New York City: History and Values
A July 4th Reflection
It is said that whatever happens in New York happens to the rest of the country ten years later. I am one of those rare New Yorkers who loves the progressive and industrial spirit of this great city. The values of this nation may have been drafted from the keen and enlightened minds of our founders, Jefferson, Adams, and Hamilton, but they were played out dramatically in the the urban experiment that became New York City. I recently posted on how these values ultimately define who we are as Americans. While the founders developed these amazing national values in 1776 and 1788 these ideas emerged, in praxis, within the crucible of this great city.
New York City, founded as New Amsterdam in 1624, struggled to pursuit economic opportunities and social stability for a vastly diverse population since its founding. There were many challenges to this initial urban experiment but the idea that "all men are created equal" seemed to be a recognized altruism in this great city before any of our founders were born. In the mid-1600's the Director-General of New Amsterdam, Peter Stuyvesant, was brought in to bring order to the chaos that was emerging with the diverse peoples that were out to make a buck. History records that Stuyvesant was relatively successful in bringing order to this nascent urban community, so successful that by 1664 Great Britain decided to take this city over and renamed it New York City. However, Stuyvesant's success was regulated. He kept the capitalistic business venture going, but in doing so he did attempt to limit the religious expressions of the migrants that came to this city. He semed to think that a singular moral code was needed in order to bring order and that this could only be possible with a dominant Christian ethic. Fortunately for the City, and for the future of America, he had a counter-community who defended the concept that all people, no matter what they believed, were created equal.
In 1654 Peter Stuyvesant pleaded with the Board of Directors of the Dutch West India Company to stop the immigration of the Sephardic Jews to his city. His request was rebuked with the following response:
The consciences of men ought to be free and unshackled, so long as they continue moderate, peaceably, inoffensive, and not hostile to government. Such have been the maxims of toleration by which this city has been governed, and the result has been that the oppressed and persecuted from every country found among us an asylum from distress. Follow in the same steps, and you shall be blessed.
New (Amsterdam) York was designed from the beginning as a place that will welcome anyone who will peaceably be a productive member of the community. While the Dutch Directors were supporting religious freedom, which was a hallmark of their national identity, they were also attentive to the reality of the situation. New (Amsterdam) York was established as the great capitalistic experiment where people from all over can come and work for themselves and the larger community. Stuyvesant had to bring order to the great urban economic system but not at the expense of the basic rights that the Dutch believed all people deserved. This was still a novel and revolutionary concept during the early phase of the enlightenment, but people like Stuyvesant still had traditionally cultural notions and prejudice that would challenge these ideals.
In 1657 Peter Stuyvesant struck again. He attempted to restrict The Quakers from having the liberty to worship the way they wanted. Responding to this oppression the settlement of Flushings (in an area that would eventually be called Queens) submitted a petition to Stuyvesant known as the Flushings Remonstrance which spelled out an early declaration for religious freedom. Here again we see how the ideal of tolerance is promoted by the settlers.
We desire therefore in this case not to judge least we be judged, neither to condemn least we be condemned, but rather let every man stand or fall to his own Master. We are bound by the law to do good unto all men, especially to those of the household of faith.
The values of this great city is based on a religious ethos of live and let live. This ideal isn't based on some secular sense of tolerance. Both the Dutch West India Company and the Quakers promoted religious tolerance based on the God-given dignity of each person and the primacy of conscience. This was coupled with a real concern for religious persecution by state sponsored religion or biased religious sentiments like those of Governor Stuyvesant. New York City tested these values and as a result we have been able to embrace an immensly diverse population of 8 million people and we are able to do that succesfully.
New York City is a proud diverse city of immigrants and this continues to be our legacy. Thanks to the wisdom and values initiated by these two institutions we have been able to keep this tradition going. I love New York City (and especially Brooklyn and Queens). I know that older New Yorkers sometimes get tired of the ongoing changes that our city experience as new peoples and new cultures come in. They understandably complain about the high taxes that we pay and how communities they lived in go through so many changes. There is a price that needs to be payed for welcoming migrants and providing basic social services, but the payoff has always rewarded the city handsomely. All these are nevertheless real issues that affect the elderly community who crave some form of stability and peace in their lives. But as the philosopher Heraclitus once said: “Nothing endures but change.” NYC endures because it allows itself to be open to change and welcomes those who contribute their creative energy to the ongoing economic and social development of this great city. The Dutch West India Company seemed to intuitively know this. This creative energy has and continues to be a gift that our great city offers the rest of the nation.
All Americans (especially New Yorkers) should watch the documentary on New York by Ric Burns and see how this city has developed and evolved to be the greatest city in the world. Below you can see how the late 1800 immigrants helped define who we are through cultural contribution and song. "The sidewalks of New York" is now a classic New York immigrant song that reminds us of a particular moment when earlier immigrants impacted the streets of New York. Even in this song, however, you can hear the recognition that change is indeed inevitable. "Things have changed since those times" the song declares as it laments a recent time that shifts and changes within a generation.
New York City continues to be open to the new contributions that our immigrants will bless us with. We experience dynamic cultures, religious expressions, language, songs and unique perspectives that will emerge from these new engagements. I had the recent pleasure to attend a fundraiser at the Interfaith Center of New York (ICNY) where they discussed their involvement in galvanizing the diverse religious communities in responding to the 70,000 asylee seekers that have been bused to our city from the border over the past year. Adama Bah and Imam Omar Niass received the Faith Justice Hero award for their work in welcoming these communities. While many organizations have responded with aid to Hispanic asylee seekers both Adama and Iman Omar have found creative ways to provide resources and shelter to these communities by engaging the Islamic community in responding to this crisis.
Through the work of ICNY diverse faith communities can respond together to address crisis and social isues as they develop. This organization goes on to further develop the legacy of the signers of the Flushings Remonstrance by empowering and involving diverse religious institutions in the work of advocacy and social action. The mission statement of ICNY is the following:
The Interfaith Center of New York (ICNY) is a secular non-profit organization with a mission to “overcome prejudice, violence, and misunderstanding by activating the power of the city’s grassroots religious and civic leaders and their communities.”
Many people complain about New York City. I, on the other hand, could not be prouder of what NYC stands for. I love this city for the values that we have always upheld and cherished. Our diversity and openness have made us strong and continue to do so today.
