Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grantwas the 18th President of the United States. As Commanding General of the United States Army, Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War. He implemented Congressional Reconstruction, often at odds with Lincoln's successor, 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 nationwide. His...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionUS President
Date of Birth27 April 1822
CityPoint Pleasant, OH
CountryUnited States of America
I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse.
Although a soldier by profession, I have never felt any sort of fondness for war, and I have never advocated it, except as a means of peace.
...I never heard him abuse an enemy. Some of the cruel things said about President Lincoln, particularly in the North, used to pierce him to the heart; but never in my presence did he evince a revengeful disposition.
Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.
The great bulk of the legal voters of the South were men who owned no slaves; their homes were generally in the hills and poor country; their facilities for educating their children, even up to the point of reading and writing, were very limited; their interest in the contest was very meagre--what there was, if they had been capable of seeing it, was with the North; they too needed emancipation.
The cause of the great War of the Rebellion against the United Status will have to be attributed to slavery. For some years before the war began it was a trite saying among some politicians that "A state half slave and half free cannot exist." All must become slave or all free, or the state will go down. I took no part myself in any such view of the case at the time, but since the war is over, reviewing the whole question, I have come to the conclusion that the saying is quite true.
The theory of government changes with general progress.
Wherever the enemy goes let our troops go also.
But my later experience has taught me two lessons: first, that things are seen plainer after the events have occurred; second, that the most confident critics are generally those who know the least about the matter criticised.
If you see the President, tell him from me that whatever happens there will be no turning back.
Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.
Cheap cigars come in handy; they stifle the odor of cheap politicians.
Let no guilty man escape, if it can he avoided. . . . No personal consideration should stand in the way of performing a public duty.
The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.