Open AccessA Social Profile of Peddlers in the Jewish Community of Toronto, 1891-1930
Author(s) -
Deethanson
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
canadian jewish studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1916-0925
pISSN - 1198-3493
DOI - 10.25071/1916-0925.19772
Subject(s) - kinship , portrait , judaism , sociology , independence (probability theory) , immigration , mythology , genealogy , gender studies , anthropology , history , political science , art history , law , classics , archaeology , statistics , mathematics
The myth of the Jewish peddler in North America stressesindependence, hard work and success as the means to success forthe new immigrant. By tracking the careers of seventy-twopeddlers in turn-of-the century Toronto, a more detailed socialportrait emerges, which notes the affiliations of these peddlers innetworks based on kinship as well as their membership invarious community organizations. Furthermore, a more nuanceddescription of vertical social mobility becomes apparent, onewhich notes those peddlers who faced difficulties in the upwardclimb, as well as those peddlers who failed to achieve anydramatic improvement in status.