December 17, 1862: Grant Expels the Jews

diane

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That was certainly a harsh order but I think the ant-Semitism was accidental. He was aiming for his profiteering old man whose partners happened to be Jews. Accidental doesn't mean much if you're on the receiving end, though! But Lincoln, once he was shown the order by Jewish leaders, sent a terse and firm order to Grant to rescind it. Later, when Grant ran for president in 1868, he carried the Jewish vote by a wide margin and appointed many Jews to posts in his administration. In fact, it's rumored he took up eating kosher meat because of the humane way of butchering that was employed.
 

diane

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Lincoln had a close relationship with the Jewish people - he appointed Jewish chaplains and quartermasters, and recognized the Sabbath in the army. (Some of the earliest and most intriguing photos of Lincoln were done by a Jewish photographer, incidentally.) While I don't think Grant was intentionally anti-Semitic, I think he was typical of many Christians at that time...some of whom barely tolerated each other! The leaders who met with Lincoln at this time particularly liked his familiarity with the Old Testament (he was raised hard shell Baptist, who use the Old Testament more than the New) and some even thought Lincoln might be Jewish himself. Lincoln said he didn't know but wouldn't be surprised! Lincoln really did a lot to aid and protect the Jewish people in the United States. They took his assassination very hard, too. But he did slap Grant down hard on that order.
 
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