The period between 1776-1826 signalled a major change in how Jewish identity was understood both by Jews and non-Jews throughout the Americas. Jews in the Americas, 1776-1826 brings this world of change to life by uniting important out-of-print primary sources on early American Jewish life with rare archival materials that can currently be found only in special collections in Europe, England, the United States, and the Caribbean.

Exploring the production and consumption of British commerical family bibles, this book sheds light on the history of women's sexuality, and the English view of such taboo subjects as same-sex relations, masturbation, menstruation and circumcision.