Constitution and By-Laws of the American Jewish Publication Society.

Isaac Leeser established the American Jewish Publication Society in 1845 in an effort to further Jewish education and defend against Christian missionaries. “The corresponding secretary and real workhorse of the Jewish Publication Society was Isaac Leeser” (Sarna, JPS and the Americanization of American Culture, pp. 1-4). The Society published fourteen works in a series entitled “Jewish Miscellany” before falling subscriptions, a stretched budget, Leeser’s busy schedule, and finally, a destructive fire brought its activities to an end in 1851. Nonetheless its fortunes were revived and two more societies with this name were founded by American Jewry (1873-5 and 1888-present). “The American Jewish Publication Society was the first national Jewish organization in the United States dedicated to the advancement of Jewish culture and religion.” Sussman, Isaac Leeser and the Making of American Judaism (1995) p. 153.