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What Is The Story Behind Ulysses S. Grant ?
Ulysses Grant was born on April 27, 1822 in a humble family. He got a recommendation from a member of Congress from his father's district that got him into West Point Military Academy. Although Grant did not want to join the academy, he did so and was quite average, graduating in the middle of the class. |
When war between America and Mexico broke out, Grant fought under the command of General Zachary Taylor. After the Mexican War, Grant left the military to try his hand at farming. However, he was no good and had to sell his farm. Thereafter, he worked with his father in his leather store.
When the Civil War broke out, Grant re-joined the army and was given charge of a volunteer regiment. By the end of the year, he was promoted to Brigadier General. He was instrumental in getting the Confederate army to surrender and thus, capturing Fort Donelson. This was a major victory for the Union forces. Because of this success, Lincoln promoted Grant to Major General.
In March 1864, Grant was promoted to General-in-Chief by Lincoln. The following year, in Appomattox, General Robert E. Lee of the Confederates surrendered to Grant, who wrote out the terms for surrender which ensured that Lee would not have to face treason trials.
After the Civil War, Grant was appointed as the Secretary of War. However, Grant ended up having a disagreement with President Andrew Johnson which prompted him to resign and align himself with radical republicans. In 1868, he was the unanimous choice for president.
He easily won the presidential elections and people were optimistic that Grant would bring an end to all the confusion and disorder that was plaguing their nation. Grant ran the government the way he ran the army.
Grant had a few scandals during his first term like accepting expensive presents from admirers or being seen in the company of two gold speculators. However, this did not prevent his re-election in 1872.
During his tenure as the president, the Radical Reconstruction program went on in the South. If there was opposition to the program, Grant did not hesitate to use military force.
After finishing his second term, Grant retired and traveled to different corners of the world with his wife. He invested in a financial firm but it went broke. This caused Grant to lose all his money. He started writing his memoirs in order to make money. Around the same time, he was afflicted with throat cancer. He managed to finish his memoirs in two volumes just before dying, and his family sold the volumes for nearly $500,000. Ulysses S. Grant died in 1885.
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