Agnostic.com

11 7

LINK Ulysses S Grant one of the most underrated presidents

Highly recommend Grant on History Channel. Gives true insight into the Civil War and this great general. He has been mischaracterized in history by those from the Confederacy. They rewrote our history and built all the Confederate monuments. They must be removed from all federal land. The Civil War is still being fought metaphorically and literally. Watch this miniseries and you'll realize what a great man U S Grant was. History is very unfair to him and way too favorable about Robert E Lee, a despot and a traitor.

barjoe 9 June 30
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

11 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

2

I saw it, it showed what a humble man he really was. How he didn't like the idea of slavery and even worked with them. It was an awesome show.

Everybody should see this.

@barjoe Yes, they should.

3

After seeing that three night documentary I agree 100%! A remarkable man. We too often look for perfection in our leaders and"heroes", and that is unreasonable and unrealistic. It is the way our history is taught in school. History books are approved by each state in public schools, and the ones I have had would have made good kindling and that is about it.

451°F

@barjoe I think there is a book by that name ...

@AtheistInNC Ray Bradbury.

2

I saw it when it came out, he was a brilliant strategist and a great President. All confederate named forts and military installations should be replaced by union heroes like Grant or Sherman and many others forgotten by the appeasement the government tried to do with the south only to screw things up the way they are now.

If you look at Nazi Germany, they had Nuremberg Trials. These people were imprisoned and in some cases put to death. In Germany today Nazi flags, swastikas are illegal. That is what should've been done after the Civil War. They should've all been tried for treason. Robert E Lee and Jefferson Davis should've went to the gallows. The big mistake at Appomattox. Appeasement to the enemy.

@barjoe I get so sick of hearing southerners bitch about how poorly they were treated during Reconstruction. The problem with Reconstruction was it ended too soon, and allowed them to go back to their racist and aristocratic ideals.

How bad was their treatment when the US Civil War was the only one in history that wasn't immediately followed by mass executions?

@JimG Lincoln was assassinated. Appeasement did nothing to prevent that. Lee should've been apprehended at Appomattox and a warrant issued for Jefferson Davis. Firing Squad or gallows. The South would have gotten over it by now. Because of appeasement they're still carrying on after 150+ years.

0

I’ve seen it.

What did you think?

@barjoe I thought it was good. There was a general impression that Grant was just an alcoholic. While it’s true he had a drinking problem, he was also a very talented general and politician. The series dispelled numerous misconceptions about him.

2

The Confederate monuments should be taken down and replaced with statues of Sherman. 🙂

Gareth Level 7 June 30, 2020

Monuments to American heroes, not enemy combatants. You don't see statues of Hitler, Mussolini or Hirohito in the United States! Why should we have monuments and military bases honoring these traitors to our country.

@barjoe You know who Sherman was, right?

@Gareth General William Tecumseh Sherman. Tecumseh was an Indian Chief. There was a native American civil war general named Isaac Watie. Sherman burned Atlanta. Sherman tanks are named for him. Grant was the true hero tho. He orchestrated defeat of the Confederacy.

@barjoe Okay. I just couldn't see the relevance of your first reply.

@Gareth So not just Sherman. African American Union soldiers, General Watie a Native American Union General, Abner Doubleday, General Scott. They've made Rebel traitors more famous than our union heroes

@barjoe Perhaps you missed the joke, because Sherman has a special place in the hearts of Dixielanders.

@Gareth I live in Philadelphia, I don't know that much about preferences of goobers.

1

A fascinating man, full of contradictions, who knew real struggle throughout his life.

2

The fact that there are no Army installations named after Grant, but there are ten named after Confederate generals just makes my head spin.

Wow, very strange and nobody talks about it.

So fucked up!

You can thank a Virginian by the name of Woodrow Wilson for that.

2

I was gobsmacked to learn how Democrats of the era torpedoed the progressive aims of Reconstruction and how the power shift prevented it from getting back on track. Sadly, I think in one way, the Democrats have come full circle. They kneecapped Bernie out of fear that progressives gaining traction threatened the stranglehold corporate Dems have on the party.

Don't judge democrats by civil war era and don't give the modern GOP any credit for Lincoln and Grant. Abraham Lincoln would be a Democrat today, I'm convinced of that. The Democrats of 19th century would be Republicans today. KKK staunchly supports Donald Trump. He's the MLK for the racist alt-right

@barjoe - I can separate them, but I remember the line from "Grant" on the History Channel where it said progressive policies of were kept from being enacted because of the Democrats.

That could be a headlines from recent current events. Corporate Democrats are the worst. I expect the GOP to try to screw me over, but it's the Dems that close the deal more times than not.

I think Creepy Addled Uncle Joe just might give Dolt 45 a second term.

These are indeed perilous times, particularly as the DNC tries to pass Biden off as the"safe" choice.

@WilliamCharles Bro I don't want to hear your agenda. Everybody has their flaws. Vote for whoever you want.

3

I read the Ron Chernow biography and watched the the History Channel’s show based on Chernow’s book. Both very good. If you think you know U.S. Grant because you read a chapter on him in your history class I will recommend reading the book.
BTW Chernow’s book on George Washington was also a History Ch. project and his book on Alexander Hamilton was the inspiration for the Broadway musical HAMILTON.

Read Edward Bonekemper’s book focusing on Grant’s military career recently. Raises the same issue of how his memory is often tainted by a Southern perspective.

2

I will watch it soon. Thanks

Ulysses S. Grant was typically dismissed as weak and ineffective; historians have often ranked Grant's presidency near the bottom in American history.

However, efforts have begun to shed light on his achievements: [millercenter.org]

  1. He was quiet and soft-spoken but able to inspire great bravery from his soldiers on the battlefield.
  2. He was an honorable man who was unable or unwilling to see dishonor in others.
  3. He disdained politics but rose to the country's highest political office.
  4. He was no great orator, but he possessed a coherent political philosophy mirrored in Lincoln's Republican Party that won the war, freed the enslaved people, and saved the Republic.
  5. Grant presided over a powerful if unstable economy unleashing productive capacities only dreamed of before the Civil War.
  6. A great supporter of the transcontinental railroads, Grant oversaw the completion of the one running from Sacramento, California, to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1869 in his first year in office.
  7. Grant' made more efforts for African American rights, Native American policy, and civil service reform. 8. He executed a successful foreign policy and
  8. He was responsible for improving Anglo-American relations.

However, he died broke. He lost $100,000 after being defrauded by his son's business partner, Ferdinand Ward, which forced him into bankruptcy. Even before that, though, Grant had a reputation for spending more money than he had. [investopedia.com]

Just before he died he finished his autobiography at the insistence of Mark Twain which left money for his family

He did complete his memoirs shortly before his death. They were published by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and his family was paid handsomely. Grant died from lung cancer, he smoked heavily.

@Sierra4 He wrote his memoirs knowing he was dying, and so held nothing back. His work still stands up well in terms of candor, but also literarily: he was a surprisingly good writer.

@The-Krzyz Mark Twain edited it after Grant's death, that's why it's such a page turner. He deserves better. He was our first Civil Rights president and along with Lincoln the only liberal Republican presidents.

@barjoe True, Twain edited, but that is far from ghost- rewriting the original, which still was a good work. Most of our venerated modern authors had editors, who usually worked with the publishing houses. They are seldom known outside of that literary world, and the job is hardest with the best writers: how to tighten up and sharpen the work without treading on the original genius contained within.

@The-Krzyz Every writer has an editor.

1

I watched it... It was a great show. Interesting.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:510814
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.