Peddlers, Merchants, and Manufacturers

"With impeccable scholarship, Vecchio delivers a concise history of this understudied and important Jewish community. She explores the essential role of education and family networks and demonstrates the entrepreneurial success of immigrants and the various strategies 'strangers' in the South used to succeed in an unfamiliar environment. This is a brilliant account of a critical subject essential to understanding the immigrant experience and the American South."—Orville Vernon Burton, the Judge Matthew J. Perry Distinguished Professor of History, Clemson University, and Emeritus University Distinguished Teacher/Scholar, University of Illinois

"[T]his book provides great insight into the region's history in general while focusing on the individual and unique contributions of the Jewish business community in making the Upstate what it is today."—South Carolina Libraries

"An important contribution to Jewish immigration and economic history."—Southern Jewish History

""Peddlers, Merchants, and Manufacturers not only advances our scholarly understanding of Jewish entrepreneurs' ingenuity and commitment to building community in the South Carolina Upcountry, it also underscores how the complex history of the Jewish South is most revealing when told through perspectives preserved by scholars and community members working in collaboration."—American Jewish History

"Vecchio's book contains important information that will be useful to students and scholars seeking information on southern Jewry. The book's structure and style also make it accessible to general readership wishing to learn more about an often overlooked, but nonetheless important, American Jewish community."—CHOICE

2024 George C. Rogers Jr. Award Finalist, best book in South Carolina history