The
history of the Jews in the United States has been part of the American national fabric since
colonial times. Until the 1830s,
the Jewish community of Charleston, South Carolina, was the largest in North America. In the late 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s, many Jewish emigrants left from various nations to enter the U.S. as part of the
general rise of immigration movements. For example, many
German Jews arrived in the middle of the 19th century, established clothing stores in towns across the country, and were active in banking in New York. They formed Reform synagogues. Immigration of Eastern Yiddish-speaking
Ashkenazi Jews, 1880–1914, brought a large, poor, traditional element to
New York City. They were Orthodox or Conservative in religion. They founded the Zionist movement in the United States, and were active supporters of the Socialist party and labor unions. Economically, they concentrated in the garment industry.