GRANT

[Bill Richter]

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.