The Last Campaign Of Ulysses S. Grant US Grant overcomes financial ruin and cancer to produce the greatest war memoir in American history grant1 Facebook Twitter Ulysses S. Grant left his second term of office as president of the United States in 1877 with his reputation somewhat tarnished, but nevertheless intact. He had occupied the office during one of America’s fervent periods of expansion and concentration of wealth; and the consequential corruption that this expansion engendered had left a prominent mark on his presidency. While personally honest himself, Grant was a product of the closed world of the military, where the grasping for money and power was more subdued than in the civilian world. He was a battlefield general …show more content…
Grant had amassed little wealth during his time in office, and in his day there was no pension for departing ex-presidents. Worse still, there existed a rule stating that military officers had to surrender their pensions if they wished to run for political office. So Grant had had to give up that safety net as well. Thus Grant found himself in the unenviable position, after concluding his world tour, of trying to find ways of making money as a man of fifty-seven with a wife and dependents to feed. His greatest asset was his name: Grant was enormously popular with the public, and his unassuming manner and keen mind made a deep impression on all who met him. Otto von Bismarck, meeting Grant in Germany during his world tour, had been impressed with his American guest’s perceptive mind and quiet confidence. Grant, frankly, lacked an aptitude for business. He had little sense of money and how it operated, and he was far too trusting when dealing with associates and employees. Worse still, there is little evidence that he was aware of this personal limitation; he should have sought out honorary positions in universities (as did his ex-Confederate counterpart Robert E. Lee) where his name and prestige would have been sufficient consideration for any salary …show more content…
He had been asked to join because the prestige of his name might attract potential clients. So Grant showed up at his office on Wall Street several times per week, smoking cigars and meeting prominent businessmen. He had long cultivated a serious smoking habit: author Charles B. Flood, in his work Grant’s Final Victory, claims that the ex-president consumed twenty-five Cuban cigars per day. What the Grants did not know was that Ferdinand Ward was running a Ponzi scheme right under their noses. Ward provided his business partners with fraudulent information and “cooked” books so that the nature of his activities might remain undetected. He would entice investors to give him money, and then illegally use that money as “collateral” for multiple loans. “Investment dividends” were paid out regularly to give the impression of successful management, but this money was simply contributions from other investors. Ward, quite simply, was the Bernard Madoff of the
Second he wanted to change the pace of the war. In a time where troops had to travel by foot there was plenty of time between battles. Since Grant had more troops he used a nonstop warfare. This was only accomplished
Ulysses S. Grant made many major contributions to the nation as a military strategist, a Civil War hero, supporting the rights of African Americans and serving as the 18th President. Grant attended military school and used his military strategies to help win the Civil War and contribute to ending slavery in the United States. As president, he supported the rights of African Americans, he passed acts to protect the freed slaves from being enslaved again, he allowed all citizens to vote in the 15th Amendment, and he guaranteed equal treatment of African Americans in public places. As the 18th president of the United States, he worked to increase trade between the United States and other countries and improve the nation’s relationships with countries
Especially for an Army officer. Grant was not the best student either, graduating 21st in his class of 39. What made Grant a great general was that he took great risks that was sure would
He was responsible for winning a major battle and developing the strategy for winning the Civil war. He also took steps other presidents would not when it came to black rights. Grant cared a lot about equal rights for blacks. On his deathbed he wrote “As time passes, people, even of the South, will begin to wonder how it was possible that their ancestors ever fought for or justified institutions which acknowledged the right of property in
Grant admired how Zachary Taylor was so calm when he was the leader, but Grant did not like all the waste and ravage of war. After the war was over Grant became very depressed and out of know where decided to leave the army. After that, he went back home, but they had little money, and he ended up asking his father for help. Shortly after the Civil War started between the Union, and the Confederates and the Union needed an experienced army officer. Grant became a brigadier general in the war.
Grant was a very prominent figure of the time period and led the Union to victory and helped heal the fractured United States afterward. General Grant began his military career at West Point when he was just sixteen. He was top of his class and when he graduated, he began his four years of service and went into combat in the Mexican-American War. He was promoted to captain as a result of his bravery during the war. After this, his four-year commitment to the army was up, he left and did not expect to come back.
From a broad perspective, the Republican Party nominee for President in 1868 was Ulysses S. Grant. Evidence from the text that further bolsters this claim is shown when the authors state, “Wrangling between Congress and President Andrew Johnson had soured the people on professional politicians in the Reconstruction era, and the notion still prevailed that a good general would make a good president. Stubbily bearded General Grant was by far the most popular Northern hero to emerge from the war” (Cohen & Kennedy 488). The quote above sheds light upon how the Republican Party embraced the notion, pertaining to how victorious military leaders translate into effective presidents. It can thus be deduced that General Grant, who, in turn, proved his
The importance of this war and need to reestablish the Union caused Grant to take new strategies when waging war. In this war Grant used tactics such as year long warfare, high tempo warfare and siege warfare to destroy the confederates. By doing this he not only secured many major Union victories, but also changed how wars would be fought for years to come. And furthermore, through these new strategies of war we can can see how Grant not only affected the outcome of the war and war itself, but also the people within the war both confederate and federal. Prior to this war, wars had only been waged seasonally so that men could operate their farms or not have to deal with the intense winters.
Grant led the North to multiple victories during the Civil War and served as the 18th president of the United States. After great success in the Mexican-American War, Grant halted his time in the army, until the Civil War. His victories at Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Fort Donelson, and Fort Henry all showed Abraham Lincoln that Grant was capable of leading the Union. After General Lees’ army was left starving, and exhausted during the battle of Appomattox in Virginia, Lee surrendered to General Grant. This was important during the War because Grant was first Union general who had beaten Confederate leader Robert E. Lee.
[His] aggressiveness resulted in a single general’s record [of] 209,000 casualties for his army (55,000 more than Grant’s)” (Bonekemper). These casualties his army suffered were ones the South couldn’t afford, especially since the Southern military was already so much smaller than the Union’s. In fact, after his first 14
The first reason that Ulysses S. Grant is criticized is because he was accused of not being a skilled general, and instead people say that General Lee, his enemy in war, was a superior general. Many historians from the time period say that General Grant sacrificed too many men in order to win the war, instead saying that his enemies fought better than he and his army did. When fighting the war, Grant did sacrifice many men in order to eventually win against the confederacy. What many people do not understand is that he did this for a strategic reason. According to history.com, Ulysses S. Grant understood that the southern confederacy had less men and less equipment than the further industrialized north, so killing as many enemy men as possible was necessary to win the war in a way that would wear down the enemy.
Grant is known as the 18th president of the United States, as well as being a commanding general that worked closely with Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. The book Ulysses S. Grant is written by Josiah Bunting III. Bunting was mesmerized by U.S. Grant for several reasons. Bunting found U.S. Grant to be the necessary American of his time, such as him being a Westerner by birth and him being a person to not explain, but to just do it. He found U.S. Grant to be an independent, inner-directed soul who is always aggressive in adversity, and can be canny or wise at times.
Grant on the other hand was not raised wealthy at all he knew the struggle, he had a vision for where he thought the future was going. Completely different, but exactly the same when it came to their personality. Almost the same even when they were fighting, Grant fought with tenacity, Lee fought knowing he would give his life at any second if he had too. This is why people looked up
Even though the Union won the battle, it came at a major cost. The determination that was displayed in Ulysses during this battle almost got him removed from his position- because of the mass casualties. Fortunately for him, President Lincoln still believed that he was not done in his role as a Commander. Many other people believed that he had he had as strong determination as Lincoln knew he had. “Grant cultivated an ability to complete the task at hand, undeterred by distractions.
General Ulysses S. Grant was a very powerful man. He was the son of a tanner on the Western frontier. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was very modern, and thought you had to work hard no matter what. Grant was a man that did not live in the past.