Ulysses S. Grant and the Jews
April 14, 2023 5:29 pm ET An engraving from 1873 featuring President Ulysses S. Grant. Photo: Getty Images The incident that Peggy Noonan cites in “A Great Man Got Arrested as President” (Declarations, April 8) isn’t the only one in which Ulysses S. Grant acknowledged culpability and made amends. In a little known but far more serious episode, Gen. Grant issued General Order No. 11 on Dec. 17, 1862, expelling all Jews from the states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. This order was described by biographer Ron Chernow as “an Oedipal rage against his father” and those who had defied the general’s previous orders regarding the cotton trade. This expulsion order was unprecedented and provoked an outcry. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, Kentucky Sen. Lazarus W. Powell rebuked Grant
An engraving from 1873 featuring President Ulysses S. Grant.
Photo: Getty Images
The incident that Peggy Noonan cites in “A Great Man Got Arrested as President” (Declarations, April 8) isn’t the only one in which Ulysses S. Grant acknowledged culpability and made amends. In a little known but far more serious episode, Gen. Grant issued General Order No. 11 on Dec. 17, 1862, expelling all Jews from the states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. This order was described by biographer Ron Chernow as “an Oedipal rage against his father” and those who had defied the general’s previous orders regarding the cotton trade.
This expulsion order was unprecedented and provoked an outcry. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, Kentucky Sen. Lazarus W. Powell rebuked Grant for his anti-Jewish act. Grant’s wife, Julia, later recounted that she chastised her husband for issuing the obnoxious order and eventually he agreed that her criticism was deserved. Within weeks of its issuance, the order was revoked by President Abraham Lincoln, thus enabling the Jewish population of three southern states to return to their homes.
Grant was contrite, and upon ascending to the presidency he made amends. He appointed more Jews to serve in his administration than any previous president. He reached beyond U.S. shores to advocate equality and security for Jews in Europe.
Today, when many leaders claim to be totally right and their critics totally wrong, we can find inspiration in Grant’s acknowledging error, accepting responsibility and making amends.
Rabbi Herbert A. Yoskowitz
West Bloomfield, Mich.
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