The Lustgarten family dressed for work.
The Lustgarten family dressed for work, ca. 1887. Via Tenement Museum.
New York Evening World, “Bluecoats Keep East Side Crowds Moving and Prevent a Renewal of the Meat Riots.”
New York Evening World, “Bluecoats Keep East Side Crowds Moving and Prevent a Renewal of the Meat Riots,” May 16, 1902. Library of Congress.
The Jewish Daily Forward, “The Power of Women.”
The Jewish Daily Forward, “The Power of Women,” May 24, 1902. Via The National Library of Israel.
Background
Many Jewish immigrants settled in New York City’s Lower East Side upon arrival in the United States. Here, they found community with other recent arrivals from Eastern Europe, often living in the close quarters of the tenements.
Newly arrived immigrants often tried to maintain their cultural and religious traditions. For observant Jewish families, this meant continuing to follow kosher laws, which governed the preparation of food.
In 1902 the price of kosher meat went up by fifty percent. Immigrant Jewish women were outraged. In May 1902 a group living in the tenements organized a protest over these rising costs. They held large meetings and decided to boycott kosher meat products. They also blocked the entrances to butcher shops and ruined meat by pouring kerosene on it. The butchers called the police, who arrested about seventy-five protestors for disturbing the peace. Each protestor was charged a fine ranging from $5 to $10, a significant amount of money when the average US worker earned $200-$400 a year.
The women’s protest was temporarily successful. By June 1902 the price of kosher meat had gone down. But prices would rise again in the future.
About the Resources
The first image depicts the Lustgarten family standing outside their kosher butcher shop on Orchard Street.
The next image is of an article covering the boycott of kosher meat. It features some of the women who were arrested during the protest. It also includes an image of Lustgarten’s shop with a broken window.
The third image is a political cartoon printed in a Jewish newspaper in May 1902. It was likely meant to inspire women to continue the boycott.
Vocabulary
- boycott: A protest that involves refusing to pay for a product or service until a desired outcome occurs.
- Hebrew: The language of the Jewish people.
- Jewish: Refers to a person who believes in and follows the teachings of Moses, or to an aspect of the religion or culture that is based on the teachings of Moses.
- Kosher: Jewish dietary laws that state which foods can be eaten and how certain foods must be prepared.
- tenement: Poor-quality, unregulated apartment buildings that housed the majority of immigrants in New York City in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Discussion Questions
- Why were Jewish immigrant women were concerned about the price of kosher meat?
- What tactics did Jewish immigrant women use to protest the rising cost of kosher meat?
- Was this protest effective? Why or why not?
Suggested Activities
- For a more comprehensive study of European immigrant life in this period, pair this resource with any or all of the following resources:
- For a larger discussion of women’s labor and activism, pair this resource with any or all of the following resources:
Themes
IMMIGRATION, MIGRATION, AND SETTLEMENT; ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
