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That he expelled not just
Jewish merchants — which
would have been bad enough
— but Jews "as a class,"
speaks volumes about his
anti-Semitic mindset. If Jews
sought justice, they would not
get it from Grant; they would
have to go over his head.
Almost immediately, Jew-
ish leaders protested directly
to President Lincoln. Writing
in the names of Jews fighting
and dying in the Union Army,
the president of a St. Louis
B'nai B'rith Lodge urged, "In
the name of religious liberty,
of justice and humanity — we
enter our solemn protest
against the Order and ask of
you — the Defender and Pro-
tector of the Constitution — to
annul that Order and protect
that liberties of even your
humblest consituents."
From three businessmen
deported from Paducah came
an urgent telegram: "The
undersigned, good and loyal
citizens of the United States
and residents of this town for
many years . . . feel greatly
insulted and outraged by this
inhuman order, the carrying
out of which would be the
grossest violation of the Con-
stitution and our rights as
good citizens under it, and
would place us . . . as outlaws
before the whole world."
When Lincoln failed to re-
spond to either the B'nai
B'rith letter or the Paducah
telegram, a delegation form-
ed to visit the President in
Washington and petition him
directly. Caesar Kaskel, the
Jewish Vice-President of
Paducah's Union League and
a co-signer of the telegram,
headed the delegation.
Three days later, another
Paducah businessman, Abra-
ham Goldsmith, explained
the plight of his fellow Jews
at an open meeting in Cincin-
nati. There another delega-
tion was selected to visit
Lincoln. Its leader was Rabbi
Isaac M. Wise, the father of
American Reform Judaism.
The Kaskel delegation
reached Washington first, on
January 3, 1863. Lincoln sent
word that he was "always
glad to see his friends" and
invited Kaskel to the White
House that same evening. Ac-
cording to one witness, Lin-
coln heard Kaskel's story and
remarked with a smile, "And
so the children of Israel were
driven from the happy land of
Canaan?"
"Yes," replied Kaskel, "and
that is why they have come
unto father Abraham's
bosom, asking protection."

"And this protection they
shall have at once," Lincoln
promised. Minutes later, Lin-
coln wrote a note to Henry W.
Halleck, General-in-Chief at
the War Department, and in-
structed Kaskel to take it
there personally. As Grant's
immediate superior, Halleck
would be responsible for
countermanding Order No.
11.
Upon reading Lincoln's
note, however, Halleck re-
fused to believe that Grant
had issued such an order.
Kaskel had to produce a copy,
an even then Halleck had
doubts. The next day, he ad-
vised Grant by telegram that
"a paper purporting to be
General Order No. 11 has
been presented here. By its
terms it expels all Jews from
your department. If such an
order has been issued, it will
be immediately revoked." To
Kaskel himself, Halleck sug-
gested he return to Paducah.
"By the time you reach
there," he promised, "Grant's
order will have been revoked."
Kaskel left for home that
night, but despite Halleck's
assurances, he reached
Paducah ahead of the recision
order. When he arrived in
town, the post commander
tried to arrest him. Proudly,
Kaskel announced that he
was in Paducah "by order of
the President of the United
States."
Not until January 21, 1863,
did Halleck make things
clear to Grant. Apologetical-
ly, Halleck wrote, "The Presi-
dent has no objection to your
expelling traitors and Jew
peddlers, which I suppose was
the object of your order, but as
it in terms proscribes an en-
tire religious class, some of
whom are fighting in our
ranks, the President deems it
necessary to revoke it."
Meanwhile, the delegation
headed by Rabbi Wise arrived
in Washington. Wise had
learned en route of Kaskel's
success, but he decided to call
on Lincoln anyway and thank
him for his swift action.
Wise had never admired
Lincoln and had opposed his
election. Nevertheless, Lin-
coln received him cordially
and assured him that "I don't
like to see a class or nation-
ality condemned on account
of a few sinners." According to
Wise, "the President fully
convinced us that he knows of
no distinction between Jews
and gentiles and that he feels
no prejudice against any na-
tionality and especially
against the Israelites." ❑

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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