Proceedings of the Sabbath-School Convention. Constitution and By-Laws of the Hebrew Sabbath-School Union. Organization of the Executive Committee.

The first American Sunday School was founded in Philadelphia in 1838 by Rebecca Gratz, based upon her conviction that religious instruction for all Jewish children was imperative, particularly in the face of Christian proselytizing. During the period 1840 to 1880, the American Jewish community increased exponentially, primarily bolstered by the immigration of Jews from German-speaking lands, and by 1877 the number of American congregations had grown from 18 to 277. Indeed, by 1880 there were 40,000–50,000 Jewish school-age children in the United States and the need to provide appropriate and uniform standards of Jewish education became a paramount concern. In 1886, under the auspices of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, a three-day convention in Cincinnati resulted in a unanimous adoption of a constitution for the “Hebrew Sabbath-School Union” (HSSU) which sought to establish a curriculum designed to cover six years, which included instruction in Hebrew, Jewish history and music.