Moses Bloom (1833 – June 14, 1893) was an American politician, member of both houses of the

Iowa General Assembly The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repres ...

, and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Various publications name him as the first Jewish mayor of a major

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

city.

Biography

Bloom was born in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1833, and left the country in 1850. He settled in Iowa City in 1857 and opened a clothing store, thus becoming the first Jewish settler and the first long-time clothier in the city. At the time, Iowa City was the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of the recently established State of Iowa, and rapidly growing. With the major

railhead In the UK, railheading refers to the practice of travelling further than necessary to reach a rail service, typically by car. The phenomenon is common among commuters seeking a more convenient journey. Reasons for railheading include, but are ...

soon arriving to the city, the travelers brought new business and Bloom's "One Price Clothing House" became very successful. Bloom later opened two banks in the city. Bloom's first public office was a city alderman, for which he was elected in 1860, at the age of 27. He distinguished himself as a

public speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

, and was noted for his address atop a box car to men departing for

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

service in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In 1873, Bloom was elected mayor of Iowa City. At the time, Iowa City had fewer than a dozen

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

residents. He served as mayor for two years, until 1875. In 1877, Bloom was elected to

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

. There, he became influential and succeeded to secure budget support for the

State University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

, a "permanent annual endowment" of $20,000 a year. Bloom served two terms in the Iowa House (1877–1882), and then two terms in the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

(1883–1888), representing Johnson County. In 1879, he pragmatically turned down the Democratic nomination for

Lieutenant Governor of Iowa This is a list of lieutenant governors of the U.S. state of Iowa. History Prior to 1990, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected in separate elections; since then they have run together on the same ticket. List See also * List of g ...

(from the office establishment in 1858 and until 1892, only Republicans occupied the office). He was also a Freemason.

Legacy

Bloom was the first Jew in the Iowa Senate. According to some publications, Bloom was the first Jewish mayor of a major American city, narrowly beating

Bailey Gatzert Bailey Gatzert (December 29, 1829 – April 19, 1893) was an American politician and the eighth mayor of Seattle, Washington, serving from 1875 to 1876. He was the first Jewish mayor of Seattle, narrowly missing being the first Jewish mayor of ...

, who became the

mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the head of the executive branch of the city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, as well as direct subordinate officers in ci ...

in 1875. This claim is a subject of dispute as smaller, predominantly Jewish communities had Jewish mayors much earlier. For example, in 1818, Solomon Cohen was elected the first Jewish mayor of a historic

Georgetown, South Carolina Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, South Carolina, Georgetown County, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census ...

. Similarly, David Naar was elected the mayor of

Elizabeth Borough, New Jersey Elizabeth Borough was a borough that existed in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, from 1740 until 1855. Elizabeth was established as a borough by Royal Charter on February 8, 1740, and was rechartered by the New Jersey Legislature on ...

in 1843, and is also credited with being the first Jewish mayor in the United States. The "Moses Bloom Clothing Store" located at 28–30 S. Clinton St. remains one of the key historical buildings in the downtown of Iowa City. The Moses Bloom Lane in the city is also named after him.Iowa City, Iowa
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Moses 1833 births 1893 deaths Jewish mayors of places in the United States Iowa city council members Mayors of places in Iowa Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Democratic Party Iowa state senators Businesspeople from Iowa Politicians from Iowa City, Iowa Alsatian Jews 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American politicians French emigrants to the United States Jewish American people in Iowa politics