Most critical year of the War

[Shek]

In one of his western-campaign commander decrees, Grant forbade Jews from being in his area of operations. It seems that he intended this decree to ban war profiteers who were buying southern cotton on the cheap. Grant's own father was working with these profiteers and he knew it. Grant never commented on this, but it seems reasonable that he wanted his father gone so there could be no impression of scandalous impropriety attached to him.

Sarna discusses 'When Grant Expelled the Jews' | BrandeisNOW

[Albany Rifles]

Grant's General Order # 11 is one of the stains on his legacy, without a doubt. It did cause a lot of problems short term for the White House. And while a not foaming at the mouth anti-Semite I believe it did reflect some of his attitudes about businessmen in general (look at his own bad experiences on that score) and conflating that with Jews. But that was hardly a unique position in the country at the time and definitely within the officer corps of the US Army, particulalry those from the Mid West.

It did become an issue in his presidential campaign but he worked through that. And he was the first US president to ever visit a synagogue, which he and several member sof his administration did in 1874.

[Minskaya]

Grant's General Order # 11 is one of the stains on his legacy, without a doubt.

I fully realized this topic was indelicate, and I appreciate your candor and honest reply. I also do not consider Grant antisemitic. Familiar with Grant's core ethics and appreciative of his numerous heavy burdens, I can both understand and forgive General Order #11, which President Abraham Lincoln revoked within a fortnight.

[Officer of Engineers]

One of the hardest thing when looking at history is to abandon your own set of beliefs and adopt what was standard for the area and time. Not easily done ... even today.

[Albany Rifles]

In grad school for History the first course you take is Historiography. In that course you not only review research methods you also have lengthy discussions on historicism. What gets drilled into you is when you look at historical events make sure you do not apply your societal mores and interpretations. You have to learn to look at events with the lens of how people thought at the time.

This can lead to many "interesting" discussions!

Applying that I can still greatly admire Grant in spite of GO 11.

[Triple C]

One of the marks of a great leader is to realize when to abandon such prejudices. Grant seemed to have done so.

[Minskaya]

One of the hardest thing when looking at history is to abandon your own set of beliefs and adopt what was standard for the area and time. Not easily done ... even today.

It can also be postulated that one cannot fully understand the present without understanding the past. This is a truism in many of the space sciences. You cannot understand Cosmology (the origin and evolution of the universe) unless you have an understanding of particle physics. Comparative Planetology requires an understanding of geophysics. Organic Chemistry is a requisite of Exobiology. And so it goes.