AJHS is the oldest ethnic, cultural archive in the United States.
Established in 1892, the American Jewish Historical Society provides access to more than 30 million documents and 50,000 books, photographs, art and artifacts that reflect the history of the Jewish presence in the United States from 1654 to the present.
AHJS Featured Holdings
The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) fosters awareness and appreciation of American Jewish heritage and serves as a center for national scholarly research. Among our archival treasures, exhibitions, and public programs is the handwritten original of Emma Lazarus’ The New Colossus, which graces the Statue of Liberty. We also collect and preserve records of the nation’s leading Jewish communal organizations, and important collections in the fields of education, philanthropy, science, sports, business, and the arts.
We are located within the Center for Jewish History on West 16th street in downtown Manhattan.
Upcoming Events
On the eve of the 2026 midterm elections, join the American Jewish Historical Society and the Center for Jewish History for the 2026 Amy Goldman Fowler Lecture, presented in support of the exhibition All We Have Standing Between Us: 250 Years of Jews and American Democracy. A distinguished panel of speakers will explore the evolving […]
Join author Melissa R. Klapper for a discussion of her new book Jewish Women at Home in the World: Gender, Judaism & American Identity in the Rise of Mass Tourism with AJHS historian Andrew Sperling. While Americans have gone abroad for leisure and education since the early days of American history, the period between the […]
AJHS’ exhibit The Jack Kirby Way: How a Boy from the Lower East Side Became the King of Comics features rare comics, drawings, and studies of the artist’s work. Several of the iconic characters in Marvel ‘s pantheon of superheroes were created by a man who was born into one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in […]
Established in 1892, the mission of the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) is to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history. At our home on West 16th Street in downtown Manhattan, AJHS illuminates American Jewish history through our many archival treasures, scholarship, exhibitions, and public programs.