When General Grant Expelled the Jews / Jonathan D. Sarna 148 p.

I love reading anything that leaves me saying, "Sheesh, I didn't know anything about that!"  This filled the bill.  Sarna reviews an infamous event in Grant's career, the General Orders No. 11 of December 1862 in the department of the Tennessee, in which the Jews, "...as a class violating every regulation of trade ...are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours..."

In fact, due to serious communication breakdowns in the Tennessee at the time, very few families were actually expelled, and within a few weeks Lincoln had unequivocally revoked the order.  It was a watershed event, of course, for American Jews around the country, and the subject of intense debate during the election of 1868 when Grant was running for president.  Sarna does a great job pulling apart the threads of that debate, whether to vote for the man who offended the Jews but who favored principles of justice with respect to freed slaves, or to vote for a Southern Democrat who wanted to put an end to Reconstruction and restrict freedoms for blacks.  Sarna effectively connects these concerns with other ethnic and religious populations throughout U.S. history who have had to decide between voting for the interests of their group or for those of the country as a whole.

Most interesting was the story of Grant's regret and repudiation of his order, and the work he did throughout the remainder of his career to promote the interests of Jewish citizens.  He was evidently sincere, because when he died in 1885 he was mourned in synagogues across the country.  Sarna writes clearly and with economy, academic in tone but accessible for a wider audience.  Recommended.