When General Grant Expelled the Jews

December 19, 2011
In December 1862, Gen. Ulysses Grant, suspecting Jews of smuggling goods into the Confederacy, issued General Orders No. 11, expelling them from the “Department of the Tennessee.” A widely respected historian of American Jewry (American Judaism), Sarna tells the story of the order and its revocation by Lincoln three weeks later thanks to intervention by Jewish merchant Cesar Kaskel and others. Sarna focuses less on the order itself than on its repercussions during Grant’s presidential bids in 1868 and 1872 and his two administrations. For perhaps the first time in American political history, there was widespread talk of a “Jewish vote” and a debate within the Jewish community over whether it should promote collective interests. While some Jews saw Grant as a modern-day Haman, others, such as businessman Simon Wolf, had “dreams of... reconciliation.” Wolf’s view seems to have prevailed. Sarna documents how Grant came to rue his notorious order, becoming a philo-Semite and appointing 50 Jews to office, most notably Benjamin Franklin Peixotto as consul (ambassador) to Romania, with a mandate to work on behalf of victimized Jews. Thoroughly researched and crisply written, this is a very fine work that will interest students of both American and modern Jewish history. Photos, map.

January 1, 2012
Sarna (History/Brandeis Univ.; A Time to Every Purpose: Letters to a Young Jew, 2008, etc.) nimbly reappraises Grant's presidency as ushering a "golden age" for American Jews, despite the short-lived expulsion order he couldn't live down. General Orders No. 11, published in 1862 by Gen. Grant as head of the Union Army's Department of the Tennessee, decreed that "Jews as a class" were to be expelled from the department because of "violating every regulation of trade"—i.e., on account of smuggling. While the order was issued during the pressing exigencies of wartime, then swiftly revoked by President Lincoln when visited by prominent Kentucky merchant Cesar Kaskel and Ohio Congressman John Addison Gurley some weeks later, Grant was vilified by the Jewish community—nearly 150,000 citizens—and hard-pressed to exonerate himself as presidential candidate, then president. Sarna expertly navigates the repercussions of this shocking order, which galvanized the American Jewish community to action, reminding many who were refugees from European expulsions how insecure they were even in America. It also deeply divided the Jewish community when faced with the 1868 Grant-Seymour presidential election. The order aroused a passionate debate both in the Senate, where some Democratic members moved to censure the (Republican) general, unsuccessfully, and in the press, which spoke out against the stereotyping and scapegoating of the Jews as "swindlers." (Sarna evenhandedly considers the extent to which Jews were involved in smuggling.) Moreover, with the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation, Jews expressed their consternation that the rise in status for blacks came at the cost of their own abasement. Jewish leaders such as Simon Wolf and Isaac Mayer Wise wrestled with the ethics of backing the modern-day Haman, as Grant was called, or support the racist, anti-black Democrats. Sarna weighs the short-lived order against important Jewish appointments in Grant's administration, his humanitarian support for oppressed Jews around the world and lasting friendships with Jews. A well-argued exoneration of a president and a sturdy scholarly study.

(COPYRIGHT (2012) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 15, 2012

In response to corruption and speculation rampant in the department (i.e., war zone) under his command, in December 1862 Gen. Ulysses S. Grant issued his now infamous General Order 11 by which he expelled all Jews for "violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department." This shocking order, which outraged and frightened the nation's Jews, was quickly rescinded by Lincoln but still caused considerable negative publicity and would cast a shadow over Grant for the rest of his life. Sarna (history, Brandeis Univ.; American Judaism: A History) interestingly shows how Grant would move from this unhappy beginning to forge close personal and business connections with Jews in later life. This book, the most detailed study of the topic to date, takes readers from the issuing of the order to Grant's demise. Sarna sheds light on a little-known aspect of the Civil War and the experience and treatment of Jews during the mid- to late 19th century. VERDICT A valuable addition to all collections for Civil War and presidential history buffs and specialists, as well as for students of American Jewish history.--Theresa McDevitt, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania Lib.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2012
As the North's campaign against the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg floundered in December 1862, Union commander Grant, fed up with smuggling, decided to solve the problem by evicting all Jews, smugglers or not, from his military district. His notorious order, which Lincoln revoked before it took full effect, bedeviled Grant until his death. Sarna examines the origin of Grant's move, his subsequent atonements for it, and the reactions of Jewish leaders to Grant's regrets. After puzzling out how Grant's order originated, seemingly in Grant's anger at his father and his Jewish business partners, Sarna canvasses Jewish support and opposition to Grant's presidential candidacy in 1868. Sarna then recounts Grant's appointments of various Jews to offices, arguing overall that they represent improvement in the place of Jews in American society and reason for casting a more positive light on Grant's presidency. Grant's postpresidential world tour, which included a visit to Jerusalem, also invites Sarna's scrutiny, as do Jewish remembrances of Grant and his 1862 order when he died in 1885. An intriguing case study in Jewish and Civil War history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)