Essay --

Many specific groups, based on race or religion, indicate voting preferences towards either Democrat or Republican Candidates. Jews are no exception to this trend. What is fascinating about the Jewish vote is not that they lean slightly towards liberals; it is that they vote overwhelmingly in favor of the Democratic Party. Compared with other minority groups, Jews have been far less likely to be swayed into voting for republican candidates. Throughout the last century Jews have declared themselves to be a race of liberals in every Presidential election. What is most interesting about this is that Jews go against the grain, meaning based on their economic and educational standing in society, based on voting trends, it would make sense that Jews were to vote for Republican candidates. A conservative might ask the question, â€Å"why do Jews always vote democrat†? It is a legitimate question, and the answer is complicated. However, this essay will explore the possible answers to that question, and explain the historical significance of today’s Jewish voting trends. In American history, Jews from the time of the Revolution of 1776 to the Civil War, have played a fairly insignificant role in the overall expansion of the United States. There were of course exceptions, specifically, Haym Solomon, who helped fund the Continental Army in the Civil War. But during the United States’ century as a country, the Jewish population was small and the only significant immigration had arrived from central Europe, and the German states. Those German-speaking Jews came to the United States primarily for political and economic opportunity rather than religious freedom, which was taking hold in central Europe in the 19th Century as part of the Enlightenme... ...in significant elections. Despite all this assimilation and absorption into American culture, the overwhelming number of Jews still remain suspicious of mainstream American values. In the 1960s, many Jews joined the counterculture programs and have remained far left in orientation when it came to labor rights, race issues, and issues involving sexual orientation. These Jewish Democrats still see a country not of opportunity, but of subjugation, and they identify with the Democrats who they perceive are more concerned for the poor, a Biblical Jewish value. Republicans believe that social welfare programs hurt people’s initiative and make them dependent on government rather than upon themselves, or their families or communities. Conservatives further see this dependency as contrary to the American value of self-sufficiency and believe it leads to a sense of privilege