Grant Expels All Jews from His Military District: Worst Anti-Semitic Order in US History
Grant believed Jewish merchants were smuggling cotton to the North, enriching themselves while his army struggled for supplies. He gave families 24 hours to leave — women, children, elderly, anyone with Jewish heritage. Some had lived there for generations. Some had sons fighting for the Union. Didn't matter. Lincoln revoked the order three weeks later, but by then entire communities had already scattered. Grant never quite apologized. Thirty years later, when he ran for president, Jewish voters remembered — and forgave him anyway. He'd learned. What stuck wasn't the expulsion order itself, but how fast collective punishment can become official policy when someone needs a scapegoat.
December 17, 1862
164 years ago
Key Figures & Places
American Civil War
Wikipedia
Mississippi
Wikipedia
Tennessee
Wikipedia
Ulysses S. Grant
Wikipedia
Jews
Wikipedia
Kentucky
Wikipedia
General Order No. 11 (1862)
Wikipedia
American Civil War
Wikipedia
Ulysses S. Grant
Wikipedia
General Order No. 11 (1862)
Wikipedia
Jews
Wikipedia
Tennessee
Wikipedia
Mississippi
Wikipedia
Kentucky
Wikipedia
Bataille de Rowlett's Station
Wikipedia
British
Wikipedia
Nazism
Wikipedia
What Else Happened on December 17
Rome's newest festival promised something radical: slaves ate first. For one December day, masters served their own household workers at banquet tables, roles r…
en Roma, Siricio se convierte en papa.
The garrison commander took Totila's gold and opened the Asinarian Gate at midnight. What followed wasn't a massacre — it was something stranger. Totila's Ostro…
King Totila’s Ostrogothic forces seized Rome after bribing the city’s starving Byzantine garrison to open the gates. This betrayal emptied the city of its inhab…
Romanos I Lekapenos secured his grip on the Byzantine throne by crowning himself co-emperor alongside the young Constantine VII. This maneuver sidelined the leg…
William Longsword ruled Normandy for seventeen years, balancing Viking raiders and Frankish lords through careful diplomacy and strategic marriages. On December…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.