Since the end of the 17th century, Jews had tentatively settled in Mecklenburg again. These were, however, mostly only a few Jews who had been specifically brought by the dukes to the vicinity of their courts for particular purposes. Only these Jews were under sovereign protection and thereby enjoyed certain rights. They received sovereign letters of protection and in return had to pay an annual, later quarterly, protection fee, the so-called recognition money.
From the mid-18th century at the latest, the number of Jews in Mecklenburg increased significantly through immigration, especially from the eastern territories, and they thereby became a fact that could no longer be ignored in Mecklenburg and could not remain legally unregulated. The protected Jew system was now applied to these newcomers, but it was strictly regulated and corresponding applications were frequently rejected. Insofar as a letter of protection was granted -- which, incidentally, was only conferred upon male heads of household -- they were allowed to settle in a town in Mecklenburg and thereby became domestic or resident Jews. The choice of town, however, was not their own but was determined by the state government based on the number of traders already present in each town.
Foreign Jews traveling through the land were, according to the ducal decree of 1717, required to pay a body toll or escort fee of 12 Reichstaler at the toll station. Those, however, who had been denied a letter of protection, who had immigrated to Mecklenburg without the knowledge of the state government, or who crossed the land without permission were regarded as foreign Jews residing illegally in the country. When apprehended, they were usually thrown into the municipal prison and later expelled from the land. Once thus cast out, the same fate frequently awaited them in their new refuge.
Apart from their municipal right of residence and their trading privilege, the legal status of the domestic protected Jews corresponded to that of second-class citizens. They were not alone in this, however, for other social groups and even women themselves were disadvantaged, as feudal society was simultaneously a purely patriarchal one.
In 1755, the Landesgrundgesetzlicher Erbvergleich was concluded for Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The LGGEV henceforth constituted the fundamental constitution for Mecklenburg and regulated the rights and duties of the inhabitants, state organs, and various parties among themselves, and mentioned the Jews in one of the altogether 530 paragraphs. It thereby once more made clear that they had become a permanent and established factor in Mecklenburg.
It did not represent genuine progress for the legal status of the Jews, as its provisions partially cemented their legal disadvantage. The state government had thereby accommodated the towns and the estates, who had opposed the settlement of Jews for various reasons. This was also explicitly stated in Section 377 of the LGGEV. Although the regulatory content of this paragraph was modest, it had a fundamental and long-lasting effect on the Jews: Unlike before, they were now permitted to acquire houses, but no land whatsoever (Section 377 LGGEV). This only marginally eased the previous practice of prohibiting Jews from acquiring real property, but at least enabled them to own residential property in the towns. Beyond this, no further provisions regarding the Jews were made in the LGGEV, which meant that the ancient disadvantages, such as the exclusion of Jews from the craft guilds, were to continue.
The persistent legal disadvantage compared to the rest of the population ultimately led, as in many other European and German lands, also in Mecklenburg to an emancipation movement of the Jews.