Ulysses S. Grant
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. Hardcover. xix, [3], 596, [2] pages. Illustrations. Index. Slightly cocked. Ex-library with usual library markings. This is volume XXXII of The American Statesmen series. This series ultimately comprised of 39 text volumes and a 40th, General Index, volume. The times were chaotic beyond comparison. Into this sea of troubles President Grant was thrust. A friend of the South, he yet did not know how to stay the hand of rapacity and bitter race hatred; an enemy of corruption, he could not keep the skirts of his own household clean. General Grant, the hero of Appomattox, will ever be a figure of commanding interest; President Grant was in a more difficult situation, and his life at this period compels attention if not approval. Mr. Coolidge's biography sets before us clearly the issues and complexities of the presidential term of 1869-77. Perhaps its chief interest and value lie in its illuminating chapters on a troubled epoch. Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869–77). As Commanding General (1864–69), Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War. Supported by Congress, Grant implemented Reconstruction, often at odds with President Andrew Johnson. Twice elected president, Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African-American citizenship, and support economic prosperity. Grant graduated in 1843 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, then served in the Mexican–American War. After the war he married Julia Boggs Dent in 1848, their marriage producing four children. Grant initially retired from the Army in 1854. When the Civil War began in 1861, he rejoined the U.S. Army. In 1862, Grant took control of Kentucky and most of Tennessee, and led Union forces to victory in the Battle of Shiloh, earning a reputation as an aggressive commander. In July 1863, after a series of coordinated battles, Grant defeated Confederate armies and seized Vicksburg, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River and dividing the Confederacy in two. After his victories in the Chattanooga Campaign, Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant general and Commanding General of the Army in March 1864. Grant confronted Robert E. Lee in a series of bloody battles, trapping Lee's army in their defense of Richmond. Grant coordinated a series of devastating campaigns in other theaters, as well. In April 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, effectively ending the war. Historians have hailed Grant's military genius, and his strategies are featured in military history textbooks. After the Civil War, Grant led the army's supervision of Reconstruction in the former Confederate states. Elected president in 1868, he stabilized the nation during that turbulent period and enforced civil rights and voting rights laws using the army and the newly created Department of Justice. After the disenfranchisement of some former Confederates, Republicans gained majorities, and African Americans were elected to Congress and high state offices. In his second term, the Republican coalitions in the South splintered and were defeated one by one, as a faction of white Southern "Redeemers" regained control of Southern state governments using violence, voter fraud, and racist appeal. In response, Grant signed the Civil Rights Act of 1875 into law. In May 1875, Grant authorized his Secretary of Treasury Benjamin Bristow to prosecute the corrupt Whiskey Ring. Grant's Indian Peace Policy initially reduced frontier violence, but failed after the Black Hills Gold Rush was followed by the Great Sioux War of 1876. He appointed the first Civil Service Commission. In foreign policy, Grant relied on his Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, his administration successfully resolved the Alabama claims by the Treaty of Washington with Great Britain, ending wartime tensions. Additionally, Grant and Fish avoided war with Spain over the Virginius Affair negotiating a peaceful resolution. His administration implemented a gold standard and sought to strengthen the dollar. His response to the Panic of 1873 proved ineffective nationally in halting the five-year industrial depression that produced high unemployment, low prices, low profits, and bankruptcies. Grant left office in 1877 and embarked on a two-year diplomatic world tour that captured the nation's attention. Facing severe investment reversals and dying of throat cancer, he wrote his memoirs, which proved to be a major literary work and financial success. His death in 1885 prompted an outpouring in support of national unity. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Ulysses Grant, General, West Point, Mexican War, Civil War, Paducah, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, McClernand, Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge, William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, Hamilton Fish, Reconstruction, President, San Domingo, Reforms, Civil Serv
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