THREAD: In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. week, today marks the anniversary of Lincoln rescinding U.S. Grant's Gen. Order No. 11, which expelled all Jewish people from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

Grant had blamed only Jewish merchants for ripping off soldiers, but Lincoln immediately overturned the orders and explained that it's not OK to expel all members of a religious group based on the actions of some. 2/

Grant regretted it the rest of his life. He appointed more Jews to office than any previous pres & condemned atrocities against Jews in Europe, becoming among the first to make human rights a foreign policy issue. In 1874, he was the 1st pres. to attend a synagogue service. 3/

Folks typically remember Grant as a great war general and sub-par President, but I think he also ought to be remembered as someone willing to reassess his view of things, both on the battle field and with his fellow man. end/