In its newest video, Prager University shares the story of one of the United States’ most significant presidents, but one whose accomplishments are often overlooked by the American people: President Ulysses S. Grant. In the latest video, director of history and education at the Civil War Trust Garry Adelman discusses the Civil War general-turned-national leader in “The Amazing Life of Ulysses S. Grant.”
Adelman opens by providing some context to Grant’s role in turning the tide of the Civil War after the North suffered a series of setbacks, largely due to incompetent military leadership.
“Where would President Lincoln find a battlefield general who could do for the Union what Robert E. Lee was doing for the Confederacy… lead it to victory?” says Adelman.
“The man he found, the man who saved the Union, was Ulysses S. Grant,” he continues. “He wasn’t Lincoln’s first choice, or second, or third. In fact, when the war started in 1861, Lincoln had no idea who Ulysses S. Grant was. Hardly surprising since, at the time, Grant was selling hats to farmers’ wives in a small town in Illinois.”
Grant’s “rise to glory,” says Adelman, “is one of the most amazing stories in American history.”
The historian describes Grant’s distinguished service during the American-Mexican War, his failed business endeavors, and finally his ascension to the leadership of the Union army during the Civil War. After the death of President Lincoln, Grant would run for and win the presidency as a Republican in 1868 and 1872. It is Grant’s presidential legacy that is too often overlooked, Adelman suggests.
“During his tenure, he fought to secure the passage of the 15th Amendment, which guaranteed all American citizens the right to vote, regardless of ‘race, color, or previous condition of servitude,'” Adelman explains. “He created the Department of Justice, broke up the Ku Klux Klan, and advocated for the rights of Indians. He presided over the completion of the transcontinental railroad and a rapidly expanding industrial economy.”
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