For the rest. they reintroduced to our hemisphere the ancient tradition upon which our civilization had originally been based. for they brought with them the culture of a people whose remarkable cohesiveness had persisted through centuries of exile and dispersion. This is. indeed. the hallmark of the subsequent 300 years of the history of the Jews in America. These first Jews. few in number. were the forerunners of sizable groups of Jewish immigrants during the great period of our expansion in the 19th and early 20th centuries. who were to establish their mark indelibly in the fabric of American life. Always. the impelling force that led them onward. as it was also for other newcomers. was the search for opportunity and freedom. The meaning of what America stands for and the meaning of what these 300 years of Jewish life stand for. are thus linked inseparably.
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immigrants