Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Merry Christmas! December 23, Most people do not associate Santa Claus with war, but in fact the connection goes back to Santa's very beginnings. Nast's first Santa illustrations, published in the January 3, edition of Harper's Weekly, featured Santa visiting dejected Union soldiers. Although Santa's image became ever more jolly after the end of the Civil War, his association with soldiers has proven Read More.
If you've been preoccupied with the "fiscal cliff" saga over the last several days, you may have missed a rather significant milestone.
July marks the anniversary of the New York Draft Riots, one of bloodiest and most violent insurrections in American history.
Lasting from July 13 to July 16, , the draft riots On the family farm, his father often gave him the responsibility of taking care of the horses and the other farm animals, and he was renowned in the area for managing unruly horses.
Grant's father supported his son's ambitious nature to go beyond the limited life of a tanner. The family had little money for college, but the United States Military Academy at West Point, then as now, offered a deal: a superior free education in return for Army service after graduating.
Without telling Ulysses, Jesse Grant applied for an appointment to the Academy for his son, who was accepted. Told of his acceptance, the shy Ulysses did not want to go. His father stated that he thought his son would go, and Ulysses "thought so too, if he did. When his congressman applied for Grant's appointment to West Point, he incorrectly wrote the name as Ulysses Simpson his mother's family name Grant instead of Hiram Ulysses Grant.
Although Ulysses tried to correct the mistake when he arrived at West Point, it was too late, and thereafter he signed his name as Ulysses S. West Point was difficult for the humble youth from the Midwest. He was good at math and drawing, but his prior education was limited, leaving him an otherwise unexceptional student. His skill with horses, however, was unmatched, and he amazed everyone with his riding abilities. He seemed sure to win a coveted spot in the Army's cavalry, its horse-soldier elite, but he was assigned to the infantry after graduating twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine.
The United States Army of the s was a small one. Louis, Missouri. His West Point roommate, Frederick Dent, had grown up nearby, and Grant often visited the Dent home, where the family's hospitality made him comfortable.
One day while visiting, Grant met Frederick's sister, Julia Dent. Charming, smart, and sociable, Julia soon attracted Grant's declaration of love, although his service in the Mexican War would delay their union for several years. Their mutual devotion was deep and abiding throughout their courtship and 37 years of marriage. Lieutenant Grant's regiment moved further south, first to Louisiana and then Texas, to prepare for the conflict with Mexico that was brewing over the Texas territory.
From to , the young lieutenant fought in the Mexican War and was twice cited for his bravery. He was appointed quartermaster for the Fourth Infantry and was responsible for providing supplies and transportation as his regiment moved through the Mexican countryside.
This post gave him valuable experience in the logistics of war. He also greatly admired General Zachary Taylor and his calm, confident leadership. Grant, however, did not glory in the ideals of war. He mourned his lost comrades and the waste that war created. When the war ended, Grant traveled back to St. Louis to marry Julia. Unbeknownst to the groom, all three of his Southern attendants, including James Longstreet, would fight against him during the Civil War.
The Army then transferred the young lieutenant to Detroit and New York. At first, Julia was able to travel with him, but the Army then sent Grant to the Pacific Northwest, first to the Oregon Territory and then to California. He could not take his family to these distant locations and he hated being separated from them. He also ran into financial problems, became depressed, and, according to some accounts, began to drink to excess.
Almost everyone has at least a passing familiarity with Ulysses S. Grant, the military, and political figure — the general who helped win the Civil War for the Union and later became president of the United States. But there is much more to Grant than the military and the presidency.
Just a little research into his past reveals that he was born, not Ulysses S. Really quiet. Lieutenant Colonel Grant drilled the men, instituted badly needed discipline, and soon earned the respect of the volunteers. The Army noted his efforts and promoted him to brigadier general.
Grant garnered attention as he led his troops to fight and win battles in the Western Theater. In the last year of the war, he was both praised and criticized for his willingness to fight and sustain a high number of casualties.
At that point, General Grant was the most revered man in the Union. Lincoln's tragic assassination at the end of the Civil War was followed by the ineffective leadership of President Andrew Johnson, a Democrat from Tennessee. Johnson urged a moderate approach to Reconstruction that would not punish the South or protect the rights of the newly freed slaves beyond emancipation.
Radical Republicans wanted to ensure the civil and political rights of African Americans. In the election of , postwar social and economic policies were the major campaign issues. The Republicans backed Grant, who concluded his acceptance speech with "Let us have peace.
Coming into office, President Grant alienated party stalwarts by rejecting party politics. When he appointed his cabinet, he did not turn to Republican leaders for their advice. Instead, he chose people he thought he could trust and to whom he could delegate responsibility.
This strategy led to some good cabinet appointments but also to a number of dubious ones. Grant was also loyal out of all proportion to anyone who had helped him or worked with him. As a result, he was sometimes unwilling to remove ineffective people, and some areas of his administration suffered from incompetence and corruption. In his first inaugural address, Grant spoke of his desire for the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, which sought to grant citizens the right to vote regardless of race or previous servitude.
He lobbied hard to get the amendment passed, angering many Southern whites in the process. He also, on occasion, sent in the military to protect African Americans from newly formed terrorist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, which tried to prevent blacks from participating in society. Grant incurred the wrath of citizens who blamed him for the economic woes that plagued the nation in the aftermath of the war.
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