A Modest Apology for the Citizens and Merchants of London, Who Petitioned the House of Commons Against Naturalizing the Jews

“The Jews have exceedingly troubled our City of late, and they are like to trouble it much longer.” The ill-fated "Jew Bill" of 1753 (see Lot 47) provoked the most extensive public debate over Jewish status in the 18th-century. It would have allowed foreign-born Jews to be naturalized without receiving the sacrament. The "Jewish Naturalization Bill" (properly titled) became law in May of that year. Thereupon a noisy campaign was mounted to have the bill repealed. The language of the debate turned ugly. The masses were whipped into near hysteria. Jewish peddlers were roughed up. In November, Parliament repealed the act. Jewish legal status would remain unchanged into the next century. For the time being, England's Jews would remain second-class citizens. See T.M. Endelman, The Jews of Britain 1656 to 2000 (2002), pp. 74-76