Abstract
For the earliest Jewish settlers in Pittsburgh liquor was not the easiest business opportunity, nor the most common one, nor the only source of great fortunes. But it best exemplified the economic life of the community at the time. Traits like self-employment, creativity, rapid advancement, social insularity, and communal generosity were found across the small Jewish population of the city before 1880 and were heightened among those few families engaged in the business of making and selling alcoholic beverages.
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