in my way to success, and I would have given my attention exclusively to scientific pursuits and not let hear of me one word, until the old Adam be out of me. Can you not see the failure you have made? Starting out as you did, after five years, you have landed in Peoria. Are you blind to all that? Publish no cards, rather seek quietly to reconstruct your wrecked fortune, by good sermons without sensation or humbug, by diligent study especially of Jewish sources which you have forgotten, and by careful attention to conduct in society, where prudence, forbearance and moderation are as necessary as a good moral character. I am your friend who tell you what I have to say, others may persecute you. The world is cold. Now you may do as you please; I have done my duty as a friend. If you want to remain in the ministry you must build up a reputation not only as a scholar and orator but also as a quiet, earnest and peaceable man who manages well. This will take time, resolution and self-government.”26
Browne did not take Wise’s advice. His reason is unclear but it invites speculation. Although Wise’s reference to Peoria implies that Browne’s move there was a step downward in his career, some aspects of the city and the history of its congregation suggest otherwise. The feud with Heiman had taken its toll on Browne’s popularity, and despite the strength of his remaining support, he was left with a residue of ill will that clouded his outlook for a future in Evansville. Sophie was very young—barely nineteen—and presumably loathe to leave her parents; however, she and the rabbi retained a close relationship with them and visited often. He had established his reputation throughout the mid-west as an eloquent orator and progressive thinker, an advocate of biblical criticism and Darwinian evolution, and the offer of a position in the larger city with its proximity to Chicago beckoned enticingly. All known facts considered, it seems that Browne simply decided that it was a good time to go.
IV - PRESIDENT GRANT AND THE MAN WHO CHALLENGED INGERSOLL
Browne ignored Wise’s advice and accepted a call to the pulpit of Congregation Anshe Emeth of Peoria, Illinois, the oldest Jewish community in the state other than Chicago. Originally comprised of Western Europeans some of whom had arrived in the 1840s, Peoria Jewry had grown considerably in recent years due to the arrival of immigrants from Eastern Europe. Congregation Anshe Emeth, Peoria’s first synagogue, had established a religious school and a burial association in the1850s, and completed its building by1863. The rabbi who preceded Browne had remained there for ten years, an unusual longevity in those times that spoke well not only for him but—significantly—for the character and stability of the congregation. It was a congenial community, where Jews mingled freely with their non-Jewish neighbors as they did in Evansville and elsewhere.1
The Brownes settled comfortably in lodgings at 406 Jefferson Street and embraced the cultural life of the city. In the “First Grand Entertainment” of the Standard Literary Association, the rabbi recited Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” and Sophie performed several pieces on the piano. Browne joined the local lodge of B’nai B’rith as he had probably also done in Evansville. Membership in the philanthropic fraternity was considered de rigeur for Jewish men of position. Browne was no stranger to the Peoria lodge, having spoken there while still serving as rabbi in Evansville. At that time he so pleased the local committee that it sent a series of resolutions to the Israelite declaring him “one of the foremost ministers in America,” and “a preceptor under whose guidance we can safely trust our noble cause, and our motto and watchword Progress be actually correct in the effect.” 2
The same emphasis on image is seen in the report of a lecture that Browne gave in Burlington, Iowa. It inspired Jews there to advise the Israelite that it “would be an honor for Judaism if our talented rabbis would occasionally make a tour, especially to places which are not so fortunate.... It creates a good influence....”3
These kudos aptly identify a primary goal of Jews in mid-nineteenth century America: acceptance for themselves and their religion in their Protestant-dominated land. Browne served Peorians well in this role of ambassador to the gentiles. Then a new role for rabbis, it soon became a major requirement for those serving acculturated American Jews. Peorians emphasized this yearning as they expressed to Wise their pride in having “the most able Jewish rabbi in the West,” thus permitting them to “feel with dignity our elevation among an enlightened community” and to declare, “This, Dear Editor, is what Judaism here and elsewhere long has sought—to have the right man to lead us in our synagogues, and represent us among our Christian friends....”4
The same dispatch reported that “the Rev. Doctor has created quite a new life” in the city, that religious services were “splendidly attended,” that a Young Men’s Social Club had recently been established “for literary and dramatic purposes,” and that the B’nai B’rith lodge was “in most excellent condition, numbering now fifty-one members, with a fund of $1200.”5
Peorians especially appreciated Browne’s public lectures outside of the synagogue. The city’s mayor introduced him on one such occasion, a B’nai B’rith sponsored benefit to help yellow fever victims in two southern cities. Thanks to the rabbi’s popularity the lecture raised the substantial amount of $500. Another time, he addressed the Illinois State Senate and was voted “one of the very best, wholly extempore, eloquent and interesting throughout.”6
At the county court house, where he spoke on “The Jewish God” for the Free Thought Association, Browne said that if the Bible were fully understood and read in the light of the times in which it was written, there would be no need for further “infidel meetings.” This inspired Wise to quip that such free thinking probably pleased the speaker’s free-thinking listeners. Despite lingering reservations about biblical criticism, Wise also praised the speech for having “sustained the Bible and its connection with science clearly shown and in perfect accord.”7
The reference to infidel meetings applied to the hugely popular lectures of another Peoria resident, the brilliant lawyer, teacher, preacher and war hero, Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll. Known as the Great Agnostic because of his strong opposition to religion, Ingersoll’s popularity increasingly threatened religious leaders. With Darwinism looming as a thunder cloud over the church, Protestants felt especially vulnerable to agnosticism. Church leaders organized tent revivals in an effort to reinvigorate the faith, but Ingersoll’s rhetoric was highly entertaining and soon exceeded Darwinism as a perceived threat to Christianity. The preacher cleverly manipulated facts to support his case against God, communicating directly and charmingly to his eager listeners. The power of his words and his personality exemplified the religious community’s worst fears.8
In January 1874, the Peoria Democrat announced that “Rev. Dr. Browne, of the Hebrew Church” successfully challenged Ingersoll. When after his oration the Great Agnostic invited comments from the audience, Browne rose to his feet and refuted Ingersoll’s “unjust attacks...upon the Bible and religion.” According to one witness, the young rabbi “handled the theories of the speaker without gloves” for twenty minutes, using “a keen-edged dissecting knife with the skill of an old master.” Thereafter newspapers referred to Browne as “The Man Who Could Challenge Ingersoll.”9
Debates between Ingersoll and such personages as Jeremiah Black, Reverend Henry Field and British Prime Minister William Gladstone made news for over two decades. During these years public controversy grew more heated, and likewise spurred the demand for Browne to refute the agnostic. In 1881, Bishop John P. Newman of New York recommended Browne as “the only man who can answer Ingersoll.” Ten years later, a reporter in Lincoln, Nebraska, wrote, “After hearing Dr. Browne, it could be easily understood why the bold and eloquent Ingersoll is afraid to meet him.... Dr. Browne, like Colonel Ingersoll, has full sway over his audience, but the rabbi holds his people spellbound by the earnestness
