8/1/2023 0 Comments Ulysses s grant factsHe also executed a successful foreign policy and was responsible for improving Anglo-American relations. Still, in the areas of Native American policy, civil service reform, and African American rights, he took steps that few had attempted. In 1869, at age 46, Grant became the youngest president in. armies in 1864 and relentlessly pursued the enemy during the Civil War. He was a natural leader on the battlefield but was not an especially effective leader of his country. Grant, or Hiram Ulysses Grant, was the general responsible for ending the Civil War and the 18th president of the United States. Grant was entrusted with the command of all U.S. He was such a successful general that his failings as President seem hard to comprehend. Ultimately, President Grant remains somewhat of an enigma in American history. Grant accepted the surrender of an enemy army. And his loyalty to those who served him prevented him from ruthlessly purging his administration of ineffective or corrupt politicians. It was the second of the three instances during the war when Ulysses S. He believed that his more straightforward approach was superior but his inability or unwillingness to play the political game led him to become involved with people of an unsavory reputation. Grant's disdain for politics might be responsible for some of the corruption in his administration. Still, his inability to clean up his own administration was a blight on his presidential record. Despite the scandals that arose during his tenure, Grant was never personally involved with any of them, and his honesty and personal integrity were never questioned. The Grant administration was also routinely labeled one of the most corrupt in U.S. Ultimately much of the country abandoned African Americans to segregation and discrimination but Grant was not responsible for that failure. He worked hard to ensure the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment and tried to make it possible for blacks to vote. He fought to protect the rights of African Americans more than any other nineteenth-century President. Only more recently have historians begun to appreciate Grant's commitment to African Americans. For many years, his presidency was viewed against the backdrop of Southern resentment toward Reconstruction. Grant advanced 12 miles to invest Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. After capturing Fort Henry on the Tennessee River on February 6, 1862, Brig. Nevertheless, Grant's motives and efforts as President were admirable and noteworthy. Early in the war, Union commanders realized that control of the major rivers would be the key to success in the Western Theater. Congress, especially the Senate, had seized the reins of power, and the presidency would not regain its stature until the turn of the twentieth century. The Grant years finished what the Johnson years had begun: a significant weakening of the American presidency. At the same time, he did not really understand politics, which hindered his effectiveness as President, and he believed in the supremacy of the legislative branch. He came into office wanting to serve all the American people and was determined to avoid party politics. Grant left the White House in 1877, admitting in a remarkable farewell address to Congress that it had been his "misfortune to be called to the Office of Chief Executive without any political training" and apologizing for his "errors of judgment." Perhaps some of Grant's troubles as President are related to his disdain for politics. The book was published after his death in 1885, and is still regarded as a classic history of the Civil War.Ulysses S. He served from 1869-77, but his administration was tainted by corruption among his Cabinet members. Lee at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865.Īfter the war, Grant was easily elected to two terms as president of the United States. The war ended after Grant accepted the surrender of Confederate leader Robert E. He rose to become President Abraham Lincoln‘s choice as commander of the Union Armies from 1864 until the the Union’s final triumph in 1865. Grant was later a failure as a farmer and a businessman, but he soared to fame during the Civil War, when he earned the nickname “Unconditional Surrender Grant” for his relentless tactics and leadership. The future general was baptized as Hiram Ulysses Grant, but when he arrived at West Point military academy in 1839, he found that he had been registered as Ulysses Simpson Grant, and he never bothered to change the name back.Ī sloppy cadet but a great horseman, Grant went on to serve with distinction in the Mexican War of 1846-48. Ulysses Grant came from humble beginnings in small-town Ohio his father tanned hides for a living and ran a small store at times. The great Union military hero of the Civil War, Ulysses Grant also served two terms as U.S.
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