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Trailblazing Jewish Democrat #1: August Belmont

Jason Attermann — May 3, 2011 – 2:20 pm | Jewish American Heritage Month 2011 Comments (0) Add a comment

August Belmont (1816-1890) was the first Jewish Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1860-1872.

Belmont was born in the Rhenish Palatinate and began working for the House of Rothschild at 14. A diligent and dedicated student, Belmont excelled in international finance and quickly rose in ranks with the Rothschilds. At 21, he moved to New York and took advantage of a tumultuous financial period in the United States to open the successful investment firm August Belmont and Company. Belmont became an American citizen in 1844 and began his involvement in Democratic Party politics. Through hefty contributions, he supported the campaigns of President Franklin Pierce and Stephen A. Douglas. Douglas was selected as the Democratic nominee during the Democratic Convention of 1860 and, following the convention, Douglas selected Belmont to serve as Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), making him the fourth Chair in the committee’s history and one of the most prominent Democrats in the country. He served as head of the DNC until 1872.

Belmont strongly supported the preservation of the Union during the Civil War. He loaned gold to the U.S. government to fund the war, and used his European connections to dissuade governments and investors from supporting the Confederacy. Notably during the war years, he served as the campaign manager for General George B. McClellan’s unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1864. After the war, Belmont remained a key backer of several notable Democrats and continued his work as an investor.

In addition to politics, Belmont was well known for his social balls and dinners in New York’s high society. His appreciation of the arts led him to serve as President of the Academy of Music. Belmont married Caroline Sidell Perry in 1849, the daughter of Commodore Matthew Perry, who was the American commodore who forced Japan to open itself to the western world in 1854. Belmont died in 1890, leaving behind an estimated $10-50 million fortune to his wife and children.

More about Belmont can be read in the book Jews in American Politics, which was edited by L. Sandy Maisel and Ira N. Forman.

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