I'm An American -- Rabbi Stephen Wise

On December 8, 1940 Rabbi Stephen Wise spoke with Marshall E. Dimock, Second Assistant Secretary of Labor, about America being a safe haven for freedom loving people who have been displaced by their native country. Rabbi Wise tells Mr. Dimock he doesn’t believe birthplace makes someone an American. He believes common faith and ways of thinking are the secret to American unity. Rabbi Wise refers to the “new American” as a true patriot with the pioneering spirit of America’s forefathers. He shares his thoughts on the struggles democracy faces in the world. He suggests the current world crisis may be America’s opportunity to become the greatest civilization in the world. Rabbi Stephen Wise recites "The New Colossus," a poem by Emma Lazarus, which is cast onto a bronze plaque and mounted inside the lower pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Rabbi Stephen Wise (b. Stephen Samuel Wise) was born on March 17, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. He and his family immigrated to New York when he was an infant. After his ordination as a Reform rabbi, the 20-year-old led a congregation in Portland, Oregon, where his liberal political convictions inspired him to fight for child labor laws and for the demands of striking workers. A charismatic orator, he became a champion for social justice and civil rights and was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1914. He later became a strong advocate and vocal supporter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Shortly after Hitler came to power in 1933, Wise became an outspoken opponent of Nazi Germany and attempted to rally US public opinion against it. He organized mass anti-Nazi protests in New York City's Madison Square Garden and called for an end to the antisemitism of the Third Reich. He joined a movement to boycott German goods. He was instrumental in the creation of the World Jewish Congress, a broad, representative body established in Geneva in 1936 to fight Nazism. A friend and supporter of President Roosevelt, Wise attempted to use his influence to urge Roosevelt to actively oppose the Hitler regime. He also tried to win Roosevelt's support for unrestricted Jewish emigration to Palestine and the admission of more Jewish refugees into the United States.