New York Herald, "President Lin-
! coin is a joke incarnated ... The
idea that such a man as he
should be the President of such a
country as this is a very ridiculous I
I joke."
•
Yet today, most observers cite Lin-
I coin as one of the best, if not the
I very best, among American presi-
dents.
What is inarguable is Lincoln's
I record in the Jewish community.
I No sooner had the Civil War
I started than Lincoln jumped into a
controversy of another sort: whether
I rabbis should be allowed to serve
I as military chaplains. Today, we
likely wonder how such a matter
I could cause a fuss.
Until the Civil War, all army
I chaplains had been ministers
(mostly Protestant). It wasn't coinci-
dence — it was the law. In 1861,
I the House had passed legislation
I stating that every military chaplain
must be a "regularly ordained min-
ister of some Christian denomina-
tion."
The Jewish community first
raised the issue of having rabbis
hold chaplaincy positions during
the Mexican War. Now, numer-
ous JeWish soldiers fighting in the
I Union Army appealed for an
opportunity to work with Jewish
clergy.
Politicians debated the issue at
length — Congress spent literally
I days discussing it -- and then the
president became involved. In
I 1862, the measure was passed
into law.
Lincoln also stepped forward
!after then General Ulysses S.
I Grant (see above) moved to oust
I all Jewish soldiers serving under
his command.
Lincoln had many close Jewish
I friends, among them Isidor Bush,
I who helped finance the Union
I Army; Joseph Seligman, also a
I leading financial backer for the
!North; and Abraham Jonas, who
I first suggested Lincoln as a candi-
date for the presidency.

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