Rewriting Rosewater: Revealing Jewish Ambiguity Through a Disproven Legacy

Abstract

For over a century writers have described Edward Rosewater as an example of a abolitionist Jew during the American Civil War. They tell of his friendship with President Abraham Lincoln and other abolitionist leaders and his role in transmitting the Emancipation Proclamation to the rest of the United States to read. Yet his own diaries disprove almost all of his alleged contributions and instead reveal an even more important role. Throughout the first seven years of his telegraphy career, Rosewater travelled from abolitionist strongholds in the north to the planter dominated politics in the south, only to return north in the middle of the Civil War. In this journey he adapted to local politics and racial ideas, realigning himself depending on his location and who could benefit him more. Yet unlike many examples used by historians Rosewater always sought to stay on the fringes of politics only exposing himself when he needed to assert his loyalty. Edward Rosewater provides a rare and detailed example of Jews who stayed out of sight, who made up the majority, but who receive much less attention.