July 4, 2026 marked the United States of America’s Semiquincentennial—250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Arnold Kaplan, who started the Kaplan Collection of Early American Judaica with his late wife Deanne, will share with us stories and items from that collection, now archived at the University of Pennsylvania. These stories offer vignettes of the Jewish involvement in the history of the formation of the United States of America.
From Washington’s Staff to Civil Rights Champion: The Incredible Story of Benjamin Nones
From Bordeaux to the Battlefield
Born in Bordeaux, France, in 1757, Benjamin Nones emigrated to Philadelphia around 1772. When war broke out, Nones enthusiastically answered the call of his adopted country, joining the Continental Army in 1777.
His service during the war was distinguished and varied:
- Staff Officer: He served as an aide-de-camp on the staffs of both General George Washington and his former French schoolmate, the Marquis de Lafayette.
- Frontline Bravery: Serving under Count Casimir Pulaski’s legion, Nones fought bravely at the Siege of Savannah in 1779, earning citations for his conduct.
- Prisoner of War: Captured by British forces during the Siege of Charleston in 1780, he endured imprisonment until being freed following the decisive Franco-American victory at Yorktown in 1781.
By the end of the war, Nones had earned the rank of Major.
Pillars of Philadelphia’s Community
Following the war, Major Nones settled in Philadelphia to raise a family with his wife, Miriam Marks. Though he faced financial difficulties supporting their 14 children, he remained a key civic and political figure. He worked as a merchant, broker, notary public, and government interpreter fluent in French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Nones was also a cornerstone of Philadelphia’s early Jewish community. He served as parnas (president) of Congregation Mikveh Israel for 13 years.He helped lead the Society of Ezrath Orchim, Philadelphia’s first Jewish charitable organization.He maintained strong abolitionist convictions, freeing his own enslaved workers following the Revolutionary War.
The 1800 Gazette Controversy: Turning Insults Into Honor
In August 1800, Nones attended a Democratic-Republican convention. A rival Federalist newspaper, the Gazette of the United States, published a bitter antisemitic attack labeling him simply as “… a Jew, a Republican, and poor.”
When the Gazette refused to print Nones’s response, William Duane’s Aurora stepped in to publish what became one of early America’s most famous defenses of religious freedom and civil dignity. To read the full printed article, link to Periodical; Philadelphia Aurora; Nones, Benjamin; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; 1800 August 13 – Colenda Digital Repository
Rather than denying the charges, Nones wore them as badges of honor:
“I am a Jew. I glory in belonging to that persuasion … which has preserved its faith secure and undefiled, for near three thousand years … I am a Republican! … In republics we have rights, in monarchies we live but to experience wrongs …. How then can a Jew but be a Republican? …
“But I am poor, I am so, my family also is large, but soberly and decently brought up. They have not been taught to revile a Christian because his religion is not so old as theirs …”
Nones’s life remains a powerful testament to the early Jewish-American experience, proving that patriotism and faith were deeply interwoven in the founding of the United States.
The Kaplan Collection site is www.kaplancollection.org
Photo captions: Portraits of Benjamin Nones and his wife with one of their 14 children.