Is it time to reconsider Grant's presidency?
See http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/20...fairly.php

Chris Jones

Yes it is, although in defense of the historical profession, William B. Hesseltine did so some time ago (1935) with his volume Ulysses S Grant, Politician (1935), revolutionary in that it suggested Grant was much more than an ineffective occupant of the office. One of the easier ways to do this with Grant is to emphasize his activities in Reconstruction suppressing the KKK and his disappointment in Congress ending Reconstruction at the end of his second term as president. The traditional manner in which Grant is pilloried is the emphasis on the scandals, of which there are many. A shorthand way to access both points of view is in my ABC-Clio Companion to American Reconstruction (1996) or my Historical Dictionary of the Civil War and Reconstruction (2nd ed., 2011). Both have extensive bibliographies for those interested in pursuing Grant's life and career further. Grant is very much like Dwight D Eisenhower in his historical reputation--there is more to the man who is much slyer than many heretofore supposed.

I did like the authors comment "American history is written mostly by intellectual snobs and leftists." Well, not on this web site.
I might be a snob, but I'm not intellectual. And I'm certainly not a leftist. I rarely wear red. Its a good thing I dont right so good, or I wood have more to say.

"Its hard, perhaps impossible, to be a great writer if you're stupid"
(Don't let that leak out to the American press)

Anyone who knows the background regarding the writing of Grant's memoirs would know he was a very determined and admirable man. I'll agree with the last paragraph in the article, it says alot!

Quote:American history is written mostly by intellectual snobs and leftists.

Well, as a leftist and one who fancies himself a writer (and one who has often been accused of snobbery) I can't agree with this, at least not in the spirit it seems intended. For every Eric Foner or Howard Zinn, there is an Allen Guelzo or Harry Jaffa. Allan Nevins was a Democrat, but he was a strong pro-business historian, writing a glowing history of John D. Rockefeller.

As for Grant, as I said in another thread, the fortunes of any president rise and fall with the times. When the Dunning School held sway, Andrew Johnson was rehabilitated, although not very successfully. I imagine there might even come a time when some think George W. Bush did a good job, although history won't be as kind to him as it likely will be to his father.

Best
Rob

I particularly liked Allan Nevins' 8 vol magnum opus "Ordeal of the Union" which everyone should read. I had a high school history teacher who was in a class Nevins taught at Columbia. She told me Nevins was a dreadful teacher but never told me why she thought so.
Tom

When did Grant's image first appear on paper currency? The image is not Grant the soldier but Grant the president. Did his achievements as president warrant placement on the note?

[quote='william l. richter' pid
Grant is very much like Dwight D Eisenhower in his historical reputation--there is more to the man who is much slyer than many heretofore supposed.
[/quote]

I agree with that comparison 100%
Both men did a lot of good for our country, guiding it following turbulent times

Grant's former Detroit home remains on the site of the now defunct Michigan State Fairgrounds. No progress has been made in considering it's future, as far as I know. I pass by it every now and then and think of Grant and wife Julia living in the house as a newlywed couple living the hardness of Army life then. I also think of Grant participating in horse races in downtown Detroit. I don't suppose Grant ever saw or heard of the horseless carriage- he died before that.

Since he got a ticket for speeding on his horse, just think what he could have done in a car...

(08-27-2013 11:46 AM)L Verge Wrote:  Since he got a ticket for speeding on his horse, just think what he could have done in a car...

Neat story, Laurie, and it wasn't his only one.

"The story goes that he loved horses and he loved to ride fast and he literally went fast through the city," says John F. Marszalek, the executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Collection at Mississippi State University. "In one instance this Washington policeman pulled him over."

The MPD officer's name was William West, according to Significa, a 1983 compendium of weird facts about historical figures. Grant was driving his horse-drawn coach down M Street NW at such a great speed, that after West grabbed the horse's bridle, it took half a block to stop the hasty president.

West, according to Marszalek, was so embarrassed when he discovered he had pulled over Grant that he offered to ignore the infraction. But Grant was magnanimous.

"The story goes that Grant says, 'I was speeding, you caught me and I'll pay the ticket,' " Marszalek says. At the time, speeding tickets were payable by a $5 fine. It was not Grant's first."

Source here.

I just paid one, and it sure wasn't just $5!

(08-27-2013 01:36 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I just paid one, and it sure wasn't just $5!

You were probably driving something with more than 1 horse power

Well, since people still talk of Grant and his drinking- can we assume he was not drunk?

   

(08-27-2013 02:58 PM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Well, since people since people still talk of Grant and his drinking- can we assume he was not drunk?

He rarely was drunk.
Another historical canard that has been hurting his reputation for over 150 years....

Yes, I agree. Amazing that it has had a "life" for so long...