Description:
Scott D. Seligman chronicles a 1906 battle waged by New York City's emergent Jewish community over Christmas pageants in the city's public schools and traces the larger issue of Yuletide celebrations in America's schools to the present day.
Brief description: Scott D. Seligman is a writer and historian. He is the author of numerous books, including The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902: Immigrant Housewives and the Riots That Shook New York City (Potomac Books, 2020), the award-winning The Third Degree: The Triple Murder That Shook Washington and Changed American Criminal Justice (Potomac Books, 2018), and The First Chinese American: The Remarkable Life of Wong Chin Foo.
Review Quotes: "Scott D. Seligman shines light on an overlooked incident from church-state history--a protest against Christmas celebrations in New York City public schools in the early twentieth century. Filled with intriguing characters, colorful detail, and valuable context, The Great Christmas Boycott of 1906 is a fascinating look at an issue--the proper role of religion in public education--that continues to bedevil our nation. This is an important, instructive story, and Seligman tells it with verve and style."--Rachel K. Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State