Lewis Regenstein
Atlanta
Posted February 3 2007
The students who object to Confederate symbols and apparel ("Hollywood students clash on whether Confederate themed clothing should be banned," by Douane James, Jan. 27) must be unaware of which side persecuted Our People.
On Dec. 17, 1862, in the worst official act of anti-Semitism in U.S. history, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant issued his infamous "General Order No. 11," expelling the Jews "as a class" from his conquered territories within 24 hours.
And Grant also issued orders on Nov. 9 and 10 of that year, banning southward travel in general, stating that "the Israelites especially should be kept out … they are such an intolerable nuisance, that the department must be purged of them."
As a result of Grant’s expulsion order, Jewish families were forced out of their homes in Paducah, Ky., Holly Springs and Oxford, Miss.
Other top Union officials endorsed the order, and it was not until Jan. 4, 1863, that Lincoln had Grant’s odious order rescinded. But by then, Jewish families had been expelled, humiliated, terrified and jailed and some stripped of their possessions.
Grant’s Nazi-like decree and his other atrocities should serve to remind us what the South was up against, and why many native Southerners revere their ancestors’ courage, and take much pride in this heritage.
Copyright 2007, Sun-Sentinel Co. & South Florida Interactive Inc.
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