LINCOLN AND THE JEWS

By BERTRAM W. KORN
YEN after completing the research for my book
can Jewry and the Civil lr/ ar/ Lincoln's to
" in this significant letter still puzzled me: .
EXECUTIVE MANSION
W 25. 1865
SECRETARY OF WAR.
About Jews. I wish you would give Dr. Zacharie a pass to go to
lYiUlua.lJ, remain a week and return, bringing with him, if he wishes,
father and sisters or any of them. This will spare me trouble and
me-I promised him long ago that he should be allowed this
IhPf1Pv,or Savannah should fall into our hands.
Blumenberg, at Baltimore. I think he should have a hearing. He
suffered for us & served us well-had the rope around his neck for
our friend-raised troops-fought, and been wounded. He should
be dismissed in a way that disgraces and ruins him without a hearing.
Yours truly
A. LINCOLN
2
Dr. Isachar Zacharie was a British-born chiropodist whose
uuaaelt'''ia, 1951.
I Works 0/ Abraham Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln Association edi-
vos., New Brunswick, N.]., 1953), VIII : 238.
Dr. J3.ertram W. Korn is rabbi of Reform Congregation Keneseth
Phzladelphia. For years he has studied the history of the Jews
and is the author of American Jewry and the Civil War
and d . I' g ,Iii sal Eventful Years and Experiences
181
-
182 LINCOLN AND THE JEWS
professional services were employed by Lincoln, and whom
President sent to New Orleans as a private agent in 1862'186
and utilized as a personal envoy in secret negotiations for pe 3
with the Confederacy in late 1863, over the objections of
retary of State William H. Seward. An ardent political s:-
porter of the President, Zacharie had worked untiringly t
his re-election in 1864. The "pass to go to Savannah" w:
"issued & and sent to Mr. Nicolay" the same day.3
Major Leopold Blumenberg, an ardent Republican high
in the councils of German-American organizations, had sac-
rificed much for the Union cause in that hotbed of secession_
ist sympathy, Baltimore. The wounds he received at Antie-
tam never healed and were the eventual cause of his
in 1876. The situation to which Lincoln referred in the
ter under discussion concerned Blumenberg'S removal f
the office of provost marshal for the second district of
land on a number of charges mainly involving .... u J-.. , _'u ..... uv . .. .
on the part of members of his staff. From an incomplete
Department record and other sources, Blumenberg appears to
have cleared his name and to have been promoted to a
brigadier generalship after the war.
4
.
In both cases Lincoln was requesting favors for deserv-
ing men under attack. The newspapers assailed his friend-
ship with Zacharie with a continual barrage of criticism and
3 L' I ' . . I Z ch ., k' ll h ' d' . . ibid V 436;
lOCO n s testlmoma to a ane s s I as a c Iropo 1st IS In .,'. see
Stanton' s reply to Lincoln, ibid., VIII : 238. For further discussion of
Korn, ]eu;rY"and the Civil War, 194202; Charles M. a xUIL
LlOcoln s ChiropodISt, Publtcatzon of the Amerzcan ]ewtSh Hzstortcal Soczety,
No. 2 ( Dec., 1953), 71 126. John G. Nicolay :vas Lincoln's pnvate 5-3
4
'
4 War Department records, Office of the Adjutant General: . Extract w N
v.s. Special Order No. 146; Extract wi th S345 v.s. 1863-SpeCial Ord(er o.
S345 v.s. 1863 ( B961), June 9, 1863; 524018 with S 345 v.s. 1863 re
ll
. '_D'.'U---
Office of the ProVOSt Marshal General, Letter Book No.4 (AL), p. 42;
referring to a ring of civilians in and out of Blumenberg'S office, who
lent exemptions for conscripts on the basis of false medical reports. .
Jewish Record [Philadelphia}, Aug. 25, 1876. ,Stanton's answer to LlficO
1865 ( Collected Works, VIII : 238) asserts that one of the charges k
n
rn
which Blumenberg was dismissed was "cruelty in gag[g} ing men to rna t e not
they were deserters." The basic records on Blumenberg'S discharge ave
located in the War Department files or the National Archi ves.
BERTRAM W. 183
; most of the influential figures in Washington gov-
circles disliked the Jewish chiropodist intensely.
Blumenberg obviously had become involved in a great
of trouble. Enough then for Lincoln to pen the request.
why should he have begun the letter "About Jews"?
One historian has suggested that Lincoln had discussed
cases with Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton prior
wuu ...... the letter, and was thus refreshing Stanton's mem-
But it was not Lincoln's habit to refer to such conver-
in beginning letters, and there is no record of any let-
beginning "About Abolitionists" or "About Hungarians"
Methodists." Another suggested that Lincoln was
that he should be asking for favors for two Jews at
since there were only about 150,000 Jews in the United
at the time. Still another felt that this letter indicated
Lincoln was expressing reluctance to ask favors for two
" Was Zacharie giving Lincoln "trouble" by insist-
on a reward for his activities in the President's behalf
extent that Lincoln would feel a desire to be finished
matters "about Jews"? So far from having prejudice
the Jews, however, there is no doubt in my mind that
Emancipator was genuinely and sincerely tolerant
them. A few episodes will give positive proof for
assertion.
In July, 1861, Congress passed a volunteer bill authoriz-
the raising of troops to fight the Confederacy. The sec-
on chaplains stated that every regimental chaplain must
"regularly ordained minister of some Christian denom-
" This discriminatory clause was passed despite the
of Congressman Clement L. Vallandigham of Ohio
it by substituting the words "religious society" for
, so that rabbis might serve the men
faith in uniform. " There was, of course, agitation
American Jews over this slight; the Board of Delegates
congressional Globe, 37th Cong., 1st Sess., D. 100.
184 LINCOLN AND THE JEWS
of American Israelites, the only national Jewish organizar
then committed to the defense of Jewish rights,
a New York rabbi, the Rev. Arnold Fischel, to Washingte
to serve as a civilian chaplain for Jewish soldiers and to pr on
for a change in the law. Fischel interviewed Lincoln a:
persuaded him of the injustice of the limitation, and received
this memorandum testifying to the President's interest :
REV. DR. A. FISCHEL
My DEAR SIR:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
DECEMBER 13, 1861.
I find that there are several particulars in which the present law in
regard to Chaplains is supposed to be deficient, all of which I now design
presenting to the appropriate Committee of Congress. I shall try to have
a new law broad enough to cover what is desired by you in behalf of the
Israelites.
Yours truly,
A. LINCOLN
6
Lincoln fulfilled his pledge by bringing his wishes to
the attention of the appropriate committees. So finally, on
July 17, 1862, for the first time in American history, it was
legal for a rabbi to be commissioned as a chaplain. Lincoln
proved his friendship for the Jews by having the discrimina-
tory phrase removed.
In March, 1863, Lincoln was visited by Henry Went-
worth Monk, the eccentric Canadian pacifist and Christian
Zionist, who endeavored to persuade the President to
the war against the Confederacy. Failing in this, he
to interest Lincoln in the restoration of the Jews to Palesttne.
Though agreeing that the project was worthy, Lincoln pro-
tested that the United States was too busy with the war:
take a major role in any such international problem. Acc
or
ing to Monk, he said: "1 myself have a regard for the JeW's.
.. aIle
6 Collected Works, v: 69 (dated Dec. 14) from secondary source. OngIfl
not located but Dr. Fischel' s copy in report to the Board dates it Dec. 13.
BERTRAM W. KORN
185
chiropodist is a Jew, and he has so many times 'put me
my feet' that I would have no objection to giving his
'a leg Up.''' 7 These quaint and typically Lin-
",...,..'uu"- phrases were surely not those of an unfriendly man.
On December 17, 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant's head-
in Holly Springs, Mississippi, published one of the
anti-Semitic attacks in American history:
HDQRS. 13TH AC., DEPT. OF THE TENN.,
HOLLY SPRINGS, DECEMBER 17, 1862.
The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established
the Treasury Department and also department orders, are hereby ex-
from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of
order.
Post commanders will see that all of this class of people be furnished
and required to leave, and anyone returning after such notification
be arrested and held in confinement until an opportunity occurs of
them out as prisoners, unless furnished with permit from head-
No passes will be given these people to visit headquarters for the
of making personal application for trade permits.
By order of Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant:
JNO. A RAWLINS,
ASSISTANT ADJUTANT-GENERAL.
S
cannot discount the chicanery, thievery, malfeasance in
of high-ranking military personnel, the anti-Semitism
General William T. Sherman, and the probable re-
of high officials in the War Department for the
reports which were the cause of Grant's issuance
order.
9
There was no more foundation for regarding all Jews in
area as criminals and lawbreakers than there ever is for
blanket indictment. Several delegations immediately set
~ ~ r d S. Lam}'err, For t h ~ Time Is at Hand (Toronto, 1947), 82.
OWl the. Reoellton. OfJuzal Records of the Unzon and Confederate Armies
A
ashmgton, 1880-1901 ) , Ser. I, Vol. XVII, Pr. II, p. 424.
merzcan Jewry, 121-55.
186 LINCOLN AND THE JEWS
out for Washington to protest to Lincoln. One group I d
by Cesar J. Kaskel of Paducah, Kentucky, readily secured
mission to Lincoln's second-floor office in the White Bou
a
-
They had brought documentary evidence to prove that
Jews of Paducah (who, since the town was included in the
jurisdiction of the Army of the Tennessee, had been summar/
expelled from their homes and businesses) were loyal, la":'
abiding citizens; they offered testimonials to their character
from leading non-Jewish citizens; some displayed honorable
discharge papers from the Army in which they had served
their terms to protect the Union. Another delegation was
headed by the famed Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise of Cincinnati,lO
Lincoln needed no pleading or urging to convince him
that the Jews had been wronged. General-in-Chief Henry
W. Halleck on January 4, 1863 issued instructions for the im-
mediate revocation of the order by Grant,l1 and on January
21 appended to a telegram to Grant on routine military mat-
ters the following paragraph:
It may be proper to give you some explanation of the revocation of
your order expelling all Jews from your department. The President
has no objection to your expelling traitors and Jew peddlers, which, I
suppose, was the object of your order; but as it in terms proscribed an
entire religious class, some of whom are fighting in our ranks, the Presi-
dent deemed it necessary to revoke itY
Since Halleck himself may have been ultimately responsible
for the order, his expression about the expulsion of "leVi
peddlers" must not be taken too seriously.13 Lincoln certatnly
would not have approved the expulsion of any group as a
group; he believed in the judgment of members of all
as individuals only. As he said to the delegation led by Rab
h
1
Wise, "To condemn a class is, to say the least, to
good with the bad. I do not like to hear a class or natlOn
10 The Israelite (Cincinnati} , Jan. 16, 1863.
11 O/fcial Records, Ser. I, Vol. XVII, Pt. II, p. 530.
12 Ibid. , Ser. I, Vol. XXIV, Pt. I, p. 9.
13 Kom, American Jewry, 142.
BERTRAM W. O R ~ 187
on account of a few sinners."" Wise, a Demo-
who had been bitterly critical of Lincoln during the pre-
years, said in his report to The Israelite, of which he
editor:
The President, we must confess, fully illustrated to us and convinced
that he knows of no distinction between Jew and Gentile, that he feels
prejudice against any nationality, and that he by no means will allow
a citizen in any wise be wronged on account of his place of birth
religious confession. He illustrated this point to us in a very happy
A hitherto unknown and unpublished Lincoln letter
I recently had the good fortune to obtain for my col-
of Jewish Americana adds one more to the few refer-
to Jews to be found,in the writings of Lincoln:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 1862.
I believe we have not yet appointed a Hebrew-As Cherie M. Levy,
well vouched, as a capable and faithful man, let him b'e appointed
Assistant Quarter-Master, with the rank of Captain.
Yours truly
A. LINCOLN
appointment was not a political reward; Levy was the
of Rabbi Morris J. Raphall of Congregation B'nai
of New York City, who was a Democrat and defend-
slavery. Lincoln was, I believe, living up to his convic-
that minority groups ought to be given fitting and fair
'-oU'''.I1 more! He was conscious of the anti-Semitic
which rose to a high point during the tensioqs and
of the Civil War and went out of his way to be kind
l(scra,elite, Jan. 8, 1863, as cited in Bertram W. Korn, Eventful Years and
mcmnati, 1954), 136-37.
t See also Collected Works, VII: 323, VIII : 213-14. There is, however, no
"B sug
POrt
Rabbi Wise's statement in his eulogy of Lincoln after the assassi-
rci\{en, the lamented Abraham Lincoln believed himself to be bone from
an
H
e s ~ from our flesh. He supposed himself to be a descendant of Hebrew
e said so in my presence." Korn, American Jewry, 189.
mansion,
Jftf'l'./f
LINCOLN ASKS ApPOINTMENT OF A HEBREW
to Jews. Many applicants were "well vouched" as "capable
and faithful" men; but the fact that Levy was a Jew apparently
made Lincoln eager to fulfill his request.
1G

Unfortunately, Lincoln's confidence in Levy's integnty
was misplaced. On October 9, 1863 he was cashiered from
the army after being convicted of signing a false certificate
relating to the pay of men under his command. When. Sena-
tor Samuel C. Pomeroy sought Lincoln's intervention 1ll the
case, he replied:
I have examined Killingworths evidence in Capt. Levy's case,
I must ' say it makes too bad a record to admit of my interference-Ill
.
16 Ib1d., 16-20, 108; General Orders No. 332, AGO, Oct. 9, 1863 (Reco
r
G 9
4
),
94), Special Orders No. 41, Headquarters of the Army, Feb. 18, 1869 (R 1861-
Records of Volunteer Officers of the Quartermaster Department, Civil wari oco!tJ,
1865 ( RG 92), War Department Records, National Archives; Raphall to dtaIDJJ
March 1, 1864 (in appreciation of a favor done Levy after his discharge), S. F';b ahaJII
to Levy, July 16, 1864, Robert Todd Lincoln Collection of the Papers of I' r
Lincoln, Library of Congress.
188
BERTRAM W. KORN
189
it could not be worse. In the nature of the case, K. alone, of all
.. ..,oetenr witnesses, can know whether Capt. L's hypothesis is true or
and he most fully disproves it. He fully proves also that Capt. L.
to have him testify falsely. To interfere, under the circumstances,
blacken my own character.
Yours truly
A. LINCOLN
17
Lincoln's concern for the Jews was obviously not dictated
an appeal for Jewish votes, since they were in such a nu-
minority as to be unable to influence the result of an
Furthermore, as Lincoln was informed by a letter
26, 1864 from Myer S. Isaacs, editor of the Jewish
ger of New York:
... I deem it my duty to add a word to those that have doubtless
communicated to you from other sources, with reference to a recent
'V!Slltatl0n" on the part of persons claiming to represent the Israelites of
York or the United States and pledging the "Jewish vote" to your
The Israelites are not, as a body, distinctively Union or democratic
their politics. In the conduct of our Journal, for example, while, from
firSt firing upon our national flag, there has been a steady support of
government in its efforts to maintain the integrity of the Union and
the unhallowed rebellion, there has also been a studied persistence
the expression of what is an implicit belief, that the Jews, as a body,
no politics . ... This is predicated on our direct knowledge of the
I:harac:ter and opinions of our coreligionists ....
There is no "Jewish vote"-if there were, it could not be bought.
a body of intelligent men, we are advocates of the cherished principles
liberty & justice, and must inevitably suPPOrt and advocate those who
the exponents of such a platform-"liberty & Union, now and forever."18
November 1 John Hay, writing for Lincoln, replied:
You are in error in the assumptions you make in regard to the cir-
of the recent interview to which you refer, between certain
of the Hebrew faith, and the President. No pledge of the
VOte Was made by these gentlemen and no inducements or promises
VII: 4-5.
rt Todd Lincoln Collection. Lib. of Congo
190 LINCOLN AND THE JEWS
were extended to them by the President. They claimed no such auth .
Otlty
and received no such response as you seem to suppose.
19

Whatever, then, may have been Lincoln's reason for b
his letter of January 25, 1865 with the words
Jews, 1t seems clear that there was no trace of anti-Semiti
prejudice. The Lincoln who urged a change in the law
Congress to permit the appointment of Jewish chaplains ; who
ordered the revocation of an anti -Semitic General Order issued
by the only Union general who capable of winning
battles; and who recommended the appollltment of an assistant
quartermaster on the grounds of his being "a Hebrew," could
not have had any prejudice against the Jews.
On the contrary, he seems to have had an unusual sym-
pathy for them. Perhaps his deep love for the Bible and the
tragedies of his own personal life made him feel a kinship
with these sons of the prophets. It is my personal opinion,
therefore, that when Lincoln wrote "About Jews," he was in
effect saying to Stanton, who disliked Zacharie ( perhaps on
account of his Jewish origin) and had previously denied him
a pass to Savannah:
20
"I know there is prejudice against the
Jews. I know there is intolerance toward them. Therefore
I label these two men, Zacharie and Blumenberg, as Jews. I
want you to know that I know they are Jews. I anticipate
any objection based on their religious affiliation. Just because
they are Jews I want to be generous to them. " .
I believe it to be entirely possible that other as yet undlS-
covered and unpublished documents will bear out my con-
tention that Lincoln was predisposed to be kind to just
because he was conscious of the effects of bigotry and tntol-
erance upon their lives. Is this not what we would
from the great spirit who spoke of a nation which would ltve
"with malice toward none; with charity for all; with fi rmneSS
in the right; as God gives us to see the right" ?

20 John Chipman Gray and John Cadman Ropes, War Letters 1862-1865
1927) , 442, as cited in Segal, "Isachar Zacharie," 118-19.