Morris Michael Edelstein (February 5, 1888 – June 4, 1941) was a Polish-born

Congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Representative and lawyer from the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, serving from 1940 to 1941.

Biography

Edelstein was born in Meseritz (Międzyrzec Podlaski), Poland. At three years of age immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in New York City. He attended public schools and

Cooper Union College The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

in New York. He graduated from the Brooklyn Law School of St. Lawrence University, in 1909, and was admitted to the bar in 1910 and practiced law in New York. Edelstein lived with his mother until the end of his life, having never married. His mother was 85 at the time of his death.

Congress

Edelstein was elected as a Democrat to the

Seventy-sixth Congress The 76th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1939, ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

William I. Sirovich William Irving Sirovich (March 18, 1882 – December 17, 1939) was an American physician and politician from New York. From 1927 to 1939, he served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Early life Sirovich was born in 1882 in York Cou ...

. He was reelected to the

Seventy-seventh Congress The 77th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1941, ...

and served from February 6, 1940, until his death on June 4, 1941, in the cloakroom of the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., after completing the delivery of a speech on the floor of the House.

Death on June 4, 1941

Edelstein's last speech was a response to Mississippi Representative John Elliott Rankin, widely described as an anti-Semite who advocated peace with Nazi Germany. Rankin had just delivered a House floor speech accusing "international Jewish brethren" of trying to drag America into World War II. In response, Edelstein, who was Jewish said: " Hitler started out by speaking about 'Jewish brethren.' It is becoming the play and the work of those people who want to demagogue to speak about their 'Jewish brethren' and 'international bankers.' ... I deplore the idea that ... men in this House ... attempt to use the Jews as their scapegoat. I say it is unfair and I say it is un-American. ... All men are created equal, regardless of race, creed or color, and whether a man be Jew or Gentile, he may think what he deems fit." Edelstein then walked out of the House. He collapsed and died shortly afterwards in the House cloakroom. He is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery, Maspeth, New York. 15,000 mourners attended his funeral.

Legacy

The SS ''M. Michael Edelstein'', a World War II liberty ship, was named in his honor.

References

External links