Abraham Lincoln and Abraham Jonas:
How Friendship Cultivates a Culture
Jesse Bluma at Pointe Viven. All rights reserved.
When we think of Abraham Lincoln, we often envision the solitary figure in the marble chair. Yet, the man behind the monument was far more complex than we remember. Amidst the carnage of the Civil War, a period defined by bitter national division and rising xenophobia, Lincoln forged deep, unprecedented ties with the American Jewish community. At a time when this community was a small minority of 150,000, Lincoln’s presidency became a transformative era for Jewish individuals. He led the public to value equal citizenship, proving that the "Great Emancipator" was also a Great Integrator.
Lincoln judged individuals on their own merit rather than through the lens of group prejudice. This was most evident in his bond with Abraham Jonas, a Quincy, Illinois, attorney whom Lincoln described as "one of his most valued friends". Their relationship was built on a shared Whig history and mutual trust; Jonas even warned Lincoln of an assassination plot before his inauguration. Lincoln, in turn, appointed Jonas as postmaster and later secured a parole for Jonas’s Confederate son to visit his dying father. This act demonstrated personal loyalty that transcended the battle lines of the war.
Equally striking was Lincoln’s association with Issachar Zacharie. What began as a professional relationship with a chiropodist who "operated on my feet with great success, and considerable addition to my comfort," evolved into a role as an unlikely "spymaster". Zacharie became a trusted agent who traveled to Richmond to meet with Confederate leaders like Judah P. Benjamin to explore peace negotiations. These relationships signaled that in Lincoln’s White House, religious background was no barrier to trust.
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Lincoln’s commitment to fairness was tested most severely in December 1862, when General Ulysses S. Grant issued "General Order No. 11". Frustrated by black-market cotton trading, Grant ordered the expulsion of "the Jews, as a class" from his military department. Historical analysis suggests a messy motive: Grant was lashing out at the corruption of his own father who had been using his son’s influence to secure trading permits for Jewish associates. Grant effectively expelled an entire people rather than confront his own father’s greed.
A wave of protest flooded Washington from B'nai B'rith lodges, a collective cry for the "humblest constituents" that reached the President's desk just days after he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln’s response was swift and decisive. He rescinded the order only three days after learning of it, demonstrating that even the tactical needs of his top general could not override constitutional principles. Lincoln famously articulated his stance to a Jewish delegation: "[I knew] of no distinction between Jew and Gentile [and would not allow any American citizen to be] wronged on account of his...religious confession."
This intervention was a moment of profound moral clarity. By refusing to allow a segment of the population to be targeted "as a class", Lincoln established that the executive branch would serve as a bulwark against discrimination.
Early in the war, a congressional act restricted military chaplains to "regularly ordained minister[s] of some Christian denomination". This effectively barred rabbis from providing spiritual care to the thousands of Jewish soldiers serving in the Union ranks.
Following petitions from leaders like Rabbi Isaac Leeser, Lincoln supported a legislative amendment that changed the requirement from "Christian denomination" to "religious denomination". This shift was more than a clerical update; it was a fundamental redefinition of American religious liberty. It recognized the United States as a multi-faith republic rather than a specifically Christian one. This victory led to the appointment of the first official Jewish chaplain in September 1862, marking a pivotal moment where the law finally caught up to the reality of America.
Scholars have observed that Lincoln’s engagement with the Jewish community likely influenced his evolving public theology. There is a noticeable transition from the explicitly "Christian" terminology found in his first inaugural address to a broader, "Hebrew frame of reference" in his later works.
In the Second Inaugural, Lincoln’s rhetoric shifted toward a focus on "The Almighty" and the concept of divine justice, echoing the prophetic traditions his Jewish friends valued. By utilizing this broader theological vocabulary, Lincoln created a linguistic bridge that allowed Jewish citizens to see themselves reflected in the national narrative. This shift helped synthesize a shared national identity, ensuring that the "nation’s promise" was articulated in a way that resonated across religious lines, anchoring the Union's struggle in a universal, monotheistic struggle for righteousness.
By the end of his life, Lincoln had earned a unique title within the Jewish community: "Father Abraham". Figures like lawyer and political activist Lewis Naphtali Dembitz viewed him as a "true descendant of Abraham," reflecting the deep gratitude of a community that felt protected by his leadership.
As Eileen Mackevich of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library noted, Lincoln's refusal to allow persecution "as a class" set a vital national precedent. This principle of individual rights over discrimination served as the seed for the modern American civil rights logic. Perhaps most tellingly, Lincoln's standard influenced the very men who had once failed it. Ulysses S. Grant spent his own presidency atoning for his earlier prejudice, appointing record numbers of Jewish officials and even attending a three-hour synagogue dedication in 1876. This decision was a full arc of transformation sparked by the moral example Lincoln set during the war. Lincoln did more than win the Civil War; he established a moral standard for the presidency. His leadership during a time of national crisis established the framework for the republic of respect for others, friendship, neighborliness, the common good, civic virtue, and religious liberty.
Bibliography
"Abraham Jonas," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College,
https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/40570.
Chris Dettro, Staff Writer. “‘Lincoln and the Jews’ Exhibit Opens Aug. 3.” The State Journal-Register, State Journal-Register,
www.sj-r.com/story/news/2015/07/16/lincoln-jews-exhibit-opens/33867701007/.
Einhorn, David, et al. “From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America Confronting Challenges.” Library of Congress,
www.loc.gov/exhibits/haventohome/haven-challenges.html.
Google NotebookLM
Peter Alexander Healy, George. Abraham Lincoln. 1860.
https://www.nga.gov/artworks/166453-abraham-lincoln.
“The Gettysburg Address (1863).” National Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.Org, constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/abraham-lincoln-the-gettysburg-address-1863.
“Ulysses S. Grant and General Orders No. 11 (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior,
www.nps.gov/articles/000/ulysses-s-grant-and-general-orders-no-11.htm.
We Called Him Father Abraham: Lincoln and American Jewry, a Documentary History, by Gary Phillip Zola; Lincoln and the Jews: A History, by Jonathan D. Sarna and Benjamin Shapell, quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0037.206/--we-called-him-father-abraham-lincoln-and-american-jewry?rgn=main;view=fulltext.
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