Haym salomon biography
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Haym Salomon
Haym Salomon was born in Lissa, Poland on April 7, In the early s, at the time of the partition of Poland, Salomon left his family and arrived in New York on the eve of the Revolution. His command of German made him welcome to the Hessian forces, which he served as a supplier of goods. When the British suspected him of spying, Salomon was arrested and confined. His life was spared but he served some prison time, serving as an interpreter in their commissary department. Continuing to give information to the Americans, he assisted their prisoners to escape British captivity while operating a profitable victualing business in New York City under British occupation.
Married to Rachel Franks in , he had to flee a year later to Philadelphia during the revolution, where he began a brokerage and commission business. In , he became an assistant to Robert Morris, superintendent of the Office of Finance, after serving in a similar capacity as broker and treasurer for the huge
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Haym Salomon
To this day Haym Salomon remains one of the most forgotten members of the founding generation. Yet the Revolution may have failed without the financial support and mind of this Polish-born Jew. Still he remains, sadly, but a footnote in the founding of the United States.
When Salomon arrived in amerika in he immediately embraced the Patriot cause. Shortly after he arrived in New York City, he joined that city’s branch of the Sons of Liberty. Not long thereafter he established a brokerage house for international trade. For much of the war he worked alongside Robert Morris to help finance the Patriot cause.
In , he was arrested by the British and accused of being an American spy. After eighteen months of incarceration, where he served as a translator for German mercenaries, he was pardoned. While imprisoned he worked to convince Hessians to adopt the American cause and encouraged British soldiers to desert. Arrested by the British igen in , Salomon, this time was sent
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Haym Salomon, best known for his role in helping to finance the American Revolution, served as the broker to Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris from to He immigrated to colonial New York in the mids. His working knowledge of many European languages enabled him to broker bills of exchange from several countries, including France and Spain. The descendants of Haym Salomon, along with members of the American Jewish community, have used his legacy as “the financier of the American Revolution” to construct an American Jewish heritage with roots in the nation’s very beginning.
Introduction
Haym Salomon (born ca. in Lissa, (or Leszno), Poland; died January 6, in Philadelphia, PA), best known for his role in helping to finance the American Revolution, served as the broker to Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris from to He immigrated to colonial New York in the mids, where he first served as a sutler to the Continental Army before starting his own trading busin