The Day General Grant Expelled the Jews

Via SHNV

 

In less than one week, no one will be publicly celebrating the sesquicentennial of one of the oddest events in American history: General Grant's expulsion of the Jews from his military district on December 17, 1862.

Jonathan D. Sarna, who teaches history at Brandeis University, has written a book on this event, one which gets no space in high school and college textbooks on American history: When General Grant Expelled the Jews (2012).

In the weeks prior to Lincoln's issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which emancipated no slaves, General Grant grew weary of Jews who violated the government's price controls on cotton. He wrote a letter to C. P. Wolcott, the Assistant Secretary of War, dated December 17, 1862.

I have long since believed that in spite of all the vigilance that can be infused into Post Commanders, that the Specie regulations of the Treasury Dept. have been violated, and that mostly by Jews and other unprincipled traders. So well satisfied of this have I been at this that I instructed the Commdg Officer at Columbus [Kentucky] to refuse all permits to Jews to come south, and frequently have had them expelled from the Dept. [of the Tennessee]. But they come in with their Carpet sacks in spite of all that can be done to prevent it. The Jews seem to be a privileged class that can travel any where. They will land at any wood yard or landing on the river and make their way through the country. If not permitted to buy Cotton themselves they will act as agents for someone else who will be at a Military post, with a Treasury permit to receive Cotton and pay for it in Treasury notes which the Jew will buy up at an agreed rate, paying gold.

There is but one way that I know of to reach this case. That is for Government to buy all the Cotton at a fixed rate and send it to Cairo, St Louis, or some other point to be sold. Then all traders, they are a curse to the Army, might be expelled..

I mean, what can you expect from people who had decided that fiat money issued by Congress – greenbacks – was not as good as gold? Just because the greenbacks traded at a discount to gold's price was not proof that they were not as good as gold. No, sir. It was the fault of "unprincipled traders," who in some way – no one is quite sure – colluded with one another, thereby driving the price of greenbacks down. 

These people refused to let the government buy cotton at a fixed price. They bid up the price and bought it out from under the military. Can you imagine anyone doing such a thing?

So, Grant decided to nip this in the bud.

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