women of New York City staged a boycott of kosher butchers in 1902 in response to a coordinated increase in price of kosher meat from 12 to 18 cents a pound. This increase was significant enough that many Jewish families could no longer afford to buy meat. The protests, led mainly by immigrant Jewish women on Manhattan's Lower East Side, though controversial in their often-violent tactics, were largely successful and resulted in the lowering of the price of meat to 14 cents a pound.
The kosher meat boycott of 1902 developed as the Gilded Age was coming to a close. The Gilded Age (1870–1900) in the United States saw powerful robber barons monopolizing a wide array of industries including the railroad, oil, steel and meat industries. These monopolies and trusts were able to dramatically increase prices in their respective industries, and prevented consumers from finding goods at a cheaper price. Though Congress passed a number of antitrust laws in the 1890s, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act, these laws were not usually enforced and the government often sided with the powerful robber barons. This continued until the election of President Theodore Roosevelt, who led a war on trusts and monopolies, gaining the title the "trust buster."
At the turn of the 20th century, the meat industry was still under the control of robber barons who in 1902 decided to hike prices. Initially, the Jewish butchers in New York City attempted to boycott the meat trust by refusing to sell meat, but the trust was too powerful and their boycott crumbled. Thus the women of the Lower East Side Jewish community were forced to take matters into their own hands, staging a large boycott and convincing many people not to buy meat.[citation needed]
These protests took place at a time when women were beginning to exert political influence. In addition to the rise of women's suffrage movements, the end of the 19th century saw the number of middle class American women volunteering in clubs, professional societies, and local charities increase significantly. This trend in turn lent much more strength to women's suffrage movements and provided a model for women to exert their influence in other areas, such as in the kosher meat boycott.[citation needed]
In general, kosher meat tends to be pricier than non-kosher meat due to the various restrictions and requirements that come with it. Adhering to the strict dietary laws of kashrut is a significant part of Orthodox Jewish life. The laws of kashrut can be found throughout the Torah, Mishnah, Talmud and various halachic works. The main criteria for a mammal to be kosher is that the animal must have split hooves and chew its cud. Additionally, a certified butcher known as a shochet must slaughter the animal in accordance with Jewish law in a process known as shechita. After the shechita, the animal must be checked for any life-threatening wounds which could render the animal not kosher even after being properly slaughtered. Finally many parts of the animal have to be removed such as certain fats and all the blood. The meat is then salted in order to remove any remaining blood. This lengthy process and the many steps involved are what make kosher meat more expensive than non-kosher meat. In 1902 the kosher meat was recorded to be 5-6 cents more expensive per pound than non-kosher meat, even before the price increased.
In 1902, although many American Jews began to assimilate and drop many of their religious practices, many still kept kosher. Because of this, the increase in price for kosher meat had a relatively widespread impact.
On May 11, 1902, around 400 kosher butchers on the East Side of New York organized a boycott of the meat trusts to put pressure on them to lower the cost of meat. However, the trusts were too powerful and the butchers ended their boycott. In response to those unsuccessful attempts, the women of the Lower East Side Jewish community, led by Fanny Levy and Sarah Edelson, held a massive protest. On May 15, 20,000 protesters, mostly women, took to the streets to attack the butcher shops. They smashed shop windows, poured gasoline on the meat, lit it on fire and threw pieces of meat at police officers. By the end of the day, 85 people had been arrested, 75% of them women.
After May 15, the protests expanded into local synagogues. During Sabbath services on May 17, two days after the street riots, a group of women stormed the podium of their synagogue to direct attention towards their cause. One woman got up on the synagogue podium, disrupted the Torah reading and lectured the community about the importance of joining the boycott. She then demanded that the men in the community compel their wives to join the protestors. The strategy of promoting the boycott inside synagogues gained much attention and proved to be an effective means of gaining support within the Jewish community.
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1902 kosher meat boycott
Jewish women of New York City staged a boycott of kosher butchers in 1902 in response to a coordinated increase in price of kosher meat from 12 to 18 cents a pound. This increase was significant enough that many Jewish families could no longer afford to buy meat. The protests, led mainly by immigrant Jewish women on Manhattan's Lower East Side, though controversial in their often-violent tactics, were largely successful and resulted in the lowering of the price of meat to 14 cents a pound.
The kosher meat boycott of 1902 developed as the Gilded Age was coming to a close. The Gilded Age (1870–1900) in the United States saw powerful robber barons monopolizing a wide array of industries including the railroad, oil, steel and meat industries. These monopolies and trusts were able to dramatically increase prices in their respective industries, and prevented consumers from finding goods at a cheaper price. Though Congress passed a number of antitrust laws in the 1890s, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act, these laws were not usually enforced and the government often sided with the powerful robber barons. This continued until the election of President Theodore Roosevelt, who led a war on trusts and monopolies, gaining the title the "trust buster."
At the turn of the 20th century, the meat industry was still under the control of robber barons who in 1902 decided to hike prices. Initially, the Jewish butchers in New York City attempted to boycott the meat trust by refusing to sell meat, but the trust was too powerful and their boycott crumbled. Thus the women of the Lower East Side Jewish community were forced to take matters into their own hands, staging a large boycott and convincing many people not to buy meat.[citation needed]
These protests took place at a time when women were beginning to exert political influence. In addition to the rise of women's suffrage movements, the end of the 19th century saw the number of middle class American women volunteering in clubs, professional societies, and local charities increase significantly. This trend in turn lent much more strength to women's suffrage movements and provided a model for women to exert their influence in other areas, such as in the kosher meat boycott.[citation needed]
In general, kosher meat tends to be pricier than non-kosher meat due to the various restrictions and requirements that come with it. Adhering to the strict dietary laws of kashrut is a significant part of Orthodox Jewish life. The laws of kashrut can be found throughout the Torah, Mishnah, Talmud and various halachic works. The main criteria for a mammal to be kosher is that the animal must have split hooves and chew its cud. Additionally, a certified butcher known as a shochet must slaughter the animal in accordance with Jewish law in a process known as shechita. After the shechita, the animal must be checked for any life-threatening wounds which could render the animal not kosher even after being properly slaughtered. Finally many parts of the animal have to be removed such as certain fats and all the blood. The meat is then salted in order to remove any remaining blood. This lengthy process and the many steps involved are what make kosher meat more expensive than non-kosher meat. In 1902 the kosher meat was recorded to be 5-6 cents more expensive per pound than non-kosher meat, even before the price increased.
In 1902, although many American Jews began to assimilate and drop many of their religious practices, many still kept kosher. Because of this, the increase in price for kosher meat had a relatively widespread impact.
On May 11, 1902, around 400 kosher butchers on the East Side of New York organized a boycott of the meat trusts to put pressure on them to lower the cost of meat. However, the trusts were too powerful and the butchers ended their boycott. In response to those unsuccessful attempts, the women of the Lower East Side Jewish community, led by Fanny Levy and Sarah Edelson, held a massive protest. On May 15, 20,000 protesters, mostly women, took to the streets to attack the butcher shops. They smashed shop windows, poured gasoline on the meat, lit it on fire and threw pieces of meat at police officers. By the end of the day, 85 people had been arrested, 75% of them women.
After May 15, the protests expanded into local synagogues. During Sabbath services on May 17, two days after the street riots, a group of women stormed the podium of their synagogue to direct attention towards their cause. One woman got up on the synagogue podium, disrupted the Torah reading and lectured the community about the importance of joining the boycott. She then demanded that the men in the community compel their wives to join the protestors. The strategy of promoting the boycott inside synagogues gained much attention and proved to be an effective means of gaining support within the Jewish community.
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