Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 06/Sam Slatkin

Overview

Sam Slatkin, a Russian immigrant, moved to the United States to start a new life as a tailor. He eventually settled down and started a family but constantly struggled to make ends meet due to an unstable income and demanding family. An account of Slatkin's life was documented by John H. Abner for the Federal Writers Project in 1939.

Biography

Early Life

Born in 1892, Sam Slatkin was a Russian tailor who lived in Gastonia, North Carolina. Born and raised in Russia, Slatkin learned both Russian and the Jewish language Hebrew. At 12 years old, Slatkin was educated enough to run his own school in a farming region of Russia, where villages were built of clay and straw and life was simple. When the Russo-Japanese war broke out in 1905, Slatkin’s school closed, and his father passed. Due to the war, Slatkin's mother urged him to leave Russia. Along with the other Russian-Jews, Slatkin fled to America, and was adopted by his Uncle, a successful butcher in North Carolina. However, Slatkin longed to become a tailor.

Adulthood

Eventually, Slatkin met his wife and started a family in the Brooks. Overtime, maintaining a stable and happy household became a challenge for Slatkin. As a tailor, Slatkin went through numerous periods of prosperity and bankruptcy. He was reasonably successful in Brooks, especially around World War One, but Slatkin and his wife failed to properly handle their money. Slatkin's wife often demanded more out of life, despite their financial hardships. Like many families at the time of the Great Depression, the Slatkins lived beyond their means, counting on credit to get by. In 1929, and through the depression, Slatkin fought to make enough for his family’s housing, food, and expenses. This financial strain was mainly due to his wife's exorbitant spending, but it also reflected his unpredictable income. In 1936, Slatkin’s family left him and moved to Bowman. Slatkin would often try to visit them, but his wife would not permit this unless he delivered money. In 1937, Slatkin's family moved back to Brooks. Once they arrived, Slatkin and his wife collaborated for two weeks, after which his wife grew tired of their budgeted way of life, shattered his tailoring machinery, and filed for separation. Within the separation documents, Slatkin had to pay $20 per week for family support. When Slatkin could not deliver, his wife had him arrested. In the trial, Slatkin was found guilty, but after an appeal, the judge had Slatkin pay $15 per week. In the end, Slatkin occasionally saw his children in town, and would give them money whenever he could. There are no records of when Slatkin passed.

Social Issues

Anti-Semitism

Many Russian-Jews fled to America because in the 19th-20th century, the growing anti-Semitism culture spread throughout Russia. After Russian Tsar Alexander II passed, Jews faced religious persecution while the government did nothing. The reforms Tsar Alexander II had set in place to further the society and economy of Russia were quickly undone after his assassination and his successors did not wish the same fate so they became responsible for the repression of civil liberties in Russia. Jews were largely blamed for the assassination, leading their rights to be limited. Jews were forced out of their homes, and many Russians-Jews fled to the United States. About half of the immigrants recorded were Russian-Jews fleeing religious persecution. This surge of immigration began in the 1880s and ended at the beginning of World War One. In America, Jewish immigrants gravitated toward lower-class communities within larger areas, many of which were overcrowded and unsanitary. Jews were constantly trying to prove their loyalty to America as they were seen as outsiders; “the Jewish community attempted to validate their claim to inclusion in America by proving their patriotism” in times of war and in defending democracy. The immigrants faced hostility and little opportunity as many faced prejudices in housing and hiring. Generally, it took many years for Russian immigrants to earn the trust of the native Americans, some never succeeding. To combat this discrimination, Jewish newspapers tried to “weave Jewish people into the cultural and political narrative of the country in order to prove the importance of the Jewish community in American society and defend their natural fit within it” with varied results.

Tailoring

The origins of tailoring can be traced back to Jewish communities. Jewish towns created the need for tailors so to produce clothing required for religious rituals. Eventually, tailoring expanded to meet other societal needs. Until 1948, certain countries had complete Jewish villages dedicated exclusively to tailoring. With advancements in the clothing industry during the late 1800s, tailoring became the preferred profession for Jewish immigrants looking for jobs. Even though the textile industry in America was mechanized, the constant flow of Jewish immigrants and “The lack of expensive equipment allowed the clothing industry in most cities to fragment into numerous small [sweat] shops... [that were] small, overcrowded, and poorly maintained.” These sweatshops disrupted the economy and hurt legitimate businesses.

The Great Depression

Many business owners lived through the Great Depression, a period of economic devastation that hurt economies and businesses. The depression began in 1929 and ended in 1941 with the beginning of World War Two. Making most of its profit in agriculture, North Carolina was severely affected by the drop in crop prices. “Poor marketing strategies and cotton overproduction resulted in mills being unable to sell much of their products,” leading to falling prices and rising farm costs. Those involved in the cotton/textile industry relied on banks and merchants for increasing credit as they sank deeper into debt. This economic change meant fewer people were buying/producing goods, leading to a significant increase in unemployment. This devastation to the economy impacted all businesses, but especially entertainment/luxury industries (including tailored clothing.) A national rise of unemployment created financial strife for majority of Americans, especially those in rural regions, such as North Carolina.

Bibliography

“Alexander II of Russia.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed July 6, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_II_of_Russia.

“Anti-Semitism.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, June 11, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Semitism.

Fajardo, Stephanie. “Responding to Anti-Semitism in the Jewish Transcript: Seattle's Jews during America's Great Depression.” Jewish Transcript and Anti-Semitism - Seattle 1930s, 2010. https://depts.washington.edu/depress/anti_semitism_jewish_transcript_seattle.shtml.

Interview, Abner, John H. and Edwin Massengill on Sam Slatkin, February 10, 1939, Folder 283, Federal Writing Project Papers, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill.

“The Great Depression.” Digital Rocky Mount Mills. Accessed July 6, 2020. https://rockymountmill.prospect.unc.edu/mill-history/narrative/great-depression/.

“The Great Depression.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, June 1, 2007. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Depression.

Wasserman, Henry, Vivian David Lipman, and Irwin Yellowitz. “Tailoring.” UNC Chapel Hill Libraries, 2007. https://go-gale-com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/ps/i.do?p=GVRL.

“World War II.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed July 6, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II.

Zollman, Joellyn. “Jewish Immigration to America: Three Waves.” My Jewish Learning. Accessed July 6, 2020. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-immigration-to-america-three-waves/.