"To Prove that a Jew is a Man": Jewish Apologetics on the Eve of the French Revolution

18th and 19th century thinkers struggled to articulate the novel ideas about nationality, citizenship, and belonging that were emerging along with notions of "self-government." Many turned to discussions of, "the Jews" as a way to explore questions about the perfectibility of human nature, the boundaries of national belonging, the character of nationality and national history, as well as the rights and obligations of modern citizenship. The figural "Judaism" discussed often bore little resemblance to actual Judaism as practiced or Jewish social life and history. Nevertheless, Jews wishing to intervene in the conversations about nationality and citizenship had to engage with the figural "Judaism" of the European Christian imaginary. This paper uncovers some of the ways that Jewish thinkers interacted with or employed figural "Judaism" to put forward their own ideas of political belonging and the potential rights, contributions, and obligations of minorities in the modern society of equal citizens being imagined.