Louis Brandei Research Paper

Louis Brandeis’ father and mother were both from the Austrian-Hungary Empire and both had heritage and were descendents of Jewish families whose roots traced all the way back to the fifteenth century. Adolph Brandeis, Louis’ father, while living in the Empire, was repeatedly limited by anti-semitic laws and discriminatory taxes. Louis’ mother, Frederika, was raised in a secular home (i.e. they had a christmas tree every year). (Rosen 29)

Frederika and Adolph married and moved to the United States. They had four children, with Louis being the youngest. In 1873, the Brandeises moved back to Europe for three years to visit relatives and to teach the children about their lives there (Urofsky). While in Europe, Louis attended Annen-Realschule

Brandeis was born in Louisville, Kentucky on November 13, 1856. As stated, Louis was the youngest of the Brandeis children. He had two older sisters one 5 years older and the other 4 years older and one older brother who was 2 years older than Louis. In his childhood, Louis loved his family. His affectionate parents and love for his siblings proved for an emotionally secure and happy childhood.

Although the Brandeis family had a decidedly Jewish heritage and never denied it, they did not observe any customs, traditions, or religious practices. They exchanged christmas cards and the children were sometimes criticized for riding on Yom Kippur. This is in part because of Louis’ mother, Frederika, childhood which in a religious sense was very similar. Frederika also did not believe in or insist upon organized religion but she still believed that the morale standards of religion were good and insisted upon her children that they live up to the rigorous moral standards. Frederika explains this decision in a book written for Louis from 1880 - 1886 called Reminiscences: "Love, virtue, and truth are the foundation upon which the education of the child must be based. They endure forever....And this is my justification for bringing up children without any definite religious belief: I wanted to give them something that could neither be argued away nor would have to be given up as untenable, namely a pure spirit and the ideals as to morals and love. God has blessed my endeavors." (Rosen