(British Parliamentary Act). An Act for naturalizing such foreign Protestants, and others therein mentioned, as are settled, or shall settle in any of His Majesty’s Colonies in America

(ANGLO-AMERICAN JUDAICA)

John Baskett

London

1739

13 George II, c.7

This Act, admitting Jews to naturalization in the Colonies after seven years of residence, is a landmark in the history of Jewish emancipation. It enabled Jews to omit the words “upon the true faith of a Christian" when taking the Oath of Abjuration. It is interesting to follow the markedly differing policies pursued by the British Crown regarding Jewish subjects residing in England and those in America. Not until the passage of the so-called Jew Bill of 1753 would foreign-born Jews be permitted to become naturalized citizens of England without first receiving the sacrament. See T.M. Endelman, The Jews of Britain, 1656 to 2000 (2002), p. 74