Saturday, December 17, 2011

Today Marks Anniversary of Jewish Expulsion Order . . . And, It Happened in America by Military Decree

Speaking of anniversaries, today marks 149 years since Ulysses S. Grant ordered the expulsion of Jews from his military district in Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.

That surely ranks as one of the low points for civil rights in American history. And, ironically, General Order 11, as it was known as, came during the Civil War, the war being arguably the greatest effort in our nation's history to provide equal civil rights --  and, it came from one who was leading the charge, as Grant was the U.S. Army's major-general for the Tennessee-Mississippi-Kentucky area.

Low point? Can you imagine, that, in America, there would be an expulsion order against Jews -- and that it would come in the form of a military decree, at that? I had never heard about this dark moment till I learned of it while reading Wikipedia.

Well, the outcry against the expulsion order was swift and hard. Before the order could be enforced much (only a few deportations actually took place), President Lincoln directed Grant to revoke his order, and he did. Grant worked hard to regain the confidence of the Jews, and when elected president even drew the majority of their votes.

Grant achieved a sterling record on civil rights while in the White House. He signed the Fifteenth Amendment, giving those freed in the war the right to vote. He became the first president to sign a congressional civil rights act, he signed legislation for the prosecution of Ku Klux Klan members. There was a reduction in the number of battles against American Indians. "Wars of extermination . . . are demoralizing and wicked," he said of the Indian wars. (I got this quote from Wikipedia, which credited "Michno (2003), 362)" in the footnotes.)

And, he became the first president to attend a Jewish synagogue service.

For more on General Order 11, signed Dec. 17, 1862 by U.S. Grant, turn to your local Wikipedia encyclopedia

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